Libya was on the verge of a new dawn. However, what is promised future of war-torn country, one of the major producers of oil and gas in Africa?
The World Bank estimates the country's gross domestic product amounting to 62.3 billion U.S. dollars, with an estimated growth of 4.2 percent last year. Export Libya has been moving the economy thanks to the abundant oil and gas. Oil and gas sector already employs nearly three-quarters of the population, although unemployment remains high.
Italy's biggest business partner so Libya, covering more than 40 percent of exports and 19 percent of imports. That's thanks to merchandise that has historical ties.
Oil companies and Europe's largest gas pumping money into Libya to get the precious commodity of the country. And, when petrodollars meet coffers Khadafy and his family, they should have been invested the money in the form of debt securities in various countries who then stood against the regime Khadafy.
The question is, where money Khadafy today and what will happen with the money-the money? A financial report obtained by Global Witness shows, the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) has around 64 million U.S. dollars in September 2010.
Here are the details, according to the report:
- 593,237 dollars in cash (in U.S. and Canadian dollars, British pounds, Swiss francs and euros)
- 20,202,466 U.S. dollars in deposits
- 7,199,841 U.S. dollars in equity
- 3.18522 million U.S. dollars in bonds
- 3.99528 million U.S. dollars in hedge funds and alternative assets
- 24,710,972 U.S. dollars in the form of subsidiary
- 4.3006 million U.S. dollars in the form of other assets
Approximately 68 percent of assets in the European LIA. In the equity portfolio are big names and influential Europeans in various sectors, ranging from media, transportation, and banking. LIA has a strategic stake in:
- Credit Union, Italy's largest bank, by 2.6 percent or $ 1.3 billion U.S. dollars.
- Pearson, publisher of the Financial Times, 3 percent or below 412 million worth of U.S. dollars.
- Finmeccanica, the aerospace and defense contractor, of 2 percent or $ 119 million U.S. dollars.
- As well as the other shares in Siemens, BASF, Lagardere, Nokia, Telefonica, and Pfizer. It was just a few of them.
Khadafy cash assets in various currencies of the world, such as the U.S. dollar, British pound, Swiss franc, euro and Canadian dollar.
Most of the above assets are frozen and will likely be deployed to finance reconstruction in Libya after the security situation improves.
Thanks to an astute financial investment made by Khadafy regime, some experts say, money does not matter to Libya. January Randolph, Director of Sovereign Risk at HIS Global Insight, said, "Money is not a problem for Libya. They have a lot of money and very little debt."
