Good morning, friends. It’s a mixed bag in the news this morning, with some updates on the rail, shipping and diplo fronts.

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORY- Iran has restarted a part of its railway linking to Afghanistan, following months of repairs. Meanwhile, Egyptian shipping giant Transmar has launched a new shipping line connecting Egypt with Yemen.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Canada is nearing an agreement that could end the ongoing port strike: An agreement between Canada’s port workers and their employers that “would work” for both sides is within reach, Reuters quotes Labor Minister Seamus O’Reagen as saying. Some 7.2k dockworkers in Canada have been on strike for 11 days, demanding higher wages. The International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU Canada) and the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) have been negotiating a new labor contract since February but have been unable to reach an agreement.

The impact: The strike has impacted the key ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, leading to disruptions in the transportation of goods. The estimated cost of these disruptions, according to industry body, The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CM&E), amounts to c. USD 377 mn each day, according to Reuters.

Companies are now slashing their guidance: Fertilizer giant Nutrien says it will fall short of its earnings guidance for the year due to the strike and other factors, Bloombergreports. A prolonged strike could impact production at Nutrien’s potash mines in Saskatchewan.

WATCH THIS SPACE #1-Iraq will swap crude oil for Iranian gas to solve the issue of stalled payments, Reuters reported. Iran had rolled back gas exports to Iraq by more than 50% after Baghdad failed to get an American greenlight to pay Iran funds that were owed, Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani had said, according to the newswire. The two sides have found a workaround, however, with Tehran agreeing to resume gas exports to Iraq in exchange for Iraqi crude.

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- 30% of Bahrain’s Al Janabiya Highway Development expansion is complete, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) cites Bahrain’s Works Ministry as saying. The highway expansion — which comes as part of a key government infrastructure project — will add 4 km to transform the highway into a three-lane artery on both directions to ease traffic flows, and increase the capacity to accommodate up to 10.5k vehicles per hour in each direction, according to BNA. The expansion project is financed by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, and will cost some BD 12 mn (USD 32 mn) to complete. The highway connects Salman Town, Budaiya, Al Janabiya and other nearby areas.

WATCH THIS SPACE #3- Abu Dhabi is launching a delivery riders hub in its capital city in September in a bid to improve delivery drivers’ working environment and enhance the city’s image, according to a press release. The project includes creating safe spaces for delivery bike drivers with shaded waiting areas, comfortable seating, air conditioning, and drinking water facilities. The initiative is a collaboration between government entities, the private sector, and nonprofit organizations and also aims to address safety concerns, traffic fines, and delays in food delivery.

WATCH THIS SPACE #4- Eleven consortiums — made up of Egyptian and International firms — are in the running for the construction of the USD 740 mn Cairo-Alexandria railway line, Al Mal reports, citing sources it says are in the know. The consortiums have submitted their bids to the Transport Ministry to qualify for the construction of the Cairo-Alexandria trade logistics development project. This follows the Egyptian parliament’s recent approval of aUSD 400 mn loan from the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to finance the construction of the railway line, which links the Port of Alexandria and the Sixth of October dry port.

DATA POINT #1-Exports from industries registered with The Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI) fell slightly y-o-y to hit c.JD 3.5 bn in 1H 2023, Jordan News Agencyreports. The packaging, paper, cardboard, and office supplies sectors recorded a 4% y-o-y decrease in exports, while the wooden and furniture industries witnessed a significant 24% drop.

DATA POINT #2- Suez Canal sees record cargo volumes in May: Egypt’s Suez Canal recorded USD 948 mn in revenues in May, 44% higher than the same period last year, according to government sources cited by Al Mal. The month saw a record 142.9 mn tons of cargo transit the waterway, with a y-o-y surge of 24.5%.

DATA POINT #3– OPEC’s oil export revenues rose to their highest in almost a decade last year by 54% y-o-y to USD 873.57 bnin 2022, on the back of the Russian war in Ukraine driving oil prices up, according to OPEC’s 2023 Annual Statistical Bulletin (pdf). OPEC countries exported an average of 21.4 mn bbl / d of crude oil in 2022, marking an 8.8% y-o-y increase and remaining slightly below pre-pandemic levels, with the bulk going to Asia. Global oil demand also rose to 99.6 mn barrels per day (bbl / d) in 2022, up from 97.07 mn bbl / d in 2021, with demand rising from almost every region.

DATA POINT #4- Tunisia’s trade deficit fell 26.2% y-o-y to TND 8.7 bn in 1H 2023, Zawya cites Tunisia’s state statistics institute as saying on Wednesday. The report does not provide import or export data or a reason behind the decline.

ENTERPRISE IS LOOKING FOR SMART, TALENTED PEOPLE of all backgrounds to help us build some very cool new things. Enterprise — the essential morning read on all the important news shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region — is looking for writers, reporters and editors to help us build out new publications. Today, we run four daily Egypt and MENA-focused publications, five weekly industry verticals, and a weekend lifestyle edition designed to make our readers feel just a bit smarter.

We have tons more in the pipeline — come help us build new publications. We offer the chance to work in a fast-paced newsroom on a broad range of topics and in a variety of formats. Our goal is simple: To create value for our growing community of >250k daily readers by telling stories that matter.

NEVER WORKED IN A NEWSROOM BEFORE? We have the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program. Whether you are a recent graduate, an industry vet, or looking to switch careers, the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program will give you the tools you need to tell the most important stories to our audience of C-suite officials, government ministers, diplomats, financiers, investors and entrepreneurs.

Not an internship program — a career: The three-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran business journalists on subject matter knowledge, while also working on constructing and filing Enterprise stories that will run on any of our publications. Those who have successfully completed the program, will then be given long-term job offers.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “writing development program” in your subject line.

MARKET WATCH-

Russian oil shipments have begun to decline, more than four months after production cuts were supposed to be implemented, Bloombergreports. Vessel tracking data revealed that seaborne crude flows reached 2.86 mn barrels per day in the week ending July 9, over 1 mn bpd lower than the previous week, with 80% of the decrease originating from ports in western Russia. This reduction in flows is impacting shipments to Asia, which have reached their lowest level since mid-January.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS- The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

Day one is our Banking Forum, where we’ll dive deep into topics of interest to commercial and investment bankers, from an outlook on the 12 months to come in M&A, IPO, and debt capital markets to the national, regional, and global trends that are (re)shaping our industry.

Day two is all about Fintech and Non-Banking Financial Services. We’ll take a deep dive into everything from the magic of client acquisition to the prospects of consolidation and the coming of challenger banks.

** NEW: MORE NETWORKING TIME- Our agenda includes expanded networking time, including an expanded coffee break and a post-event networking room for you to interact with your peers and speak one-on-one with the team at Enterprise.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations just after the 30 June holiday.

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STAY TUNED for more detail about our agenda in the weeks to come.

MISSED THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the Enterprise Podcast to hear what went down: The Enterprise Podcast is back with another installment of our forum series, where we bring you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum,which took place last May.

WANT TO LISTEN? Head to: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast | Anghami.We’re releasing a new episode every Sunday morning.

IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE- We explored the lessons learned from the industries that have raised our export profile: Food and beverages, fertilizers and chemical products, and textiles and garments. We were joined on that panel by Mohamed Talaat Khalifa, CEO of Concrete, Shams Eweis, corporate affairs manager for North Africa and the Levant at Mars, and Tarek Hosny, head of investments and projects at Fertiglobe.