Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone has signed a 50-year concession agreement with the United Arab Emirates’ Abu Dhabi Ports Group (AD Ports) to develop a 20-square-kilometer logistics and industrial hub east of Port Said. The agreement marks a significant step in deepening Egypt-UAE economic ties and expanding Emirati investment in Africa’s key maritime corridors.

AD Ports will invest $120 million during the first three years of development for feasibility studies and infrastructure over an initial 2.8-square-kilometer area. This phase will include construction of a 1.5-kilometer quay, with plans to build a multipurpose cargo terminal, according to Egypt’s cabinet. The overall zone is expected to support manufacturing, logistics, and export operations aimed at European, African, and Middle Eastern markets.

China’s aluminum industry, long sustained by the country’s breakneck property boom, is now struggling to reinvent itself amid collapsing construction demand, razor-thin margins, and the mounting pressure of President Xi Jinping’s campaign to curb “involution”, the destructive cycle of overcapacity and price wars that has plagued much of Chinese manufacturing.

Guangdong province, once the epicenter of China’s light manufacturing miracle, is emblematic of this struggle. For decades, aluminum producers thrived on demand for window frames, railings, and furniture. But with real estate in a structural downturn, demand for these mid-to-low grade products has evaporated, leaving hundreds of small and mid-sized firms saddled with excess capacity.

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, is intensifying its efforts to expand its presence in China’s downstream oil sector, targeting the robust recovery in oil product demand in the country. Mohammed Al Qahtani, the company’s Downstream President, emphasized the strategic importance of China to Aramco’s business growth, not only in Asia but worldwide. Al Qahtani stressed that Aramco aims to remain a dependable source of long-term oil supply for China.