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Saudi Arabia’s MAWANI Expands by Announcing Direct Jeddah-Djibouti Shipping Service

The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) has announced a new direct shipping service connecting Saudi Arabia to Djibouti (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) has announced a new direct shipping service connecting Saudi Arabia to Djibouti (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia’s MAWANI Expands by Announcing Direct Jeddah-Djibouti Shipping Service

The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) has announced a new direct shipping service connecting Saudi Arabia to Djibouti (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) has announced a new direct shipping service connecting Saudi Arabia to Djibouti (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Ports Authority, MAWANI, has announced a new direct shipping service connecting Saudi Arabia to Djibouti in an important development that serves to leverage the significant potential of the Kingdom’s ports, bolster its petrochemicals exports and transshipment, and further expand its maritime network around the globe.

Connecting Jeddah Islamic port to Djibouti, with over 100 containers shipped weekly, the new service is a valuable new link between Saudi Arabia and the East African continent, promoting and facilitating intra-regional trade and enhancing opportunities for investment in the Kingdom, as well as supporting leading container transport company Transmar.

The Jeddah-Djibouti service marks an important milestone in the development of Jeddah Islamic Port as a world-leading hub, further solidifying its status as a rising force in the maritime industry and one of three Saudi ports included in the 2021 edition of Lloyd’s List of Top 100 Ports.

The Kingdom ranks fifth in the world in container ship handling, according to the UNCTAD annual index for 2020. As a result of consistent expansion and development, Saudi Arabia is home to the largest port network in the Middle East, receiving 20-25 thousand ships annually.

Ongoing initiatives have seen the Authority partner with several major international shipping lines as it works to enable, expand and transform Saudi ports, fulfilling national strategic objectives for the development of transport and logistics services under Saudi Vision 2030, and securing the Kingdom’s position as a global hub.

Earlier this week, MAWANI, in coordination with the Saudi Global Ports Co., announced launching a new direct service from China to King Abdulaziz Port Dammam.

The new service is offered by a consortium of vessels deployed by Pacific International Lines (PIL), Regional Container Lines (RCL), and CULines (CUL), the authority said in a statement.

The move aims to strengthen MAWANI’s efforts to develop Saudi Arabia as a global leader in logistics and transportation, as well as boost the linking between Saudi ports to the other ports in the world.

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IMF: Saudi Attacks Could Have Negative Spillover 'Everywhere'

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva gestures during the Managing Director briefing on the Global Policy Agenda during the 2026 IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva gestures during the Managing Director briefing on the Global Policy Agenda during the 2026 IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)
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IMF: Saudi Attacks Could Have Negative Spillover 'Everywhere'

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva gestures during the Managing Director briefing on the Global Policy Agenda during the 2026 IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva gestures during the Managing Director briefing on the Global Policy Agenda during the 2026 IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 14, 2026. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP)

International Monetary Fund head Kristalina Georgieva said Wednesday that recent attacks on Saudi Arabia could impact people "everywhere” as "the Saudi economy is important for the region and the world."

Given the Saudi economy’s importance, “these developments have potentially negative spillovers for everybody, everywhere," IMF managing director Georgieva said at a news conference during the Annual Meetings of the Fund and World Bank in Bangkok.

The warning comes at a time when energy flows and shipping activity in the region are under pressure, with supply disruptions potentially affecting energy and trade costs as well as economic activity, particularly in economies dependent on oil and gas imports.

The IMF’s forecasts, released on Tuesday, highlight the scale of the expected impact of the disruptions on the region’s economies. The IMF expects the economies of the Middle East and Central Asia to contract by 0.3 percent in 2026, followed by growth of 6.3 percent in 2027, a trajectory that reflects the pressures of the current crisis as well as the anticipated recovery as the disruptions ease and energy and trade flows are restored.

The expected repercussions vary across regional economies depending on their exposure to shipping disruptions and their ability to maintain exports. In its outlook for Saudi Arabia, the IMF raised its 2027 growth forecast to 7.9 percent, from 2.4 percent in July and 3.4 percent in April.

Meanwhile, it lowered its estimate for the economy’s contraction in 2026 to 3.3 percent, compared with 5 percent in its July update and 6.4 percent in April.

This trajectory reflects expectations that production and exports will regain momentum as shipping disruptions subside, although the speed and scale of the recovery will remain tied to developments in the security situation and the normalization of energy and trade flows.

The Saudi Ministry of Finance has projected stronger growth of 12.8 percent in 2027, according to the pre-budget statement.

Business

Taiwan Says Will Invest Up to US$4.4 bn in Alaska Gas Project

A snipers team provides security as US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, on October 13, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP)
A snipers team provides security as US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, on October 13, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP)
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Taiwan Says Will Invest Up to US$4.4 bn in Alaska Gas Project

A snipers team provides security as US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, on October 13, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP)
A snipers team provides security as US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, on October 13, 2026. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP)

Taiwan said Wednesday it will inject up to US$4.4 billion in the Alaska LNG project, after US President Donald Trump announced the island's investment in the to-be-built natural gas pipeline.

Taiwan imports nearly all of its energy supply and has sought to shore up Washington's support as China presses its claims of sovereignty over the island democracy.

"According to current plans, the cooperation will include the annual procurement of six million metric tons of Alaska LNG following production," the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement.

It will also involve "participation in project development, with an estimated investment of up to US$4.4 billion," AFP quoted the ministry as saying.

"If the project progresses smoothly according to the planned timeline, it is expected to begin further supplementing domestic natural gas supplies as early as 2032," it added.

The statement came hours after Trump told a rally in Wasilla, Alaska, that Taiwan had agreed to buy 30 percent of the output from the pipeline over the next 20 year and also invest US$4.4 billion into the project.

Taiwan sources its LNG from multiple countries but the mix has changed dramatically this year after the start of the Middle East war when Iran claimed control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Business

Saudi Arabia Drives September Surge in OPEC+ Output Despite Iran War Disruptions

An oil tanker at Ras Al-Khair port, north of Dammam, in 2019. REUTERS
An oil tanker at Ras Al-Khair port, north of Dammam, in 2019. REUTERS
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Saudi Arabia Drives September Surge in OPEC+ Output Despite Iran War Disruptions

An oil tanker at Ras Al-Khair port, north of Dammam, in 2019. REUTERS
An oil tanker at Ras Al-Khair port, north of Dammam, in 2019. REUTERS

OPEC+ crude output surged in September as Saudi Arabia ramped up production, despite continued disruption to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz caused by the Iran war, OPEC said in its monthly report on Tuesday.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries raised its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2027 to 2.55 million barrels per day (bpd) from 2.36 million bpd, citing the need to replenish inventories depleted by war-related supply disruptions.

But it cut its demand growth forecast for this year for a sixth straight month, to 180,000 bpd from about 380,000 bpd in its August estimates.

OPEC+, which groups OPEC members and allies including Russia, pumped an average of 39.068 million bpd in September, up 903,000 bpd from 38.165 million bpd in August, the report showed.

Output has risen by about 1.36 million bpd since July, when it stood at 37.710 million bpd, according to the secondary sources OPEC uses to track production.

OPEC members drove the increase, raising output by about 920,000 bpd to 25.097 million bpd from 24.177 million bpd a month earlier. Production by participating non-OPEC countries fell by about 18,000 bpd.

Saudi Arabia leads surge

Saudi Arabia posted the alliance's largest production increase. Output climbed to 8.372 million bpd in September from 6.238 million bpd in August, a gain of more than 2 million bpd, according to figures the kingdom submitted to OPEC.

The increase comes as Saudi Arabia seeks to restore oil flows and strengthen the resilience of its exports against war-related disruptions. Aramco increased oil loadings at Gulf export terminals in September after an attack on the East-West pipeline disrupted shipments through the Red Sea.

Inventory rebuilding to support demand

OPEC expects global oil demand to rise by 2.55 million bpd in 2027 to average 108.3 million bpd, compared with 108.19 million bpd in last month's forecast.

The forecast assumes demand growth in 2026 will slow as currently expected, with the need to replenish depleted inventories supporting growth next year, OPEC said.

For 2026, the group expects demand growth of just 180,000 bpd. It also cut its fourth-quarter demand estimate to 107.73 million bpd from 107.85 million bpd in last month's report.

Demand in countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is forecast to shrink by about 210,000 bpd this year, while demand in non-OECD economies is expected to grow by 390,000 bpd.

Oil supply from outside OPEC+ is forecast to grow by 640,000 bpd in 2026 and 620,000 bpd in 2027.

Russian output declines

Russian oil output fell by 38,000 bpd in September to 8.643 million bpd, the report showed, amid continued Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, including refineries.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the country would trim oil production this year. Russia's Economy Ministry lowered its 2026 output forecast to a 17-year low amid the war with Ukraine.

Kazakhstan's production rose by 22,000 bpd in September to 1.851 million bpd, according to the OPEC report.