Good morning, nice people. We have a stacked issue to kick off the week with everything you need to know about MENA’s first blue bond, courtesy of DP World, and the 411 on AD Ports refinancing its revolving credit facility to USD 2.1 bn. First, here’s the latest on Adia’s offer to snap up Malaysia Airports…

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Adia’s offer to take over Malaysia Airports is “not fair,” but “reasonable”: The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Global Infrastructure Partners’ USD 4.1 bn takeover bid for Malaysia Airports was deemed viable by the transaction’s financial adviser Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB), Reuters reports. “The offer is ‘not fair’ but ‘reasonable’,” HLIB said. While the offer undervalues the company, it provides shareholders with a chance to exit in the absence of competing bids, it added.

Not completely cleared: Some directors of Malaysia Airports recommended rejecting the bid, citing concerns over valuation and the company’s growth prospects.

Background: Adia submitted a formal conditional offer in May to take over the remaining shares of Malaysia Airports as part of a consortium with Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Malaysian pension fund Employees Provident Fund, and Global Infrastructure Partners. The consortium plans to upgrade infrastructure and boost connectivity and services, arguing that privatization would better support these goals.

#2- Egypt, Russia look to improve mechanisms for purchasing wheat in 2025: The Mostakbal Misr Agency for Sustainable Development — the new agency in charge of importing commodities — will meet with representatives from the Russian Union of Grain Exporters at the beginning of next year to discuss future cooperation, union head Eduard Zernin told Asharq Business. The agency is currently holding talks with major Russian wheat exporters, who are in the process of preparing proposals to improve practices for completing tenders and submitting future bids — a move that could help reduce the transaction costs of paying for grains, according to Zernin.

ALSO- Could the Chinese CCCC jump in on Egypt’s airport privatization plans? The China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) is interested in working with the Madbouly government on its airport development plans, namely the development of Cairo International Airport, this came during a meeting between company’s deputy general manager and Civil Aviation Minister Sameh Elhefny. The government is close to appointing an international consultant to establish a framework for private sector partnerships in the aviation sector.

REMEMBER- This comes amid growing momentum around the government’s plans to privatize airport management to improve services and boost state revenues. In recent months, the government announced that Cairo, Sphinx, El Alamein, Sharm El Sheikh, and Hurghada airports would be part of the first phase of the privatization offering.

#3- Syria is looking to implement a single customs tariff to boost the movement of goods, with new legislation to be announced in the coming days, Asharq Business reports on X, citing a statement made by Customs Director Qutaiba Ahmed Badawi. The move looks to remove additional fees which hinder consumer activity, including the removal of over ten additional fees and an enclosure fee on goods imported into the country. Syria’s customs office is working to develop administrative and technical instruction to support the initiative.

#4- The US is set to grant an exception for Turkey and Hungary’s outstanding gas payments to Russian bank Gazprombank, after initially imposing sanctions on the entity in November, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Reuters on Friday. The two parties asked the US for an exemption, while exploring other ways to pay. Russia is one of Turkey’s top gas suppliers, providing over 50% off gas imports entering the country last year.

#5- Spanish freight forwarders eye investments in Morocco: Spanish freight forwarding firms are looking to establish footholds in Morocco on the back of a robust performance across ports, Spanish news outlet El Mercantil reported last week. Spain’s Algeciras — the country’s primary logistics gateway to Morocco — has experienced a boost in traffic with Morocco’s Tanger Med Port set to surpass 9 mn TEUs in 2024. The volume exceeds half of the total container traffic handled by all Spanish ports at 16.3 mn TEUs.

#6- Trump presents the EU with an ultimatum: US President-elect Donald Trump is threatening the EU with tariffs if the bloc does not ramp up its large-scale purchases of US oil and gas, Trump noted in a social media post. “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large-scale purchase of our oil and gas, otherwise its tariffs all the way,” he said. “Europe is taking close to its maximum capacity for US crude — which already exports 2 mn bpd to Europe and represents half of US total exports — meaning there is little scope for stronger imports next year,” oil markets analyst at Energy Aspects Richard Price told Reuters on Friday. Europe’s expected refinery closures in 2025 will likely dampen its import activities, with US oil production expected to be on the slow end until 2030.

Is declining demand the reason? Demand for US LNG export is set to decline in 2024 for the first time in eight years, Reuters wrote on Friday. The amount of gas in the US’ eight largest export plants declined to an average of 13.0 bn cubic ft per day (bcfd) from an average of 13.1 bcfd in 2023, hampered by LNG plant outages and delays in development of new plants.

ICYMI- Trump’s threats could also usher in a 10% tariff on all imports into the US and a 50% tariff on goods from top trading partner China.

IN OTHER EU NEWS- Qatar threatens LNG export halt over EU law: Qatar will stop LNG exports to the EU if any member implements penalties from the bloc’s new ESG law targeting forced labor and environmental damage, Qatar’s energy minister and QatarEnergy’s CEO Saad Al-Kaabi told the Financial Times. “If the case is that I lose 5% of my generated revenue by going to Europe, I will not go to Europe … I am not bluffing,” he added. Al-Kaabi criticized the EU’s new legislation earlier this month, describing it as making “absolutely no sense.” The new law — which applies on companies with more than EUR 450 mn of sales in the EU — allows countries to fine a non-compliant corporation with up to 5% of its global revenue.

MARKET WATCH-

#1- Oil prices rose in early morning trading amid lower-than-expected US inflation data while a revised outlook on surplus supply tempered prices, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures climbed USD 0.36 to USD 73.30 a barrel by GMT 04.21 while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose USD 0.39 to USD 69.85 a barrel. Both oil benchmarks lost over 2% last week on the back of the Fed signaling caution over further monetary policy easing.

#2- Baltic index snaps losing streak: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk sea freight index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — rose 1.4% to 990 points on Friday, breaking a three-day losing streak. The capesize index notched up 36 points to 1,115 points, while the panamax index increased 12 points to 976 points. The smaller supramax index shed 4 points settling at 940 points.

#3- The Drewry World Container Index increased 8% to USD 3,803 per 40-ft container on Thursday, according to the latest index readings. Spot rates for 40-ft containers are now 63% below the previous pandemic peak, but remain 168% above the pre-pandemic rate of USD 1.4k. The average composite index YTD is USD 3,946 per 40ft container, which is USD 1,084 higher than the 10-year average rate of USD 2,862.

PSA-

Hapag-Lloyd rolls out new EME service: Hapag-Lloyd is launching a new service — dubbed East Med Express (EME) service — for shipments between Egypt and Northern Europe effective January 2025, according to a statement released last week. The service will have direct coverage from London Gateway, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, and Antwerp to Egypt.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Switzerland will host the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting from Monday, 20 January to Friday, 24 December in Davos. The conference — under the theme Collaboration for the Intelligent Age — will gather global leaders to address geopolitical shocks and stimulate growth across five thematic priorities; rebuilding trust, reimagining growth, investing in people, safeguarding the planet, and industries in the intelligent age.

Belgium will host the World Cargo Summit from Monday, 27 January to Wednesday, 29 January in Ostend. The event will focus on air cargo economics, strategy, and market trends with a specific focus on how the industry will tackle disruptions and how firms can adapt their business models.

The UAE will host the ShipTek International Conference from Wednesday, 29 January to Thursday 39 January in Dubai. The two-day conference will gather industry experts, including managing director at Hapag-Lloyd Carolin Stumm, CEO Adani Ports Nicolai Friis, VP International Maritime Industries Justin Taylor, CEO Tristra Tim Coffin, and others to discuss new tech and developments in the maritime industry.

The UAE will host the Middle East Bunkering Convention from Monday, 3 February to Wednesday, 5 February in Dubai. The event will focus on the marine fuels sector to address the future of the industry in light of geopolitical issues, environmental regulation, and the future of artificial intelligence and digitalization.

Saudi Arabia will host the Airport Expansion Conference from Tuesday, 4 February to Wednesday, 5 February in Riyadh. The two-day conference will feature over 30 speakers to discuss challenges faced by Saudi Airports and highlight Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 with a clear focus on expansion, tech, and strategic partnerships.

The UAE will host the Middle East Breakbulk Conference from Monday, 10 February to Tuesday, 11 February in Dubai. The event gathers giant manufacturers, EPCs, and service providers to discuss the latest solutions in breakbulk and heavy-lift logistics across the Middle East and Africa. The two-day event features an artificial intelligence (AI) seminar, heavy lift workshop, chartering workshop, and a women in breakbulk panel.

Check out our full calendar at the bottom of this email for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers.