Libya's LIA says stakes in UniCredit, Finmeccanica unfrozen

The Chairman of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) said on Monday a Rome court had ordered the release of the sovereign wealth fund's stakes in Italian bank UniCredit and Italian air defence group Finmeccanica.

"I am very pleased with this result," LIA head Mohsen Derregia said in a statement.

The assets had been seized in March following a request by the International Criminal Court in the Hague on the grounds that they were held by LIA on behalf of the family of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

In July LIA's stake in oil and gas group Eni was also unfrozen.

Source: Reuters 

Libya eyes refund of Goldman, SocGen losses

The Libyan sovereign wealth fund is investigating investment losses of $1.75 billion on structured products managed by Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) to see whether it can claim compensation, the fund's chairman said on Wednesday.

Mohsen Derregia, chairman of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), told reporters in Milan that the LIA needed to review these investments and how they were managed.

"These were investments made in 2007 to 2008, and some of those losses are quite surprising. We've had losses for around $1.75 billion, of which $900 million was on a single investment with Goldman Sachs," Derregia said.

"We will have to see how these structured products were created, valued and managed. Then we will talk to the investment houses and see if we can claim a refund."

Asked what kind of structured products were involved, Derregia said: "It's not clear to me."

Goldman Sachs declined to comment and Societe Generale could not immediately be reached for comment.

Derregia was appointed head of the LIA in April and is sifting through tens of billions of dollars in holdings and investments made by the fund worldwide during the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, which was overthrown last year.

"To have a clear oversight of everything will take time; it won't be done in one or two months," Derregia said. "Clearly, there will have to be some write-offs, although they are not huge."

The total value of assets managed by the LIA (about $60 billion) had fallen by less than the LIA feared, Derregia added. "It's now midway between $50 billion and $60 billion. People in Libya feared we had lost 50 percent of our assets. It's not like that."

ASSETS SEIZED

Derregia was in Italy to speak to authorities and the financial community about the LIA's holdings in the country, which were seized in March by Italian financial police on the grounds that they belonged to members of the Gaddafi family.

The holdings, worth about 1.1 billion euros ($1.39 billion), include stakes in Italy's largest bank by assets, UniCredit (CRDI.MI), the oil and gas giant Eni (ENI.MI) and carmaker Fiat (FIA.MI).

The LIA has appealed against the seizure, saying that those holdings belong to the LIA, held on behalf of the Libyan government. Derregia and his lawyers said this view was backed by the Italian economy ministry's Committee of Financial Security, which he met on Tuesday.

The next hearing in the case is on July 12.

Derregia said that the LIA would keep its 1.8 percent stake in UniCredit and could buy more shares in the bank if this was in its own interest.

He said it would not make sense to sell down its Italian portfolio now, given current market conditions. "Clearly the value of the shares has declined substantially. There is no incentive for us to sell the shares now or in the foreseeable future."

Asked whether the fund would buy Italian government bonds battered by the euro zone debt crisis, he said: "We hold a lot of assets denominated in euros, and we already have enough bonds."

Source: Reuters 

Libya's LAP Green fights Zambia for Zamtel stake

Libya’s LAP Green sues Zambian government claiming $480m for seizure of stake in operator Zamtel

The Libyan Investment Authority’s telecommunications unit LAP Green Network is suing the Zambian government over the seizure of a 75% stake in Zambian fixed-line operator Zamtel.

LAP Green, a Gaddafi-era business with investments in a number of African operations, has filed a petition before the Zambian high court. The company has rejected the Zambian government’s claim that the stake was taken for “public purposes”, and is suing the government for $480 million.

Wafik Al-Shater, chairman of LAP Green, told the Zambian Watchdog: “LAP Green is very clear that the seizure of our shareholding in Zamtel by the Zambian government was illegal and unconstitutional, and to the detriment of both Zamtel and its customers.”

LAP Green claims it revived the bankrupt operator by enhancing and upgrading infrastructure and systems, which facilitated improved network performance and superior customer service.

Al-Shater said: “In the 18 months that Zamtel was under LAP Green’s management, we increased its total subscriber base by 600% — to over one million at the start of 2012 — and significantly increased the company’s market share, leading to a 50% increase in revenues. The growth and prosperity that Zamtel saw under our management was unprecedented.”

Zambia’s previous government sold a majority stake in Zamtel in 2010 for $257 million to LAP Green, when Muammar Gaddafi still ruled Libya. However, an enquiry by the next elected government held that the stake was sold fraudulently, and the deal was reversed. The government seized control of Zamtel in January 2012.

LAP GreenN says if the stake is not restored it will seek financial compensation of the asset’s value at the time of seizure, $480 million, plus dditional claims on account of the losses arising due to the seizure.

Al-Shater told the Zambian Watchdog: “We are compelled to take this course of action as dictated by the procedure set out in Zambian law. To recover the company’s significant investment in Zamtel, LAP Green will consider any and all legal options available, if necessary, whether in Zambia or in other jurisdictions.” GTB

Source: Global Telecoms Business