Navigating the Next Middle East Business 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 stated it was "essential to build borders" in between work and individual life and take brief holidays to "disconnect" from the office.

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

This week, we're assembling more than 3000 meetings in between investors and 119 Gulf-listed business with a combined worth of $2.4 trillion at the HSBC GCC Exchanges Conference 2026, in London. We're uniting investors, companies, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is altering in the area, and what follows, including the expansion and ongoing development 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 area's financial expansion in 2026, supported by strong private-sector performance, resilient domestic need and renewed financial investment momentum, according to the newest ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is anticipated to outperform most worldwide regions peers next year, with regional 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, improving credit conditions and increasing financial investment in innovation and AI-related infrastructure.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Can Market Analytics Define Dubai Corporate Success?

Oil incomes 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 region's medium-term outlook, it stated. Saudi Arabia will stay a major contributor to GCC momentum, with GDP forecast to grow 4.3% in 2026.

Development will be supported by commercial expansion and policy reforms, including relieved foreign ownership guidelines that aim to stimulate further investment. The financial deficit is forecasted to broaden to 5.6% of GDP next year amidst softer oil rates, while the recent five-year rent freeze in Riyadh aims to relieve inflationary pressures, though it might constrain future real estate supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is also positioned for another strong year of efficiency, with GDP projection to rise 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to broaden. Tourism, trade and monetary services stay essential growth motorists, supported by population development and continual domestic need. Dubai's economy grew 4.4% in the 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 second half of 2026, complementing ongoing financial investment in infrastructure, technology and international trade collaborations. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, stated: "This quarter's outlook reinforces how far the GCC has actually come in structure varied, resistant and globally competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Consultant, and Chief Economist and Managing Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, said: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are going into 2026 with strong foundations. Saudi non-oil activity is getting rate, supported by robust demand and increasing financial investment, even as fiscal pressures increase.""The UAE continues to benefit from strong domestic basics, a sharp uplift in federal government costs and sustained diversity efforts.

Methods for Optimising Regional Operations in 2026

GCC nations are pivoting towards a method of 'durability over expansion' entering 2026, as the area prepares for an international landscape defined by softer oil prices, geopolitical fragmentation, and the fast transition to an AI-enabled economy. According to a brand-new regional outlook by PwC, the GCC is relocating to insulate its growth from external shocks by deepening international trade combination, protecting commercial supply chains, and executing a definitive shift from technology ambition to operational application.

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Settlements totally free Trade Agreements with China, the EU, and Japan are advancing, while talks with the UK have entered last drafting stages. The area is progressively placing itself as a central center for east-west trade through the IndiaMiddle EastEurope Economic Passage (IMEC). To support domestic production, securing important minerals has actually ended up being a strategic concern.