Can Strategic Analytics Drive Middle East Corporate Success?

El Houni asked the speakers to share what keeps them "on-point" at work and what suggestions they have for the audience. Hamad Al Hajri, CEO and Founder of Snoonu said it was "essential to develop limits" in between work and individual life and take short holidays to "detach" from the office.

Tariq Bin Hendi, CEO and Board Member of Astra tech, responded that "the best advice is to continuously challenge yourself" while also making sure a healthy sleep and workout regimen. Mohamed Khadiri, CEO of Bank of Sharjah pointed out that to excel and "to be near to your customer, you have to be enthusiastic about your work and understand consumers' requirements". Karim Benkirane, CCO of Du, said: "If you make the individuals you deal with happy, you will make the consumer happy, who will then make the shareholders delighted."Ambareen Musa, CEO for Revolut GCC, stated the capability to "not worry" is the crucial to finding a service for problems.

Today, we're assembling more than 3000 conferences between financiers and 119 Gulf-listed business with a combined worth of $2.4 trillion at the HSBC GCC Exchanges Conference 2026, in London. We're combining financiers, companies, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is altering in the region, and what follows, consisting of the expansion and ongoing advancement of the Gulf's capital markets, and the region's growing function in worldwide networks of capital and trade.

Saudi Arabia and UAE are poised to lead the Gulf area's financial growth in 2026, supported by strong private-sector performance, resistant domestic demand and renewed financial investment momentum, according to the current ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is expected to surpass most international areas peers next year, with regional GDP forecast to grow by 4.4%. Across the GCC, non-energy activity is predicted to expand by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, improving credit conditions and increasing financial investment in innovation and AI-related facilities.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Can Strategic Research Define Middle East Industrial Success?

Oil earnings 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 major contributor to GCC momentum, with GDP projection to grow 4.3% in 2026.

Growth will be supported by industrial expansion and policy reforms, including alleviated foreign ownership guidelines that aim to promote additional investment. The financial deficit is forecasted to widen to 5.6% of GDP next year in the middle of softer oil prices, while the recent five-year lease freeze in Riyadh intends to alleviate 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 expand. Tourist, trade and monetary services stay crucial growth motorists, supported by population growth and sustained 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 get once again in the second half of 2026, matching ongoing investment in infrastructure, technology and international trade partnerships. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, said: "This quarter's outlook reinforces how far the GCC has actually come in building varied, resistant and internationally competitive economies.

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

The Strategic Advantages of Advanced Market Research

GCC nations are pivoting towards a strategy of 'durability over growth' entering 2026, as the region prepares for a global landscape specified by softer oil costs, geopolitical fragmentation, and the fast shift to an AI-enabled economy. According to a new local outlook by PwC, the GCC is moving to insulate its development from external shocks by deepening global trade combination, securing commercial supply chains, and carrying out a definitive shift from technology ambition 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 gotten in final drafting stages. The region is progressively positioning itself as a main center for east-west trade through the IndiaMiddle EastEurope Economic Corridor (IMEC). To support domestic manufacturing, securing important minerals has actually ended up being a strategic concern.