Good morning, friends, and a very Merry Christmas to all those who are celebrating. Although the holiday season’s news slowdown is still in the air, today’s issue is nothing short of important updates.

Our top story for the day is Vitol Bahrain’s USD 2 bn loan backing midstream and downstream oil projects in Uganda at a remarkably lean 4.92% interest rate, in what appears to be an infrastructure-for-crude play. The move also comes as Western banks retreat under the weight of ESG mandates and risk aversion, leaving a gap that is now being filled by African and Gulf capital.

ALSO- We take a stock of what Kuwait’s successful advancement of the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port project means for the country’s diversification push and regional competition over the Northern Gulf trade corridors.

But first, a quick look into the top global updates on the logistics industry, courtesy of Pakistan’s flagship carrier privatization and China’s effort to torpedo CK Hutchison’s sale of its ports portfolio….

The big story abroad-

Pakistan moves ahead with flag-carrier privatization: A consortium led by Arif Habib Corp clinched a 75% stake in flag-carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) with a USD 482 mn bid. The move — which signals the country’s seriousness about its privatization plans, mandated by the International Monetary Fund — will see the new owners invest in new jets, with plans to more than double PIA’s fleet to 38 aircraft, up from 18, within four years.

Why does it matter for our region? Two reasons. First, a serious privatization drive could lead to more UAE investment in Pakistan’s aviation sector — we already know Abu Dhabi is in advanced talks to take over operations at Islamabad International Airport. Second, a revived PIA could strengthen competition with Gulf carriers for the EU-Pakistan travel corridor, which serves some 1.4 mn Pakistanis living in Europe and the UK, especially in light of the EU and the UK ending travel restrictions for Pakistan-bound flights.

ALSO- The proposed USD 23 bn sale of CK Hutchison’s global port portfolio to a BlackRock-led consortium has entered a high-stakes standoff, as China’s state-owned Cosco demands a majority stake in the transaction. While the deal was initially hailed by the Trump administration as a strategic victory to “reclaim” the Panama Canal from Chinese influence, Beijing has retaliated by weaponizing its merger review process to force a pro-China realignment. Western partners in the transaction are now reportedly threatening to walk away.

Watch this space-

RAIL- Turkey is close to securing USD 6 bn in financing for a 120 km freight rail line across the Bosporus Strait, the Daily Sabah reports, citing comments by Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu. Ankara is seeking the funds from the World Bank, with potential contributions from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. The project — whose tender will be launched in 1Q 2026 — will connect Istanbul’s European side to the industrial hub of Gebze.

The new development will help Turkey overcome what has been described as a supply chokepoint along a key export route, where shipping is restricted to a narrow, foggy waterway. It will also ease pressure on Turkey’s Europe-bound Marmaray Tunnel, and will advance Ankara and Baghdad’s plans to establish a freight corridor — courtesy of the Iraq Development Road — connecting Grand Faw Port to Turkey’s ports via rail and road infrastructure.

ZONES + PORTS- Egypt wants to trade domestic port access for African logistics hubs. The Investment Ministry is proposing a land-swap mechanism to establish logistics zones in six unnamed African countries, Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib said in a statement.

How it would work: The state would secure land for logistics zones in target African markets to serve as export launchpads. In return, the partner countries (or entities) would be granted land at Egyptian ports. The ministry envisions the private sector managing these zones, though El Khatib also noted that he welcomed Mostakbal Misr helping manage the system under which the zones would operate. That would expand the authority’s mandate beyond agriculture and reclamation into cross-border trade infrastructure.

ALSO FROM EGYPT- The Transport Ministry is piloting a new auction model for Kom Abu Radi dry port, with a closed-envelope auction system launched by the General Authority of Land and Dry Ports for the construction and operation of the project, sources with knowledge of the matter tell EnterpriseAM. The deadline for opening technical envelopes has been set for April 2026.

This is the first practical application of the ministry’s move away from the traditional tender system — which prioritized the lowest cost of implementation—toward an auction-style model. The new mechanism is designed to secure the highest operating return for the state and the fastest execution timeline, moving away from bureaucratic structures to attract faster foreign and local direct investment, our sources tell us.

Market watch-

Baltic index downward streak continues: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — fell 0.6% to 1,877 points on Tuesday. The capesize slipped 0.5% to 3,319, while the panamax index was up 0.1% to 1,267 points, while the smaller supramax index eased by 18 points to 1,144.

Data point-

13 jets — that’s the deliveries that China’s Planemaker Comac made this year for its flagship narrow-body model C919, as of 22 December 2025. The figure means that Comac is missing its target of 25 deliveries in 2025 — an already revised-down target from 75 jets.

Made in China but still needs the West: Comac’s failed year-end delivery is a direct casualty of geopolitics. Despite being branded a made-in-China aircraft, the C919 remains deeply dependent on Western supply chains, including for critical components like the LEAP-1C engines used in the C919 model. A US export ban on jet parts effectively froze Comac’s production, creating a backlog that persisted even after limited exports were allowed to resume.

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