TODAY: Ain Sokhna’s new truck yard is already linking with Nafeza + Iraq's overland Hormuz bypass now runs both ways

Good morning, nice people — the region is upgrading everything except its trust in Hormuz.

Egypt's truck yards are getting a digital upgrade: A new EGP 1 bn digital yard at Ain Sokhna is already integrating with Nafeza, meaning truckers can only request entry passes for cargo that's already cleared — fewer wasted trips, faster turnaround, and a possible model for the rest of the country if the early gains hold.

Meanwhile, Iraq's overland route around Hormuz now runs both ways. Syria has started trucking gasoline into Iraq. The first cargo, about 32.8k tons, unloaded at Baniyas and was already rolling toward the Iraqi border on the first of what will be many trucks.

And Qatar still doesn't trust Hormuz, even as more of its LNG slips through. QatarEnergy has extended force majeure to buyers across Asia and Europe despite a pickup in Qatar-linked tanker traffic. Pakistan, Bangladesh, and at least one Indian buyer won't see cargoes until November, and Edison in Italy is on hold until early December.

We’re excited to welcome Karim Awad as a guest speaker at the 2026 EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum.

Karim Awad is group CEO, chairman of the executive committee, and a member of the board of directors of EFG Holding S.A.E., a financial institution with a universal bank in Egypt and the leading investment bank in the Middle East and North Africa. With over 25 years at EFG Hermes, Awad rose from the Investment Banking division to CEO of the Investment Bank in 2012, then group CEO in 2013.

Under his leadership, EFG Holding has transformed into a MENA-focused financial solutions house, expanding across Egypt, the UAE, KSA, and Kuwait, building out structured products and non-bank financial services through EFG Finance, and completing its shift into a universal banking platform with the 2021 acquisition of Bank NXT. The firm's revenues reached EGP 26.0 bn and profits EGP 4.1 bn in 2025.

Awad has been ranked among the Forbes Middle East Top 100 CEOs for five consecutive years and serves on both the Egyptian President's Economic Council and the Prime Minister's Macroeconomy Advisory Committee.

Join us on 5 October in Cairo. Attendance is by invitation only, and we've reached full capacity.

Request your invitation here to join the waitlist.

Banking on the gas

Aramco has hired a banker for its gas carve-out, moving the plan toward an actual transaction. The oil giant has hired Evercore to advise on the restructuring — internally called Project Gamma — that would separate its gas operations into a standalone division, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Boston Consulting Group is also advising on the restructuring, recommending the split as a way to unlock value.

Why it matters: At north of USD 100 bn, the gas unit would be worth roughly three times as much as Sabic, Aramco’s listed chemicals arm, and would be the biggest single lever in a program to monetize up to USD 35 bn of assets to fund state projects and dividend payouts. Sabic is also the cautionary reference point — its shares are down more than 20% over the past year, and that is the appetite any minority listing would be sold into.

REMEMBER- Aramco has run this structure before. Last year, a BlackRock GIP-led consortium invested USD 11 bn in Aramco’s gas-processing infrastructure at Jafurah through a lease-and-leaseback. The assets were housed in Jafurah Midstream Gas Company, with Aramco retaining a 51% stake and the consortium taking 49%, before being leased back to Aramco for 20 years.

L'imad goes for the last 1.07% of AD Ports

L’imad is pushing ahead with its squeeze-out of AD Ports, issuing a mandatory acquisition notice to take over the remaining 1.07% stake in the firm via ADQ after it recently lifted its holding to 98.93%, according to an ADX disclosure (pdf). The buyout settled two weeks ahead of schedule, having moved a 9 October deadline forward to 25 September. L’imad has wasted no time with the squeeze-out either, moving ahead with the notice significantly faster than the 60-day deadline.

ADQ is officially tidying up its cap table: ADQ, acting through L’imad Holding, is now above the 90%-plus-one-share threshold required to trigger the squeeze-out under Abu Dhabi’s M&A rules. The compulsory acquisition covers all shares not already held by the acquirer and will be followed by a challenge period, after which a delisting is likely to take place.

ICYMI- This comes after the 15 September close of a voluntary tender offer in which ADQ secured 23.08% of AD Ports, or about 94% of the shares that it didn’t already own. L’imad had played the same cards with Taqa, moving to take full control through Abu Dhabi Power, before delisting it from the ADX.

Fast-tracking the paper trail

Egypt and Russia are in talks to streamline bilateral trade and advance a freetrade agreement, Russia’s Industry and Trade Ministry said in a statement. Talks also covered digitizing cross-border documents and developing new logistics routes

Russia has lined up the first tenants for its industrial zone (RIZ) in Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Zone, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Roman Chekushov says, but none have been named. Russian exports to Egypt hit USD 5.9 bn between January and July, up 15.6% y-o-y, according to the statement.

IN CONTEXT- As we’ve previously reported, the RIZ could draw USD 5 bn in investment by 2028, with some 30 Russian firms scoping it out and construction set to kick off this year under a 49-year tax and customs incentive package. The original intergovernmental agreement for a RIZ dates back to 2018, initially planned for East Port Said before shifting to Ain Sokhna.

Market watch

Oil prices climbed this morning as Middle East supply fears outweighed recovering regional exports, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures gained USD 1.49 to USD 106.77 / bbl by 03.26 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased USD 1.34 to USD 93.94 / bbl.

The Baltic Index inches lower: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — was down 4.6% to 3,268 points on Monday. The capesize index dipped 7.5% to 5,351 points, while the panamax fell 0.2% to 2,402 points. The smaller supramax inched up 0.2% to 1,790 points.

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