TRIPOLI, Nov 05, 2012 (AFP)
TRIPOLI, Nov 05, 2012 (AFP)
The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) is a government-managed sovereign wealth fund and holding company based in Tripoli. It was a key financial pillar of slain leader Moamer Kadhafi’s regime.
On Monday, France’s Industry Minister said the fund had expressed interest in investing in a Petroplus refinery in northwestern France. Here are some facts and figures on what was and remains an opaque entity:
ORIGIN: The Kadhafi regime created the LIA in 2006 to invest oil-rich Libya’s vast foreign currency reserves in order to diversify sources of income away from natural resources.
PERFORMANCE: By 2010, the LIA was the world’s largest sovereign investment fund, with holdings of $64 billion in cash, bonds and equities, according to its September 2010 portfolio leaked by GlobalWitness, a rights watchdog.
REVENUES: Excess oil revenues and the assets of subsidiaries such as the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company, Libyan African Investment Portfolio, and Oil Invest company were all transferred into the LIA. Oil Invest — with $940 million worth of assets — controls refineries and some 3,000 petrol stations in Europe, according the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.
SANCTIONS: The LIA came under scrutiny during the 2011 uprising that ultimately toppled Kadhafi. As violence raged, international sanctions were slapped on the regime on the basis that the LIA and other public funds could help finance a brutal crackdown on civilians.
RECOVERING ASSETS: The LIA still works together with Libya’s central bank to recover frozen assets. It is also reported to be investigating past losses including $1.95 billion related to investments made with Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale in 2007 and 2008 in the hope of getting compensation. The LIA’s overseas assets include stakes in Italian bank UniCredit, football club Juventus, automaker Fiat, oil and gas giant ENI, as well as Pearson, the owner of the Financial Times. Italy alone seized over $1.39 billion in Libyan assets invested by Kadhafi’s family.
PETROL-POWERED POTENTIAL: The LIA’s inner workings remain shrouded in mystery but some analysts predict its investments will privilege reconstruction at home over risky ventures abroad. With oil production at pre-revolution levels in Libya, the LIA could make a powerful comeback. The oil ministry says average production has surpassed 1.4 mbpd and sometimes reaches 1.6 mbpd. Despite political uncertainty and persistent insecurity, major Western companies like Total (France), ENI (Italy), Repsol (Spain), Wintershall (Germany), and Occidental (USA) are back in Libya.
