Shariah-compliant banking is a hot topic in Libya at the moment, but will making it compulsory hinder the development of the country? According to a report from Bloomberg, the decision to ban non-Shariah-compliant banking by 2015 is strangling access to funds, with some commercial lenders already refusing to offer conventional loans due to a lack of clarity in the law. It quotes a branch manager from Gumhouria Bank as saying: “The lives of people are paralyzed. That is why we urge the congress and the Central Bank to find ways to help customers to get loans and make pre-payment more easier.”

24.05.13
The Global University of Islamic Finance and the Central Bank of Libya, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in the areas of executive training and education in Islamic finance.

24.05.13
EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle told MEPs in Stasbourg that the return of misappropriated and frozen assets of senior figures from the former Tunisian, Egyptian and Libyan regimes, is of great political importance.

19.04.13
With China reporting slower growth than expected, the IMF lowering its outlook for US growth from 2.1 to 1.9 percent, the Euro countries expected to contract by 0.3 percent as well as world economic growth downgraded to 3.3 percent for 2013, down from 3.5 percent, oil prices fell sharply this week

03.05.13
The Central Bank of Libya announced that the period for handing in older five- and ten-dinar banknotes has been extended to 30th May. The fourth and fifth series of the notes are being withdrawn from circulation; the series number is the first of the numbers on the front of the banknote. According to Libya Herald, the Central Bank has already extended the deadline several times.

The governor of Libya’s central bank has said that despite the unrest in the country, he expects the economy to grow 18 percent this year and inflation would hover between 2 and 3%. Unlike other countries that went through Arab Spring uprisings, Libya has oil reserves and accumulated oil earnings, which has helped its economy rebound. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Libya’s economy was poised to grow 17 percent in 2013 and should average growth of 7 percent annually between 2014 and 2017.

11.04.13
The departing chairman and chief executive of the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) has said he was about to appoint lawyers to seek compensation from banks including Société Générale and Goldman Sachs – banks he has accused in the past of causing losses worth billions of dollars.

11.04.13
A group of the country’s ‎leading entrepreneurs and government representatives gathered together to form Libya Economic Advancement and Development Foundation (LEAD), an NGO with a mission of building ‎an entrepreneurial culture to enable a strong and vibrant jobs-creating economic recovery.

08.02.2013
The Central Bank of Libya gave commercial banks the powers to make foreign remittances for the purpose of financing the importation of supplies, farm, information, computer equipment, medicines and medical supplies.

The Central Bank of Libya will begin issuing new Libyan banknotes as of today, Thursday. The notes have face values of one, five, ten and twenty dinars.

27.01.13
 Konooz Investment Holding Company has announced it has obtained an initial permit from the Libyan Stock Market, to establish the first Islamic investment fund in Libya, with a capital of LD 500 million.

06.01.13
The Libyan Central Bank has extended the deadline for accepting the old, large-size, five and ten dinar notes. The bank notes, starting with the numbers 4 or 5, were to have been handed into the Central Bank by the end of 2012.

11.11.12
The governor of the Central Bank, Saddek Elkaber, has stated that Libya is witnessing a huge demand for Sharia-compliant banking systems to be present.