12/25/2023 6:55 pm (current 12/25/2023 6:55 pm)
After almost nine years, trading is back on the Libyan stock exchange. National Accord Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah and stock exchange chief Bashir Mohammed Ashur rang the starting bell in the capital Tripoli on Monday along with other dignitaries. According to a source, trade in the city of Benghazi will also begin next week. The stock exchange is a means of improving the country's economy, Dbeibah said.
“The importance of the stock market lies in doubling the gross domestic product and closing the budget deficit, thereby easing the burden on the national budget,” said Dbeibah. A stock exchange spokesperson announced that eight out of a total of ten companies were initially listed on Monday. The shares of three were actually traded. Libya's stock exchange first opened in 2006. After the fall of ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, trading was initially suspended for more than twelve months. With the outbreak of civil war in 2014, it stagnated again.