How to Maintain a Competitive Advantage 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 "crucial to construct limits" between work and personal life and take brief holidays to "detach" from the office.

Karim Benkirane, CCO of Du, said: "If you make the individuals you work with happy, you will make the consumer pleased, who will then make the investors pleased."Ambareen Musa, CEO for Revolut GCC, stated the ability to "not stress" is the key to discovering an option for issues.

Today, we're assembling more than 3000 conferences in between financiers and 119 Gulf-listed companies with a combined value of $2.4 trillion at the HSBC GCC Exchanges Conference 2026, in London. We're combining financiers, business, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is changing in the area, and what comes next, including the growth and continuous advancement of the Gulf's capital markets, and the area's growing function in worldwide networks of capital and trade.

Saudi Arabia and UAE are poised to lead the Gulf area's financial expansion in 2026, supported by strong private-sector performance, resistant domestic demand and renewed financial investment momentum, according to the most current ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is anticipated to exceed most worldwide regions peers next year, with local 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 infrastructure.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Analysing 2026 Market Data for Strategic Insights

Although oil incomes will be under pressure in the very first half of 2026, production is anticipated to rise once again in the second half of 2026, supporting the area's medium-term outlook, it specified. Saudi Arabia will remain a major factor to GCC momentum, with GDP projection to grow 4.3% in 2026.

Growth will be supported by industrial growth and policy reforms, including reduced foreign ownership guidelines that intend to promote additional financial investment. The financial deficit is predicted 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 aims to relieve inflationary pressures, though it may constrain future real estate supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is likewise placed for another strong year of performance, with GDP forecast to rise 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to broaden. Tourist, trade and financial services remain crucial growth chauffeurs, supported by population growth and continual domestic demand. 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 again in the second half of 2026, matching continuous investment in facilities, technology and international trade partnerships. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, said: "This quarter's outlook reinforces how far the GCC has can be found in building varied, resilient and internationally competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Consultant, 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 acquiring pace, supported by robust need and rising financial investment, even as fiscal pressures increase.""The UAE continues to take advantage of strong domestic principles, a sharp uplift in federal government spending and continual diversity efforts.

Key Tips for Operational Excellence in Dubai

GCC nations are pivoting towards a method of 'resilience over expansion' getting in 2026, as the region prepares for an international landscape defined by softer oil prices, geopolitical fragmentation, and the rapid shift to an AI-enabled economy. According to a brand-new regional outlook by PwC, the GCC is moving to insulate its growth from external shocks by deepening global trade integration, protecting industrial supply chains, and performing a decisive shift from innovation aspiration to functional execution.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Settlements for Free Trade Agreements with China, the EU, and Japan are advancing, while talks with the UK have gone into final preparing phases. The region is significantly placing itself as a central center for east-west trade through the IndiaMiddle EastEurope Economic Passage (IMEC). To support domestic production, protecting vital minerals has actually become a strategic priority.