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Saudi MAWANI to Establish New Logistics Zones

A commercial ship sails from Jeddah Islamic Port. (Saudi Ports Authority)
A commercial ship sails from Jeddah Islamic Port. (Saudi Ports Authority)
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Saudi MAWANI to Establish New Logistics Zones

A commercial ship sails from Jeddah Islamic Port. (Saudi Ports Authority)
A commercial ship sails from Jeddah Islamic Port. (Saudi Ports Authority)

The Saudi Ports Authority (MAWANI) aims to achieve the National Transportation and Logistics Strategy (NTLS) goals by consolidating Saudi Arabia's position as a global logistics center and a hub linking three continents.

It is seeking to increase private sector investments in ports and conclude contracts and agreements to establish new logistical zones and achieve a qualitative and comprehensive shift in work and operation mechanisms and logistical support in Saudi ports.

Vice President of Strategic Management at MAWANI Khaled al-Ghayth indicated it would create more job opportunities.

Ghayth told Asharq Al-Awsat that MAWANI is expanding strategic partnerships with major international and regional companies to add new shipping services to boost the Kingdom's position.

Supply chains

MAWANI is also taking practical steps to boost the sustainability of supply chains and support container and cargo transport operations, in line with the Global Supply Chain Resilience Initiative, through smart technologies and logistical support mechanisms that consolidate the competitive advantages of Saudi ports.

He pointed out that the Authority added 31 new shipping services during 2023, reaching about 145 services linking the Kingdom to 350 regional and international ports.

The Authority signed several agreements to establish and lay the foundations for nine zones in the Jeddah Islamic Port, King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, and King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu, with an investment value exceeding $1.6 billion.

Ghayth stated that the new areas aim to support the prosperity of the movement and growth of supply chains.

Sea and air ports

In 2023, MAWANI signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the General Authority of Civil Aviation and the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority (ZATCA) to enhance logistical connectivity between air and sea gateways, facilitating multimodal movement through Saudi Arabia.

Jeddah Islamic Port conducted a successful trial of sea-to-air integration.

Ghayth noted that MAWANI intends to bolster cooperation with international ports to support economic diversification and establish a more competitive and attractive investment environment.

In July 2023, the Authority concluded an agreement with Antwerp International Port to boost cooperation in port optimization, digital transformation, and capacity building.

A month later, it inked a partnership agreement with the Dutch Port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, to boost cooperation in developing smart ports and human capabilities, while exchanging experiences and knowledge.

On Sunday, MAWANI laid the cornerstone for the Bahri Logistics Center at Jeddah Islamic Port to enhance logistics capabilities and supply chains.

Minister of Transport and Logistics Services and MAWANI Chairman Saleh al-Jasser, MAWANI President Omar Hariri, and Bahri CEO Ahmed al-Subaey attended the ceremony.

According to MAWANI, Bahri Logistics Services Company will manage the state-of-the-art facility that covers 95,436 square meters.

Bahri will manage the facility and offer multiple storage options in temperature-controlled areas, handling services, and added value services, enabling multinational companies to establish their hub in the center.

Hariri emphasized the pivotal role of the Bahri Logistics Center as a key component in MAWANI’s efforts to strengthen the maritime logistics sector, in line with the NTLS.

The project highlights MAWANI's commitment to bolster the infrastructure and capabilities of Saudi Arabia's logistics sector, contributing actively to economic growth and efforts to boost non-oil exports, as outlined in the nation's ambitious vision 2030.

Subaey expressed his enthusiasm for working with MAWANI and ZATCA to establish this cutting-edge logistics facility.

He emphasized its potential to significantly impact the national, regional, and global logistics sectors.

"Beyond enhancing our capabilities and positioning us favorably in the global logistics sector, the Bahri Logistics Center will allow us to capitalize on new opportunities, substantially enriching our role in elevating Saudi Arabia's status as a global logistics hub," he explained.

The Logistics Center is expected to be operational in the first half of 2025 and will offer exceptional storage and handling capabilities with over 80,000 pallet positions, 40,000 shelving units, and an annual throughput exceeding 900,000 pallets.

The facility will be equipped to store reefer, insulated, and dry containers. It will also provide its clients with various services like container maintenance and repair, container cleaning, bonded storage, and haulage.

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Business

Egypt to Cut Red Tape for Business and List up to Four State Firms

Egypt’s Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh speaks during an interview in London, Britain June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Marc Jones
Egypt’s Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh speaks during an interview in London, Britain June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Marc Jones
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Egypt to Cut Red Tape for Business and List up to Four State Firms

Egypt’s Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh speaks during an interview in London, Britain June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Marc Jones
Egypt’s Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh speaks during an interview in London, Britain June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Marc Jones

Egypt will step up efforts to cut red tape to spur on local businesses and it expects to list as many as four state-owned firms on the stock exchange over the next 12 months, its Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh told Reuters.

Planned reforms aim to streamline company formation but also ease capital raising and make M&A processes easier, especially for non-listed firms, Saleh said.

"Within the coming 12 months, the priority would be in the area of the ease of doing business for already existing companies to facilitate their life... This is quite a hefty job," Saleh told Reuters on the sidelines of a visit to London.

He also predicted more than half a dozen companies would be floated on the country's stock exchange over the next 12 months, including a number of state-run ones.

State-owned enterprises still play an outsized role across Egypt's economy, with the IMF saying progress in reducing their footprint has been slower than expected.

Saleh said the government had got the ball rolling, having announced in March plans to sell up to a 20% share of Misr Life Insurance - something it has promised to do for more than 15 years - and could raise roughly 14 billion Egyptian pounds ($270 million).

"We're expecting three to four IPOs from our side, from the government side, and around four to five from the private sector," he said. He declined to name other state-owned companies that could be sold or how much such transactions could raise.

The minister said he expected flows of foreign direct investment in the fiscal year to end-June to rise 10% to 15% from $12.2 billion in fiscal 2024/2025.

Saleh said the government would not veer from its commitment to a floating exchange rate. Egypt's pound has been one of the world's hardest-hit currencies by the Iran war, falling nearly 8% since the conflict began. That has driven up inflation and threatened to reignite worries about the overall trajectory for the pound.

"Investors can deal with volatility, they don't deal with uncertainty," he said. "We were very clear and adamant about our policy direction... We are solely targeting inflation." He also said the government would maintain fiscal discipline, regardless of the situation in the region.

Asked about the seventh review of the country's IMF program, which is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, Saleh said the government had achieved or even surpassed targets set on metrics such as its fiscal deficit and primary surplus.

A follow-on program with the Fund once the current one expires by year-end was currently not on the cards, he said.

"When you go and enter into a program, it is because of financial needs and because of other aspects. Those things are not present as we speak."

Business

Oil Edges Lower after Oman Says Mina al Fahal Operations Proceeding Normally

Oil pumpjacks operating in a farmer’s field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, November 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Oil pumpjacks operating in a farmer’s field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, November 26, 2025. (Reuters)
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Oil Edges Lower after Oman Says Mina al Fahal Operations Proceeding Normally

Oil pumpjacks operating in a farmer’s field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, November 26, 2025. (Reuters)
Oil pumpjacks operating in a farmer’s field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, November 26, 2025. (Reuters)

Oil prices edged lower after Oman said operations at Mina al Fahal port were proceeding normally, following a Reuters report that oil loadings had been suspended after an explosion.

Brent crude futures fell by 50 cents, or 0.53%, to $94.53 a barrel by 0915 GMT after settling down 2.84% in the previous session.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $92.61 a barrel, down 43 cents, or 0.46%, following a 3.1% loss on Thursday.

Both contracts still looked set to post their first weekly gains in three weeks, with Brent up 2.7% and WTI around 6%.

The contracts rose after fighting flared in the Middle East as US-Iran war peace talks dragged on while traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world's oil passes, remained limited, Reuters reported.

Petroleum Development Oman said on Friday that operations at Mina Al Fahal port were proceeding normally, after three sources told Reuters earlier that oil loading had been suspended following an explosion near its mooring berths.

Oman exports 800,000 to 900,000 barrels per day of crude from the terminal.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected on Thursday a US-brokered agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government to halt the fighting. Iran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon a condition for any peace deal with Washington.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he believed progress was being made between Israel and Lebanon and that Lebanon deserved to have peace.

"Any optimism remains heavily clouded by a tangled web of headlines and counter-headlines," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note. OPEC is sticking to its oil demand growth forecast of 1.2 million barrels per day for this year, Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on Thursday, despite the Middle East conflict and closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian oil exports have fallen to their lowest level in six years mainly due to the US naval blockade, according to shipping data, although weak demand in China has depressed prices for the oil.

Business

FAO: World Food Prices Slip in May, Still Near Three-year High

A shopper buys vegetables with her son at a street market in Urcos, Peru, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A shopper buys vegetables with her son at a street market in Urcos, Peru, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
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FAO: World Food Prices Slip in May, Still Near Three-year High

A shopper buys vegetables with her son at a street market in Urcos, Peru, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A shopper buys vegetables with her son at a street market in Urcos, Peru, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

World food prices slipped in May from a revised April level, with vegetable oil prices falling for the first time this year while cereals and sugar jumped, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which measures changes in a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 130.8 points in May, ⁠0.2% down from ⁠its revised April level of 131.0, but up 2.9% from a year earlier, Reuters reported.

Despite the small downward correction for the April data, the index remained near its highest level since January 2023 and 18.4% below its March 2022 peak. Cereal prices rose more than 2.6% on the month, with wheat up for a fourth straight month on smaller export harvest prospects, including in ⁠the United States, and higher fuel and fertilizer costs linked to the Iran conflict.

Maize prices were also supported by stronger import demand and tighter supplies in Brazil and the US, the agency said.

By contrast, vegetable oil prices fell 4.6% from last month, their first monthly decline this year, as lower palm and soy oil prices outweighed gains in rapeseed and sunflower oil. After rising for five consecutive months, international palm oil prices declined, reflecting expectations of weaker global import demand and uncertainty in crude oil markets.

Vegetable oil prices on average were still more than 20% above last year, as ⁠elevated energy costs ⁠following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz raised demand for biofuels made using organic materials, such as oil-rich plants.

Sugar prices jumped 7.5% from last month to 95.1 points, but remained 13.1% below their level a year ago. The increase was mainly driven by concerns over an anticipated tightening of global sugar supplies in the coming months.

In a separate cereal supply report, the FAO said it expected world cereal production - including rice in milled equivalent - to shrink 2% in 2026/27 to 2.98 billion tons.

Production of all major cereals is anticipated to decline, albeit for many from record levels reached in 2025, with the largest year-on-year decrease in percentage terms forecast for wheat and the smallest for maize and barley.