Agility bags EUR 500 mn financing + Damietta welcomes another MSC service

Agility Global secures USD 560 mn facility

ADX-listed logistics firm Agility Global secured a EUR 500 mn (c. USD 560 mn) credit facility from international lenders, according to a disclosure (pdf). The proceeds will fund ongoing financing needs and are set to mature in one year, with extension options in place.

The logistics player was tight-lipped on the specifics and did not disclose the specific banks involved in the arrangement or the interest rates for the paper. The move comes after Agility posted strong 1H results as net income jumped 30% y-o-y on revenues of around USD 3 bn, up 25% y-o-y.

MSC Siena Docks in Damietta

Damietta Container and Cargo Handling Company (DCHC) has added MSC’s weekly Himalaya service to its schedule, with the first call made by the MSC Siena on Thursday, 8 October, according to a DCHC statement. The service links India to the Eastern Mediterranean through Damietta Container Terminal before continuing to ports in Spain and Portugal. It’s MSC’s second new service at the terminal recently, after its Mediterranean-US East Coast (EMUSA) service, and should add to the volumes the terminal handles.

The expansion shows the terminal can handle larger vessels and services, DCHC Executive Managing Director Rafik Galal said, describing it as part of the Transport Ministry’s push to make Egypt a regional hub for maritime transport, logistics, and transit trade.

IN CONTEXT- Damietta Port is in the middle of a multi-phase expansion that includes the Damietta Alliance container terminal, which should lift container capacity and draw more Eastern Mediterranean feeder traffic. The India-Europe loop runs through the Suez Canal, adding to signs that carriers are returning to the route.