Can Market Analytics Define Middle East Industrial Success?

El Houni asked the speakers to share what keeps them "on-point" at work and what advice they have for the audience. Hamad Al Hajri, CEO and Creator of Snoonu said it was "crucial to build limits" between work and individual life and take short vacations to "disconnect" from the office.

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

This week, we're assembling more than 3000 conferences 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 combining financiers, companies, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is changing in the area, and what follows, including the expansion and continuous 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 economic expansion in 2026, supported by strong private-sector performance, durable domestic need and restored investment momentum, according to the most current ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is anticipated to exceed most global regions peers next year, with regional GDP forecast to grow by 4.4%. Throughout the GCC, non-energy activity is predicted to expand by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, improving credit conditions and increasing investment in technology and AI-related infrastructure.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

How to Optimise Regional Operations in 2026

Oil revenues will be under pressure in the first half of 2026, production is expected to increase again in the second half of 2026, supporting the area'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.

Growth will be supported by commercial growth and policy reforms, consisting of alleviated foreign ownership rules that intend to stimulate further financial investment. The fiscal deficit is predicted to broaden to 5.6% of GDP next year amidst softer oil rates, while the recent five-year rent freeze in Riyadh aims to alleviate inflationary pressures, though it might constrain future housing supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is also positioned for another strong year of performance, with GDP forecast to increase 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to broaden. Tourist, trade and monetary services remain essential development chauffeurs, supported by population development and sustained domestic demand. 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 get once again in the 2nd half of 2026, matching ongoing financial investment in facilities, innovation and international trade partnerships. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, said: "This quarter's outlook strengthens how far the GCC has actually been available in building varied, resilient and worldwide competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Advisor, and Chief Economist and Managing Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, stated: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are getting in 2026 with strong structures. Saudi non-oil activity is acquiring rate, supported by robust need and increasing 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 continual diversification efforts.

Methods for Optimising Regional Strategy in 2026

GCC countries are rotating towards a strategy of 'resilience over expansion' going into 2026, as the area prepares for a global landscape defined by softer oil rates, geopolitical fragmentation, and the rapid transition to an AI-enabled economy. According to a brand-new local outlook by PwC, the GCC is relocating to insulate its growth from external shocks by deepening worldwide trade combination, securing industrial supply chains, and executing a decisive shift from innovation ambition to functional implementation.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Negotiations totally free Trade Contracts with China, the EU, and Japan are advancing, while talks with the UK have entered last drafting stages. The region is increasingly positioning itself as a main center for east-west trade through the IndiaMiddle EastEurope Economic Passage (IMEC). To support domestic production, protecting important minerals has become a tactical top priority.