Benghazi attack a short-term setback for Libya investment revival

(Reuters) - The taxi driver parked outside a luxury hotel in Tripoli says most of his business there has ground to a halt in the past two weeks.

Since an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on September 11 killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, heightening fears for the safety of Westerners in Libya, there have been fewer foreign customers requesting his services.

"There has been a change, the foreigners are much more cautious now," the driver, who did not wish to be named so as not to be recognized, said. "They won't just come up to the taxi rank, they want to be careful. Some have gone, others are staying inside the hotel. But they're not going out with us."

The assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission was the most serious security incident in Libya since the end of the eight-month uprising that finished Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule last year.

Coupled with a lull in policymaking as the country awaits a new government that will take over soon from the interim administration, the attack risks scaring off foreign investors in the short term. It will also pressure the new administration to focus heavily on security, which could further delay much-needed reforms and reconstruction in Libya.

Security has been an issue as the country's new rulers have struggled to contain armed militias who have refused to give up their weapons since the war ended.

The Benghazi attack has led many companies to beef up security measures in Libyan cities, restricting staff movements, and as embassies warn against non-essential travel to the North African country, risk premiums are rising.

"Suddenly you will have people who won't be able to come because of insurance - companies may not send them because they see Libya as too risky," one foreign businessman in Tripoli said. "That will slow things down. And for those who had plans to bring their families here, that will be postponed."

Libya had been making progress in trying to attract foreign investment and stimulate its private sector: officials have been working to update a 2005 banking law which first allowed foreign banks into the country and have plans to introduce Islamic banking.

International oil companies were the first to return to the country after the uprising, helping oil production return to almost pre-war levels of 1.6 million barrels per day.

But recovery has been prone to setbacks: in July around half of Libya's oil-exporting capacity was temporarily shut down after protests by groups demanding more autonomy for eastern Libya, the source of most of the country's oil.

Major construction and transport projects have been untouched since last year, awaiting the authorities' approval to resume.

"The incoming government's focus will be so much on security, which has always rightly been a priority but there is now an added risk that restarting essential infrastructure projects may be put down the agenda in the immediate term," said Alex Warren of research and advisory firm Frontier, which runs The Libya Report business website.

Benghazi air space was temporarily closed after the attack, expatriate workers in the eastern city were relocated to Tripoli or fled overseas, and a British trade delegation was cancelled.

"What happened in Benghazi has a very negative impact because it may lead foreign businessmen to freeze plans to come and invest in Libya," said Issa al-Babaa, executive director of the Libyan Businessmen Council.

Yet the country's tiny stock market has barely reacted, dipping less than half a percent in the two weeks since the attack, according to Ahmed Karoud, general manager of the stock exchange, which lists about a dozen local companies.

That suggests the Benghazi attack may not have a lasting impact on business and, like in Iraq, foreign investors in the longer term may be willing to invest there despite security concerns if they see high returns.

CRACKDOWN ON MILITIAS

Many investors, including Chinese companies expected to bid for infrastructure projects, may not be deterred as violence has been directed mainly at Western targets.

"Given the current state of the economy, I don't think it's affected the macro picture or overall GDP growth. Oil production and trade has not been disrupted, there are no tourists to scare off and foreign investment is minimal at the moment," said Warren.

"But it's going to make it more difficult to move away from those current dynamics. Sentiment has been affected and the government will have to work harder to persuade foreign companies to come to Libya in the short term, given the added risk they will feel is involved."

Keen to make a break from the Gaddafi regime, the interim government said no major new concessions would be awarded until after the national assembly elections that were held in July.

The International Monetary Fund forecast in July that Libya's gross domestic product would double this year after shrinking 60 percent last year, helped by rebuilding and the release of pent-up private demand.

The attack is unlikely to hurt growth when oil accounts for the lion's share of revenues.

Libya aims to raise its oil production to 1.8 million bpd next year, above levels seen before the uprising.

But no new exploration and production contracts are expected for at least a year before a clearer landscape emerges from the OPEC member's democratic transition.

Gaddafi isolated the economy from much foreign competition, reserving licenses and contracts for his own circle, which makes some sectors attractive now he is gone, including telecommunications.

There are only two mobile operators, Al Madar and Libyana, which are both state-owned and a number of foreign telecom operators have been eying Libya including Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar Telecom (Qtel) and Saudi Telecom.

Business potential highlights a lack of infrastructure which the new government will quickly need to address. In 2010, 14 percent of people in Libya were using the Internet, according to the International Telecommunications Union, compared with 49 percent in Morocco, 37 percent inTunisia and 27 percent in Egypt.

The stock exchange has wanted to attract more foreign investors to trade shares since it reopened in February after closing during the war, but says rules on bringing funds into the country need to be relaxed.

"We are waiting for the new government to be formed. Nothing is known until then and we hope it will be stronger in making decisions," said Karoud.

The killings in Benghazi fuelled public anger at the continued presence on the streets of armed units, driving an Islamist militia, Ansar al-Sharia, out of the city on Saturday while the army ordered unauthorized armed groups to leave public premises in Tripoli as leaders vowed to dissolve rogue militias.

Central Bank Governor Saddek Omar Elkaber said the crackdown would be positive for the investment climate.

"What happened at the consulate eats away at the trust that has been gained in Libya," he said. "The steps now being taken are the right ones, it will help renew the trust for foreign investors."

In Benghazi itself, birthplace of the revolution, recovery could take longer, delaying regeneration after decades of neglect under Gaddafi, who fashioned the capital Tripoli into his power base at Benghazi's expense, its residents say.

"The events (are) going to delay things even more. Things were starting to look on the up. That is going to set them back, which is unfortunate," said Richard Weeks, a British engineer who has lived in Benghazi for more than 20 years.

Libya's second city, Benghazi is a major oil port but many foreigners working there were evacuated after the attack. Even before that, the city had seen several attacks on Western missions and organizations.

"Libya needs foreign business partners," a European worker said as he left Libya temporarily following the attack.

"But when even friendly Arab businessman are planning to leave and there is no government support to foreign companies, there are a lot of question marks."

In lawless eastern Libya, U.S. mission just latest victim

By Hadeel Al Shalchi and Marie-Louise GumuchianReuters
International treaties are clear. The Libyan government had a duty to protect the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and it failed utterly when the compound was overrun and four Americans, including the ambassador, were killed.

Libya's problem though, runs far deeper than just diplomatic protection: interim governments have barely governed, and the latest prime minister - named hours after the U.S. mission was torched - has no effective army or police force at his command.

A year after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, the legacy of four decades of one-man rule - when many formal institutions of statehood withered - and of the popular uprising that killed him, is that an anarchic swarm of militias provides both what passes for official security and poses the main threat to it.

For a year, Libyan leaders, backed by the Western allies, have been gambling they can forge a political consensus which will seize power back from the heavily-armed revolutionaries in the streets before rivalries spin irretrievably out of control.

That time may be running out seems most evident in Benghazi. The consulate attack was only the bloodiest and most recent violence in Libya's second city; the seat of last year's February 17 revolution, it has a history of militant Islam, previously directed against Gaddafi, and deep grievances over western Libya's control of oil pumped out of the east.

As one member of the General National Congress, the interim parliament, put it - so bluntly that he did not wish to say it publicly - the state can probably do no more than contain the mayhem for now, still hoping it can build up its own strength:

"As the saying goes, 'If you can't solve the problem, manage it'," he said. "We need to manage it."

Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shagour, elected by the Congress on Wednesday, said establishing the power of the state was still a priority: "We are going to work very vigorously to build our police force, our army," he told Reuters in an interview.

"We have to deal with these militias because some of them have nothing to do with the revolution, and are made up by a bunch of criminals. We have to dismantle them."

However, the failure of successive efforts since last autumn to persuade the ex-rebel militias to disband and disarm, or to transfer loyalties clearly to the interim leadership, itself a fractious body, has left many skeptical of future prospects.

"There is no shortage of weaponry in Libya, but there is an enormous deficit of state capacity," said Geoff Porter, an independent U.S. analyst of North African affairs.

"The gamble for the Libyans was that they would get their political house in order before the security environment became too difficult to contain. The government has lost that bet."

WILD EAST

In Benghazi, the local protection for the U.S. consulate in Libya's oil capital, fulfilling Libya's obligations under the Vienna Conventions on diplomatic missions, was provided by an outfit known as the February 17 Brigade, a collection of young men with rifles proud of their exploits last year in chasing Gaddafi's army west across the desert, aided by NATO bombers.

A second layer of official public order in Benghazi comes courtesy of Libya's Shield, another paramilitary unit born in the revolution and drafted in, ad hoc, by the new leadership.

But as events on Tuesday evening showed, the pro-government forces have far from secured the monopoly on violence which is a key definition of statehood. Others also helped themselves to the weapons left by Gaddafi's disintegrating army and seem prepared to use them against Western and Libyan targets.

When a furious demonstration, emulating a similar embassy protest in neighboring Egypt over an American-made film insulting to the Prophet Mohammad, turned into an assault with machineguns and grenades on the Benghazi consulate, the couple of dozen Libyan guards offered little resistance, Libyan officials in the city said. Outgunned, some guards may also have decided on their own that wrecking the embassy was justified - several Libyan commanders said Washington deserved to suffer.

Among those identified by local people in the crowd were members of a hardline Islamist group, Ansar al-Sharia. Part of a wider Salafist movement that favors a fundamentalist religious state and appears to have some past contact with and sympathies for al Qaeda, Ansar al-Sharia has been accused of involvement in several violent incidents in Benghazi in recent months.

Since Gaddafi fell, there have been fears that some of his weaponry, and enemies, will end up in a wider anti-Western militant movement across north Africa. But such militants are not alone in providing a platform for popular anger in the east against Tripoli's politicians and their allies abroad.

Life and business in Benghazi has been disrupted by sporadic violence and demonstrations, often accompanied by demands for greater autonomy or investment in the east, separated from Tripoli by historic tradition and 1,000 km of desert highway.

"The people who demonstrated in front of the embassy were seriously depressed about their daily lives in Benghazi and not just angry over the film," said Nasser Ahdash, a political analyst living in the city. "The film added to it. But people feel depressed. People need jobs, hope and a feeling like they're not forgotten by the central government.

"If you start with one hardliner, you will get three in Benghazi when they have this depression from seeing that all the economy, the embassies, are in Tripoli, companies are in Tripoli, all the contracts are in Tripoli," he added, arguing that the new government should improve an economic balance which Gaddafi had tilted heavily away from the east of the country.

Saleh Gaouda, a member for Benghazi of the two-month-old Libyan Congress, also blamed the interim authorities for a failure to impose order in the east and to delegate power to local leaders: "The security breaches we are seeing in Benghazi are a direct failure of the government," he said.

"There is no one on the ground in Benghazi who can make the right decision at the right time ... There is no one who can take control of the situation and actually take responsibility."

The immediate impact of the violence is a clear heightening of caution on the part of foreign diplomats and business people, who had already been taking great care in Benghazi following attacks that included a grenade ambush which blasted the convoy of the British ambassador in June. Libyan officials assured diplomats that the security brigades would protect them.

But the killings at the consulate have set back Benghazi's hopes of investment and international favor: "Certainly you will have people questioning whether to go there," one diplomat said. "The overall feeling is one of caution right now."

Tarek Alwan, whose consultancy SOC Libya advises foreign firms on doing business in the country, said: "The impact is great and will lead to more restrictions on travel, higher travel insurance, on development.

"Libya in general and Benghazi specifically will suffer -because we should never bite the hand that helped us."

Security Fears Cloud Libyan Oil Growth

By BENOÎT FAUCON, WSJ

Heightened security fears after the killing of the U.S. envoy to Libya will further slow the return of foreign oil workers to the country, potentially threatening Libya's plans to boost oil output and grow its economy, according to oil company executives and consultants.

"It's a serious blow to Libya in terms of security," said Tarek Alwan, head of consultancy SOC Libya, which advises international companies investing in the North African nation. "It will delay the return of international oil companies and expatriates."

Oil companies were beefing up their security precautions on Wednesday in the aftermath of the killing of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other American diplomats by suspected religious extremists in the eastern city of Benghazi. One European oil company told visiting foreign staff to stay at their Tripoli hotels as a precautionary measure, according to a Libyan oil professional.

Following the ousting of Moammar Gadhafi last year, Libya has surprised analysts by bringing its oil production close to pre-revolution levels much faster than analysts had expected.

Foreign oil companies with production interests in Libya—such as Germany's Wintershall AG, Eni SpA ENI.MI -0.33% of Italy and Total SA FP.FR -0.35% of France—have sent back expatriate workers.

But even before the U.S. envoy's killing Tuesday, attacks on Western interests in June and political protests this summer had already caused some oil-service companies and those with exploration concessions to revise their staffing plans for Libya.

That threatened the country's plans to boost output to 2.2 million barrels a day over the next three years, up 40% from present levels. Such an increase would be enough to overtake Angola to become the eighth largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Back in July, Libyan production dropped by 200,000 barrels a day for a short period when protests over parliamentary elections disrupted operations at the country's largest terminal in el-Sider, in eastern Libya.

When it resumed its operations in May, BP BP.LN -0.45% PLC, which has by far the largest exploration plans in Libya, involving investment of $900 million, said the move would pave the way for a return of its expatriates. But three months on, a spokesman for the British company said it had yet to send its foreign staff back because the situation isn't considered safe enough.

Mr. Alwan said he knew of one international consultancy active in the oil sector had that pulled out completely from Benghazi, the capital of Libya's eastern region where the majority of the country's oil is produced, after a British diplomatic convoy was attacked in June.

When foreign staff return, Libyan oil managers say they are sometimes guarded by armored convoys when traveling to and from the airport. Restaurants where they plan to dine are checked first by security guards.

Once Libya accelerates plans to boost production, the reluctance of foreign oil workers to return could leave the country short of specialists in gas-injection equipment—needed to boost production from existing fields—and geologists and seismic workers needed for exploration of new fields, according to a Libyan oil manager at a large European oil operation.

Still, some Libyan officials are hopeful that the formation of a new government—expected to take place soon following elections in July—will lead to serious measures to improve security.

The tragedy "will be an incentive to be more dedicated about security," said Ahmed Shawki, head of marketing at the state-owned National Oil Co. "Other [oil-producing] countries had a worse situation," he added. "Look at Iraq."

Libya confounds the many sceptics

When the rebellion against Muammer Gaddafi erupted last year, few gave the opposition movement much of a chance. The popular view was that the rebels were a disorganised tribal rabble who could not hope to demolish the Libyan leader’s supposedly coup-proof regime.

A year on, and not only have Col Gaddafi and his henchmen been consigned firmly to history, but Libya’s subsequent transformation has continued to defy the sceptics. Last weekend’s general election – the first real poll to be held in the country – was another encouraging sign. It went off largely without incident, with turnout high and violence minimal. Thus far at least, there seems to be little evidence of fraud.

The result, too, bucked a regional trend: that of Islamist parties triumphing at the polls. The Alliance of National Forces, a coalition of ostensibly liberal groups under Mahmoud Jibril, appears to have scored a resounding victory – at least in the competition for the 80 seats out of 200 in the general assembly that are awarded to parties under a list system.

While that does not guarantee them an overall victory – the remaining 120 seats are reserved for those standing as independents – it makes such an outcome considerably more likely.

But whatever the final balance of seats, Mr Jibril’s success is welcome, not least because he fought the campaign not on a platform of loose slogans but on a detailed programme of economic and political reform. Whatever government is eventually formed in Tripoli, this will hopefully colour the complexion of policies it pursues.

Even more than its neighbours in Tunisia and Egypt, Libya does not have the luxury of contemplating a long debate about women’s role in society or the political status of religion. Its urgent need is for a restoration of security.

Since Col Gaddafi’s fall, the biggest risk has been that the country might splinter into a patchwork of militia-dominated territories. The baleful example of northern Mali – which is a casualty of the fallout from Libya’s revolution – shows what can happen when ungoverned spaces and private armies are allowed to proliferate. Even now, the possibility of such chaos descending on Libya proper cannot be wholly discounted.

The first priority for the next government must be to inculcate a sense of national purpose, and to build a stable polity in which everyone feels that they have a stake. This means addressing the task of standing down the militias and integrating at least some of their members into an organised national defence force. Only when this is done will it be possible to unlock the interest of foreign and domestic investors. This in turn is vital if Libya’s post Gaddafi advance is to be consolidated.

Source: Financial Times

Libyan expats cast votes in historic poll

The first votes in Libya’s elections were cast in Dubai on Tuesday as expatriates turned out to select a national assembly less than a year after the collapse of the Gaddafi regime.

The polling station in the Libyan consulate in Dubai opened at 9am local time with other locations in Jordan, Germany, the UK, the US and Canada scheduled to open their doors every day until July 7, when the elections are set to be held in Libya itself.

Burhaneddin Muntasser, regional manager for an Swiss-based IT company who lived through the war in Tripoli, was overcome with emotion after casting his vote.

“I want a Muslim country, with a free economy, where the Libyan citizens come first,” said the 48-year-old, tears streaming down his face. “I am hopeful of a good future for Libya, but I am not 100 per cent confident.”

The 200-member national assembly will select a prime minister, draft laws and appoint a committee to write a new constitution.

A steady stream from the 3,000 Libyan residents of the United Arab Emirates were ushered through an air-conditioned tent at the consulate for their first elections in half a century, leaving with a purple ink print on their index fingers to prove they had already voted.

Aref al-Nayed, the outgoing Libyan ambassador to the UAE, said the historic day was imbued with a sense of “sad joy.”

“There is joy at reaching this stage in the long struggle of the Libyan people, but sadness from the great sacrifices of the people who made this possible,” he said.

Mr Nayed, who will return to the private sector after representing Libya in the UAE since the revolution that overthrew Colonel Muammer al-Gaddafi last autumn, said he was optimistic that the elections would install a representative government and produce a constitution reflecting the desires of all Libyans.

Fears have grown that the elections could be affected by outbreaks of violence as armed militias that helped ousted the former regime compete for power.

On Sunday, armed groups demanding more autonomy for the east burned election materials and damaged computers in the eastern capital of Benghazi. But Mr Nayed said the following day the people of Benghazi had taken to the streets to pledge their support for the electoral process.

“This is a self correcting revolution, I am always assured by the ability of the Libyan people to protect and correct the situation,” he said.

Awwab Abdul, a 23-year-old oil trader, was born in the US and lived in Dubai for 13 years, but, despite only living briefly in Libya, he was one of the first to turn out to vote at 9am.

“Over the next year, Libya will emerge as a special new capital of the world,” he said. “For us, freedom is the most important thing.”

Source: Financial Times

Arabtec eyeing Libya, Qatar projects

 

Arabtec Holding, the UAE's biggest builder by market value, is actively looking at oil and gas projects in Libya and hopes to win contracts in Qatar as the country prepares to host the soccer World Cup in 2022, the company's chief financial officer said on Thursday.

'Libya is a medium-term market for us on the residential side, but immediate for oil and gas. Our subsidiary Target Engineering is already looking at some projects in the sector,' Ziad Makhzoumi told Reuters on Thursday.

'Libya needs to rehabilitate its oil and gas facilities to start production again. We're looking at contracts in selected areas,' he stated.

Arabtec's entry into the North African market comes as foreign companies are gradually returning to Libya despite concerns over security and the possibility that the new authorities will review contracts signed during the rule of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Oil major BP announced last week that it would be resuming exploration work on its concessions in Libya, home to Africa's largest proven oil reserves. Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach also said it will resume exploratory drilling in the country.

Arabtec is also setting logistics and joint ventures in place in preparation to bid for Qatar's planned $100 billion infrastructure projects ahead of the 2022 World Cup, Makhzoumi said.

'We have two major projects in Qatar and we're bidding for some more,' he said. 'We're ready to bid for almost every possible sector,' he added

Goldman Sachs estimates that Qatar will spend about $65 billion to build stadiums, roads, bridges, apartments and hotels in time for the World Cup.

Arabtec is 20.8 per cent owned by Abu Dhabi fund Aabar Investments, which owns stakes in high-profile names such as German carmaker Daimler and commodities trader Glencore and has increased its Arabtec stake from 5.3 per cent since March.

Aabar's increased stake will have a positive impact on Arabtec's operations and will translate into more contracts, Makhzoumi said: 'It is in their interest, as Aabar, that we grow in the business. I can only see positive results out of that (stake increase).'

Arabtec, which more than tripled its first-quarter net profits to Dh84.1 million ($22.90 million), expects to sign the $3 billion Abu Dhabi airport expansion project contract this month, the chief financial officer said.

'It's all done, all agreed and just a matter of finalising paperwork,' Makhzoumi told Reuters.

Last month the Abu Dhabi government identified an Arabtec consortium, including Turkey's TAV Insaat and Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company, as the preferred bidder.

'Our share is about one third of the contract, which will push our backlog to around 17 billion dirhams from the current Dh14 billion,' Makhzoumi said.-Reuters

Source: tradearabia.com

SNC-Lavalin hit with $1.65 billion class-action over alleged misconduct in Libya

The entrance to SNC-Lavalin headquarters in Montreal is shown in a photo released on June 3, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

MONTREAL - Embattled engineering giant SNC-Lavalin is facing two more class-action lawsuits seeking more than $1.5 billion on behalf of investors who saw the value of their asset plummet on revelations about payments in North Africa.

Rochon Genova LLP and the Ontario branch of Siskinds LLP announced lawsuits Wednesday that allege the Montreal-based company violated securities law by misrepresenting that it had adequate controls and procedures to ensure accurate disclosure and financial reporting.

"When a company repeatedly highlights its strong governance practices to the investing public, revelations of serious misconduct cause damage to the company's reputation and, in turn, substantial harm to its investors," Rochon Genova lawyer John Archibald said in a news release.

That suit filed in the Ontario Superior Court seeks $1.5 billion for misrepresentations and $150 million in punitive damages.

It was brought on behalf of all SNC-Lavalin investors, excluding residents of Quebec, who purchased securities of SNC-Lavalin between Feb. 1, 2007 and Feb. 28, 2012 or who purchased debentures of the company through the company's June 2009 prospectus offering.

The lead plaintiff is Brent Gray, a resident of Surrey, B.C., who purchased 600 shares in January at $52.20 per share.

The suit claims, among other things, that a 2009 prospectus offering $350 million of debentures — a type of bond issued to raise capital — failed to contain "full, true and plain disclosure of all material facts."

"As a result of the misrepresentations alleged herein, the prices at which debentures were offered pursuant to the prospectus were inflated, and class members who purchased the debentures in the primary market suffered damages a result," said the 26-page statement of claim.

In addition to current and former members of SNC's board of directors, those named include SNC-Lavalin International chairman Michael Novak and subsidiary vice-presidents Charles Azar and Andre Beland, who are in charge of Libyan operations.

The claim said these officials, former CEO Pierre Duhaime and former controller Stephane Roy assisted executive vice-president Riadh Ben Aissa in arranging "improper or unlawful payments" to secure contracts in Libya.

"SNC-Lavalin and the defendants knew, ought to have known, or were reckless in not knowing that the former Gadhafi regime awarded contracts for infrastructure projects in Libya in return for improper or unlawful payments," the suit states.

Late Wednesday, Siskinds LLP said that it has filed a proposed class action in the Ontario Superior Court on behalf of the Trustees of the Drywall Acoustic Lathing and Insulation Local 675 Pension Fund. The fund is asking to act on behalf of all shareholders between Nov. 6, 2009 and Feb. 27, 2012.

The statement, which names SNC executives Pierre Duhaime, Gilles Laramée, Riadh Ben Aïssa, Stéphane Roy, Gwynn Morgan, Ian Bourne and Michael Novak, did not disclose how much the suit is seeking.

Duhaime, Roy and Ben Aissa have lost their jobs with SNC-Lavalin. Ben Aissa, SNC's former head of construction, is in a Swiss jail on suspicion of corrupting a public official, fraud and money laundering tied to his dealings in North Africa.

The suit cites similar allegations to the one filed by Rochon Genova, including that SNC misrepresented the adequacy of its internal controls and net income during the 2010 fiscal year. It claims those alleged misrepresentations inflated SNC's share price.

The claims arises from alleged payments made by SNC-Lavalin to members, associates, and agents of the Gadhafi regime to secure contracts for infrastructure projects in Libya.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

The suits follows a $250-million claim containing similar allegations that was filed by the Siskinds affiliate in Quebec in March on behalf of investors in that province.

SNC didn't immediately respond to this latest legal challenge. But it denied all liability in respect of the claims alleged in the earlier class-action and vowed to defend itself.

Shares of SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC) dropped more than 20 per cent on Feb. 28, wiping out more than $1.5 billion of market value after the company disclosed the launching of an investigation into $35 million of undocumented payments.

Nearly $3.5 billion has been wiped from the company's value since SNC's shares peaked at $59.97. They lost 32 cents to close at $36.73 in Wednesday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The engineering and construction giant's initial review led to it finding $56 million of payments to unidentified foreign agents.

The company has insisted that none of the funds were directed to Libya.

Analyst Maxim Sytchev of AltaCorp Capital said the lawsuits will have no short-term impact on perceptions about SNC or its share performance.

He noted the suits could drag on for a long time, if they ever get certified by the courts.

"For the time being this is not an issue," he said in an interview.

"Here it looks like they're being sued for an event that only recently became apparent even to the people on the inside," he said, adding there is no proof of payments to Libya.

SNC-Lavalin removed $900 million worth of Libyan projects from its backlog in 2010 amid the civil war in the North African country.

The RCMP executed search warrants at SNC-Lavalin's headquarters at the request of Swiss police.

However, Bourne said he wouldn't be surprised if police aren't able to use their powers to shed more light on events.

Source: Canadian Business 

Niger nationalises state telecoms firm

Niger's parliament voted on Wednesday to nationalise the west African nation's telecoms firm Sonitel, backing away from a planned privatisation after a previous 31 billion CFA francs accord with Libyan company LAP Green foundered.

Niger said in August that it would launch a new bidding round for the company and its mobile arm SahelCom, which has 2.5 million subscribers and competes with Bharti Airtel, Atlantique Telecom's Moov and France Telecom in the Nigerian market.

"By this vote, the Niger Telecommunications Company (Sonitel) has been nationalised and the capital is wholly owned by the state," said Hama Amadou, president of Niger's national assembly after the vote.

Amadou said the nationalisation would allow the government to carry-out investments in the company over the next five years.

Sonitel was previously controlled by a Chinese-Libyan consortium, Dataport, but the Niger government scrapped that deal in 2009, partly because of a lack of investment.

The deal with Libya's Lap Green was scuppered after the firm was unable to meet the terms of the deal following UN sanctions against the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

Source: Business Day Online

Libya ex-Minister Shukri Ghanem dead in Danube River

The body of Libya's former Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem has been found in the 

Danube River, Austrian police say.

                                       

There were no signs of violence to Mr Ghanem's body, said a police spokesman. An autopsy has been ordered.

The former prime minister, 69, worked as a consultant for a Vienna-based company. He apparently left his home on Sunday normally dressed, police said.

He served as Libyan prime minister from 2003 to 2006 and then as oil minister until 2011.

Various Sources

London reaffirms commitment to Libya

A visit to Tripoli will give the British government the   opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to an emerging Libyan government, a British official said. British Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt arrived in Tripoli Tuesday. He said he would formalize a British Embassy office in the former rebel capital Benghazi and open a visa application center in Tripoli during his two-day visit to Libya.

"I am delighted to return to Libya at a key stage in its  transition as the Libyan people prepare for their first  democratic elections in over 40 years," he said in a statement. "I look forward to reaffirming the U.K.'s commitment to Libya."

The British military was part of the NATO-led intervention in Libya last year meant to protect civilians from attacks by forces loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi. Since Gadhafi's death in October, the new interim government has set the stage for national elections but dealt with internal clashes and autonomy bids.

British lawmakers are investigating their country's alleged involvement in so-called extraordinary renditions of Libyan nationals.

Burt's visit coincides with an international oil and natural gas investment conference in Tripoli.

Source: UPI 

Global Witness: Libya's oil sector 'murky'

LONDON, April 18 (UPI) -- "Murky" practices by Libya's state-owned National Oil Co. highlight the need to reform the country's energy policies, Global Witness said.

The advocacy group said it obtained documents from Libya that indicate the country's oil revenues were grossly mismanaged under Moammar Gadhafi's government.

Global Witness said the documents suggest low-quality crude oil was sold on false pretenses to Exxon Mobil, which cost the company about $4 million. Other companies like Norwegian fertilizer company Yara received "large discounts" on natural gas prices from the Libyan National Oil Co.

"Murky dealings within Libya's National Oil Company, and the systematic mismanagement of the country's oil wealth have effectively denied millions of dollars to the people of Libya," said Giulio Carini, a campaigner at Global Witness.

Italian energy company Eni revealed in early April that it was being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged illegal payments to Libyan officials.

Global Witness called on the Libyan interim government to release all of its records on oil contracts for the sake of transparency.

"The case for reform of the country's oil sector could not be stronger or more urgent," said Carini.