Driving Dubai Corporate Growth through Innovation

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 Creator of Snoonu stated it was "important to develop limits" between work and individual 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 client pleased, who will then make the shareholders pleased."Ambareen Musa, CEO for Revolut GCC, said the capability to "not stress" is the crucial to finding a solution for problems.

This week, we're convening more than 3000 meetings between investors and 119 Gulf-listed business with a combined value of $2.4 trillion at the HSBC GCC Exchanges Conference 2026, in London. We're uniting financiers, business, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is changing in the area, and what follows, including the growth and ongoing advancement of the Gulf's capital markets, and the area's growing role 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 efficiency, resilient domestic need and restored financial investment momentum, according to the current ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is anticipated to outperform most worldwide areas peers next year, with local GDP forecast to grow by 4.4%. Throughout the GCC, non-energy activity is projected to expand by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, enhancing credit conditions and increasing financial investment in innovation and AI-related infrastructure.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Driving Dubai Industrial Growth through Innovation

Although oil profits 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 area's medium-term outlook, it specified. Saudi Arabia will remain a major factor to GCC momentum, with GDP projection to grow 4.3% in 2026.

Development will be supported by industrial growth and policy reforms, including relieved foreign ownership guidelines that intend to promote further financial investment. The fiscal deficit is predicted to expand to 5.6% of GDP next year in the middle of softer oil prices, while the recent five-year lease freeze in Riyadh aims to relieve inflationary pressures, though it may constrain future housing supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is likewise placed for another strong year of efficiency, with GDP forecast to rise 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to broaden. Tourist, trade and monetary services remain key development motorists, supported by population growth and sustained domestic demand. Dubai's economy grew 4.4% in the very first half of 2025, showing broad-based non-oil strength.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Oil production is expected to choose up once again in the 2nd half of 2026, complementing continuous investment in infrastructure, technology and international trade partnerships. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, said: "This quarter's outlook reinforces how far the GCC has actually been available in building diverse, resistant and worldwide competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Consultant, and Chief Financial Expert and Managing Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, stated: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are getting in 2026 with strong foundations. Saudi non-oil activity is getting rate, supported by robust need and rising financial investment, even as fiscal pressures increase.""The UAE continues to take advantage of solid domestic fundamentals, a sharp uplift in government costs and continual diversity efforts.

Industrial Excellence: a Key Pillar for Regional Growth

GCC countries are rotating towards a technique of 'durability over growth' getting in 2026, as the region gets ready for a worldwide landscape defined by softer oil prices, geopolitical fragmentation, and the quick transition to an AI-enabled economy. According to a new regional outlook by PwC, the GCC is relocating to insulate its development from external shocks by deepening international trade combination, protecting industrial supply chains, and executing a decisive shift from technology aspiration to operational implementation.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Negotiations for Free Trade Agreements with China, the EU, and Japan are advancing, while talks with the UK have entered final preparing stages. The area is increasingly placing itself as a main center for east-west trade through the IndiaMiddle EastEurope Economic Passage (IMEC). To support domestic manufacturing, securing vital minerals has ended up being a strategic top priority.