Good morning, friends. We’re heading into the long weekend with a packed issue. Flynas’ IPO updates lead the pack, followed by the latest on Egypt’s trade policy, as well as PMI reports from Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar, and Egypt. We also have a slew of zones, investment, and aviation updates on our radar from across the region. Let’s get the ball rolling.

A QUICK PROGRAMMING NOTE- EnterpriseAM Logistics will be taking a publication holiday for Eid Al Adha starting tomorrow and until Monday, 9 June. We’ll be back to your inboxes on Tuesday, June 10.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Egypt is looking into allocating three LNG shipments per month to fertilizer and petrochemical factories for four months starting in July, government sources told Al Arabiya. Each shipment is expected to carry between 70k-90k cbm of LNG, and the factories would cover their cost. The move comes after the government slashed its supply to the factories by 50% earlier in May for two weeks after Israeli gas imports were cut by 20% due to scheduled maintenance.

Fertilizer producers formally asked the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation to import additional shipments on their behalf, two sources in the fertilizer sector told EnterpriseAM, citing the corporations’s ability to secure more competitive prices. The move is still under study and is yet to be greenlit, our sources said. The proposal includes full payment in USD for the shipments, freight, and liquefaction costs, our sources added.

Despite recent improvement, gas flows to fertilizer and petrochemical factories are still down, with the two sectors receiving 450-500 mn cubic feet per day (mcf/d) since the start of this week — well below the 770 mcf/d the sector typically requires, Al Arabiya’s sources added. Deliveries partially resumed on Saturday after a two-week disruption, Egyptian Chamber of Chemical Industries head Sherif El Gabaly told Al Arabiya.

REMEMBER- The Oil Ministry is planning to spend up to USD 2.5 bn to import 60 LNG shipments through early September to meet the expected high electricity demand during the summer period.

#2- AD Ports Group has opened the first phase of the Tbilisi Intermodal Hub in Georgia, the company said in a press release. The first phase is a dry port and inland container depot to handle cargo delivered by rail and truck to the hub — located between Georgia’s key Black Sea ports and major land crossings with Armenia and Azerbaijan, and set to be both a domestic logistics platform and a regional gateway.

The next steps: Phases two and three will see the Tbilisi Intermodal Hub expand the cargo it handles to include containerized vehicles and break-bulk commodities like minerals, fertilizers, and ores, supporting trade flows between China, the South Caucasus, and Europe.

REMEMBER-AD Ports acquired a 60% stake in Georgia’s Tbilisi Dry Port to develop the Tbilisi Intermodal Hub back in March 2024. The remaining 40% is owned by and 40% by Inveco LLC and Wilhelmsen. The hub is designed to scale up capacity from 96k TEUs today to 200k TEUs by 2026, and will feature a container freight station, warehouses, and an additional railway.

#3- Kuwait’s KIA joins MGX’s AI infrastructure fund: The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) has joined the AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP) as its first non-founding financial anchor investor, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office statement. KIA will now become a strategic capital partner to the group in its bid to mobilize USD 30 bn from investors and deploy up to USD 100 bn — including from debt — into AI data centers and related infrastructure systems.

REFRESHER- The AI Infrastructure Partnership is an AI infrastructure fund founded by Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX, BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners, and Microsoft last September, and also includes Nvidia and Elon Musk’s xAI among its partners.

#4- State-owned Vietnam Airlines is set to finalize a USD 7.8 bn order for 50 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, Reuters reports, citing an unnamed executive from the airline. The order — placed provisionally in 2023 — is part of the airline’s plan to add about 100 narrow-body aircraft by 2035 in a bid to modernize its fleet and expand operations. The company is also exploring a possible Airbus order on condition a confirmed delivery slot could be determined. Airbus is Vietnam’s main jet supplier, with an 86% market share.

REMEMBER- Aircraft orders are emerging as a bargaining chip — or perhaps a showing of goodwill — in trade talks with the US, with several global and regional players reportedly moving on big Boeing orders over the last weeks as part of national strategies to appease the US.

Jet orders diplomacy is good news for Boeing: The Bank of America has raised Boeing’s stock price target from neutral at USD 185 to buy at USD 260 as major jet orders stack up, pushing the manufacturer out of a “doom loop,” Bloomberg reported, citing BoA analyst Ronald Epstein’s research note. “Boeing aircraft have emerged as a favored trade mechanism in recent US trade negotiations, which we suspect will continue,” Epstein said. Boeing’s shares rose by 2.1% on Monday and gained over 50% m-o-m from April.

The Gulf’s recent orders were a case in point: Several Gulf aviation players placed major Boeing orders during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region last month, with Qatar Airways inking the biggest order on record for up to 210 jets from Boeing. PIF-backed AviLease and UAE’s Etihad also placed their own jet orders for a total of 48 jets with a combined value of USD 19.3 bn.

IN OTHER GLOBAL AVIATION UPDATES- European jet maker Airbus’ deliveries slumped 4% y-o-y in May, turning over around 51 aircraft, Reuters reports, citing industry sources. The company’s deliveries have fallen 5% y-o-y in the first five months of this year, totaling around 243 planes in 2025 thus far. Airbus delivered 136 commercial units in 1Q — a 4% dip, based on our calculations, compared to the company’s 142 units turned over in the same period last year. The deliveries beat Boeing’s 83 jet deliveries in 1Q. The France-based firm’s earnings rose 33% to EUR 793 mn last quarter, with revenues surging 6% y-o-y to EUR 13.5 bn.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices went down this morning amid renewed concerns over tariffs and Opec+ anticipated production hikes — and worries about a dip in Canadian supplies were not enough to buoy the rates, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures dropped by USD 0.23 to reach USD 65.40 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dipped by USD 0.25 to hit USD 63.16 a barrel by 03.18 GMT.

Meanwhile, Riyadh, Moscow clash over Opec+ output: Saudi Arabia and Russia were reportedly at odds during Opec+’s meeting on Saturday before reaching a compromise to raise oil production by 411k bbl / d, Reuters reported, citing four sources it said are close to the negotiations. The last major policy clash between the two came in 2020, when all Opec+ members flooded the market, sending prices into a tailspin.

Unlike earlier decisions, Saturday’s meeting was marked by sharper internal divisions, sources told the newswire. The Kingdom lobbied for a higher output hike than the agreed 411k bbl / d, frustrated by overproduction from violators like Iraq and Kazakhstan in recent months. But Russia, backed by Oman and Algeria, opposed any acceleration in output, warning that demand may not be strong enough to absorb the extra barrels, the sources added.

Diverging capacities and constraints: Saudi Arabia holds the largest spare production capacity in the group and is well-positioned to ramp up output and seize market share. Russia, on the other hand, is facing declining spare capacity due to underinvestment and Western sanctions, which have limited its ability to sell to refiners outside friendly markets.

By the numbers: Opec+ has boosted its output by 1.37 mn bbl / d so far this year. However, the group maintains nearly 4.5 mn bbl / d in production cuts, established over the last five years to bolster the market, which represents around 4.5% of global demand, according to Reuters calculations.

#2- Baltic index on the up and up: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — rose 0.6% to 1,430 points on Tuesday, buoyed by larger vessels. The capesize index was up 1.4% to 2,333 points, while the panamax index gained 0.1% to 1,108 points. The smaller supramax index shed six points to 942 points .

DATA POINT-

Abu Dhabi’s non-oil foreign trade hit AED 89.6 bn in 1Q 2025, marking a 25.7% y-o-y increase, according to import and export data from January, February, and March (here, here, and here) from Abu Dhabi’s statistics center. Imports for the quarter settled at AED 34 bn, while total exports — including re-exports — accounted for AED 55.6 bn.

REFRESHER- Abu Dhabi’s non-oil foreign trade grew 7.6% to AED 306 bn in 2024. Imports fell 3% y-o-y to AED 35 bn, while exports and re-exports increased 30.2% y-o-y to AED 42.8 bn, widening its trade surplus to AED 7.8 bn.

***YOU’RE READING EnterpriseAM Logistics, the essential MENA publication for senior execs who care about the industry that connects producers and retailers to global markets. We’re out Monday through Thursday by 9:15am in Cairo and Riyadh and 11:15am in the UAE.

EnterpriseAM Logistics is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at Hassan Allam Utilities, Transmar, and AK-Ships.

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of Enterprise Logistics.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on logistics@enterprisemea.com.

DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the MENAclimate industry ?
***

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

France will host the International Paris Air Show from Monday, 16 June to Sunday, 22 June in Paris. The event will host 300k visitors to view some 2.5k exhibitors from 48 countries, 300 start-ups and 150 air carriers on display – all showcasing cutting-edge tech in the aviation field.

Turkey will host the Eurasia Rail from Wednesday, 18 June to Thursday, 19 June in Istanbul. The event will host 7.7k visitors interested in Turkey’s railway sector or are railway technology buyers, and will feature engineering, products and services from both private and public sectors.

Greece will host the East Med Maritime Conference on Thursday, 19 June in Athens. The event will showcase new developments and tech in the shipping, logistics and offshore field – hosting an array of key leaders, exports, port operators and shippers in the maritime industry.

The UAE will host Middle East Rail from Tuesday, 24 June to Thursday, 25 June in Dubai. The conference at Dubai World Trade

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

Tags: