Good morning, lovely people. We have a super busy issue for you this morning, but first…

We’re sorry we were a few hours behind in delivering Thursday’s issue — we had a glitch in the machine but it’s now been fixed.

And more importantly…


The Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum istaking place today at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza. The event will see CEOs, top execs, bankers, and development finance folks attempt to solve the biggest economic issue of our time: How do we get out of our FX crunch by boosting exports and raising foreign direct investment.

We are very grateful for the interest we’ve seen from many of you and we cannot wait to meet those attending.

** Attendees who have confirmed and RSVP'd to their personal invitations do not need a QR code to enter the venue, but please do bring a business card you can give us in exchange for your name tag and lanyard.

The event kicks off with an 8am networking breakfast, with the opening panels starting at 9am.

Who can you expect to see there? Our friend Nadia El-Tawil, Investment Officer at AfricInvest: Nadia El-Tawil will be speaking on how the industries of today should embrace change and evolving trends if Egypt is to bolster its exports. She will be joined on stage by Mostafa Bedeir, CEO of Giza Seeds and Herbs and Abdallah Sallam, CEO of Madinet Masr. who will speak on how their companies are changing to meet these evolving trends.

Who else is speaking (in no particular order)?Hossam Abou Moussa, partner at Apis, Hassan Massoud, associate director and head of private equity (Southern Mediterranean) at the EBRD, Tarek Kamel, CEO of Nestle Egypt; Omar Elsahy, general manager of Amazon Egypt; Khaled Morsy, CEO of DB Schenker; Shady William, managing director of IDG; Mohamed Talaat Khalifa, CEO of Concrete; Mark Wyllie, CEO of Beyti; Kareem Abou Ghaly, chairman and CEO of Pasta Regina; Yasmine Khamis, chair of the Orientals Group, Cheick-Oumar Sylla, director for North Africa and Horn of Africa at the IFC; Hossam Sallab, CEO and vice-chairman of Sallab Group and Royal Ceramica; Tarek Hosny, head of investments and projects at Fertiglobe; Helmy Ghazi, deputy CEO of HSBC Egypt; Shams Eweis, corporate affairs director, Egypt, North Africa and Levant at Mars; Nada El Ahwal, CSO of Transmar; Yassir Zouaoui, partner at McKinsey; and Mohamed ElGebely, team leader at USAID Trade.

Topics and live interviews will also include:

  • Why exports and FDI are the way forward and what lessons have worked from around the world;
  • How to attract foreign partners and figure out what they are looking for;
  • What lessons can we draw from foods, fertilizers, and garments exporters who have increased our exports;
  • What are the fundamentals to creating an export and / or FDI strategy;
  • What it takes to secure a place in a multinational’s supply chain.
  • How industrial clusters could expedite exports and FDI and is a possibly avenue for SME development;

Tap or click here to explore the full agenda.


THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- There’s a number of big stories vying for your attention this morning, including Emirates Group’s record annual earnings and new USD 200 mn fund for sustainable aviation research and development, and news that South Korea’s CJ Logistics is building an e-commerce logistics facility in Riyadh’s Special Integrated Logistics Zone.

HAPPENING TODAY-

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- SCZone + Rotterdam Port could cooperate on green fuels: Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) CEO Walid Gamal El Din and Rotterdam Port CEO Allard Castelein discussed potentially signing an agreement for cooperation on green fuels, according to a statement. This includes a "green corridor" from Singapore to Rotterdam that would pass through the SCZone for green bunkering purposes. The pair also discussed potentially developing the SCZone’s ports through technical support in digitization, the statement added. Gamal El Din is in the Netherlands to drum up investments among local business leaders and officials from the Port of Rotterdam.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2-DP World will collaborate with China’sNingbo-Zhoushan port on automobile supply chain and logistics, Seatrade Maritime reports. The agreement will see Ningbo-Zhoushan develop its Dubai-based warehouses to extend logistical chains in MENA. The agreement comes one day after DP World held a roadshow in Beijing to attract investments from Chinese firms.

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Iraq’s Al-Kut Ring Road project slated for completion by the end of the year: Construction of the Al-Kut Ring Road in Baghdad is to be complete by the end of 2023, Planning Ministry spokesperson Abdel-Zahra Al-Hindawi told Zawya. The 20km project, which comprises three bridges, connects Baghdad to central and southern governorates, and will act as a passage for transporting goods from Basra ports and border crossings. It will also boost trade and reduce traffic accidents in Baghdad, Al-Hindawi reportedly said, according to the news outlet.

WATCH THIS SPACE #4- The Black Sea grain pact may not be dead after all: Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN are close to an agreement to extend last year’s grain agreement, which allowed Ukraine to continue exporting via the Black Sea and helped calm the food crisis caused by the war, Reuters reported on Saturday.

Airports in the Middle East are seeing traffic recover to pre-pandemic levels, Khaleej Timesreports, citing statements from International Air Transport Association (IATA) Middle East and Africa regional director Kashif Khalid at the Airport Show last week. Global aviation is experiencing a strong recovery, with the Middle East leading the charge after recovering 93% of pre-pandemic numbers, Khalid is quoted as saying. Recently published 1Q 2023 figures for Dubai Airport (DXB) show that traffic at the airport has reached 95.6% of pre-pandemic numbers.

Egypt’s cabinet approved a presidential decision to publish the list of customs breaks in the African Continental Freetrade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, according to a statement. The AfCFTA is a comprehensive agreement between African Union member states that aims to boost trade and investment across the continent. Kenya had enlisted Egypt’s aid in February to kickstart the protocol.

MARKET WATCH-Drewry’s composite World Container Index fell 1% to USD last week: The index was down 77% y-o-y and is down 83% from its peak in September 2021, according to Drewery’s analysis. The index is 35% lower than the 10-year average of USD 2.7k, signaling a return to more normal prices. Drewry expects East-West spot rates on routes other than the transatlantic to stabilize in upcoming weeks.

Oil prices fell for the third straight week due to supply fears and concerns over the US and China's economies, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures dropped 1.1% to USD 74.2 while US crude futures fell 1.2% to USD 70. Both benchmarks are down around 1.5% w-o-w.

CORRECTION- We incorrectly reported on Thursday that Egyptian offshore oil and gas and chartering firm Maridive will be using USD 8.71 mn of the funds Al Gihaz Holding is providing Maridive in exchange for two marine units and a Saudi subsidiary owned by its subsidiary Valentine Maritime to settle Valentine’s outstanding debt. We've amended the story to reflect the correct amount, which is USD 71.8 mn. The transaction comes as part of Maridive's strategy to deleverage its balance sheet and divest its non-core offshore EPC unit. There will be no net proceeds for Maridive as part of the agreement.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

TheElectric Vehicle Innovation Summit 2023 will take place in Abu Dhabi between 29-31 May. The event is the first of its kind in the MENA region and brings together researchers, engineers, officials, and organizations involved in the EV scene, presenting attendees with opportunities to network across value chains and exchange ideas.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.

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