Libya sovereign wealth fund head axed
2013-02-28 18:33
Tripoli - Libya will replace the head of
its sovereign wealth fund, Mohsen Derregia, after the government
deemed his performance unsatisfactory, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan
said on Thursday.
Speaking at a news conference, Zeidan said deputy central
bank governor Ali Mohammed Salem Hebri would temporarily take
charge of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) until a
permanent replacement was found.
"The head of the LIA will be changed. This is the
government's policy. Whoever cannot do their job properly will
be replaced," Zeidan said.
He added senior LIA officials would meet in coming days to
appoint a permanent replacement.
Derregia was appointed LIA chair in April, taking charge
after the 2011 urprising ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi. He was
not immediately reachable for comment
Set up in 2006 to manage the North African country's oil
dollars, Libya's sovereign wealth fund has assets of around $60bn, mixed between shares, bonds, other financial products
and holdings in subsidiaries.
Its assets were temporarily frozen during the 2011 war, and
since then a new management has taken over and sought their
release. The LIA has stakes in Italian bank Unicredit
as well as oil and gas group Eni.
Zeidan also told reporters he had a met a team from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) visiting Tripoli and that
Libya would seek the IMF's advice on its budget as well as
domestic and foreign investment.
