More big moves from Gulftainer, EGA, and Borouge + India’s PhonePe lands in the UAE

Gulftainer enters Thailand

Sharjah-based port operator Gulftainer has signed a binding agreement for a strategic investment in Suksawat Terminal, south of Bangkok — the Sharjah-based port operator's first entry into the Thai market, the company said in a press release. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Suksawat sits close to Bangkok's manufacturing and consumption base — automotive, electronics, petrochemicals, food, and consumer goods — with a barge link to Laem Chabang tying it into Thailand's deep-sea network. Gulftainer plans to invest in the terminal's capacity and productivity while building out inland logistics and industrial infrastructure around it.

The agreement slots into a broader expansion Gulftainer has been running since summer. The company launched a USD 2 bn global trade infrastructure strategy in July aimed at knitting ports, shipping, and supply-chain assets into one platform, and it's moving on that at home too, pushing flagship Khorfakkan past 10 mn TEUs of capacity and adding another 2-3 mn TEUs of inland logistics capacity.

BACKGROUND- Gulftainer is also not the only UAE port operator stepping into Thailand. DP World secured a five-year extension earlier this year to operate the B5 berth at Laem Chabang International Terminal through April 2031.

EGA adds an Italian piece to its recycling puzzle

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) wrapped up its acquisition of an 80% stake in Italian aluminium recycling company Eco Green, after securing regulatory approvals and meeting closing conditions, according to a press release. The company will be rebranded EGA Eco Green, while the Scappini family will retain a minority stake and stay involved in management.

More capacity: The pact, initially agreed upon in April, should bring EGA’s total global recycling capacity to over 400k tons per year across the UAE, US, Germany, and Italy. Another 200k tons are under development. Eco Green’s two plants process over 70k tons of aluminium scrap per year, and EGA sells 600k tons of primary aluminium to Europe per year.

IN CONTEXT- The move comes after the strike on EGA’s Al Taweelah facility forced it into force majeure, with production back up to 50% capacity as of July and full production slated to come back by year-end.

ADVISORS- On the sell-side, Eco Green and the Scappini family were advised by Lucio Leoni and Legance, with support from Riccardo Paganin, Carlotta Giani, and Emilio De Niro.

PhonePe’s international debut with a UAE license

India’s biggest digital payments app PhonePe has chosen the UAE for its international debut, securing a license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), Moneycontrol reports, citing the firm’s founder Sameer Nigam’s announcement on the sidelines of the annual Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai.

The plans: Once operational, PhonePe plans to launch a digital wallet, prepaid gift cards, and remittance services for UAE residents, and possibly payments through local point-of-sale devices and money transfers to India.

IN CONTEXT- PhonePe holds the largest share of Unified Payments Interface payments, which was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India to send funds via instant transfer between accounts. It is already accepted in the country, but primarily as a payment rail for Indians traveling abroad. The license gives PhonePe scope to build for the UAE’s resident market.

Borouge 4 starts shipping higher-value cable material

Borouge International has started commercial deliveries from its new cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) plant at Borouge 4, adding 100k tons of annual capacity and doubling its XLPE output across Asia and the Middle East, state news agency Wam reports. The material is used in medium- and high-voltage terrestrial and subsea cables, giving Borouge more exposure to grid and data-center demand. The first batch was tested with UAE cable maker Ducab before shipments began.

The bigger picture: The plant is part of the wider Borouge 4 ramp-up, which will add 1.4 mn tons of annual capacity at Ruwais. Borouge expects the project to generate up to AED 1.47 bn in cumulative net income during its first three years and support nearly 10% annual earnings growth once fully ramped.

IN CONTEXT- The extra output is arriving as Borouge looks for more ways to get petrochemicals to market amid Hormuz disruptions. We previously reported that Borouge and AD Ports were exploring an east-coast export hub and new routes through Fujairah.