Driving Dubai Corporate Growth through Innovation

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 "crucial to build boundaries" between work and personal life and take brief holidays to "detach" from the workplace.

Karim Benkirane, CCO of Du, said: "If you make the people 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 capability to "not panic" is the crucial to discovering an option for problems.

Today, we're assembling more than 3000 meetings in 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 financiers, business, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is changing in the region, and what follows, consisting of the expansion and continuous development of the Gulf's capital markets, and the region's growing function in international networks of capital and trade.

Saudi Arabia and UAE are poised to lead the Gulf region's financial expansion in 2026, supported by strong private-sector efficiency, resistant domestic need and restored investment momentum, according to the current ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is expected to exceed most worldwide areas peers next year, with regional GDP forecast to grow by 4.4%. Throughout the GCC, non-energy activity is predicted to broaden by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, improving credit conditions and increasing financial investment in technology and AI-related facilities.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Driving Regional Corporate Growth through Innovation

Oil revenues will be under pressure in the very first half of 2026, production is anticipated to increase again in the 2nd half of 2026, supporting the region's medium-term outlook, it stated. Saudi Arabia will stay a significant factor to GCC momentum, with GDP projection to grow 4.3% in 2026.

Growth will be supported by commercial growth and policy reforms, including alleviated foreign ownership rules that aim to promote additional financial investment. The financial deficit is forecasted to widen to 5.6% of GDP next year in the middle of softer oil rates, while the current five-year lease freeze in Riyadh intends to relieve inflationary pressures, though it may constrain future housing supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is also placed for another strong year of performance, with GDP projection to increase 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to expand. Tourism, trade and financial services remain essential development drivers, supported by population development and sustained 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 anticipated to get 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 enhances how far the GCC has come in building diverse, durable and internationally competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Advisor, and Chief Economist and Handling Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, stated: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are going into 2026 with strong structures. Saudi non-oil activity is gaining rate, supported by robust need and increasing investment, even as financial pressures increase.""The UAE continues to gain from solid domestic basics, a sharp uplift in government spending and sustained diversity efforts.

Evaluating Legacy Models and 2026 Business Strategies

GCC nations are pivoting towards a method of 'durability over growth' getting in 2026, as the region prepares for an international landscape defined by softer oil rates, geopolitical fragmentation, and the rapid transition to an AI-enabled economy. According to a new regional outlook by PwC, the GCC is moving to insulate its growth from external shocks by deepening worldwide trade integration, securing commercial supply chains, and carrying out a definitive shift from innovation aspiration to functional application.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Negotiations totally free Trade Arrangements with China, the EU, and Japan are advancing, while talks with the UK have gone into last preparing phases. The region is increasingly positioning itself as a central hub for east-west trade through the IndiaMiddle EastEurope Economic Passage (IMEC). To support domestic production, protecting vital minerals has actually become a strategic top priority.