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

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.

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.”

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

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