How to Maintain a Leading Advantage in Dubai

El Houni asked the speakers to share what keeps them "on-point" at work and what guidance they have for the audience. Hamad Al Hajri, CEO and Founder of Snoonu stated it was "essential to build limits" between work and personal life and take brief vacations to "disconnect" from the workplace.

Karim Benkirane, CCO of Du, stated: "If you make the people you work with pleased, you will make the customer happy, who will then make the shareholders delighted."Ambareen Musa, CEO for Revolut GCC, said the ability to "not stress" is the essential to finding a service 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, business, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is altering in the area, and what follows, including the expansion and continuous development of the Gulf's capital markets, and the region's growing function in global networks of capital and trade.

Saudi Arabia and UAE are poised to lead the Gulf area's economic growth in 2026, supported by strong private-sector efficiency, resistant domestic need and restored financial investment momentum, according to the most current ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is expected to surpass most worldwide regions peers next year, with regional GDP projection 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+

Accelerating Dubai Industrial Growth through Strategy

Although oil earnings will be under pressure in the first half of 2026, production is expected to increase again in the 2nd half of 2026, supporting the region's medium-term outlook, it stated. Saudi Arabia will stay a significant contributor to GCC momentum, with GDP forecast to grow 4.3% in 2026.

Development will be supported by commercial expansion and policy reforms, consisting of eased foreign ownership guidelines that aim to stimulate more investment. The financial deficit is projected to expand to 5.6% of GDP next year in the middle of softer oil costs, while the recent five-year lease freeze in Riyadh aims to reduce inflationary pressures, though it might constrain future real estate supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is also placed for another strong year of efficiency, with GDP forecast to rise 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to expand. Tourist, trade and monetary services stay essential growth drivers, 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 expected to select up once again in the 2nd half of 2026, complementing ongoing investment in facilities, innovation and international trade collaborations. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, stated: "This quarter's outlook reinforces how far the GCC has come in structure varied, resistant and globally competitive economies.

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

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GCC countries are pivoting towards a strategy of 'durability over expansion' going into 2026, as the area gets ready for a worldwide landscape defined by softer oil prices, geopolitical fragmentation, and the quick transition to an AI-enabled economy. According to a brand-new local outlook by PwC, the GCC is transferring to insulate its growth from external shocks by deepening international trade combination, protecting commercial supply chains, and executing a definitive shift from technology aspiration to operational application.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Negotiations free of charge Trade Agreements with China, the EU, and Japan are advancing, while talks with the UK have actually entered final preparing phases. The region is increasingly placing itself as a main hub for east-west trade through the IndiaMiddle EastEurope Economic Corridor (IMEC). To support domestic production, protecting important minerals has actually ended up being a strategic concern.