Good morning, lovely people. We wrap the week with another tight issue, with a lot of updates from Egypt and some tidbits from across the region.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Egypt’s Transport Ministry is gearing up to launch a tender for the Alexandria-Cairo railway bypass in 1Q 2024, a ministry source told Enterprise Logistics. So far, some 11 consortia of both Egyptian and global companies have qualified for the tender.

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

HAPPENING TODAY-

The US has joined Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in pushing for a definitive agreement regarding the maritime borders between Kuwait and Iraq in a joint statement following a meeting of the six-nation GCC’s foreign ministers, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and GCC Secretary-General Jasem al Budaiwi in New York. This comes a day after the GCC FMs urged Iraq to address the potential negative repercussions of its annulment of a law governing its Khor Abdullah maritime agreement with Kuwait. “They called for the complete demarcation of the Kuwait-Iraq maritime boundary… and called on the government of Iraq to expeditiously resolve the domestic legal status of the 2012 Kuwait-Iraq agreement,” the joint statement said.

REMEMBER- The Iraqi court had ruled that the agreement — signed by former Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki in 2013 — was unconstitutional because it should have been ratified by a two-thirds majority of the Iraqi parliament rather than a simple majority.

WATCH THIS SPACE #1- The UAE is set to finalize six more comprehensi ve economic partnership agreements (CEPAs) in the next quarter,the National cites the UAE’s Foreign Trade Minister Thani Al Zeyoudi as saying in a speech during the Global Trade and Supply Chain Summit in Dubai. The UAE is looking to conclude CEPAs with Pakistan, South Korea and Thailand within the next three weeks, with plans to follow those agreements with ones with Costa Rica, Chile and Vietnam. The UAE has so far concluded CEPA agreements with India, Indonesia, Israel, Turkey, Cambodia and Georgia, with the first four agreements already in force. The UAE and Serbia also kickstarted negotiations to establish a CEPA agreement earlier this week.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- New Iraqi gas pipeline to Europe? Iraq’s Transport Ministry will build a new gas pipeline towards Europe that will include non-European countries such as Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, as part of its USD 17 bn Development Road project, Iraqi news agency INA reports. Although the project is still in its preliminary design stage, an initial meeting to discuss the mechanism for implementing the project will take place this week, Director of the Iraqi Republic Railways Younis Al Kaabi told INA.

MARKET WATCH-

Has the peak season come and gone? According to DHL, it has. Peak container shipping this year has been showing mixed signs of irregular movement rates, unclear shipping demands, and lower-than-expected volume levels, DHL said in its latest blog post. The peak season arrived early and ended early with spot markets on key East-West trades tapering downwards in early September, instead of building up into the golden holidays in China, DHL explains, citing the Wall Street Journal. Freight rates, as a result, experienced a minor boost from rates in the beginning of September.

We’re in for potentially another year marked by a capacity glut: “Ship deliveries will remain high over the next months,” DHL’s CEO of Global Forwarding in the Asia Pacific Niki Frank,. “But while the new CII (Carbon Intensity Indicator) and EEXI (Energy Efficiency eXisting ship Index) environmental regulations have created some tonnage demand through mandated slow steaming, cargo volumes will likely not grow enough to absorb all new deliveries.”

What about manufacturing and inventory levels? The US has seen a sharp drop in containerized imports from Asia due to reduced demand and inventory drawdowns, and is undergoing the “largest inventory correction cycle in its economic history,” DHL cites supply chain academic expert Jason Miller as saying. Miller expects this correction cycle to continue for another nine to twelve months before it returns to its regular levels.

Shippers need to plan ahead and be strategic: “Given the stabilizing freight rates and demand and capacity conditions, we foresee that utilization will likely remain balanced for the rest of the year,” Frank said. “But while we may not be anticipating a peak season surge in the fourth quarter, shippers should still prioritize adaptability and plan ahead in advance to address any possible surge in volumes toward the year-end,” concluded Frank.

Supply crunch and boosted demand increased global ammonia prices in August: Global blue ammonia production costs saw increases in August, while supply limits edged up prices for conventional ammonia, S&P Global reported, citing Platts tracking data. Blue ammonia prices in the Middle East rose more than 20% m-o-m in August, hitting USD 369 per metric ton. Plant off-time due to maintenance, record low inventories, and greater demand underpinned the rally in ammonia prices in the region, S&P Global said.

NON-LOGISTICS REGIONAL HEADLINES-

  • UAE: Abu-Dhabi backed ADC Acquisition Corporation, a blank-cheque company backed by an Abu Dhabi royal, has agreed to acquire state investment fund ADQ’s United Printing & Publishing(UPP) in the first of its kind SPAC acquisition in the Gulf region. (ADX disclosure pdf.)
  • KSA: Saudi oil and gas driller Ades has set its final price for its IPO, giving it a valuation of SAR 15.24 bn (USD 4.06 bn) for the sovereign wealth fund backed firm. The company is expected to raise some USD 1.22 bn for the sale of some 338.7 mn new and existing shares, a 30% stake in its capital. (Reuters)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Saudi Maritime Congress kicked off yesterday at Dhahran Expo in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and will run till today . The event will bring together regional and international professionals from the maritime, shipping, and logistics sectors to meet, network, and do business with some 120 leading maritime exhibitors.

The Engineering Export Council of Egypt (EEC) will lead a trade mission consisting of 22 Egyptian companies to Iraq from 23 to 29 September. The delegation will tour Erbil and Baghdad. The participating companies, which operate across various sectors of the engineering industry, will be looking to secure export agreements with the Iraqi market.

Shaping the Future of Shipping Summit , organized by the International Chamber of Shipping, will take place on 9 December in the UAE. The event will bring together governments and leaders in energy, maritime, and all parts of the supply chain to discuss plans to address climate change and help transition the industry towards sustainability.

A Saudi-Turkish Summit is scheduled to take place in Istanbul, Turkey on 8-12 October. Organized by the Türkiye Exporters Assembly in coordination with the Turkish Commerce Ministry, the summit will be attended by Turkish exporters and 70 members of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Chamber of Commerce. The participants will also include representatives from an array of sectors including food, non-ferrous metals, textiles, ready-made garments, chemicals, and furniture.

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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