Good morning, friends, and welcome to the final breaths of Ramadan. The news slowdown is good and well upon us as the region gears up for Eid El Fitr, although there’s just enough happening — particularly on the M&A front — to keep things interesting.

A quick programming note: Enterprise Logistics will be off from tomorrow until next Tuesday, 25 April in observance of Eid El Fitr. We’ll be back in your inboxes on Wednesday, 26 April at our regularly scheduled time.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORIES- Agility subsidiary Menzies Aviation is looking to acquire a 50.1% stake in TAP Air Portugal’s aviation services subsidiary, Groundforce, in a transaction that would give Menzies a 65% market share in Portugal, while Egyptian logistics firm Egytrans’ board of directors approved the acquisition of Egyptian trucking firm the National Company for Transportation and Overseas Service Company.

ALSO- Sudan’s shaky ceasefire collapsed within hours yesterday, after clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces erupted again in Khartoum, Reuters reports. Both sides accuse each other of breaching the ceasefire.

KEZAD and Emtelle break ground on USD 50 mn fiber optics hub in Abu Dhabi: Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (KEZAD) and UK-based Emtelle have broken ground on a new fiber optics research and manufacturing hub in Abu Dhabi, according to a press release. The project is one of the largest of its kind in the world and will see Emtelle invest a total of USD 50 mn over three phases of development. Emtelle hopes to use the new facility to develop and manufacture cutting-edge fiber optics and cable protectors, as well as the distribution and R&D of blown fiber units and ducted network solutions, to service customers in MENA, Asia, and Australia, and New Zealand.

Bahrain has opened a new flyover in Manama as part of a USD 106 mn project to developarterial routes in the city, Trade Arabia reports. The project, which comprises two flyovers and an underpass, is set to be completed in March of next year.

Qatar’s public work authority has finished developing a 2 km section of Al Wukair Road in Doha, according to a statement. The development work took place between Al Mashaf and Al Wukair’s intersection with Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Jasim Al Thani street. Two roundabouts were also converted into signal-controlled intersections. This was the second phase of development, which started in late 2022.

WATCH THIS SPACE #1-Air India will reportedly cut back flights to the GCC due to plane and crew shortages, Indian financial news website moneycontrol reported, citing circulars issued to travel agents. The Tata-owned carrier will begin implementing the cuts after Eid El Fitr to accommodate the surge in bookings during the seasonal holiday. The airline will reduce trips to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Muscat until the end of May, the outlet reported.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Egypt eyes customs incentives to boost transit trade: Egypt’s transport and finance ministries are working together to introduce amendments to the Customs Law that would introduce incentives to draw transit trade to Egyptian ports, Al Mal reports, citing unnamed sources. The sources don’t reveal any details about the proposed incentives.

DATA POINT- Syria’s exports hit c.USD 250 mn in 1Q 2023, head of the Syrian Chamber of Commerce’s Import and Export Committee Fahd Darwish said, according to government-aligned Alwatan. Exports of unnamed “natural resources” accounted for the lion’s share of the country’s exports during the quarter, followed by vegetable and fruit exports, Darwish told Alwatan. Syria’s export figures have been gradually recovering in recent years, climbing from c. USD 700 mn in 2018 and broke the USD 1 bn threshold in 2021 and 2022, the newspaper added.

Baghdad + KRG take a step forward in resuming Iraq northern oil exports: The Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have ironed out technicalities necessary for resuming northern oil exports from the port of Ceyhan in Turkey to international markets, Reuters reports. Some 450k barrels per day (bbl / d) in northern oil exports were stopped following an arbitration ruling last month. Baghdad and the KRG had initially signed an agreement on 4 April to resume crude oil exports, but continued negotiations on technical issues such as marketing, pricing, and destination before engaging with Turkey, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The terms of the agreement will allow Iraqi state owned marketer SOMO to sign contracts with traders, while restricting exports to Asia and pricing them against Kirkuk official selling prices, four sources told Reuters. Resumption of exports, terms and conditions for pricing, mechanism for payment, and share of future oil export sales will be further discussed at a meeting between international oil companies and KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. The timeline for the resumption of Iraq’s northern oil exports remains unclear, with the ball still remaining in Turkey’s court as it insists on receiving assurances from Iraq on a second arbitration case, a source told Reuters.

MARKET WATCH- Container spot prices are showing signs of recovery: The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) rose 8% week-on-week, Seatrade Maritime News reports citing HSBC’s Global Freight Monitor. The rise reverses a year-long decline in container spot rates that saw rates fall some 84% from the record high in September 2021, according to Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI). However, the SCFI is still down 7% year-to-date. “We expect market spot rates to stabilize at current levels in the coming months and gain support from a sequential improvement in volumes in 2H23,” the report says, also noting that the Clarksons Time Charter Index for containerships witnessed a 13% recovery from its mid-February low.

Russian crude exports have bounced back, sparking fresh speculation over how serious the country is about its announced output cuts, Bloomberg reports. Output has increased by 540k barrels per day (bbl / d), climbing above 3 mn bbl / day according to Bloomberg data.

COME TO OUR NEXT ENTERPRISE FORUM-

The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum, our latest industry-specific conference, is taking place on Monday, 15 May. The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum will give insiders and newcomers alike the chance to talk about how to develop an export-centered business and how their companies can help Egypt build an export-led economy that makes us a magnet for foreign direct investment (FDI).

Why exports & FDI? In the wake of successive floats of EGP, exports and FDI have never been more important to our economy — or our businesses. We’re gathering some of the CEOs, top execs from local companies and multinationals, investors, bankers and finance folks to speak on how businesses can adapt their strategies to be export-oriented and what Egypt as a country can do to draw foreign investment and much-needed FX. Expect it to be heavy on lessons learned in Egypt and other global growth markets — and lots of success stories.You can learn more on our conference website here.

And what better place to discuss moving our goods than Egypt’s original logistics zone — the Nile. That’s why we’re looking forward to holding the event by the river’s vistas at the Four Seasons, Nile Plaza.

Some of the biggest names in business and finance are on board — are you? The Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum is taking place with the generous support of our friends, including:

Banking partners: Banque Misr | Al Baraka Bank | Emirates NBD | HSBC

Lead partners: DB Schenker | DP World | East Port Said Development | IDG | IFC | Madinat Masr

Event partners: Beyti | Concrete | Global Corp | Grant Thornton | Hassan Allam Utilities

WANT TO BECOME A COMMERCIAL PARTNER? Ping a note to Moustafa, our head of commercial, here.

HAVEN’T REQUESTED AN INVITE YET? If you’re a C-suite exec, business owner, DFI staff, export executive, investor or banker, please fill out the form here to signal your interest, letting us know your name, title and where you work.