ZONES-

#1- GS Global to develop a USD 15 mn project in Qantara West: The General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) inked an agreement with the Chinese textile company GS Global Sourcing to develop a USD 15 mn ready-made clothes factory in the Qantara West Industrial Zone, according to a Cabinet statement. Spanning over 27k sqm, the facility will produce over 12 mn garments annually, with 100% of output earmarked for export. The project is expected to create 2k direct job opportunities.

#2- Egypt’s government has reallocated two plots of land in New October City for investment and industrial use, according to a statement released last week. The first — spanning nearly 270 feddans — will serve as a private freezone and logistics area and will house a vehicle assembly plant. The second plot — covering almost 30 feddans — will be used for industrial activities.

M&A WATCH-

EGX has given UAE-based NAS Investment Holding an additional four days to complete its mandatory tender offer (MTO) for up to 57.5% of phosphate fertilizers exporter EgyFert, according to an EGX bulletin. The offer — priced at EGP 95 per share — will now run through to the end of the trading session on Thursday, 29 May.

ICYMI- The offer, which was submitted by NAS in January and greenlit by the Financial Regulatory Authority last month, could raise NAS’ stake in EgyFert from 32.4% to up to 90% in a transaction valued at EGP 524.4 mn.

SHIPPING + MARITIME-

#1- AED 112 mn wharf lands at Dubai Creek: Dubai has inaugurated a 2km-long wharf at Dubai Creek’s wharf side in an AED 112 mn investment, according to a statement. The project has raised the retaining wall height to 8.3m as well as equipped the quay with 200 anchors and 500 ship berths. The total area of the quay has increased to 320k sq ft — featuring new cargo handling zones and a public promenade.

#2- PIF-owned Folk Maritime added three new container vessels to its fleet, according to a statement released on Thursday. The new vessels — M/V Folk Dammam (1,868 TEIJs), M/V Folk Yanbu (702 TEIJs), and M/V Folk Jubail (1,118 TEUs) — are set for deployment starting June 2025 to serve routes along the Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, and Indian subcontinent, and are all registered under the Saudi flag at Jeddah Islamic Port.

REMEMBER- Folk Maritime is lining up a multi-mn USD fleet expansion with plans to buy or charter 15-18 container ships in the next three to five years to increase access for the Kingdom’s smaller ports and alleviate demand for road transportation. Recent additions to the fleet include the 2k TEU Folk Jazan from April and the 1,868 TEU Folk Jeddah from last September.

CUSTOMS-

The Kingdom will begin implementing revised customs duties starting 1 June, after Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan approved changes to the unified GCC tariff schedule, Umm Al Qura reported on Friday. The new rules set a 5% import duty on various chemical compounds, including acetophenone and benzophenone, as well as on natural honey products including filtered manuka honey, Al Arabiya reports.

TRADE-

Iran + EAEU update FTA: Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have updated their freetrade agreement (FTA) to lower the average rate on import custom levies on goods supplied from EAEU countries to Iran from 20% to 4.5%, Tehran Times reported on Thursday. The new rules will come into effect in 60 days after all EAEU member countries complete the necessary legal processes.

STARTUP WATCH-

Aramco-backed VC fund Prosperity7 participated in a USD 100 mn funding round for Las Vegas-based AI infrastructure startup TensorWave, according to a press release issued last week. Magnetar Capital, AMD Ventures, Maverick Silicon, and Nexus Venture Partners also participated in the round.

About TensorWave: Founded in 2023, TensorWave builds data centers primarily with AMD chips and currently operates an AI training cluster with over 8k AMD GPUs. The startup plans to use the fresh funding to expand its GPU clusters and team.

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