Good morning, folks. It’s a quiet day on the regional logistics new front this morning, but we have another Qatari aviation acquisition to unpack and a few more earnings reports from key regional players. Also, a round of applause is due for logistics giant DP World for its performance in recent container handling rankings. Shall we?

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Egypt isn’t giving up on wheat: Egyptian state grain buyer GASC is in discussions over directly purchasing up to 1.8 mn tons of wheat from international suppliers, Reuters reports. This comes hot on the heels of an unsuccessful wheat tender where the GASC was looking to purchase some 3.8 mn tons — in a bid to capitalize on falling commodity prices — and ended up securing only 280k. The wheat purchase could cost the country around USD 248 a ton, traders tell the newswire.

#2- Egypt has a comprehensive plan to position itself as a regional industrial hub by the end of the year, Egypt’s Transport and Industry Minister Kamel El Wazir told a late night talk show yesterday (watch, runtime: 14:41). The country aims to accomplish its ambitions by increasing local production, rationalizing imports, and ramping up exports. The plan rests on seven key pillars, including setting up more factories, upgrading existing ones, reviving idle and struggling facilities, and elevating the standard of Egyptian products, El Wazir said.

Digitalizing procedures: The ministry will soon launch the Egypt Digital Industrial Platform, which will streamline the investment process, enabling investors to secure industrial land and building permits within just one week, El Wazir added. It will also allow investors to pay their fees online.

#3- Turkish clothing firm Eroglu Holding has broken ground on its USD 40 mn denim factory in Egypt’s Qantara West Industrial Zone, according to a statement. The factory — slated to come online in January 2025 — aims to produce 7 mn denim garments annually when operating at full capacity — some 70% of the factory’s production will be exported. The company also plans to expand the project in a second phase.

REMEMBER- DNM Textile for Spinning, Weaving and Dyeing — an investment venture of Eroglu Holding — in March received the government’s approval to move forward with the factory in addition to an industrial complex for spinning, weaving, clothing, mattress, and furniture production.

#3- The UAE’s Adnoc Drilling will be added to MSCI’s flagship indexes, including MSCI EM and MSCI UAE, according to a press release. The inclusion — set to take place on 30 August — comes on the back of Adnoc’s successful sale of 880 mn shares of Adnoc Drilling, making up 5.5% of its share requirements, which allowed the firm to meet all the necessary MSCI Index Inclusion requirements. The move will allow Adnoc Drilling to expand its investor base and foster unique business models to become more visible to global markets, according to the press release.

SOUND SMART- What are the MSCI Indexes? The MSCI Indexes are a comprehensive suite of large, medium, and small cap indexes that are tailored to represent and measure global equity markets, according to the MSCI website. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MSCI EM) is for large and mid-cap representation across 24 emerging market (EM) countries, while the MSCI UAE Index (MSCI UAE) is designed to assess the performance of the large and mid-cap sectors of the UAE market.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices gained ground in early morning trading on the back of unfavorable estimates of US inventories and tensions in the Middle East, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures rose USD 0.30 to USD 82.99 a barrel by 00.09 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures gained USD 0.38 to USD 78.73 a barrel.

#2- Global oil markets, currently facing a deficit on the back of high summer demand, could shift to a surplus in the next quarter if Opec+ follows through with its plan to boost supplies in October, Bloomberg reports, citing an International Energy Agency (IEA) report. Oil inventories dipped in June by 26.2 mn barrels a day (bbl / d) on the back of increased summer demand.

Demand is covered for next year: Even if the Opec+ cuts stay in place, oil inventories could gain an average 860k bbl / d next year on the back of non-Opec+ supply, the report said.

REMEMBER-The oil carter agreed to begin phasing out production cuts this fall at a June meeting in Riyadh, but said it could pause or reverse this decision depending on market conditions. A decision on this could come within a few weeks, Bloomberg said.

The next checkpoint: The group is scheduled to meet again on Sunday, 1 December 2024.

MORE ON THE DEMAND SIDE- The IEA has shaved its estimate for global oil demand growth in 2025 due to weak economic growth in China, Reuters reports. The agency now predicts global oil demand will rise by 950k bbl / d in 2025, down some 30k bbl / d from its previous forecast. This year's growth forecast was left unrevised at 970k bbl / d.

#3- Baltic index breaks its declining streak: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — rose nearly 0.9% to 1,670 points on Tuesday breaking three consecutive sessions of losses. Capesize increased by 2.3% to 2,477 points, notching a two-week high. The panamax index declined 1.3% to a one-month low of 1,563 points, while the supramax segment dipped a further 0.2% to 1,292 points.

PSA-

Hapag-Lloyd ESC on South Europe-Red Sea cargo: Hapag-Lloyd is implementing an emergency space contingency surcharge (ESC) affecting cargo loading from South Europe to the Red Sea starting 1 September, according to a statement. Mediterranean countries impacted by the surcharge include Egypt, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria, and Israel, while the Red Sea countries are Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Yemen. The ESC will be applied at a rate of USD 250 per 20 ft standard container and USD 500 per 40 ft standard and high cube container.

Also, there’s a new GRI coming: The company will roll out a general rate increase (GRI) for container shipments of up to USD 1k, 2k, and 3k from the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East to North America, according to a statement. The GRI takes effect starting 15 September and will affect 20 and 40-foot dry, reefer, and special containers.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Saudi Arabia will host the Saudi Warehousing and Logistics Expo on Monday, 2 September to Wednesday, 4 September in Riyadh. The event will bring together leaders in the supply chain, warehousing, and logistics industry from across the Kingdom to discuss investments, trade, geopolitical risks, and localized manufacturing.

Egypt will host the Egypt International Airshow on Tuesday, 3 September to Thursday, 5 September in El Alamein. The event will host a range of discussions touching on industrialization, digitalization, and globalization in the regional commercial aviation sector. During the event, aircrafts and innovative aerospace products, and services will be showcased.

Saudi Arabia will host SkyMove MENA on Tuesday, 10 September and Wednesday, 11 September in Riyadh. The event will gather global industry stakeholders, experts, and service providers to discuss challenges in the regional aviation industry.

Saudi Arabia will host the Saudi Maritime and Logistics Congress on Wednesday, 18 September and Thursday, 19 September in Dammam. The event will gather international industry leaders in the maritime sector to discuss a range of topics including interconnected logistics, supply chains, digitalization, decarbonization and workforce development.

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