Libya

The combination of economic reform and heavy investment spending should ensure healthy real GDP growth in Libya over the next five years. However, political risk is ever present,... 2010-02-10

The government has reportedly forced two newspapers owned by the al-Ghad media group to suspend publication. The move follows the forced takeover of a television station owned by... 2010-02-01

We expect Libyan hydrocarbon export earnings to rise by 40.6% y-o-y in 2010 owing to production increases and higher world oil prices. This should boost overall export receipts to... 2010-02-01

BMI View: Our rosy economic outlook for the short and medium term is somewhat tempered by the multiple downside risks we see to Libya's business environment.

BMI View: Our rosy economic outlook for the short and medium term is somewhat tempered by the multiple downside risks we see to Libya's business environment.

Having briefly dipped into negative territory in September 2009, consumer price inflation came in at 1.5% y-o-y in November. We expect price pressures to remain relatively subdued... 2010-01-04

Two Swiss businessmen, Rachid Hamdani and Max Goeldi, who had been detained in Libya since July 2008, were sentenced to 16 months in prison for immigration offences in December 2009.... 2010-01-04

Libya's human rights record remains extremely poor, but recent events illustrate a growing willingness by the Qadhafi regime to allow and acknowledge criticism.

Libya has agreed to cooperate more closely with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on issues such as organised crime, money laundering and human trafficking. Under the agreement,... 2009-11-20

We are forecasting the OPEC Basket to average US$83/bbl in 2010, up from US$60/bbl in 2009. This bodes well for Libya's finances going forward, although we caution that a 'double... 2009-11-19