Libya Needs to Manage $168 Billion in Assets, Banker Says

Libya has about $168 billion in frozen assets and the Transitional National Council needs to access and start managing the funds as it works to oust Muammar Qaddafi and rebuild the country, former central bank chief Farhat Bengdara said.

The assets include $106 billion owned by the central bank, 55 percent to 60 percent of which is in government securities, and $62 billion held by the Libyan Investment Authority, Bengdara, who resigned in March and heads the International Libyan Bankers’ Association, said in an interview in Istanbul yesterday. The group is advising the TNC about raising finance and reviving the banking industry, he said.