Good morning, friends. We have a brisk and compact issue for you this morning as we close out the week, let’s dive right in.

PSA-

Iraq puts off collection of customs duties till mid-year: The Iraqi cabinet has extended the implementation of Cabinet Resolution (23035) of 2023 in its first session of the year, Iraqi News Agency (INA) reports. The resolution postpones customs duties collection for imported goods and merchandise by government bodies, with a new deadline set for 30 June. The extension applies to all imports, unless a contract specifies that the exporter bears customs duties, INA said.

DISRUPTION WATCH-

Houthi attacks show no sign of letting up: Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi militia fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Southern Red Sea late Tuesday, US Central Command (Centcom) said. While no damage was reported, multiple commercial ships in the area reported the impact of the missiles in the water. The incident marks the 24th Houthi-led attack against merchant shipping in the region since attacks began in mid-November, Centcom said. A spate of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea over the weekend pushed major carriers to continue rerouting shipments away from the region.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Iraq transport ministry to take over management of Iraq’s airports: Iraq's Transport Ministry held a meeting earlier this week to discuss procedures for separating the management of Iraq’s airports from the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority — and placing them under the purview of the ministry’s General Company for Airport Management and Air Navigation(GCANS), according to a statement. The discussions also handled amendments to the internal regulations of GCANS, and transferring airport employees to the ministry. Technical, legal, and financial questions pertaining to the transfer were also talked over, the statement said.

AND- Iraq’s Grand Al-Faw Port looks to wrap up work on the facility’s five berths by October 2024, with 85% of the project completed so far, according to a statement. Berths no. 1 and 2 have been completed, the statement said.

#2- The Arab Trade Line is active: Egypt’s Transport Ministry has activated the Arab Trade Line which links Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq, Al Masry Al Youm reports. The first truck has departed from Jordan for Alexandria, bound for Italy.

#3- Iran’s national airline Iran Air puts on hold plans to resume flights to Saudi Arabia following a nine-year hiatus, Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency IRNA reports. The delay is due to legal and technical complexities in procedures, IRNA said, citing Director General of Public Relations Office of IranAir Hessam Qorbanali. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in March 2023 to restore relations.

#4- India’s Petronet LNG likely to renew its gas import agreement with Qatar: Indian gas importer Petronet LNG may sign an agreement this month to extend its long-term LNG imports from Qatar to beyond 2028, Reuters reports, citing comments made by India’s Oil Secretary Ministry Pakaj Jain. Petronet is in a 7.5 mn metric ton per year long-term LNG import agreement with Qatar, while Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp, and Gail have a 1 mn metric ton per year agreement, the outlet reports.

#5- OPEC+ is gearing up to hold a monitoring meeting with its Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) in early February, Reuters reports, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter. OPEC+ convenes every two months to oversee the implementation of its production agreements. The JMCC meeting is set to follow up on the group’s decision at a 30 November OPEC+ summit to make more voluntary supply cuts.

#6- Is Budapest Airport close to being sold? The discussions for the purchase of Hungary’s Budapest Airport are close to being finalized, Hungary’s Economy Minister Marton Nagy told Hungarian outlet ATV. Hungary’s government submitted a bid of EUR 2-3 bn to purchase a 51% stake, and was looking to attract Qatar’s QIA to join as a financial or strategic investor.

A third terminal is possible: The Hungarian government aims to expand the airport following the acquisition by building a third terminal to increase capacity for both passenger and cargo services. The terminal will be possible with QIA’s involvement, ATV writes. Qatari involvement was first suggested by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Qatar Economic Forum in May.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Asia’s fuel oil market is set to be oversupplied in 2024, as Kuwait’s Al Zour refinery ramps up to full capacity and Russia sends ample flows to China and India, Reuters reports. Very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) prices will vary depending on volumes coming out of Kuwait’s Al Zour refinery, with a possibility that VLSFO will be diverted to power generation in Kuwait by the end of the second quarter of 2024. High sulfur fuel oil (HSFO) prices for the year are set to be capped by a glut in Russian supplies, the newswire said.

#2- US overtakes Qatar and Australia as LNG export leader: The US exported some 91.2 mn metric tons of LNG in 2023 — an all time record — overtaking Qatar and Australia as global exports leader, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The boost in output was due to the restart of Freeport LNG in Texas, which had been closed following an accident in June 2022. Qatar, which led global exports in 2022, saw its output fall for the first time since 2016, declining 1.9% and placing it third globally. Australia came in at second globally, with its volumes seeing “little change,” the outlet said.

#3- The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index witnessed a 40% increase for the week ending 29 December 2023, reaching 1.8k points, Seatrade Maritime News reports, citing analyst Linerlytica. The recent disruptions in the Red Sea and the Panama Canal water level crisis are set to push shipping rates up due to vessel diversions. Increases are also expected due to the introduction of the EU Emission Trading Systems (ETS). The ETS will now require ships entering Europe to pay a carbon tax based on the distance between the last non-EU port to the first EU port, with the exception of the UK, Tangier, and Port Said.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Jordan reports surge in export certificates: Certificates of origin issued by the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) for the export of goods topped JOD 1.43 bn in 2023, up 62% y-o-y, according to statistics cited by Petra. ACC issued 35.7k certificates for the year, up 4% y-o-y, with KSA taking the lion’s share of certificates at 8.6k, followed by the UAE (4.2k) and Iraq (2.2k). Export certificates play a crucial role in facilitating the country’s exports, and cover a wide range of product categories, including agricultural and animal products, natural resources, re-exported goods, and others, the outlet said.

Who were Jordan’s leading export partners? In terms of export values, Iraq was Jordan’s chief export partner, accounting for JOD 659 mn of the country’s exports, followed by the UAE (JOD 194 mn) and KSA (JOD 98 mn).

#2- State-owned General Company for Ports of Iraq raked in IQD 985 bn in revenues in 2023, according to a transport ministry statement.

#3- Oman has set aside USD 2.3 bn for development projects in 2024, with 33.9% of that sum earmarked for infrastructure, the Times of Oman reported. 9.6% of the fund will be allocated to commodity production, 13.5% to services, 32.7% to social segments, and 10.3% to other sectors. Funds are set to be dispersed throughout the year, in accordance with project progress, the report said.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host The Dubai International Pharma and Technologies Conference and Exhibition from Tuesday, 9 January through to Thursday, 11 January in Dubai.The event will bring together the entire pharma value chain, from suppliers, manufacturers, distributors to pharmacists.

The UAE will host Transport Middle East from Tuesday, 23 January through to Thursday, 25 January in Abu Dhabi. The event will see more than 30 speakers come together to tackle the current challenges in global transportation and logistics.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.