Key Tips for Operational Excellence in Dubai

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 stated it was "essential to construct borders" between work and personal life and take brief vacations to "disconnect" from the office.

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

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

Saudi Arabia and UAE are poised to lead the Gulf region's economic growth in 2026, supported by strong private-sector performance, durable domestic need and restored financial investment momentum, according to the most recent ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is anticipated to surpass most worldwide regions peers next year, with local GDP forecast to grow by 4.4%. Throughout the GCC, non-energy activity is forecasted to broaden by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, enhancing credit conditions and increasing financial investment in innovation and AI-related infrastructure.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

How to Maintain a Competitive Advantage in 2026

Although oil revenues 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 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 financial investment. The financial deficit is projected to expand to 5.6% of GDP next year in the middle of softer oil prices, while the recent five-year rent freeze in Riyadh aims to reduce inflationary pressures, though it may constrain future housing supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is likewise placed 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 crucial growth motorists, supported by population development and sustained domestic need. 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, matching continuous financial investment in facilities, innovation and global trade partnerships. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, stated: "This quarter's outlook reinforces how far the GCC has come in structure diverse, resilient and internationally competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Advisor, and Chief Economic Expert and Managing Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, stated: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are going into 2026 with strong structures. Saudi non-oil activity is getting speed, supported by robust need and rising financial investment, even as fiscal pressures increase.""The UAE continues to gain from solid domestic fundamentals, a sharp uplift in federal government costs and continual diversity efforts.

How to Scale GCC Strategy in 2026

GCC countries are pivoting towards a method of 'resilience over expansion' getting in 2026, as the area prepares for an international landscape specified by softer oil prices, geopolitical fragmentation, and the rapid shift to an AI-enabled economy. According to a new regional outlook by PwC, the GCC is transferring to insulate its development from external shocks by deepening worldwide trade integration, securing commercial supply chains, and carrying out a definitive shift from technology aspiration to operational implementation.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Negotiations for Free Trade Arrangements with China, the EU, and Japan are advancing, while talks with the UK have actually entered last preparing phases. The area is increasingly placing itself as a central center for east-west trade through the IndiaMiddle EastEurope Economic Corridor (IMEC). To support domestic production, securing crucial minerals has actually ended up being a tactical concern.