Good morning, friends. We have a brisk issue this morning with big news from Aramco’s expansions across the Atlantic and an update on Australia’s first CEPA agreement in MENA. Boeing is also out with a commercial outlook diving into how the aviation market will shape up in the next couple of decades.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Egypt expected to ink PPP contracts for Tenth of Ramadan in November: The Egyptian Transport Ministry’s Public Authority for Land and Dry Ports is reportedly set to sign final agreements for a public-private partnership (PPP) with Medlog, the cargo subsidiary of Italy’s Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), to design, construct, administer, and maintain the new dry ports and logistic center in Tenth of Ramadan in November, unnamed sources told Al Borsa reports. The signing will follow the House of Representatives’ expected greenlighting of the project next month.

Remember: Medlog first inked the agreement with the government to develop the new dry port in August 2023 The 250-feddan project will be carried out under a 30-year PPP contract with around USD 100 mn in total investments, and is expected to serve the industrial area in Badr, Ain Sokhna, East Port Said, the New Capital, and the Tenth of Ramadan.

IN OTHER EGYPT NEWS- Egypt’s Customs Authority is on track to complete its digital shipping policy to reduce cargo clearance time at ports, head of the Customs Authority Al Shahat Ghatouri told Al Mal. The Authority is exploring methods to shorten the time cargo ships spend in ports, Ghatouri said, noting that it currently takes investors around five days on average to submit a customs declaration request. While the application period itself is relatively short, investors encounter difficulties due to delays in receiving the bill of lading, which complicates the customs registration process, Ghatouri said.

The solution: Implementing an electronic shipping policy would allow the bill of lading to be sent directly from abroad through an electronic portal, Ghatouri explained. This would enable Egyptian banks to interact directly with foreign banks, speeding up procedures and eliminating the need for waiting on paper documents.

ALSO- Japanese firm eyeing green hydrogen bunkering in SCZone: An unnamed Japanese firm is looking to develop a green hydrogen bunkering project in Egypt’s SCZone given the Suez Canal’s position as a global artery of maritime transport, according to a statement. The announcement was made at a meeting of the Egyptian-Japanese Business and Investment Promotion Committee.

#2- G42 and Microsoft will set up two AI centers in Abu Dhabi focused on boosting access to AI for the Middle East and Global South, according to a press release. The first center, co-founded with the UAE’s Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council (AIATC), will work on setting standards for ethical AI practices across the two regions, while the second — Microsoft’s AI for Good Research Lap — will focus on creating large models for underserved languages and addressing challenges in food security and climate resilience.

More assurances US tech is secure in the UAE: G42 will adopt a “red teaming” approach to test AI systems against cyberattacks, the statement reads.

REMEMBER: The IHC-backed company started receiving AI chips from US chipmaker Nvidia after the US government approved the sale earlier this year without making the transaction public. This came under Microsoft’s USD 1.5 bn investment in April in G42, for which the state-owned AI firm had offloaded all its stakes in Chinese businesses in a bid to reportedly appease US partners.

#3- Iraqi oil exports held up by pipeline closure: Disagreements over costs are delaying the restart of a key Iraqi oil pipeline that has been shut over a year, Bloomberg reports, citing comments by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani. Baghdad has struggled to reach an agreement on the payment amounts for international oil companies working in the northern part of the country. The federal budget permits a payment of USD 8 per barrel of oil produced, whereas contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government stipulate USD 26 per barrel, according to Al-Sudani. This disagreement has impacted production levels in the region and delayed the restart of the pipeline, leading the country to inadvertently adhere to the Opec+ production limit.

A little background: Turkey shut down the pipeline in March 2023 after a court order forced it to pay USD 1.5 bn to Iraq in compensation for shipping oil through the link without Baghdad’s approval, but claimed the pipe was ready for operations back in October, Bloomberg explains. Other financial and legal issues have emerged — including remuneration companies for costs. International companies are also calling for the payment of past dues, including USD 1 bn for oil produced between September 2022 and March 2023.

Where’s the problem? The closure of the pipeline — which is able to transport 0.5 mn barrels of oil a day from Kurdistan to the Turkish coast — is resulting in USD bns in lost revenues. Iraq has been failing to comply with the Opec+ output limit, although it has repeatedly said that it will compensate for overproducing. Several companies have been producing some crude and selling it locally amid the halt in exports, which Iraqi officials have said is hindering compliance to quotas set by Opec.

#4- There’s still hope for the “cows for cars” freetrade deal between the EU and South America’s Mercosur countries, if both sides agree on terms, Politico reports. Brazil, which has been leading the EU-Mercosur talks, says the trade can still happen if imports of EVs are limited as the countries attempt to localize their EV manufacturing. As for the EU, an agreement is still on the table if the cows it imports are not raised on deforested land.

Brazil wants safeguards: Brazil, which is spearheading the negotiations for Mercosur, is now seeking additional safeguard measures to protect itself from future imports of European electric vehicles, Politico said, citing a Mercosur diplomat. These safeguards, which would limit imports once they surpass a specific volume, are Brazil’s way of countering the recent trade defense actions taken by the EU, the US, and Canada against Chinese EVs. Confronted with a domestic economic slump and increasing trade barriers in Western markets, Chinese EV manufacturers are swiftly seeking new opportunities in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Morocco. In reaction to this, Brazil is progressively raising EV tariffs, which are expected to reach 35 percent by 2026.

This has been a long time coming: The two parties have been negotiating for 25 years, and there is growing optimism that they might reach a deal at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this November. Achieving an agreement could help reverse the drop in trade that has caused the EU, once the region's leading trading partner, to be overtaken by China.

Racing against the clock: Brussels is working to finalize negotiations before Brazil’s Mercosur presidency ends on 7 December, an EU official said. Paraguayan President Santiago Peña has warned that Merocusr could back out of the agreement if the treaty is not finalized by 6 December.

MARKET WATCH-

#1 Oil prices dipped in early morning trading ahead of an incoming likelihood of US interest rate cuts and weak macroeconomic data weighed on demand, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures for November dipped USD 0.45 to USD 73.25 a barrel at 04.58 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for October slipped down USD 0.48 to USD 70.71 a barrel.

#2 Baltic index on the up and up: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — rose for the second straight session by 0.3% to 1,901 points on Tuesday. The capesize index fell by 0.2% to 3,090 points, while the panamax index buoyed the index by increasing nearly 1.7% to 1,466 points. The smaller supramax index gained one point, recording 1,266 points.

DATA POINTS-

#1- Egypt’s merchandise exports are on the rise: Egypt’s merchandise exports rose 8% y-o-y to USD 26.2 bn in the first eight months of this year, Asharq Business reports, citing comments by General Export Authority head Issam Al Najjar.

#2- Saudi Arabia’s freight and logistics market is forecasted to jump 5.04% by 2032, according to an Imarc report. Investments and expansions of ports, airports, railways, and highways are expected to drive the kingdom’s connectivity and trade capabilities.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UAE will host the World Freezones Organization’s Annual International Conferenceand Exhibition from Monday, 23 September to Wednesday, 25 September in Dubai. The event will discuss zones and the shifting dynamics of global economic structures to open up new avenues for investment.

The UAE will host the Freight Summit Global Conference from Monday, 23 September to Thursday, 26 September in Dubai. The conference is slated to bring together over 400 international freight forwarders to network and boost partnerships globally.

The UAE will host the Global Aerospace Summit from Wednesday, 25 September to Thursday, 26 Septemberin Abu Dhabi. The summit will gather key players in the global aerospace supply chain industry along with high level industry and government officials to discuss industry services, legal structure and resource sharing.

Bahrain to host the Routes World forum from Sunday, 6 October to Tuesday, 8 October. The event will bring together VPs and network planning heads from some 250 carriers to discuss global air route networks.

Saudi Arabia to host the Global Logistics Forum from Saturday, 12 October to Monday, 14 October in Riyadh. The forum will gather key industry players, government officials, and industry experts to discuss optimizing operations and driving growth in the logistics sector. The event will take a specific look at how the sector can adapt with regards to global climate change and incorporate sustainability into their supply-chain operations.

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