Accelerating Regional Industrial Growth through Strategy

To reverse a years of damaging total factor productivity, local labour market policy is shifting from simple job development to handling active labor force transitions. Governments and employers are scaling short, modular training programs and micro-credentials in data analytics and digital operations to gear up workers for emerging functions. Workplace-based learning and apprenticeship-style pathways are becoming more common as firms integrate AI tools into daily workflows.

With oil costs forecasted to average $55-60 per barrel in 2026, local federal governments are magnifying their concentrate on expenditure discipline and private capital mobilisation. Financial policy is rotating towards the monetisation of state-owned properties in logistics, utilities, and desalination to redirect funds towards higher-impact investments. While loaning by means of sukuk and sustainability-linked bonds is anticipated to increase to fund tactical deficits, the focus stays on enhancing non-oil profits structures.

PwC Middle East economic policy and method partner Jing Teow said: "Having already mobilised capital and policy at scale, GCC federal governments are now focused on delivery. In 2026, the top priority is strengthening economic durability through more safe trade and investment relationships, effective AI implementation, managed labor force shifts and disciplined fiscal policy in a more challenging and fragmented international environment.".

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Saudi Arabia and UAE are poised to lead the Gulf region's financial expansion in 2026, supported by strong private-sector efficiency, resilient domestic demand and renewed investment momentum, according to the newest ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is anticipated to surpass most global regions peers next year, with local GDP projection 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 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 second half of 2026, supporting the region's medium-term outlook, it stated. Saudi Arabia will remain a significant factor to GCC momentum, with GDP projection to grow 4.3% in 2026.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Predicting the Next GCC Corporate Landscape

Growth will be supported by industrial expansion and policy reforms, including relieved foreign ownership rules that aim to promote additional investment. The fiscal deficit is forecasted to widen to 5.6% of GDP next year amid softer oil rates, while the recent five-year rent freeze in Riyadh aims to alleviate inflationary pressures, though it might constrain future housing supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is also positioned for another strong year of efficiency, with GDP projection to rise 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to expand. Tourism, trade and financial services stay essential development drivers, supported by population growth and continual domestic need. Dubai's economy grew 4.4% in the very first half of 2025, reflecting broad-based non-oil strength.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Oil production is anticipated to get again in the 2nd half of 2026, complementing continuous financial investment in facilities, technology and global trade collaborations. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, said: "This quarter's outlook enhances how far the GCC has been available in structure diverse, durable and worldwide competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Consultant, and Chief Economist and Managing Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, said: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are going into 2026 with strong foundations. Saudi non-oil activity is gaining speed, supported by robust need and increasing financial investment, even as fiscal pressures increase.""The UAE continues to take advantage of solid domestic fundamentals, a sharp uplift in government costs and continual diversification efforts.

How to Secure a Competitive Edge in Dubai

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

Rather, they ask whether these centers drive development, own profit-and-loss responsibility, and add to competitive differentiation. In 2026, the most effective GCCs will act like internal startups, agile, cross-functional, insight-driven, and deeply aligned with worldwide company outcomes. This shift from execution to ownership represents perhaps the single most considerable strategic recalibration in the GCC design's development.

Today, we're convening more than 3000 conferences in between investors and 119 Gulf-listed companies with a combined worth of $2.4 trillion at the HSBC GCC Exchanges Conference 2026, in London. We're bringing together investors, business, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is altering in the area, and what comes next, including the expansion and continuous development of the Gulf's capital markets, and the region's growing role in global networks of capital and trade.