Good morning, ladies and gents. We have a brisk issue this morning that’s heavy on the Egypt updates in all things trade, but first, a quick status update on how things are looking for AD Ports’ M&A ambitions…
WATCH THIS SPACE-
#1- AD Ports + Turkey push to finalize Izmir Port acquisition: AD Ports is continuing negotiations with Turkey to establish a joint venture for the operation of Izmir Port after approximately eight months of delay, Reuters reports, citing people familiar with the matter. AD Ports has been in talks to acquire a stake in the key Turkish port of Izmir in a USD 500 mn transaction since December.
What was causing the delays? Turkey was exploring other buyers, but has decided to advance with AD Ports, one of the sources says. Conditions on capacity and competition delayed the final agreement, the source added.
What we know: The agreement will see AD Ports shell out investments in an entity established by Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund, the Turkish Wealth Fund (TWF), to operate the facility. Details of the arrangement are yet to be finalized.
#2- Iran is looking to establish a special mineral economic zone with Afghanistan, according to a statement. Iran is also discussing cooperation with Afghanistan in mineral exploration, investment in road and rail construction, and the establishment of an iron ore processing plant. “Iran can increase its transit role in the import and export of Afghanistan from the current 50%,” Tehran Times reported last week, citing statements by Iran's commercial attaché in Afghanistan Hossein Roustaei.
Why is this important? Afghanistan fulfills over 80% of its market needs through imports with Iranian exports constituting 25% of the demand, Roustaei said during a Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture meeting on the economic viability of the Afghan market. Iran exported over USD 724 mn worth of goods to Afghanistan in the first four months of the current calendar year (March 20-July 21) with a 28% increase y-o-y, he added. Afghanistan's import priorities include food, agriculture, fuel, medicine, medical equipment, and construction equipment.
#3- The first transformer at the Egyptian-Saudi 500 kV interconnection station in Egypt’s Badr City was installed on Saturday, according to a statement released. The interconnection aims to enhance the electrical grid’s connectivity with neighboring networks and allow countries to trade their renewable energy. The transformer built in Badr City is the first of its kind in the Middle East in both size and type of technology employed.
The project is coming a long way: The infrastructure for the 3 GW Egypt-Saudi interconnection project was around 40-50% complete in February. The project — which consists of three stations connected via 1.35 km of overhead lines and 22 km of submarine cables in the Gulf of Aqaba — is expected to come fully online in 2026.
#4- TCI Sanmar eyes more expansions in Egypt: Indian chemical firm TCI Sanmar is looking to pour AED 300 mn into Egyptian projects, including the expansion of the company’s factories in Port Said for AED 150 mn as well as establishing a new terminal for loading ethylene at West Said Port for another AED 150 mn, according to a statement. The company — which currently exports 70% of its production and directs 30% to the local market — is looking to allocate 100% of its production to the Egyptian market in a bid to reduce imports and preserve foreign currency.
TCI Sanmar’s footprint in Egypt: TCI Sanmar inked an MoU last year with Egypt’s state-owned United Gas Derivatives Company (UGDC) allowing it to use its Damietta Port facilities for importing raw materials. The firm had also announced plans back in 2022 to invest an initial USD 160 mn to set up a loading terminal near Port Said to import ethylene.
IN OTHER NEWS- The EU is investigating Egyptian steel exports: The European Commission has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into hot-rolled flat products of iron, non-alloy or other alloy steel imports from Egypt, India, Japan, and Vietnam, it said in a statement (pdf) last week. The probe follows a complaint by the European Steel Association calling for the imposition of anti-dumping duties.
Who is involved? Ezz Steel, Egypt's sole exporter of hot-rolled flat steel to the EU, received a notice from the Commission last week, it said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange. The company, which considers the EU a major market for its flat steel exports, has pledged full cooperation with the investigation.
What’s next? The exporters under investigation will be required to provide detailed data in the next few weeks, Ezz Steel said. The investigation is expected to be lengthy given the involvement of multiple countries and the complexity of the required data, it added.
#5- Ukraine doubled its food exports to over 4.2 mn metric tons in July, part of which may be headed to Egypt, Reuters reports, citing Kpler data. The Eastern European country is rushing to send out as many grain shipments as it can to capitalize on Black Sea military gains, even amid an escalation in Russian attacks on its ports. "We are doing everything to make business feel comfortable even in wartime conditions," said Ukraine’s Seaport Authority deputy head Dmytro Barinov. Ukraine exported a majority of its wheat to Egypt, Spain, and Indonesia last season.
MARKET WATCH-
#1- Opec+ has trimmed its outlook for growth in global oil demand in 2024 and 2025 on the back of expectations of softened demand in China, according to the group’s monthly report (pdf). The oil cartel now sees oil demand rising by 2.1 mn barrels per day (bbl / d) this year to 104.3 mn bbl / d, down from its previous forecast of a 2.25 mn bbl / d increase.
The 2025 forecast: Opec+ has also revised down next year’s demand growth for crude oil, penciling in a 1.78 mn bbl / d increase, down from 1.85 mn bbl / d.
THE MARKETS RESPONDED- Oil prices dipped in early morning trading, breaking a five-day streak of gains, as concerns emerged over Opec’s trimmed growth outlook, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures fell by USD 0.78 to USD 81.52 a barrel by 03.30 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures slipped down USD 0.77 to USD 79.33 a barrel.
#2- Baltic index decreases for third straight session: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — fell 0.9% to 1,655 points on Monday to its lowest session since April 10. Capesize decreased 1% to 2,413 points, down for a third consecutive day. The panamax index was also down 0.9% to a one-month low of 1,584 points, while the supramax segment dipped further by 0.5% to 1,294 points.
DATA POINT-
Egyptian state grains buyer GASC purchased 280k tons of wheat in a tender that closed yesterday, locking in just c. 7% of the 3.8 mn tons it aimed to purchase, Bloomberg reports. The authority bought five cargoes from Ukraine and Bulgaria for October and November delivery at between USD 259.24-269.25 a ton, including freight.
ICYMI- The authority last week launched Egypt’s largest wheat tender to date, hoping to secure 3.8 mn tons in a bid to capitalize on a dip in wheat prices. The tender came with a much longer timeframe than usual, requiring bidders to submit offers months in advance for shipments from October to April.
That’s a wrap on Egypt’s local harvest season. The Egyptian Supply Ministry secured 3.6 mn tons of Egyptian wheat during the local harvest season, which drew to a close this month, sources at the ministry told Al Borsa.
THE ENTERPRISE FINANCE FORUM-
Are you planning to be in Egypt on 24 September? You may be interested in attending our 2024 Enterprise Finance Forum. Seating is strictly limited at our flagship, invitation-only forum for C-suite executives and other senior leaders.
Why attend? We’re in the early days of a generational realignment of power in our industry — in our region and beyond — and on the cusp of the biggest intergenerational transfer of wealth the world has ever seen. With that as the backdrop, we’re going to take stock of where we stand six months after the float of the EGP and ask what’s next for finance in Egypt and the wider region. Among the questions we’ll be asking:
- What roles will Egypt, Saudi and the UAE play in the regional industry going forward?
- What are foreign investors looking for right now?
- Is real estate the only asset class in Egypt?
- What does the next generation of leaders think as they take over established family businesses?
Do you want to request an invitation? Tap or click the image below.
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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.




