Good morning, lovely people. The newsflow has relatively picked up since we last wrote to you, with some updates on the logistics front in Egypt, and a promising aviation-related initiative in Jordan.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Egypt has awarded two contracts for terminals at East Port Said, and is expected to award another today for a logistics zone on Libya’s border.

^^ We have everything on this story and more in the news well, below.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY ABROAD- Brics summit kicks off with strong Global South solidarity: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the Global South should band together to wield more influence, Bloomberg reports. “We should practice multilateralism and work towards giving a boost to countries in the Global South,” Xi reportedly told a joint briefing in Pretoria with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa following a state visit. “We believe our countries should be strategic partners, we should deepen political mutual trust.”

REMEMBER- The heads of the Brics countries are expected to discuss the expansion of Brics, the Brics bank, de-dollarization, economic cooperation, and relations with non-member states during the three-day summit. Egypt, the UAE, KSA, Iran, and Algeria are all looking to join the alliance, and multiple outlets have reported that several countries could be invited into the organization during the summit.

ALSO- North Korea airline flies first flight since covid-19: A North Korean commercial flight has touched down in Beijing from Pyongyang, marking the end of a three-year hiatus since the pandemic lockdowns began in 2020. The flight is reportedly carrying North Koreans who had been trapped in China by the years of border closures back, with some expecting a “gradual opening” to other friendly countries soon.Although there has been an uptick in North Korean rail and maritime cargo movement over the past year, the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry only greenlit the recommencement of North Korea’s Air Koryo flights to China yesterday.

The story got ink in the foreign press: Wall Street Journal | Reuters | Washington Post | CNN.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

Another potential blow for commodity flows: India is mulling a tax on parboiled rice amid surging food prices, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. The country is also considering selling tomatoes and grains from state reserves, and scrapping a 40% import levy on wheat, to strengthen supply. Rice prices in Asia have reached the highest levels in the past 15 years following India’s ban on white rice exports and uncertainties regarding Thailand’s production.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani is currently in Ankara to discuss the resumption of oil exports via Turkey’s Ceyhan oil terminal, Reuters reported. Abdel Ghani will also negotiate with his Turkish counterparts the USD 1.5 bn Turkey has been ordered to pay Iraq as compensation for receiving oil from Iraq’s Kurdistan region without authorization from Baghdad. “Iraq’s oil minister is in Turkey to discuss obstacles delaying the resumption of oil exports and how to resolve lingering issues,” the newswire quotes a ministry official as saying.

REMEMBER- A landmark international arbitration decision issued on 25 March had put a stop to the export of 450k barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iraq’s semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan via Ceyhan,.

DATA POINT- DXB cargo volumes climb in 2Q 2023: Dubai International Airport handled some 453.5k tonnes of cargo during the quarter, marking a 16.1% y-o-y increase, WAM reports. This brings total freight volumes for 1H 2023 to 853.5k tonnes, down 6.2% y-o-y.

MARKET WATCH-

I ran’s oil exports have surged this month, with the country exporting 2.2 mn barrels per day (bbl/d) of crude and condensates, Bloomberg reports. The lion’s share of August’s flows from the country has been crude with over 200k bbl/d of condensate, which is a lighter form of oil, with most heading towards China as other Asian countries look to avoid sanctioned barrels. If this rate of production continues, it will far exceed any other month this year, Bloomberg cites analysts as saying.

Oil imports are down elsewhere in the world: India’s crude oil imports from Russia dipped and inbound shipments from Saudi Arabia tumbled to their lowest level in 2.5 years, Reuters reports, citing tanker data from trade and industry sources. China also cut imports from Russia and Saudi Arabia in July following price increases as the two oil producers reduced output and crude oil shipments, the outlet reports.

ICYMI – Saudi Arabia volunteered to cut output by another 1 mn barrels per day (bpd) from July through September, and Russia will reduce exports in August by 500k bpd, part of an OPEC+ agreement to curb supplies and support prices, the outlet writes.

CHECK OUT OUR AGENDA-

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.

This is our first two-day event,which should give us plenty of time to dive into the nitty gritty of this industry we love. Our panels will see CEOs, bankers, investors and founders gather to discuss the future and trends shaping banking, finance, fintech and NBFS.

Our full agenda will be out at month’s end. Among the topics we’ll be discussing:

  • Looking into the crystal ball: Top industry CEOs will join us on stage to answer tough questions on where we are as an industry, the forces that will shape all of our businesses going forward, and their views on dealflow in the year ahead.
  • Surviving nuclear winter: We discuss how private equity and venture capital players are tackling challenges including fundraising and deployment in an environment in which it’s awfully difficult to price your local asset in USD terms.
  • The robots are coming: We explore what the coming AI and big data means for the industry in our part of the world and what can bankers, NBFI, and fintech players do to capitalize on them.
  • What do you do when nobody wants to be a banker — and when those who are already (investment or commercial) bankers are either (a) dreaming of doing their own startup or (b) moving to Dubai (or, increasingly, Riyadh)? We go deep into the weeds with industry leaders on how they’re building talent for tomorrow.
  • NBFIs are a bubble. Prove me wrong: We chart the explosive rise of NBFIs and ask whether the industry is ready for a wave of consolidation. We’ll dive into whether consumer finance is starting to mature as a segment — and ask which sector is next.
  • Handicapping the winners and losers in fintech in 2024: We dive deep into which categories are getting traction, where the untapped opportunities are, what business they would start today if they could, and what we can expect of the sector in the year ahead.
  • What’s a bank, anyway? Wherein we talk challenger and neobanks with the players looking to shake up the brick-and-mortar industry.

** NEW: MORE NETWORKING TIME- Our agenda includes expanded networking time, including an expanded coffee break and a post-event networking room for you to interact with your peers and speak one-on-one with the team at Enterprise.

STAY TUNED for more detail about our exciting agenda in the weeks to come.

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.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Algeria’s speaker of the People’s National Assembly Ibrahim Boughali is in Tehran this week for a five-day visit that will see him discuss enhancing bilateral trade and economic cooperation with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammed Qalibaf, Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reports. The two officials already discussed potentially expanding shipping routes, Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim News Agency reported.

Saudi Arabia will host the Sustainable Maritime Industry Conference from Monday, 4 September to Wednesday, 6 September in Jeddah. Organized by KSA’s Transport and Logistic Services Ministry, the event will feature over 50 speakers to spotlight sustainability, new technologies, and digitization efforts in the maritime industry. Speakers will include International Maritime Organization Secretary General Kitack Lim and World Ocean Council CEO Paul Holthus.

DP World and Greater Caspian Association and Integral Group of Companies are teaming up to host the Caspian Week Forum 2023 during the Global Freight Summit taking place from 15-17 November at the Coca Cola arena in Dubai, UAE. The Caspian Week Forum will be dedicated to strengthening ties between the Greater Caspian Region (GCR) and the world in business and economics, and will focus mainly on the development of trade and logistics in the GCR, establishing new logistic corridors, and discussing key regional challenges, Emirates News Agency(WAM) reports.

The Leaders in Logistics KSA Summit takes place on 5 September at the Crowne Plaza in Al Waha, Riyadh. The summit will delve into the national initiatives that aim to enhance Saudi Arabia’s logistics sector, highlighting the latest market trends and the importance of tech and sustainability to the sector.

Qatar’s Transport Ministry is organizing a sustainable transport conference on Sunday, 17 September to Monday and 18 September at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. The conference will demonstrate Qatar’s plans and strategies towards an comprehensive, integrated, and eco friendly transportation system, as well as latest technological innovations in the sphere of sustainable transportation.

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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