THIS AFTERNOON: India-Oman JV rallies 20%

Good afternoon, everyone. The drums of war have returned as Donald Trump declared that the Iran ceasefire “is over.” We have more on the breakdown of the ceasefire and the latest US strikes below.

First up: An LNG carrier voyaging from Qatar to India suffered damage in a suspected drone attack in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel was sailing from Ras Laffan in Qatar to Dahej, Gujarat when the strike reportedly triggered a fire in the engine room. Qatar condemned the attack as a violation of international law and blamed Iran.

Adia is set to anchor the IPO of SBI Funds Management, India’s largest asset manager. That’s not a one-off. Gulf sovereign funds deployed USD 1.7 bn into India in the first half of 2026.

Shyam Steel just opened its first overseas plant in Sharjah, using the UAE as a launchpad for its global expansion.

Omfico gains 20% on debut

Oman India Fertilizer Company (Omfico), an Oman-based ammonia and urea producer backed by an Omani and Indian state-run firm, gained about 22% trading on its Muscat debut. As of dispatch time, the stock traded at 185 baisa, compared with its 156 baisa offer price, after the company’s IPO raised OMR 261 mn (USD 678 mn).

Omfico is 50% owned by Oman’s state-owned energy company OQ, while Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative and Krishak Bharati Cooperative each hold 25%. The offer price valued Omfico at OMR 1.04 bn (USD 2.7 bn). The listing drew USD 12 bn in orders, including demand from regional wealth funds. For more details about the listing follow our coverage here.

Market context: The listing comes as Gulf equity capital markets face a slowdown that began before the US-Iran war. Oman has been less exposed compared to its GCC peers as it retained access to export routes outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Fertilizer ships clear Hormuz

India’s fertilizer supply chain is recovering after Gulf shipping disruptions, with 15 vessels carrying fertilizer and raw materials transiting through the Strait of Hormuz as of 5 July, according to the Chemicals and Fertilizers Ministry. The cargoes include 332k tons of urea, 257k tons of diammonium phosphate (DAP), and 111k tons of sulfur, and are expected to reach Indian ports in the next few days.

Another five vessels are scheduled for India, including one carrying 25k tons of ammonia and another carrying 45k tons of urea. Two more vessels are being loaded with urea, while another is being loaded with sulfur.

India widened its fertilizer sourcing base during the crisis, arranging urea supplies from Oman, Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey, among others, while securing DAP and nitrogen, phosphorus and, potassium (NPK) fertilizers from suppliers in Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia through routes including the Red Sea.

Domestic buffer: Natural gas supply to fertilizer plants has been fully restored after temporarily falling to nearly 65%, allowing domestic urea plants to run at full capacity. India produced 7.1 mn tons of urea in 1Q FY 2027, beating its target by 369k tons. DAP output also came in above target at 984k tons, while NPK fertilizer production stood at 2.1 mn tons and single super phosphate output stood at 1.3 mn tons.

Some 51% of India’s annual fertilizer requirement — estimated at 38.3 mn tons — is secured, the ministry said.

DP World expands India coastal shipping fleet

UAE logistics major DP World is expanding its India coastal shipping footprint with the acquisition of DP World Indus, a container vessel with a capacity of more than 2.5k TEUs, as per a press release.

Strengthening the network: The vessel will be operated by DP World’s Shipping Solutions along local coastal routes, expanding interconnectivity along a network of 14 ports and 10 vessels in India.

Why it matters: India’s coastal shipping remains underutilized due to longstanding regulatory and cost barriers, leaving most domestic cargo dependent on road and rail. Expanding its India-flagged fleet enables DP World to move containers more efficiently across Indian ports before connecting them to international gateways. This creates a more integrated India-Gulf logistics corridor with lower costs, faster transit times, and enhanced supply-chain resilience.

Data point

40.4% — that’s the percentage of passenger cars sold in India in June that run on alternative fuels, a record high, according to data (pdf) from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations. Compressed natural gas vehicles brought in the lion’s share of sales at 24.3%, followed by hybrid (8.3%) and electric (7.8%) vehicles, as consumers felt the impact of the repeated fuel price hikes triggered by the Iran war.

Why it matters: The trend toward alternative-fuel vehicles is a sign that oil shocks in the Middle East can ripple through to India’s consumer markets. Even a short-lived spike in oil prices may accelerate the shift toward vehicles with lower running costs, making energy security a bigger factor in India’s vehicle transition.

PSAs

Riyadh Air will begin operations in India, with daily flights between Mumbai and Riyadh starting from 4 August, according to a press release. The route will connect Mumbai to London, Madrid, Jeddah, and Cairo via the Saudi capital. The launch follows Air India Express’ complete restoration of its Middle East routes — signaling that airlines are once again reverting to the India-MENA air corridor.

The big story abroad

The US-Iran conflict has reignited, as the US military launched a series of retaliatory strikes against Iran, putting at risk the interim agreement inked between the two sides last month. The US Central Command said the attacks came in response to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week. The US strikes were reportedly launched against military targets.

Washington also revoked a waiver that allowed Tehran to sell oil openly on global markets. The 60-day exemption was issued last month, allowing the Islamic Republic to conduct such transactions in USD — even to US importers.

Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on vessels in the strait, but reiterated its authority over parts of the waterway in a document submitted to the International Maritime Organization — the United Nations’ shipping agency.

We’ll be closely watching the Iranian response and how these developments impact oil prices — which dipped below USD 80 / bbl after the agreement and now sit around the USD 75 mark.

Meanwhile, in the world of AI: E-commerce behemoth Amazon plans to bankroll its AI investments by raising USD 25 bn in USD-denominated bond sales. This dovetails into a recent trend of tech players resorting to debt markets to build AI infrastructure, as seen by the likes of Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta.

The latest offering from Meta’s AI overhaul is here — an image-generation model. Muse Spark Image can be used to generate images from scratch or edit existing images. It can also be used to power new editing features on Instagram.

And on Wall Street: Private equity firms are now saddled with a nine-year backlog of unsold companies — some 13.5k in the US alone — as potential buyers hesitate to buy software-heavy portfolios amid fears AI will disrupt tech-based business models, analysis by PwC finds. For reference, buyout firms typically aim to hold investments for around three to five years.

PLUS- Nato allies went on a USD 50 bn defense agreement spree during the summit in Ankara, signalling an attempt by Europe to meet demands from US President Donald Trump.

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