عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Libya's $70 bln Wealth Fund Sees Thaw in UN Asset Freeze by Year-end

Libya's Tripoli view - File photo/AAWSAT AR
Libya's Tripoli view - File photo/AAWSAT AR
TT
TT

Libya's $70 bln Wealth Fund Sees Thaw in UN Asset Freeze by Year-end

Libya's Tripoli view - File photo/AAWSAT AR
Libya's Tripoli view - File photo/AAWSAT AR

The Libyan Investment Authority is expecting UN sign-off by the end of the year to actively manage its $70 billion in assets for the first time in more than a decade, its chief executive told Reuters.

The LIA, set up under Muammar Gaddafi in 2006 to manage the country's oil wealth, has been under a United Nations asset freeze since the 2011 revolution that toppled Gaddafi.

This means that in order for Africa's largest sovereign wealth fund to make new investments, or even move cash from negative interest rate accounts, where they have been losing money, the LIA needs UN Security Council sign-off.

Chief Executive Ali Mahmoud Mohamed said the authority is confident the council will provide the landmark approval by November or December for an investment plan it submitted in March.

"We believe our investment plan with be accepted ... we don't think they will refuse it," Mohamed told Reuters via a translator.

The first of LIA's four-part plan is the "very simple" step of reinvesting money that has built up during the freeze, such as payouts from bond holdings.

The LIA has previously tried to actively manage its funds. But in the turmoil following Gaddafi's ouster, it at one point had dueling chairmen, backed by different factions within the country. A British court ruled in 2020 in Mohamed's favor. In 2020, the LIA said a Deloitte audit showed the freeze had cost it some $4.1 billion in potential equity returns.

He said transparency has since improved; the LIA released audited financial statements in 2021, covering 2019. It aims to publish the 2020 numbers in the coming months and provide them annually from next year.

And while the LIA was 98th out of 100 sovereign funds in a 2020 ranking of sustainability and governance by Global SWF, an industry data specialist, it stood at 51st this year.

Of its estimated $70 billion in assets, the fund has $29 billion in global real estate, $23 billion in deposits invested in Europe and Bahrain and $8 billion in equities spread over more than 300 companies around the world. It also has roughly $2 billion worth of matured bonds.

The UN Security Council Committee was not immediately available to comment. Last year, after meeting with the LIA, its members "noted the progress made on the implementation of the LIA's Transformation Strategy" and stressed "the importance of guaranteeing the frozen funds for the benefit of the Libyan people."

Mohamed said that it is also planning to request approval this year for two further investment plan "pillars" - one that covers its share portfolio and another that relates to domestic investment plan.

The LIA is targeting domestic investments in solar power and helping increase oil exports. Libya is one of Africa's largest oil exporters, pumping roughly 1.2 million barrels per day.

If the UN does not approve its investment proposals, Mohamed said "we will keep trying...we will keep asking and requesting."

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

EU Member States Must Coordinate on Energy Prices amid Iran conflict, Von Der Leyen Says

Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
TT
TT

EU Member States Must Coordinate on Energy Prices amid Iran conflict, Von Der Leyen Says

Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 2026,(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

The European Union's member states must coordinate on energy prices amid a 22 billion euro ($25.70 billion) increase in fossil fuel bills since the start of the Iran war, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.

"We're also looking into ... coordination of member states' gas storage filling to avoid that many member states go to the market at the same time," von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels.

"And we will coordinate oil stock releases, to achieve the largest possible effect, and we will ensure that member states' emergency measures will not impact the single market."

The EU Commission is planning to publish proposals for energy price measures on April 22, to be discussed by EU leaders at their informal summit next week, according to Reuters.

Separately the EU's executive arm will present an electrification strategy before the summer, von der Leyen said as she stressed the need for structural measures to lower energy prices as well.

"We are paying a very high price for our global dependency on fossil fuels, and the grim reality for our continent is fossil fuel energy will remain the most expensive option in the years to come," von der Leyen said.

"Our strategy to decarbonize has not only been confirmed in the last years, but is growing in importance day by day," she added.

 

 

 

 

Business

Iraqi Oil Exports Plummet 81.3% in March Due to Hormuz Closure

The Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty
The Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty
TT
TT

Iraqi Oil Exports Plummet 81.3% in March Due to Hormuz Closure

The Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty
The Zubair Oil Field in Basra, Iraq, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty

Iraq’s oil exports plunged in March to 18.6 million barrels, down from 99.87 million in February – a drop of 81.3 percent - due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to official figures released Monday.

The state-run Organization for Marketing of Oil said revenues also have fallen to just $1.95 billion, down from over $6.81 billion.

The figures showed that exports from the Kurdistan Region through Türkiye’s Ceyhan port also dropped to 1.27 million barrels, down from 5.55 million barrels in February.

Meanwhile, operations resumed on Monday at a major gas facility in Iraq's Kurdish region, the Emirati company running the complex said, after more than a month of disruption due to the US-Iran war.

Dana Gas announced "the resumption of production of the Khor Mor gas facility in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, following a period of intermittent operations," according to a statement published by the Abu Dhabi stock exchange.

On February 28 the UAE company suspended natural gas supplies from the complex as war broke out, authorities in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region had said.

Kurdistan's electricity and natural resources ministries said the decision was made "due to the extraordinary circumstances and ongoing events in the region, and to protect employees at the Khor Mor field."

The Khor Mor complex, which supplies most of Kurdistan's power stations, has been hit several times in recent years in attacks blamed on pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq.

Business

World Bank Chief Sounds Alarm about Looming Jobs Crisis Even after War Ends

World Bank President Ajay Banga gives remarks during a forum held at the Atlantic Council building in Washington, D.C., US, April 7, 2026. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz
World Bank President Ajay Banga gives remarks during a forum held at the Atlantic Council building in Washington, D.C., US, April 7, 2026. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz
TT
TT

World Bank Chief Sounds Alarm about Looming Jobs Crisis Even after War Ends

World Bank President Ajay Banga gives remarks during a forum held at the Atlantic Council building in Washington, D.C., US, April 7, 2026. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz
World Bank President Ajay Banga gives remarks during a forum held at the Atlantic Council building in Washington, D.C., US, April 7, 2026. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz

The Middle East war will dominate global finance officials' talks this week in Washington, but World Bank President Ajay Banga is sounding the alarm about a bigger, looming crisis: a huge gap in jobs for the 1.2 billion people who will reach working age in developing countries in the next 10 to 15 years.

At current trajectories, those economies will generate only about 400 million jobs, leaving a deficit of 800 million jobs, Banga told Reuters.

The former Mastercard CEO admits that focusing people on the long-term is daunting, given a series of short-term shocks that have buffeted the global economy since the COVID-19 pandemic, the most recent being the war in the Middle East.

He says he's determined to ensure that finance officials stay focused on those longer-term challenges like creating jobs, connecting people to the electricity grid and ensuring access to clean water. "We have to walk and chew gum at the same time. ‌Short-velocity cycle is what ‌we're going through. Longer velocity is this jobs circumstance or water," Banga said in ‌an ⁠interview taped on Friday.

WAR ⁠OVERSHADOWS OTHER CONCERNS Thousands of finance officials from around the globe will gather in Washington this week for the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund under the shadow of the US-Israel war with Iran that threatens to slow global growth and jack up inflation. The extent of the hit to the economy will depend on the durability of a two-week ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump last week, just hours before promised strikes that Trump said would destroy Iran's civilization. The ceasefire has halted most attacks. But it has not ended Iran's effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused the biggest-ever disruption to global energy ⁠supplies, or calmed a parallel war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

IMPROVING JOB CREATION

The ‌World Bank's governing body, the Development Committee, outlined plans to work with developing ‌countries to streamline policy and regulatory conditions that have hampered investment and job creation for years.

Discussions will touch on transparency around permits, anti-corruption, labor ‌law, land law, impediments to opening a business, logistics, better trade systems, and non-price barriers in trade, Banga said.

He is ‌upbeat that solutions can be found to help find employment - and dignity - for young people and create opportunities for private companies catering to their needs. "I don't know that you can ever get to a situation of utopia and everybody is taken care of in the coming 15 years. I would doubt that's going to happen, but if you don't do it, the implications are quite severe in terms ‌of illegal migration and instability," Banga said. United Nations data showed more than 117 million people were displaced worldwide as of 2025.

Banga said companies in developing countries themselves were starting ⁠to expand globally, including India's ⁠Reliance Industries and the Mahindra Group, and Dangote in Nigeria.

Banga said his discussions with officials in developing countries showed their interest in creating more - and better jobs - for the next generation.

In addition to jobs, water will be a big focus. The World Bank, in conjunction with other development banks, is set to announce a push to ensure that one billion more people have secure access to clean water, adding to existing initiatives to connect 300 million households in Africa with electricity, and to improve health care.

PULLING IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR

The World Bank focused on human and physical infrastructure required for the jobs creation push during last fall's meetings of the IMF and World Bank, and will continue the cycle with an emphasis on attracting private sector investment during this fall's meetings in Bangkok, Banga said. The bank identified five sectors that would benefit from investment and are not reliant on global trade or outsourcing from developed countries: infrastructure, agriculture for small farmers, primary health care, tourism and value-added manufacturing. Those sectors are less likely to be immediately affected by advancements in artificial intelligence, he said.

"The problem is, we can't do this alone. We've got to get this snowball to roll downhill, gathering a lot of snow as it goes along, to reach that amazing number of 800 million," he said.