INVESTMENT WATCH-

#1- China’s Changzhou Ramada will invest USD 22.6 mn to build a textile manufacturing facility in Egypt’s Qantara West Industrial Zone, according to a Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) statement. The 80k-sqm plant will produce home textiles and garments, with an annual capacity of 5k tons of fabric, 4 mn bed cover sets, and 1 mn car carpet sets. Some 90% of output will be exported.

To get a measure of Chinese interest in the sector, we heard about six new Chinese garment and textile factories heading to the SCZone last month alone. These included contracts inked for two factories from Shandong Sunshell Group totalling USD 37 mn and a USD 28.5 mn factory from Zhejiang Charming for Dyeing and Finishing, along with a USD 20 mn factory from Changzhou East Noah Printing and Dyeing, a USD 24 mn factory from Changzhou Golden Spring Textile, and a USD 8.6 mn factory by Jiangsu Sainty Corporation. During the same month, China’s Bridge Textile International and F-Tex International also kicked off construction on two textile projects, with combined investments exceeding USD 55 mn.

DATA POINT- The Qantara West Industrial Zone secured 32 projects worth over USD 822.2 mn in total investments, expected to create 45.6k direct jobs, SCZone head Walid Gamal El Din said. The authority aims to develop the zone into a fully integrated base for textiles, ready-made garments, and accessories, with strong export orientation.

#2- New global crane player in the UAE: Crane sales, leasing, and maintenance provider Mycrane Trading raised USD 50 mn from a DIFC-based investment holding company to launch operations from Jebel Ali Freezone, according to a press release. The business will integrate with the Mycrane online rental platform — which has over 3k active B2B users — to offer the purchase, lease, and sale of cranes and heavy construction equipment, along with spare parts and accessories.

Where’s the money going? The funding will be used to expand the platform’s rental user base, grow its global trading arm, and maintain strategic stock for quick delivery, Construction Machinery News reports, citing Mycrane’s CEO Andrei Geikalo.

Market focus: Mycrane will source cranes from oversupplied regions including Europe and China and sell into markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, and Africa. The company plans to expand into the US, Canada, Germany, the UK, and several APAC markets in 2026.

SHIPPING + MARITIME-

Iraq detains vessel suspected of oil smuggling: Iraqi authorities have seized a Liberian-flagged oil tanker for allegedly smuggling oil near Basra’s oil terminal, Reuters reported last week, citing unnamed sources in the Iraqi government and navy. The Liliana, owned by Dubai-based Babylon Navigation, was carrying 93k tons of fuel oil believed by authorities to be of Iraqi origin. Another unnamed ship was also stopped and searched.

Fuel smuggling often crops up in Gulf waters, with heavily subsidized fuels illegally winding up on the black market, the newswire reports. It has been rare, however, for the Iraqi navy to detain ships until recently.

MEANWHILE- Iran also seized another tanker: Iran intercepted Phoenix, a Cook Islands-flagged tanker, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 2 mn liters of fuel in the Gulf of Oman — worth up to IRR 759 bn (USD 840k) — near Hormozgan Province, Iranian border police commander Ahmad Ali Goudarzi told IRNA. At least 17 foreign suspects were arrested and transferred to the province’s Jask County.

This isn’t the first time: Iran reportedly intercepted another foreign oil tanker for illegally transporting 2 mn liters of fuel in the Sea of Oman and lacking proper documentation last month. It also intercepted a Togo-flagged, UAE-managed tanker carrying 1.5k tons of marine gas oil off the coast of Iraq — which was reportedly headed to Sharjah Port in the UAE — in July 2024.

CARGO-

Asyad completes intermodal shipment of breakbulk cargo: Oman’s Asyad Group has transported a 115 metric-ton pressurized LNG cryogenic tank from Northern India to Dammam, according to a statement. The 28 meter-long, 5.5 meter-high piece of cargo — transported on behalf of Indian firm Gas Lab Asia — travelled 1.5k km by land from Northern India to Mumbai port over three weeks, before being shipped via the Arabian Sea to Dammam.

ICYMI- Asyad-operated Khazaen Dry Port received its first international container shipment as a final destination port last week, after it joined French shipping conglomerate CMA CGM’s global shipping network, with Sohar Port serving as a transit hub.

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