Industrial Excellence: a Key Pillar for 2026 Success

To reverse a decade of compromising overall element productivity, local labour market policy is shifting from simple job creation to managing active workforce transitions. Governments and companies are scaling short, modular training programmes and micro-credentials in information analytics and digital operations to equip workers for emerging roles. Workplace-based learning and apprenticeship-style paths are becoming more typical as companies incorporate AI tools into everyday workflows.

With oil rates anticipated to typical $55-60 per barrel in 2026, regional federal governments are heightening their focus on expenditure discipline and private capital mobilisation. Fiscal policy is pivoting towards the monetisation of state-owned properties in logistics, energies, and desalination to reroute funds toward higher-impact investments. While borrowing via sukuk and sustainability-linked bonds is anticipated to increase to fund strategic deficits, the focus remains on reinforcing non-oil income frameworks.

PwC Middle East economic policy and method partner Jing Teow stated: "Having already mobilised capital and policy at scale, GCC federal governments are now focused on delivery. In 2026, the priority is strengthening economic resilience through more safe trade and financial investment relationships, reliable AI release, managed labor force transitions and disciplined fiscal policy in a more challenging and fragmented worldwide environment.".

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Saudi Arabia and UAE are poised to lead the Gulf area's economic growth in 2026, supported by strong private-sector efficiency, resilient domestic need and renewed financial investment momentum, according to the current ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is anticipated to exceed most international 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 rising investment in technology and AI-related infrastructure.

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 region's medium-term outlook, it mentioned. Saudi Arabia will stay a major contributor to GCC momentum, with GDP forecast to grow 4.3% in 2026.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Optimising Corporate Efficiency through Strategic Business Planning

Development will be supported by industrial expansion and policy reforms, consisting of relieved foreign ownership guidelines that intend to promote further investment. The fiscal deficit is projected to widen to 5.6% of GDP next year amidst softer oil costs, while the recent five-year lease freeze in Riyadh intends to alleviate 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 projection to increase 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to broaden. Tourism, trade and monetary services stay crucial development 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 pick up once again in the second half of 2026, matching continuous investment in facilities, innovation and international trade collaborations. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, said: "This quarter's outlook strengthens how far the GCC has actually can be found in building diverse, resistant and worldwide competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Consultant, and Chief Economic Expert and Handling Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, said: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are going into 2026 with strong foundations. Saudi non-oil activity is getting pace, supported by robust demand and rising investment, even as financial pressures increase.""The UAE continues to take advantage of strong domestic basics, a sharp uplift in government spending and sustained diversity efforts.

Maximising Corporate ROI through Advanced Market Research

What differentiates 2026 from preceding years is not simply the velocity of technological change, though that acceleration is genuine, but rather a fundamental shift in how enterprises conceive of their GCCs' function. The is anticipated to grow to four hundred thirteen billion dollars by 2040, however this growth masks a more profound transformation.

Instead, they ask whether these centers drive development, own profit-and-loss obligation, and contribute to competitive differentiation. In 2026, the most effective GCCs will act like internal start-ups, nimble, cross-functional, insight-driven, and deeply aligned with global organization outcomes. This shift from execution to ownership represents perhaps the single most substantial strategic recalibration in the GCC design's advancement.

This week, we're assembling more than 3000 meetings in between investors and 119 Gulf-listed business with a combined worth 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 comes next, consisting of the growth and ongoing development of the Gulf's capital markets, and the area's growing role in worldwide networks of capital and trade.