According to Art. 1355 of Law No. 23-2010, it is not permissible to practice any commercial activity or conduct any business within Libya except after obtaining a license. The law does not differentiate between online and offline commercial activity. However, it is unclear if this applies to the relevant sectors, online content providers, online services and applications, are also concerned. It is reported that some requirements apply to all businesses, including obtaining a Commercial Register certificate, registering with the Chamber of Commerce and the tax and labour departments, and obtaining a working license. It is reported that in May 2019, the government suspended the licenses of 40 foreign firms, including Alcatel-Lucent and Microsoft, asking for their renewal.

Art. 7 of Law No. 9-2010 on the Encouragement of Investment, investment projects involving foreigners must fulfil all or part of the following listed requirements: (i) transferring and localizing knowledge, modern technology, technical expertise, or intellectual property rights; (ii) supporting links and integration between existing economic activities and projects, reducing production costs, or contributing to providing materials and operating requirements for them; (iii) exploiting or assisting in the exploitation of local raw materials; (iv) contributing to the development of remote areas; (v) producing goods for export or contributing to increasing exports, or as a result of which the import of goods is completely or partially dispensed with; (vi) providing a service needed by the national economy or contributing to its improvement, development or rehabilitation and (vii) providing employment opportunities for the Libyan workforce of no less than 30%, and working to train them and provide them with technical skills and expertise.

According to Art. 5 of Resolution No. 499 of 2010, the minimum value of foreign capital, or in the case of participation with national capital in the investment project, is 5 million Libyan dinars (approx. USD 1 Million).

Art. 5 of Resolution No. 207-2012, joint companies between Libyans and foreigners must fulfil all or part of the following listed requirements: (i) the transfer and introduction of expertise and know-how, modern technology, technical expertise or intellectual property rights; (ii) the employment of national workers according to the percentages specified in the legislation in force; (iii) the organisation of annual programs to train and qualify national workers in professions occupied by foreign workers; (iv) the establishment of annual programs to replace national workers with foreign workers and (v) the use of equipment, machines, raw materials and production requirements available in the local market.

According to Art. 2 of Law No. 22-2010 on communications, it is not permissible to establish or manage any telecommunications networks or provide telecommunications services except after obtaining approval from the competent authority in accordance with the provisions of this law and its implementing regulations.

According to Resolution No. 499 of 2010, permission to establish, develop, rehabilitate, manage or operate an investment project is issued by a decision from the the Ministry of Economy and Trade (MET) based on the recommendation of the Privatization and Investment Board (PIB), which enjoys exclusive jurisdiction to issue licenses (Art. 6). After obtaining the approval, the investor applies for the investment register (Art. 20). It is reported that the PIB’s screening process for investors and criteria are not published or transparent. It is further reported that the PIB says it evaluates bids or proposals for their compatibility with Libya’s national security, sovereignty, and economic interests.

According to Art. 7 of Resolution No. 207-2012 on the Foreigners’ Participation and Foreign Companies’ Branches and Representative Offices in Libya, for certain areas listed in Art. 9, branches of foreign-owned companies may open in Libya only if the Minister of Economy provides approval. Among activities listed under Art. 9, there are telecommunications-related activities, including installing and maintaining telecommunications systems and stations and establishing and maintaining stations, towers, and antennas for wireless communications and air navigation stations.

Generally, foreigners can only invest in Libya through establishing joint ventures with Libyan nationals, which takes the form of a joint stock company, according to Arts. 1-3 of Resolution No. 207-2012 on the Foreigners’ Participation and Foreign Companies’ Branches and Representative Offices in Libya. According to Art. 7 and Art. 9 branches are also permitted for certain activities in the computer and communication sectors. Art. 1 of Resolution No. 823-2013 amended Art. 2 of Resolution No. 207-2012 and abolished Limited Liability Companies as a form of Joint Company between Libyans and foreigners.

Art. 1 of Resolution No. 207 of 2012 stipulates that the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Joint Companies between Libyans and foreigners must be Libyan.

Art. 6 of Resolution No. 207-2012, amended by Art. 2 of Resolution No. 823-2013, establishes a list of activities that only Libyans may carry out and for which therefore foreign investment if not allowed even through joint companies. Some of the listed activities are relevant to digital trade, including: import business and retail and wholesale trade. In the latter case, it is not clear whether this requirement applies online.

According to Arts. 1 and 2 of Resolution No. 207-2012 on the Foreigners’ Participation and Foreign Companies’ Branches and Representative Offices in Libya, foreigners can only invest or operate in Libya through establishing joint ventures with Libyan nationals in the form of a joint stock company, provided that their paid-up capital is not less than one million dinars (approx. USD 207,400) upon incorporation or three-tenths of the subscribed cash capital. According to Art. 3, the share of foreigners in the capital of joint companies involved in any commercial activity should not exceed 49%. The share may be increased to 60% for particular reasons, based on a decision of the Minister of Economy. Art. 1 of Resolution No. 823-2013 amended Art. 2 of Resolution No. 207-2012 and abolished Limited Liability Companies as a form of Joint Company between Libyans and foreigners.
Some exceptions apply to this requirements. In particular, some sectors are closed to foreign investment (Art. 6), while some are fully open (Art. 9).

It is reported that fixed telecommunications are not open to private parties to operate in and that approvals cannot be obtained for it given that the license has been restricted to the Libyan Post Telecommunications Information Technology Company (LPTIC).

Libya is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) nor does it have observer status. In fact, Libya is not a Member of the WTO.

Corruption is reported to be one of the main obstacles preventing foreign companies or service providers from participating in government tenders.

Circular 4-2023 requests all public companies and government agencies funded from the general budget to commit to giving priority to supplies from the local market, especially those manufactured and produced locally when contracting for the procurement of materials and supplies they need.