How to Maintain a Competitive Advantage in 2026

El Houni asked the speakers to share what keeps them "on-point" at work and what guidance they have for the audience. Hamad Al Hajri, CEO and Founder of Snoonu stated it was "essential to develop limits" between work and individual life and take short vacations to "detach" from the office.

Karim Benkirane, CCO of Du, said: "If you make the individuals you work with pleased, you will make the client pleased, who will then make the shareholders pleased."Ambareen Musa, CEO for Revolut GCC, said the ability to "not panic" is the key to discovering an option for problems.

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

Saudi Arabia and UAE are poised to lead the Gulf region's financial expansion in 2026, supported by strong private-sector efficiency, durable domestic demand and renewed investment momentum, according to the most recent ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is anticipated to outshine most worldwide areas peers next year, with local GDP projection to grow by 4.4%. Across the GCC, non-energy activity is forecasted to expand by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, improving credit conditions and rising financial investment in technology and AI-related infrastructure.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Emerging Future Shifts Shaping the 2026 GCC Market

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

Development will be supported by commercial growth and policy reforms, consisting of relieved foreign ownership rules that aim to stimulate additional investment. The fiscal deficit is forecasted to expand to 5.6% of GDP next year in the middle of softer oil rates, while the recent five-year rent freeze in Riyadh intends to reduce inflationary pressures, though it may constrain future real estate supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is also placed for another strong year of performance, with GDP projection to increase 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to broaden. Tourism, trade and monetary services stay key growth drivers, supported by population development and continual domestic demand. Dubai's economy grew 4.4% in the very first half of 2025, reflecting broad-based non-oil strength.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Oil production is anticipated to get once again in the 2nd half of 2026, matching continuous financial investment in facilities, innovation and international trade collaborations. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, said: "This quarter's outlook reinforces how far the GCC has actually been available in structure varied, durable and worldwide competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Consultant, and Chief Economic 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 gaining speed, supported by robust need and rising financial investment, even as fiscal pressures increase.""The UAE continues to take advantage of solid domestic basics, a sharp uplift in federal government spending and sustained diversity efforts.

Operational Excellence: a Key Driver for Regional Success

GCC nations are rotating towards a method of 'durability over expansion' getting in 2026, as the area gets ready for a global landscape defined by softer oil costs, geopolitical fragmentation, and the quick shift to an AI-enabled economy. According to a new regional outlook by PwC, the GCC is moving to insulate its development from external shocks by deepening global trade integration, protecting commercial supply chains, and carrying out a decisive shift from innovation aspiration to operational execution.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Negotiations free of charge Trade Contracts with China, the EU, and Japan are advancing, while talks with the UK have actually entered last drafting stages. The area is increasingly positioning itself as a main center for east-west trade through the IndiaMiddle EastEurope Economic Passage (IMEC). To support domestic manufacturing, securing critical minerals has actually become a strategic top priority.