Saudi Arabia’s Bahri inks deal with Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority

Saudi Arabia’s national shipping company Bahri has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Suez Canal Authority to create an Egyptian joint-stock company for maritime transport.

The company stated to the Saudi stock market that the firm will focus on owning, leasing, chartering and operating vessels for transporting general and bulk cargo, chemicals, oil and all other marine transport-related activities.

Bahri's profits grew by more than five times last year to exceed one billion riyals ($266.5 million)

The improvements are driven by the performance of many sectors, notably the crude oil transportation sector and the chemical transportation sector, as a result of transportation price increases, an increase in transportation operations and the addition of new ships.

The MoU agreement can be renewed after six months from the date of signing.

Bahri, founded in 1978, is one of the world's largest shipping companies, with a total of at least 95 vessels serving 150 ports worldwide. Saudi’s Public Investment Fund and Saudi Aramco both own 22.5 percent and 20 percent of the corporation, respectively.

Bahri ranks seventh on Forbes Middle East’s 10 Biggest Logistics Companies in MENA 2021 List and 40th on the Top 100 Companies in the Middle East 2021 List.