Libyan Investment Authority

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Libyan Investment Authority
Type	Private
Founded	2006
Headquarters	Office No. 99, 9th Floor El-Fateh Tower, Tripoli, Libya
Key people	Baghdadi Mahmudi (Chairman) Muhammad Layas (President and CEO)
Industry	Sovereign Wealth Fund
Products	Fund Management Oil and gas
Website	http://www.lia.ly/

The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) is a government entity headquartered in Tripoli, Libya. It was established on August 28, 2006, by Decree 208 of the General People's Committee of Libya (GPCO) with estimated capital of $40 billion ^[1]. LIA is a holding company that oversees and manages government investment funds in various areas including agriculture, real estate, infrastructure, oil and gas and in shares and bonds. The Libyan Investment Authority is considered to be a sovereign wealth fund.

Contents 1 Board of Trustees 2 Activities 2.1 BP Production Sharing Agreement 2.2 Economic and Social Development Fund 2.3 Libyan-Qatari Fund 3 Notes

[edit] Board of Trustees

Although ultimately overseen by the prime minister, the LIA’s management includes some of Libya’s most established banking personalities. LIA consists of an 11-member board of trustees:

• Chairman - Baghdadi Mahmudi
• Deputy Chairman - Abdul-Hafiz Zlitni: GPCO Assistant Secretary.^[2]
• Board member - Taher al-Juhaymi: GPCO Planning Secretary
• Board member - Muhammad al-Huwayj: GPCO Finance Secretary
• Board member - Farhat Bengdara: Governor, Central Bank of Libya.
• Executive Director - Mohamed H. Layas^[3]

[edit] Activities

The LIA was established in August 2006 to manage Libya’s vast and mounting oil revenue surplus. The LIA now counts the assets of the Libyan Foreign Investment Company (LAFICO), established in 1982, and Oilinvest, founded in 1988, in its portfolio. Libya has also restructured some of these assets, notably the sale of a 65% stake in Oilinvest (marketed under the Tamoil brand) to private equity fund Colony Capital in May 2007. Colony paid €4 billion for control of Tamoil’s three refineries and 3,000 petrol stations in Europe. The LIA now controls an estimated $70 billion in fixed assets and reserves.

[edit] BP Production Sharing Agreement

On May 29, 2007, during a visit to Muammar al-Gaddafi by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, British Petroleum (BP) signed a $900 million exploration and production agreement with the Libyan National Oil Company. The agreement, which will likely involve an estimated USD $2 billion in investment, covers three massive, largely unexplored tracts. The NOC signed the agreement with the LIA as BP’s 15% partner in a production sharing agreement (PSA).^[4]

[edit] Economic and Social Development Fund

The LIA also manages the Economic and Social Development Fund (ESDF). Established in February 2006, the ESDF manages substantial assets in Libya across a number of sectors to benefit Libya’s poor. The LIA’s share in BP’s PSA provides a direct conduit via which oil wealth can be recycled. However, some Libya experts believe that the presence of two state-owned companies in BP’s deal reflects divisions and tensions at the executive level in Libya, particularly over who controls the oil wealth.

[edit] Libyan-Qatari Fund

During August of 2007, LIA agreed to establish a Libyan-Qatari joint investment fund for $2 billion equally with the Qatar Investment Corporation (QIC). Also, the General People's Congress Secretary signed two agreements in Doha on July 2007 for establishment of a joint investment fund between QIC and LIA as well as establishment of the Libyan-Qatari Bank between QIC and the Central Bank of Libya. Also an agreement was signed concerning establishment of joint company for real estate development between Al-Diar real estate investment company (Qatar) and the Libyan Foreign Investment Company.^[5]

[edit] Notes