Looking for investment opportunities in Libya

After 8-day visit, U.S. leaders predict a reviving nation ‘open for business’

The fall of Moammar Gadhafi has paved the way for the U.S. business community to invest in Libyaas the troubled Middle Eastern nation tries to rebuild itself after a civil war tore the country apart last year.

After a trip last month to the new Libya, the U.S.-Libya Business Association says the country would make a good investment for many American companies. The trade organization, along with some 20 member companies from the U.S., spent eight days there, meeting with government and business officials.

“The message they sent us very loud and clear is that Libya is open for business,” USLBA Executive Director Chuck Dittrich, who led the trip, told reporters Friday, “and we want the Libyans to know the U.S. is interested in doing business over there.”

The U.S.-Libya Business Association made the trip to assess the country’s needs and were told by Libyan officials that the country’s priorities are security, higher education and vocational training, and health care.

Mr. Dittrich said he was impressed with the country’s current level of safety, which will be crucial going forward if U.S. companies plan to invest there.

“Tripoli was much safer than I anticipated,” Mr. Dittrich said. “I did not feel a sense of tension in the air. It was very much a relaxed atmosphere.”

That said, “If you’re an American and you do get mugged, there’s no 911 to call,” he added.

Though Mr. Dittrich acknowledged that its well-organized oil industry is and will remain the life blood of Libya’s economy, he said the American business group also expects opportunities for investment to open up in infrastructure and tourism.

“Tourism is going to be another growing sector,” Mr. Dittrich said. “It’s a beautiful coastline that’s not developed.”

But for now, the U.S. business community is focused on building lasting relationships with Libyans.

“We didn’t go over there to sign contracts or immediately sell products,”Mr. Dittrich said. “We want to develop relationships with them.”

Dennis Thompson, vice president of U.S. business development at RMA Group, who also made the trip, agreed.

“You’ve got to have patience,” he said. “You’re not going to sign a contract the day you hit the ground. Nobody had any reasonable expectation that this post-conflict country was going to sign a contract in the first visit.”

Instead, “It’s a race to build confidence” and trust, he said.

Libya plans to start building its post-Gadhafi government in June, by electing a 200-member constituent assembly that will pick a 60-member panel to write a permanent constitution and submit it to a national referendum.

“The risk is, ‘What’s going to happen in June?’ ” Mr. Thompson said. “And then once the government is elected, what direction are they going to take?”

Source: The Washington Post 

Rentokil eyes return to Libya as rats 'thrive' in war-torn country

Rentokil Initial is in talks with the Libyan government about resuming its rat-catching contract after a sharp increase in vermin in the country.

Rentokil said rats in Libya have 'thrived' after the company pulled out of Tripoli, Misrata and Benghazi last year because of the civil unrest Photo: AP

Alan Brown, chief executive, said rats in Libya have "thrived" after Rentokil pulled out of Tripoli, Misrata and Benghazi last year because of the civil unrest.

"I think we did a terrific job when we were there and they [the rats] were really unleashed on the population when we withdrew," he added. "It seems the authorities are keen to get us back."

Securing the Libya contract would be a welcome boost to the hygiene and rat-catching conglomerate after it warned losses at its troubled parcels division City Link widened in the first quarter of 2012

City Link's operating losses grew 19pc to £12.7m, dragging down Rentokil's overall performance.

Shares in the company fell 4pc on Friday as the losses at City Link meant Rentokil's pre-tax profits came in below expectations.

Christopher Bamberry, analyst at Peel Hunt, said: "We remain cautious on Rentokil, given its exposure to mature commoditised markets, the European headwinds it faces and challenges at City Link."

Rentokil's revenues increased 3.6pc while pre-tax profits rose from £5.4m in 2011 to £13.4m. However, the performance in 2011 was affected by problems in its Benelux business and a hit of about £5m from pulling out of rat-catching in Libya.

Mr Brown also claimed that City Link had improved its performance during the quarter as a new management team "gained traction". He added: "We expect a significant improvement in year-on-year financial performance in the second half."

However, the Olympics could cause disruptions to City Link this summer because of road closures in London.

Mr Brown said overall market conditions remain "challenging", particularly in southern Europe.

Rentokil shares fell 3.45 to 83.15p.

By Graham Ruddick from Telegraph  

Winning Business in Libya Event in London on 14th May 2012

A a one-day conference "Winning Business in Libya":- A Practical Guide for UK Companies is designed to be a practical and highly focused event in advising British companies how they can prepare themselves to be

in the best position to win the contracts which will begin to be tendered after the election. The

programme will offer a“what you need to know A-Z”. For example, it will include subjects such as:

• Finding and connecting with business partners in Libya
• Accessing trade finance for your export activity
• Key sectors and probable contracts within the sector
• Who you need to know in order to position yourself for the tender process
• How procurement will work (and how will it be different from the Gaddafi era)
• Understanding the emerging business and political context

Workshops

• Oil & Gas
• Transport Infrastructure
• Health
• Education & Training

The event is organised by City & Financial Conference, sponsored by PWC, Salamanca, ABC International Bank and supported by UKTI, British Expertise, Middle East Association and we "SOC Libya" are proud to be one of the supporters.

To view or download the brochure of the event please click here

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/120037534/Winning-Business-in-Libya-Event-in-London-on-14th-May-2012?

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

British Airways back in Tripoli

BA back to Libya 

The first British Airways flight since the revolution began last year flew from London to Tripoli today, Tuesday.  As of today, the airline is operating three flights a week between Tripoli and London — on Tuesdays Thursday and Sundays.

“We are extremely pleased to be returning to this ket North African market and we anticipate strong demand as companies return to Libya,” said Sarah Cain, British Airways; North Africa Commercial Manager in a press statement.

“We will have daily flights as of 24 October if demand picks up,” said Andrew Hammans, BA’s Africa Commercial Development Manager who was in Tripoli for the launch of the route.

The Airbus 320 that flew in to Tripoli carried just 32 passengers out of a possible total of 42 seats being sold. That was due to fuel and weight restrictions.  For the moment BA are not refuelling in Tripoli because of fuel certification issues and aircraft are having to return to London with a sufficient fuel payload for the flight.

In any event, Hammans noted, “it takes six months” to build up a route.  BA had just had two months preparing for today’s launch.  However, there were a large numbers of forward bookings, he said, in particular from the US and Canada. They were “massive” he said.

Hammans pointed out that there would be no more BMI flights between London and Tripoli. BA had now bought out BMI and was fully incorporating it into its own services.

SOURCE: Libya Herald 

Mideast tourism has bright future

UNWTO projects 7% annual growth over 20 years

Despite events of the Arab Spring, and potential uncertainty in the wake of austerity measures in key source European markets, there is a bright future ahead for tourism in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a consensus of delegates at the first United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Arabian Travel Market industry forum.

The summit, which took place at Arabian Travel Market on Monday, is now set to become an annual fixture that brings together both government and private sector officials to seek common goals and mutual benefits from the promotion of travel in to the region.

Speaking at the forum, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, called the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region a “tourism success story in the first decade of the 21st century”, with the majority of markets already showing a strong rebound following the challenges of the last 12 months.

Rifai also shared some insight into the regional situation and gave a positive prognosis for the future. “We are very impressed by the rate of recovery of some of the most affected countries in the region. Countries that were directly affected, like Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Yemen, saw a downturn of 80 to 85 per cent as political events unfolded, but minimised their losses considerably in 2011, closing the year down by 25 to 30 per cent.”

“The potential for growth is still excellent as we are starting from a low nominal base in the region. Even with 79 to 80 million tourist arrivals, the region has less than 8 per cent of the world’s intake of tourists, which currently stands at almost one billion. The MENA region deserves much more,” he added.

While UNWTO statistics recorded the loss of an estimated seven million tourists across the region last year, the organisation is projecting a seven per cent annual growth rate over the next 20 years with visitor totals hitting 195 million by 2030, up from 79 million in 2010.

Setting an optimistic tone, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism, HE Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said first quarter visitor figures indicated the country was on the right track to return to the level of 2010 numbers by the end of the year, following a downturn of 33 per cent in 2011.

Tarak Labib, Regional Director of Sales Egypt, Hilton Worldwide, said, “The local market was a saviour for our resorts, and we were already seeing business come back by the end of March/early April,” he said.

Leanne Harwood, Vice President of Commercial for India, Middle East and Africa, InterContinental Hotel Group, took a more cautious stance, and noted that until “Egypt stops being on the front page, it’s difficult to see some stability but we’ve seen losses drop to 30 per cent from 80 per cent, so [the market is] definitely rebounding.”

Jordan Tourist Board director, Dr Abdelrazzak Arabiyat proposed joint marketing and packages. “In order to capitalise on long haul markets, we believe we have to combine packages with neighbours to offer Dubai and Jordan, Egypt and Jordan, Oman and Jordan,” he said.

His view was echoed by the minister of tourism for Oman, Her Excellency Maitha Al Mahrouqi who said, “Oman has its own elements, but we can work with others to package together, as well as increasing visa co-operation.”

Looking ahead, Rifai identified certain destinations as ‘ones to watch’. “There are a number of attractive untouched destinations that need a lot of investment, such as Libya and Algeria. These are sleeping giants” he said.

According to Reed Travel Exhibitions’ Portfolio Director, Mark Walsh, the summit was set to become an essential forum for regional issues facing the travel and tourism sector.

“While every destination has its priorities and strategies, there is a common goal to promote the region and we are delighted at the level of participation in this inaugural event which demonstrates a will to work together at all levels,” he concluded.

Source: Emirates247

SOC Libya's new website

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new website (www.soclibya.com) which went live last night (Sunday 29/04/2012) after a complete makeover. We have developed and edited existing contents and added new pages such as Case Studies, Our Team and Testimonials.

Here is a copy of “About Us” page

OC Libya is a London-based independent consulting, advisory and services company. It was founded in 2008 primarily to identify, assist & support international companies before and after entering the Libyan market and it exclusively covers most sectors of the Libyan market.

Whether you are making your fist sale of products or services, or expand your business in Libya, we offer you a reliable and strong basis to flourish in Libya. In addition we will assist you in developing a strategic market entry plan along with the best approach. We will make sure that your business objectives are successfully achieved.

For effective & successful operation in the Libyan market requires cooperation with reliable & trustworthy Libyan business partners. We are focused on enabling you to make the right choices and decisions to expand your activities or make volume sales of your products or services in the Libyan market.

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

US and Malta to develop partnership to stimulate business in Libya

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech welcomed Lorraine Hariton, US State Department Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs, to discuss possible areas of cooperation between Malta and the US with a view to social, political and commercial activity in Libya.

Ms Hariton is responsible for State Department outreach to the business community and commercial advocacy efforts. She works with the business community worldwide to coordinate commercial diplomacy efforts supporting US foreign policy objectives.

She discussed with Mr Fenech the relationship Malta has built with Libya in all sectors, the security situation in Libya as well as the opportunities that exist for possible investment and development. Both governments, the DOI said, hope to build upon this meeting to provide access to the ‘Malta discovery process’ to US firms wishing to do business in the region.

Mr Fenech expressed the hope that this visit would be the foundation stone for a possible long-term partnership at a political and economic level between the US and Malta which may necessitate partnerships between US and Maltese firms on larger projects in Libya.

Source: Malta Independent online 

Libya helps give Italy's Eni a Q1 profit boost

Italy's largest energy company Eni SpA said Friday that its first-quarter profits rose 42 percent on increased production in Libya and higher prices.

The Rome-based company said net profit for the first three months of 2012 was (EURO)3.62 billion ($4.78 billion), up from (EURO)2.55 billion in the same period last year, even though oil and natural gas production was down a modest 0.6 percent at 1.674 million barrels a day.

Eni shares nevertheless were trading up 0.1 percent to (EURO)16.58 on the Milan Stock Exchange.

Eni's Libyan production was cut off during the first quarter of last year due to the armed conflict in the country that endangered oil workers and blocked exports. Production is expected to reach levels achieved before the conflict of 280,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day by the second half of the year.

"Eni delivered excellent results thanks to the ongoing recovery of production in Libya and higher oil prices, despite the difficult market environment," Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni said in a statement.

Eni, however, said European refining operations were unprofitable. Eni said that was due to high raw oil prices, overcapacity in European refineries and sluggish fuel demand on higher consumer prices.

The company forecasts 2012 to be "challenging" due to the ongoing crisis and volatile market conditions.

Scaroni highlighted Eni's deal with the Russian oil giant Rosneft earlier this week to explore the Arctic, saying it "underpins our exploration opportunities for many years to come, further boosting our prospects for long-term growth".

Eni is active in Russia, where it has started production at the giant Samburgskoye field in Siberia. Production there is expected to reach 43,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.

Eni also reported successful exploration in Mozambique, and signed a contract with China National Offshore Oil Corporation to explore an offshore basin in China.

By Colleen Barry

AP Business Writer

Coveney expects Libya to reopen to Irish beef

THE VALUABLE Libyan market for Irish and EU beef looks set to be reopened after a 16-year ban, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said yesterday.

He said he was optimistic that official confirmation of this would be received imminently.

Libya has been a valuable market for Irish live cattle exports in the past. In 1995 it took 81,420 cattle valued at more than €70 million. The business came to an abrupt stop in 1996 when Libya banned beef imports because of the BSE outbreak.

Mr Coveney said the progress on getting the market reopened reflected the intensive efforts over many years at political, diplomatic and technical level. It was also a recognition by the Libyan authorities of the quality and safety of Irish and EU beef, he said. He had recently written to the Libyan minister for agriculture to emphasise that Ireland applied the highest animal health standards and the strictest veterinary public health controls along the food chain.

Mr Coveney said the next step was to agree veterinary health certificates with the Libyan authorities that would set out the conditions under which the export of Irish beef could take place. It was hoped that these would be agreed soon.

Irish Farmers Association livestock chairman Henry Burns said the live cattle market to Libya and other Middle Eastern and north African countries was “extremely important” for Ireland’s €2 billion livestock sector.

By ALISON HEALY from Irish Times 

Libyan wealth fund to appeal against asset seizure in Italy

Libya's sovereign fund said on Thursday it would appeal to recover around 1.1 billion euros of assets, including stakes in top Italian companies, that were seized in Italy last month at the request of the International Criminal Court.

Italian financial police had seized the assets saying they belonged to members of the Gaddafi family, but the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) said that was not true.

"These assets belong to LIA, which in turn is controlled by the governemnt of Libya on behalf of the Libyan people," the chairman of the fund's management committee, Mohsen Derregia, said in a statement.

He said LIA would file an appeal with the appeals court in Rome on Friday.

The seized assets include stakes in Italy's largest bank by assets UniCredit, oil and gas giant Eni, defence group Finmeccanica, carmaker Fiat, truckmaker Fiat Industrial and soccer club Juventus .

Reuters: (Reporting By Silvia Aloisi)

Libya looks to Islamic banks to lure deposits

Foreign construction labors work at the construction site of a new tower over looking the sea at the commercial center of Tripoli, Libya Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Abdel Magid Al Fergany)

Ahmed Saeed, a Libyan poultry farmer, says he’s waiting for his country to open Islamic banks to deposit money for the first time. “I’m sure that Islamic banks are more in tune with my culture,” he said.

“I had a religious upbringing and I hear clerics ban dealing with current banks because of usury.”

Once a law that allows the establishment of stand-alone Islamic banks gets approved later this month, Libya’s interim government may be able to attract cash from people like Saeed, Deputy Central Bank Governor Ali Mohammad Salem said.

“When the people see Islamic banks, they’ll put this money there,” Salem said in an interview in the capital Tripoli. “It’s a win-win situation. The money that’s now outside the system will be circulated in the economy and used in development.”

Islamic lenders in Libya, where some banks offer Shariah-compliant services, may attract some of the estimated 15 billion dinars ($12 billion) outside the banking industry, he said. Total commercial banking assets were about 71 billion dinars at the end of 2011. The nation, where almost all the 6.7 million people are Muslim, saw its economy shrink 61 percent last year after an uprising that toppled its ruler of 42 years Moammar Gadhafi. Oil production dropped to virtually zero from 1.6 million barrels a day.

The holder of Africa’s biggest crude reserves is now pumping more than 1.3 million barrels a day, or about the combined output of Qatar and Ecuador, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Its economy is expected to surge 76 percent this year, the most since at least 1988, the International Monetary Fund estimates.

While Libya doesn’t need financial assistance from the IMF, it needs guidance to lower unemployment and to improve the business environment, including increasing access to finance, the fund said last week.

“Islamic banks could be one of the tools of development,” Salem said. “We hope that Islamic banks will focus on real investments and not just consumer-linked products such as cars.” Transactions in Islamic finance are based on the exchange of assets rather than interest to comply with Shariah principles, as well as profit and loss-sharing agreements.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the chairman of the National Transitional Council in Libya, said in October the interim government plans to eradicate interest from the banking industry. Charging interest “brings about disease and creates hatred,” he said.

Interest-bearing accounts, such as savings and time deposits, fell 8 percent and 6.6 percent respectively last year compared with 2010, according to a report published on the central bank website. So-called demand deposits, which don’t pay interest, rose 9.5 percent last year.

Gumhouria-Bank, a state-owned lender, has three branches offering Islamic banking services and is unable to cope with requests from companies and civil servants, according to Jamal Ajaj, the director of the lender’s Islamic banking project. Demand for Shariah-compliant financial services helped establish “informal banks,” he said in an interview in Tripoli.

“It’s proof that Islamic banks will support the economy and bring out the money stored in the homes and the excess liquidity at corporates,” he said.

The central bank said in October that it plans to allow lenders to sell Islamic bonds to help develop banking services. Egypt and Tunisia, which saw uprisings that led to the ouster of long-serving rulers, also plan to permit the sale of debt that comply with Islamic principles. Bahrain, Dubai and Ras al-Khaimah are the only sovereigns in the Arab world to sell global dollar-denominated sukuk.

The average yield on Islamic debt in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Arab sovereign sukuk, fell 45 basis points so far this year to 3.86 percent Friday, HSBC/NASDAQ Dubai GCC U.S. Dollar Sukuk Index.

The yield on Dubai’s 6.396 percent sukuk maturing in November 2014 has tumbled 148 basis points in 2012 to 4.09 percent Monday. The extra yield investors demand to hold Dubai’s bonds over Malaysia’s 3.928 percent sukuk maturing in June 2015 narrowed 69 basis points in the period to 218, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. Malaysia has the world’s biggest Islamic bond market.

Global sales of sukuk more than doubled so far this year to $12 billion from the year-earlier period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

While Libya’s central bank is keen to boost the nation’s economy with Islamic banking, the new government has struggled to rein in armed militias built around regional and tribal loyalties. The groups were instrumental in toppling Gadhafi and have largely refused to disarm before the central government provides more funding and services to their respective regions.

Until the political situation in Libya is restored, Noor Islamic Bank, a lender controlled by Dubai’s government, won’t consider expanding its services to the North African nation, Chief Executive Officer Hussain al-Qemzi.

“We still feel that it’s too soon for us,” he said. “It’s still unsettled.”

The central bank’s priority in the first three years is to develop domestic Islamic lenders before opening the door to international banks, Salem said. Libya will honor bank licenses issued before last year’s civil war, including one given to Qatar Islamic Bank, Central Bank Governor Saddek Omar Elkaber said in November.

Demand for Islamic financial services is likely to appeal to a wide segment of the population, many of whom withdrew their money during the revolution because of concern that their cash was safer at home than in banks, said Essam al-Zleiteeni, an employee at the Culture Ministry. He’s waiting for an Islamic bank to open before he’ll return his savings.

“I’m more convinced with Islamic banks because they don’t deal with interest,” he said.

“I’ll put my money in an Islamic bank to have a clear conscience.”

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