Can Strategic Analytics Drive Dubai Corporate Growth?

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

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

This week, we're assembling more than 3000 meetings between financiers and 119 Gulf-listed business 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, consisting of the expansion and continuous advancement of the Gulf's capital markets, and the region's growing role in international networks of capital and trade.

Saudi Arabia and UAE are poised to lead the Gulf area's economic growth in 2026, supported by strong private-sector efficiency, resistant domestic need and renewed investment momentum, according to the current ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is anticipated to exceed most global areas peers next year, with local GDP forecast to grow by 4.4%. Across the GCC, non-energy activity is predicted to expand by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, improving credit conditions and increasing financial investment in technology and AI-related facilities.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

How to Secure a Competitive Edge in 2026

Although oil profits will be under pressure in the very first half of 2026, production is expected to rise again in the 2nd half of 2026, supporting the area's medium-term outlook, it stated. Saudi Arabia will stay a major factor to GCC momentum, with GDP forecast to grow 4.3% in 2026.

Development will be supported by industrial expansion and policy reforms, consisting of alleviated foreign ownership guidelines that aim to promote more investment. The financial deficit is predicted to expand to 5.6% of GDP next year in the middle of softer oil rates, while the current five-year lease freeze in Riyadh aims to alleviate inflationary pressures, though it might constrain future real estate supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is likewise placed for another strong year of performance, with GDP projection to rise 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to expand. Tourism, trade and financial services stay essential development drivers, supported by population development and sustained domestic need. Dubai's economy grew 4.4% in the first half of 2025, reflecting broad-based non-oil strength.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Oil production is anticipated to choose up again in the second half of 2026, matching ongoing investment in infrastructure, innovation and international trade collaborations. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, said: "This quarter's outlook strengthens how far the GCC has actually come in building diverse, resilient and internationally competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Advisor, and Chief Economist and Handling Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, stated: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are entering 2026 with strong structures. Saudi non-oil activity is gaining pace, supported by robust need and increasing financial investment, even as financial pressures increase.""The UAE continues to benefit from strong domestic principles, a sharp uplift in government costs and sustained diversity efforts.

Emerging Future Trends Shaping the 2026 Regional Market

GCC nations are pivoting towards a technique of 'durability over growth' going into 2026, as the area prepares for an international landscape specified by softer oil costs, geopolitical fragmentation, and the rapid shift to an AI-enabled economy. According to a brand-new regional outlook by PwC, the GCC is relocating to insulate its development from external shocks by deepening worldwide trade combination, securing industrial supply chains, and carrying out a definitive shift from technology ambition to functional implementation.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Settlements free of charge Trade Arrangements with China, the EU, and Japan are advancing, while talks with the UK have actually entered final drafting phases. The area is significantly positioning itself as a central hub for east-west trade through the IndiaMiddle EastEurope Economic Corridor (IMEC). To support domestic production, securing crucial minerals has actually ended up being a strategic top priority.