Analysing 2026 GCC Research for Future Growth

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 Founder of Snoonu stated it was "essential to build borders" in between work and personal life and take brief holidays to "detach" from the workplace.

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

Today, we're assembling more than 3000 meetings in between investors and 119 Gulf-listed business with a combined value 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 changing in the region, and what follows, including the expansion and ongoing advancement of the Gulf's capital markets, and the region's growing role in global networks of capital and trade.

Saudi Arabia and UAE are poised to lead the Gulf area's economic expansion in 2026, supported by strong private-sector performance, durable domestic demand and restored investment momentum, according to the most current ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is anticipated to surpass most international areas peers next year, with local GDP forecast to grow by 4.4%. Throughout the GCC, non-energy activity is forecasted to expand by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, enhancing credit conditions and rising investment in technology and AI-related infrastructure.

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Emerging Strategic Shifts Shaping the 2026 Regional Market

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

Growth will be supported by industrial expansion and policy reforms, including eased foreign ownership rules that aim to promote additional financial investment. The financial deficit is predicted to expand to 5.6% of GDP next year in the middle of softer oil costs, while the current five-year rent freeze in Riyadh aims to relieve inflationary pressures, though it may constrain future real estate supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is likewise positioned for another strong year of performance, with GDP forecast to rise 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to expand. Tourism, trade and monetary services remain essential growth drivers, supported by population growth and sustained domestic demand. Dubai's economy grew 4.4% in the very first half of 2025, reflecting broad-based non-oil strength.

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Oil production is anticipated to get once again in the second half of 2026, complementing continuous investment in facilities, technology and worldwide trade collaborations. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, stated: "This quarter's outlook reinforces how far the GCC has can be found in structure varied, durable and worldwide competitive economies.

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

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GCC countries are rotating towards a technique of 'strength over expansion' getting in 2026, as the region gets ready for a worldwide landscape defined by softer oil costs, geopolitical fragmentation, and the quick transition to an AI-enabled economy. According to a brand-new local outlook by PwC, the GCC is moving to insulate its growth from external shocks by deepening international trade integration, protecting commercial supply chains, and executing a decisive shift from innovation aspiration to operational application.

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