Good morning, friends. It’s a busy morning on the regional logistics front with lots of news to delve into across several subsectors of the industry, but we have some news to share from our neck of the woods…

Are you planning to be in Egypt on 24 September? You may be interested in attending our 2024 Enterprise Finance Forum. Seating is strictly limited at our flagship, invitation-only forum for C-suite executives and other senior leaders.

Why attend? We’re in the early days of a generational realignment of power in our industry — in our region and beyond — and on the cusp of the biggest intergenerational transfer of wealth the world has ever seen. With that as the backdrop, we’re going to take stock of where we stand six months after the float of the EGP and ask what’s next for finance in Egypt and the wider region. Among the questions we’ll be asking:

  • What roles will Egypt, Saudi and the UAE play in the regional industry going forward?
  • What are foreign investors looking for right now?
  • Is real estate the only asset class in Egypt?
  • What does the next generation of leaders think as they take over established family businesses?

Do you want to request an invitation? Tap or click the image below.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Climate activists caused major disruption at German airports over the weekend: Around 140 flights were canceled on Thursday after climate activists from climate protest group Letzte Generation blocked Frankfurt airport runways to protest fossil fuels. The disruption at Germany’s busiest airport lasted two hours but delays were made for the remainder of the day before flights were resumed later. About 30 flights were canceled at Cologne-Bonn airport for the same reason a day earlier.

That wasn’t the only attempt for airport activism: Authorities foiled similar attempts at other European airports, including London, Vienna, Oslo and Zurich.The activists said such blockades were just the start of a wide campaign to end fossil fuels by 2030 with similar actions planned across Europe and North America in the coming weeks.

The story grabbed a lot of ink in the int’l press over the weekend: Reuters | AP | Financial Times | CNN | The Guardian | BBC | CBS

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

HAPPENING TODAY-

Chilean President Gabriel Boric lands in the UAE for the first time to meet with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today, Wam reports. The two leaders will discuss economic, trade, and developmental cooperation and make an announcement on their trade and economic partnership, for which they recently concluded negotiations. The agreement is set to boost cooperation on food security, tech, investment, and space.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Egypt is considering the purchase of a floating regasification unit in partnership with Jordan to uptake and process LNG shipments for integration into their national grids, two sources told AlSharq Business. The ship will reportedly be co-owned by the two countries, who are currently in talks to weigh the “feasibility of jointly purchasing a regasification ship to meet the energy needs of both countries,” one source told the news outlet. The ship would be leased out to other nations once both countries stabilize their gas supply.

Background: Egypt and Jordan agreed to purchase LNG to circumvent electricity shortages in April, with Egypt’s Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) having purchased an LNG shipment slated for delivery at Jordan’s Aqaba gasification plant, which will be transported to Egypt via a gas pipeline.

#2- Oman’s Ibri city will integrate logistics services as part of its expansion plans, OmanObserver reported on Saturday. The city infrastructure plan includes developing a dry port, warehousing and logistics infrastructure, and manufacturing centers as part of plans to establish itself as a strategic logistics hub in Al Dhahirah governorate.

#3- Indian airline IndiGo will lease six Boeing 737 Max aircraft from Qatar Airways to counter an aircraft shortage caused by engine and supply chain issues, Indian news outlet the Financial Express reported on Saturday. The agreement is under a damp lease and includes maintenance, cabin crew training, and ins. services from Qatar Airways. The budget airline had said it planned to lease five Boeing 737 Max aircraft from Qatar Airways for six months to meet summer season travel demands back in February.

#4- Some 80 nations including Saudi Arabia reached an agreement on rules regulating global e-commerce on Friday, including the recognition of e-signatures and protection against online fraud, Arab News reports. A statement by the World Trade Organization said participants agreed on a preliminary “stabilized text” after five years of talks about what could become the first global digital trade agreement. The agreement among the 80 members won’t become a full WTO pact unless all members of the UN trade body sign on.

The goal: To make e-commerce faster, more affordable, and more secure on a global scale while reducing barriers, according to a statement by the UK Department for Business and Trade.

The provisions include the recognition of e-signatures and e-documents, protection against online fraud and misleading claims, digitalization of customs documents and processes, limitations on spam, protections for personal data, and support for least-developed countries, a the text of the agreement (pdf) shows.

BACKGROUND- Australia, Japan, and Singapore led the talks, which both the European Union and China have hailed as “historic” and “groundbreaking.”

No US backing just yet: The US said while the text was a positive step, more is needed to be done, including wording about exceptions for security interests, according to Reuters. “We look forward to working with interested members in finding solutions to all remaining issues and moving the negotiation to a timely conclusion,” US WTO ambassador Maria Pagan said. Others including Brazil, Indonesia, and Turkey also had minor reservations over the text, a trade source told Reuters.

#5- UAE dutyfree silver and platinum exports to India halted: India has terminated its dutyfree imports of silver and platinum from the UAE, following a reduction in import taxes to below the tax agreed between the countries under their economic partnership agreement, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing Indian government officials.

The Indian government has slashed import duties on gold and silver from 15% to 6%. With the duty now lower than the 8% tax under the economic agreement with the UAE, “nobody is importing silver,” Prithviraj Kothari, president of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association told Reuters.

In context: The UAE accounts for nearly half of India’s silver imports, as importers made use of the lower 8% tax, with shipments surging from 133 tonnes to almost 2k tonnes over the first five months of 2024.

#6- We finally have a tender for Baghdad International Airport: Iraq has issued a two-stage public tender for a private partner to operate and develop Baghdad International Airport under a PPP contract, AFP reported last week, citing a document it has seen. The deadline for bid submission is 12 September, with the selected bidder “expected to modernize and rehabilitate the airport infrastructure, expand passenger and cargo terminal facilities… and operate and maintain the airport in line with international best practice,” the document said.

A first for Iraq: The move marks the “first time that the Iraqi government, in cooperation with the IFC, opens its airports to private international investment,” Iraqi foreign affairs advisor to the PM Farhad Alaaldin told AFP.

Iraq brought out the big guns: The Iraqi government has inked an agreement with the World Bank’s International Financial Cooperation to act as a lead advisor for the PPP. The IFC will provide oversight from its inception and ensure the new services comply with international standards.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices rose in early morning trading backed by concern on growing escalation between Israel and Lebanon, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures rose USD 0.33 to USD 81.46 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate climbed USD 0.23 to USD 77.36 a barrel. “Worries over escalating tensions in the Middle East prompted fresh buying, but gains were limited by lingering concerns of weakening demand in China,” Fujitomi Securities analyst Toshitaka Tazawa told the newswire.

#2- Saudi Arabia purchased fuel oil from Kuwait in July for the first time since May 2022 to cope with a summertime surge in demand for electricity, Reuters reports, citing shipping analytics firms Kpler and Vortexa.

By the numbers: Saudi imported c. 37k barrels per day of fuel oil from Kuwait and is on track to buy more in August Aramco Trading was awarded a tender to purchase 130k tons of very low sulfur fuel oil from Kuwait’s Al Zour refinery, trade sources said.

IN CONTEXT- Russia is Saudi’s preferred supplier of fuel oil, but has been supplying more and more to Chinese and Indian buyers, prompting Saudi to buy from Kuwait.

#3-Drewry shipping index breaks 12-week gain streak: The Drewry World Container Index fell 2.2% to USD 5,8k per 40-ft container on Thursday, ending an almost three-month rise, Bloomberg reported. The spot rate decline came on the back of low demand due to US tariffs on Chinese goods and trade disruptions sparked an earlier-than-usual peak season for restocking.

#4- Baltic index sees weekly fall: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segment — was down 1.4% to 1,808 on Saturday, its lowest level in two months, weighed down by low capesize rates, Reuters reported. Capesize dipped 3% to 2,614, while the panamax segment was up 0.4% to 1,792 points. The smaller supramax index fell 0.1% to 1,386 points.

DATA POINTS-

#1- King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam saw 28.8% y-o-y growth in cargo throughput in June, hitting 24.9 mn tons, compared to 19.4 mn tons in the same month last year, according to a statement from the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani). Exported containers increased 39.1% to 624.7k TEUs, while imported containers rose 34.7% to 872.4 TEUs. Meanwhile, transshipment containers volume increased 87.9% y-o-y to 37.8k TEUs.

ALSO- Cargo transported on freight trains rose 9% in 2Q 2024 to 6.9 mn tons, the Transport General Authority said in a post on X.

#2- Saudi’s non-oil exports rose 2.1% y-o-y in May 2024, according to the latest data from the General Authority for Statistics (pdf). Total non-oil exports, including re-exports increased 8.2% in May compared to the same month last year. Meanwhile, import volumes increased 2.6%.

SOUND SMART- Re-exports are products that one country imports and re-sells to another country as-is, without providing added value or labor input in the process. This can happen for various reasons, including taking advantage of price differences between markets, fulfilling orders, or redistributing goods to markets where there is demand.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Saudi Arabia will host the Saudi Warehousing and Logistics Expo on Monday, 2 September to Wednesday, 4 September in Riyadh. The event will bring together leaders in the supply chain, warehousing, and logistics industry from across the Kingdom to discuss investments, trade, geopolitical risks, and localized manufacturing.

Egypt will host the Egypt International Airshow on Tuesday, 3 September to Thursday, 5 September in El Alamein. The event will host a range of discussions touching on industrialization, digitalization, and globalization in the regional commercial aviation sector. During the event, aircrafts and innovative aerospace products, and services will be showcased.

Saudi Arabia will host SkyMove MENA on Tuesday, 10 September and Wednesday, 11 September in Riyadh. The event will gather global industry stakeholders, experts, and service providers to discuss challenges in the regional aviation industry.

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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