Navigating the Next GCC Corporate Environment

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

Karim Benkirane, CCO of Du, stated: "If you make the individuals you work with happy, you will make the customer happy, who will then make the investors delighted."Ambareen Musa, CEO for Revolut GCC, stated the ability to "not worry" is the crucial to finding a solution for issues.

This week, we're convening more than 3000 conferences 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 bringing together investors, business, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is altering in the area, and what comes next, including the expansion and ongoing development of the Gulf's capital markets, and the area's growing function in global 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, resistant domestic demand and renewed financial investment momentum, according to the newest ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is expected to outshine most global areas peers next year, with local GDP forecast to grow by 4.4%. Across the GCC, non-energy activity is projected to broaden by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, enhancing credit conditions and rising financial investment in technology and AI-related facilities.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

How to Maintain a Leading Edge in Dubai

Although oil earnings will be under pressure in the first half of 2026, production is anticipated to increase again in the second half of 2026, supporting the region's medium-term outlook, it specified. Saudi Arabia will remain a major contributor to GCC momentum, with GDP projection to grow 4.3% in 2026.

Development will be supported by industrial growth and policy reforms, including reduced foreign ownership guidelines that aim to stimulate additional investment. The fiscal deficit is predicted to broaden to 5.6% of GDP next year in the middle of softer oil rates, while the current five-year rent freeze in Riyadh aims to ease 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 forecast to rise 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to expand. Tourist, trade and monetary services stay crucial 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 anticipated to get once again in the 2nd half of 2026, complementing continuous investment in facilities, innovation and international trade partnerships. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, stated: "This quarter's outlook reinforces how far the GCC has actually been available in building varied, resilient and worldwide competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Consultant, and Chief Economist and Managing Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, said: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are getting in 2026 with strong structures. Saudi non-oil activity is acquiring speed, supported by robust need and rising investment, even as fiscal pressures increase.""The UAE continues to benefit from strong domestic principles, a sharp uplift in government spending and continual diversification efforts.

Predicting the 2026 GCC Corporate Environment

GCC countries are pivoting towards a method of 'strength over expansion' going into 2026, as the region gets ready for a global landscape defined by softer oil prices, geopolitical fragmentation, and the rapid transition to an AI-enabled economy. According to a brand-new regional outlook by PwC, the GCC is transferring to insulate its growth from external shocks by deepening worldwide trade combination, protecting commercial supply chains, and executing a definitive shift from technology ambition to functional implementation.

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Negotiations totally free Trade Arrangements with China, the EU, and Japan are advancing, while talks with the UK have entered last preparing stages. The area is progressively positioning itself as a main hub for east-west trade through the IndiaMiddle EastEurope Economic Corridor (IMEC). To support domestic manufacturing, protecting important minerals has ended up being a strategic priority.