Scaling Industrial Growth Across Dubai and the GCC

Notify strategy with evidence: Use independent data on market confidence, growth, and customer demand to guide your strategic instructions. Confirm financial investment strategies: Guarantee resource allotment and efforts are backed by reputable market insight. Accelerate positive choices: Equip members of your executive group with clear, actionable insight to reach agreement quickly and take definitive action.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

1 GCC, "HE GCCSG: The FTA in between the GCC and the UK is a Major Strategic Chance to Elevate Economic Relations to New Horizons," October 20252 GCC, "Joint Declaration on Economic Cooperation In Between the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)," Might 2025 3 IMEC, "India-Middle East-Europe Economic Passage (IMEC) Development Update," April 20254 WAM, "UAE's CEPA program reinforces global economic ties with 26 tactical contracts," March 20255 Muscat Daily, "Oman, India set to sign totally free trade pact 'very soon'," September 20256 India Embassy Qatar, "India-Qatar Bilateral Relations," June 20257 Reuters, "Qatar's QIA prepares to a minimum of double yearly US investments over next years," Might 2025; WAM, "US$ 110 billion in UAE investments in Africa position country as world's fourth-largest investor," October 2025; Whitehouse, "Truth Sheet: President Donald J.

Boards across Africa are getting in a defining cycle. Capital is tighter. Analysis is higher. Danger is more interconnected. And the quality of conference room judgment will significantly figure out which organisations sustain development and which fall behind. In response, Ascent Club, an exposure launchpad curating access and opportunities for board- and C-level females, in cooperation with BusinessDay, is introducing a new month-to-month conference room dialogue convening accomplished African female executives who actively serve at the highest levels of governance and corporate leadership and who are members of Climb Club.

Advanced Strategy for GCC Excellence

This inaugural session combines board professionals to analyze the genuine pressures forming board programs today: INSIDE THE BOARDROOM: The Strategic Threats and Concerns Forming 2026 Financial discipline in constrained markets Developing regulative and governance expectations Innovation disturbance and cyber durability Long-term value production and sustainability imperatives Leadership choices boards must prioritise heading into 2026 Ascent members and speakers include: Mediator Nnoli Akpedeye MD/CEO, Contego Servo Limited Speakers Sarah Ajose-Adeogun Managing Partner, Teasoo Consulting Ochanya R.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Deborah David CFO, Powergas It is a convening of executives contributing straight to governance, threat oversight, and strategic direction within their organisations. Through this collaboration, Climb Club and BusinessDay are intentionally developing a repeating online forum that surfaces board-level insight, magnifies trustworthy female governance voices, and broadens access to the tactical thinking emerging from Africa's boardrooms.

Get the most recent insights, trends, and techniques provided directly to your inbox. Sign up with Everest Group's newsletter to stay at the forefront of what's next.

Strategic Planning for GCC Success

Overall assets held broadly constant over the quarter, while trading levels pointed to continued rearranging and as a reaction to geopolitical news rather than a meaningful new capital deployment. International macro conditions set a tough background.

The result was a quarter defined by volatility, dispersion, and selective positioning, instead of a clear directional trend. Oil associated assets succeeded for the most part. On the positive side, in January, the Boreas Outright High-end ETF released on ADX to include more thematic ETFs. Likewise in Q1, two more Kraneshares have actually been authorized for launch by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and will be authorized by the Abu Dhabi Stock Market (ADX). The GCC ETF universe consisted of 39 ETFs with an overall AUM of $9.35 billion (as of Q1 2026). Performance across the marketplace was broadly negative, with just 13 ETFs delivering favorable returns compared to 26 in decrease. Overall, the information shows a market that is active but narrow, with capital and liquidity concentrated in a small subset of products.

Efficiency in Q1 2026 was driven by a narrow group of distinctive winners, instead of broad market strength. The leading ETFs were concentrated in specific country exposures and commodities, particularly Turkey, Saudi petrochemicals, gold, and Egypt. Nations like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt were durable during the quarter. Saudi Arabia's oil exposure supported its local market, with Aramco reaching new highs in the middle of greater oil costs, as well as its continued ability to export oil through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which remains open.

Why Is Operational Excellence Vital for Future Growth?

Egypt provided strong performance in January and February. In spite of a market pullback in March due to the war, both Egypt's market and its ETFs still published favorable returns for the quarter. The ongoing Middle East dispute and resulting energy shock have reshaped the outlook for emerging market equities between the oil-haves and the oil-have-nots.

The sector also faced broader macro headwinds, consisting of a more mindful policy backdrop in China and international risk-off belief driven by geopolitical tensions and greater energy prices. Thematic ETFs Struggled for the many part, particularly those connected to carbon and high-growth technology, as appraisal pressures and international rate characteristics weighed on efficiency.

The petrochemical ETF substantially outperformed. Circulations in Q1 2026 were modest and highly concentrated, showing selective allowance instead of broad market involvement. Despite weak performance, ETFs tape-recorded $27.1 million in net inflows, with just a small number of products attracting new capital. This suggests that financiers were targeting specific direct exposures, while lowering or rotating out of others.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Implementing GCC Corporate Strategies for Sustainable Success

Trading activity remained stable, with average 30-day volumes around 33,000 shares, focused in a handful of bigger and more liquid ETFs. A lot of activity appears to have taken place in the secondary market, making it possible for investors to change positions without significant main productions or redemptions.

In January, Boreas introduced its S&P Global High-end UCITS ETF, including a specific niche thematic direct exposure concentrated on global luxury and customer brands. Momentum continued into April with the approval of KraneShares AGIX and KWIN ETFs by the CMA for cross-listing on ADX. These funds are expected to release in April pending a last approval from ADX.

Q1 2026 revealed some progress connecting to ETFs in the GCC. We expect more worldwide and thematic ETFs to list in the GCC during 2026. While the dispute has actually impacted sentiment and costs during the quarter, it has actually driven more volume and interest in local assets.

In spite of ongoing geopolitical tensions and security dangers throughout the Middle East, the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have actually continued to demonstrate durability, maintaining positive development momentum in current years. While conflicts in the broader region and worldwide financial uncertainty remain a structural restraint, GCC nations have actually up until now restricted their effect on domestic financial performance through strong financial positions, policy continuity, and sustained financial investment.