TODAY: Egypt’s logistics corridor in East Africa

Good morning, friends. Today's Big Story is a look at Egypt’s push into the Red Sea and East African port network — Djibouti and Kenya already control the chokepoints that decide how Asian goods reach Africa and Europe, and Egypt wants a seat at that table. Elsewhere, an Abu Dhabi royal family office just wrote a USD 1.13 bn check into global LNG.

Not every chokepoint stays quiet, though: The US armed forces said strikes on Iran continued for a second straight day, following a declaration by US President Donald Trump that the interim US-Iran peace accord was “over.” Washington has maintained that its attacks are in retaliation for Tehran’s “recent unjustified aggression” on maritime traffic in Hormuz.

Mubadala closer to exiting Brazilian port

More bidders line up for Mubadala’s Brazil port: BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners is teaming up with iron-ore producer Vale and steelmaker Gerdau on one bid for Mubadala Capital and Trafigura's USD 5 bn Porto Sudeste, while Stonepeak is pairing with Brisbane-based M Resources on the other, Bloomberg reports, citing people close to the process. I Squared Capital — the bidder we flagged when the sale moved to its second round — remains in the mix, with binding offers due by the end of the month.

REMEMBER- We reported on I Squared's interest last month. Mubadala Capital and Trafigura have held the Rio de Janeiro port — which shipped a record 27.8 mn tons of iron ore in 2025, still shy of its c. 50 mn-ton capacity — since buying it from Eike Batista's MMX Mineração in 2014.

Doubling the Boeing 777

Saudi Cargo is adding four Boeing 777-200 jets to its fleet — a move that is set to roughly double its dedicated cargo fleet, according to a statement on LinkedIn. The first aircraft is due for delivery in 4Q this year, with the remaining three arriving sequentially through 2027.

REMEMBER- Saudia Cargo added two Airbus A330-300P2F freighters under a wet-lease agreement with ASL Aviation Holding in August 2025 — each capable of carrying up to 62 tons over 3.7k nautical miles.

Our take? The new jets could change the kind of cargo Saudia can chase. While the cargo carrier moved more than 570k tons of cargo across 90 destinations in 2025 — all while maintaining on-time performance — the new freighters could materially expand its ability to carry heavy and long-haul cargo, with each aircraft able to lift up to 102 tons.

UAE, Syria partner on food security

Food exports and supply chains are the latest sectors targeted by increasing UAE-Syria relations, with the two sides set to launch an agricultural system covering the entire food supply chain stack, Syrian state news agency Sana reports.

Who’s involved? ADX-listed investment firm Mair Group, which specializes in food retail and real estate, and UAE-based software and agri-tech player NVSSoft.

Syrian farmers will be able to export fresh produce directly to the UAE via Iraq as part of the initiative. Mair will set up four processing centers in Syria, and NVSSoft will develop a digital platform to support the plan.

IN CONTEXT- The UAE is actively looking to shore up its food supply chain after the regional war exposed risks in its food security system. The Emirates has moved quickly to back various stages of Syria’s reconstruction, including in the logistics sectors, with DP World set on developing and operating a multi-purpose terminal at Tartous Port under a USD 800 mn agreement inked with Syria’s General Authority for Land and Sea Ports.

Market watch

Oil prices climbed over 1% after renewed US-strikes on Iran dented peace hopes, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures increased USD 0.86 to USD 78.88 / bbl by 03.52 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed up USD 0.85 to USD 74.37 / bbl.

The Baltic Index loses steam The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — fell 4 points to 2,871 on Wednesday, driven by the bigger vessel segment. The capesize index declined by 0.8% points to 4,480, while the panamax index increased by 0.7% to 2,245. The smaller supramax index inched up 0.6% to 1,686 points.

Data point

46.0 — that’s Egypt’s non-oil PMI reading in June, down from 47.1 in May and the country’s lowest reading since January 2023, according to S&P Global’s latest Purchasing Managers Index report (pdf). The headline figure has now sat below the 50.0 growth threshold for six straight months, with business activity contracting for five months running as demand weakness and regional supply chain disruptions took their toll. Firms kept building inventory despite the drop in sales — a hedge against anticipated price rises and further shipping delays.

PSA

Hapag-Lloyd lifts its India-Europe rates up: German liner Hapag-Lloyd is raising ocean tariff rates from India and Bangladesh to North Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea by USD 2k per dry container on sailings from 1 August. The new base rates range from USD 4.5k-5.3k for North Europe shipments and USD 4.4k-4.8k for Mediterranean and Black Sea shipments — depending on origin and container size.

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