Central Bank agrees to freeze Libya assets

The UAE is complying with UN asset freeze regulations relating to the Libyan leader, says the UAE Central Bank Governor.

Sultan al Suwaidi, the UAE Central Bank governor.

The UAE Central Bank Governor yesterday said the country had received and was complying with UN Security Council regulations freezing foreign assets held by the Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi and four Libyan officials.

Asked whether other requests to freeze Libyan assets within the UAE had been received, Sultan al Suwaidi said: "There's a window system in all GCC countries including the UAE. We normally deal with requests coming from specific countries."

Asset freezes against any country would include accounts and all types of investments identified by international regulators, he said.

Mr al Suwaidi said recent regional unrest had not adversely affected the UAE's financial system in the form of capital outflows.

Similarly, Bahrain's banking sector had yet to experience any serious negative impact from recent events in the country, said the kingdom's central bank governor Rasheed al Maraj.

"On the banking sector side, so far we have not seen any adverse impact," he said.

"All banks are operating normally, transactions are all at normal levels."

Bahrain still plans to go ahead with a US$1 billion (Dh3.67bn) sovereign bond sale despite the recent turmoil.

"We have not decided on the timing yet," Mr al Maraj said. "The plan is still on but we will have to enter the market at the right time."

Bahrain is facing rising pressure on its financial resources as it seeks to appease recent protesters with economic reforms.

The tourism and retail sectors had been disrupted since the turmoil, Mr al Maraj said. It would be able to assess the impact on its GDP forecast within the coming weeks once fresh data became available, he added.