Industrial Excellence: a Key Pillar for Regional Growth

El Houni asked the speakers to share what keeps them "on-point" at work and what advice they have for the audience. Hamad Al Hajri, CEO and Creator of Snoonu said it was "essential to build boundaries" in between work and personal life and take short holidays to "detach" from the office.

Karim Benkirane, CCO of Du, said: "If you make the people you work with delighted, you will make the consumer delighted, who will then make the shareholders pleased."Ambareen Musa, CEO for Revolut GCC, stated the ability to "not stress" is the essential to discovering a solution for issues.

Today, we're assembling more than 3000 conferences between investors and 119 Gulf-listed companies with a combined value of $2.4 trillion at the HSBC GCC Exchanges Conference 2026, in London. We're combining financiers, business, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is changing in the region, and what follows, including the expansion and ongoing development of the Gulf's capital markets, and the area's growing function in worldwide networks of capital and trade.

Saudi Arabia and UAE are poised to lead the Gulf region's financial growth in 2026, supported by strong private-sector performance, durable domestic demand and renewed financial investment momentum, according to the current ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is expected to outperform most worldwide regions peers next year, with regional GDP projection to grow by 4.4%. Across the GCC, non-energy activity is forecasted to broaden by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, enhancing credit conditions and rising investment in innovation and AI-related infrastructure.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Analysing 2026 Market Data for Future Insights

Although oil earnings will be under pressure in the very first half of 2026, production is anticipated to rise again in the second half of 2026, supporting the region's medium-term outlook, it stated. Saudi Arabia will remain a significant factor to GCC momentum, with GDP forecast to grow 4.3% in 2026.

Growth will be supported by commercial expansion and policy reforms, consisting of reduced foreign ownership guidelines that intend to stimulate additional financial investment. The fiscal deficit is predicted to broaden to 5.6% of GDP next year amid softer oil costs, while the recent five-year rent freeze in Riyadh intends to relieve inflationary pressures, though it might constrain future real estate supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is likewise positioned for another strong year of performance, with GDP projection to increase 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to expand. Tourism, trade and monetary services remain crucial development motorists, supported by population growth and continual domestic demand. Dubai's economy grew 4.4% in the first half of 2025, showing broad-based non-oil strength.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Oil production is anticipated to get again in the second half of 2026, matching continuous investment in infrastructure, technology and worldwide trade partnerships. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, stated: "This quarter's outlook reinforces how far the GCC has come in structure varied, durable and internationally competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Consultant, and Chief Economist and Handling Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, said: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are getting in 2026 with strong structures. Saudi non-oil activity is getting speed, supported by robust demand and increasing investment, even as fiscal pressures increase.""The UAE continues to gain from solid domestic principles, a sharp uplift in federal government costs and sustained diversification efforts.

Emerging Strategic Trends Shaping the 2026 GCC Market

GCC countries are rotating towards a method of 'durability over expansion' entering 2026, as the area prepares for a worldwide landscape defined by softer oil rates, geopolitical fragmentation, and the quick transition to an AI-enabled economy. According to a brand-new regional outlook by PwC, the GCC is moving to insulate its growth from external shocks by deepening global trade integration, protecting commercial supply chains, and executing a definitive shift from technology ambition to operational application.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Settlements free of charge Trade Agreements with China, the EU, and Japan are advancing, while talks with the UK have actually gone into final drafting stages. The region is progressively placing itself as a main hub for east-west trade through the IndiaMiddle EastEurope Economic Passage (IMEC). To support domestic production, protecting crucial minerals has actually become a strategic concern.