Good morning, friends. We end the week with a busy issue, filled with updates from across the region on everything from data centers to new shipping lines.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- A new Dubai-based shipping operator has launched with 16 shipping lines connecting MENA ports to the Far East, Asia, India and Russia.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is planning to visit Pakistan today, Tasnim news agency reported, citing Pakistani daily The Nation. Amirabdollahian is expected to meet with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other Pakistani officials during the two-day visit.

DATA POINT- Mwani Qatar’s container throughput rose 5% m-o-m in July, according to a statement. General and bulk cargo volumes stood at 166.1k tons, while container volumes stood at 100.8 TEUs. The number of vessels increased 15% m-o-m during the month to 226 vessels.

MARKET WATCH- Oil product stockpiles at the UAE’s Port of Fujairah surged to a three-week high as of 31 July, prompted by a 22% rise in gasoline and light distillates compared to the week prior, according to Fujairah Oil Industry Zone data, S&P Globalreports. Total inventories also inched up 5.1% week-on-week to 19.72 mn barrels, but remain down 4.6% since the end of 2022.

Oil product exports from Fujairah reached their highest level since December, averaging around 652k barrels per day (bbl / d), with Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia being the main recipients, according to Kpler data. Imports for the same period averaged around 751k bbl / d, with Iran, Iraq, and Russia as the biggest importers.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDARS- The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations soon.

Do you want to become a commercial partner? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial, or fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.

LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST-

DID YOU MISS THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the EnterprisePodcast and listen for yourself: The Enterprise Podcast is back with another installment of our forum series, where we bring you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum,which took place in May.

IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE- We look at whether industrial clusters — which have been used to great effect elsewhere — can be a way for SMEs to be part of a potential export-oriented economy. Our speakers shed light on where industrial zones are working for us already, how Egypt can leverage clusters to get a bigger slice of that cross-border trade, and how industrial clusters can bring together SMEs to work with larger firms. We were joined on that panel by Shady Williams, managing director of IDG, Mohamed ElGebely, team leader at USAID Trade, and Nada El Ahwal, CSO of Transmar.

WANT TO LISTEN? Head to: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast. We’re releasing a new episode every Sunday morning.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE’s Finance Ministry extended the deadline for feedback on the Corporate Tax Free Zone public consultation from today until next Wednesday, 9 August, according to a press release. The ministry is holding a digital public consultation on its website that began last week as part of the UAE’s corporate tax freezone regulations, Emirati news agency WAM reports. The consultation aims to gather feedback from freezone-based companies, WAM added.

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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