{"id":71520,"date":"2023-06-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/logistics\/2023\/06\/15\/today-more-updates-on-iraqs-development-road-project-vc-activity-for-supply-chain-startups-fell-in-1q-2023\/"},"modified":"2023-06-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T00:00:00","slug":"today-more-updates-on-iraqs-development-road-project-vc-activity-for-supply-chain-startups-fell-in-1q-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/logistics\/2023\/06\/15\/today-more-updates-on-iraqs-development-road-project-vc-activity-for-supply-chain-startups-fell-in-1q-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"TODAY: More updates on Iraq\u2019s Development Road Project + VC activity for supply chain startups fell in 1Q 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, wonderful people.<\/span> It\u2019s an eventful end of the week in the logistics world, with<\/span> plenty of updates from the maritime, trucking, and aviation industries in the region. <\/span><\/p>\n

THE BIG LOGISTICS STORIES- The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has inked an<\/span> agreement to establish a SAR 2 bn integrated bunkering center in King Fahad Industrial Port<\/span> in Yanbu. Over in the UAE, <\/span>Al<\/span> Futtaim Auto & Machinery Company (FAMCO) launched a new range of heavy-duty freight trucks with operational and fuel efficiencies. <\/span><\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY-<\/span><\/p>\n

Jordan shoots <\/span>down drug-carrying<\/span> drone from Syria: <\/span>The Jordanian army says it <\/span>has intercepted a drone carrying crystal methamphetamine on Jordan\u2019s side of the country\u2019s border with Syria, <\/span>Reuters<\/a><\/span> reports. Jordan has blamed pro-Iranian militias, which it says are protected by the Syrian army, for smuggling Gulf-bound drugs across its border. However, Damascus has denied complicity with any Iranian-backed militias. While Syria has become a hotspot for drug trade over the course of the war, Jordan has often been used as a key transit route to Gulf countries, particularly for Syria-made drugs, Reuters writes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Turkey + Azerbaijan corridor a \u201cproblem\u201d with Iran, Erdogan says:<\/span> \u201cZangezur <\/span>Corridor is a problem with Iran; this upsets Ankara and Baku,\u201d<\/span>TRT<\/a><\/span> quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying yesterday following his visit to Azerbaijan. Erdogan arrived in Baku on Monday and held a joint press conference with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday, during which the two heads of state expressed his desire for the Zangezur corridor linking <\/span>Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave and to eastern Turkey by bypassing Armenian checkpoints, Turkish state news agency <\/span>Anadolu Agency<\/a><\/span> reports. <\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/a> <\/span>WATCH THIS SPACE #1- Countries will send proposals to Iraq for Development Road Project: <\/span>Iraq\u2019s Transport Ministry concluded its <\/span>meeting<\/span> with <\/span>technical committees yesterday over its USD 17 bn <\/span>Development Road Project<\/a><\/span>, it said in a <\/span>statement<\/a><\/span>, without disclosing which countries the technical committees represented. Iraq will now be waiting for each technical committee to submit a proposal for the nature and proportion of their intended contribution to the project, Transport Minister Razzaq Al Saadawi said, according to an Iraqi Ministry <\/span>statement<\/a><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/span>WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Qatar will help build the International <\/span>North-South Transport<\/a><\/span> corridor <\/span>(INSTC) <\/span>linking Russia and India through Iran, <\/span>Sputnik<\/a><\/span> quotes Qatar\u2019s Russian ambassador Dmitry Dogadkin as saying.<\/span> The two countries are discussing jointly building one of the branches of the corridor, Dogadkin told Sputnik News, without clarifying. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>We are ready to jointly implement ambitious infrastructure projects, including the North-South ITC,\u201d Dogadkin said during a speech in <\/span>Doha<\/a><\/span> celebrating <\/span>Russia<\/a><\/span> Day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Background:<\/span> The project was rebooted back in May, when Russia and Iran agreed to build the Rasht-Astara railway, completing the 7.2k-km corridor. The origins of the project go back to a September 2000 treaty signed by partner countries, which failed to get off the ground. Recent supply chain disruptions, sanctions on trade with Russia and Iran, and trade agreements between countries connected by the proposed trade corridor have given new impetus to the project.<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/a> <\/span>DATA POINT #1- VC activity has seen a strong decline in the supply chain tech <\/span>sector in 1Q 2023<\/span>, with transaction value dropping 81.8% y-o-y to USD 2.4 bn, according to a <\/span>report<\/a><\/span>. The number of investments fell 19.4% q-o-q and 49% y-o-y. <\/span>The freight tech segment saw the highest drop, with investment values decreasing 81.8% q-o-q, and the number of transactions reaching just one-third of the number of investments made in the previous quarter. Enterprise supply chain management, on the other hand, saw the smallest quarterly decline, according to the report, which measures the total value of transactions at USD 312 mn.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/span>DATA POINT #2-<\/span>Volume of containers handled at Saudi ports at its highest since 2020 in May<\/span>:<\/span> Container volumes handled during the month stood at around 710k TEUs, the highest monthly throughput since 2020, according to a Saudi Ports Authority <\/span>(Mawani) <\/span>statement<\/a><\/span>. Outbound containers increased by over 28% to 224.7k, while inbound containers rose 36% to 236.4k. Overall cargo throughput, however, fell 6.12% y-o-y to 25.6 mn tons in May. Some 1k vessels passed through the kingdom\u2019s ports, compared with 896 in May 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/span>DATA POINT #3- Iraqi Kurdistan\u2019s losses reach USD 2 bn amid halt of oil exports <\/span>to Turkey since late March<\/span>, <\/span>Reuters<\/a><\/span> reports, based on its calculations. Iraq halted imports of 450k barrels per day (bbl \/ d) via a pipeline that passes through northern Kurdistan to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on 25 March. The two countries are looking to hold technical talks by the start of next week to resume exports, two sources in the know told Reuters, though \u201ct<\/span>his does not mean exports will immediately restart as this decision requires high-level political talks,\u201d the sources added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Background: <\/span>Turkey was <\/span>ordered<\/a><\/span>by the International Chambers of Commerce <\/span>to pay USD 1.5 bn worth in damages to Baghdad for receiving unauthorized oil exports from the Kurdistan Regional Government from 2014 to 201<\/span>8. Turkey is currently looking to negotiate the size of the damages, sources told Reuters.<\/span><\/p>\n

MARKET WATCH-<\/span><\/p>\n

Oil supertanker rates surge amid a jump in Middle East cargoes: <\/span>Crude <\/span>supertankers saw their second-largest daily gain in three years on the back of the rising number of cargoes from the region, <\/span>Bloomberg<\/a><\/span>reports. The spike was unexpected given <\/span>recent decisions<\/a><\/span> by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to cut output, though Bloomberg notes the supply cuts don\u2019t include sales of barrels already in storage. Rates for ships carrying 2 mn barrels of crude from the region to China rose by USD 20k a day on Monday, Reuters says, citing figures from the Baltic Exchange. <\/span><\/p>\n

A signal for a tight VLCC market: <\/span>\u201cAccording to brokers, the increase is due to a flurry of cargo in the Middle East for late June loadings, combined with limited available ships,\u201d Clarksons Securities analysts wrote in a report cited by Bloomberg. \u201cWhile it remains to be seen how long-lived the bull run will be, considering the expected reduced volumes in July, the rate spike illustrates how tight the VLCC market is and helps to clear the tonnage list in the region.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kuwait increases July crude prices for Asia: <\/span>Kuwait has increased the official selling <\/span>price of Kuwait Export Crude (KEC) to Asia by USD 0.25 to USD 1.95 above Oman\/Dubai quotes, while the price of Kuwait Super Light Crude (KSLC) was raised by USD 0.35 to USD 2.15 above Oman\/Dubai quotes for July, <\/span>Reuters<\/a><\/span>reports<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

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