How to Maintain a Competitive Advantage in 2026

Company news and financial news, analysis, opinion and data covering the 6 Gulf Corporation Council members Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Financial growth across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is set to accelerate in 2026, with the area predicted to surpass its 2025 performance despite muted oil earnings and ongoing worldwide unpredictabilities. According to a new Oxford Economics research briefing, GCC GDP growth is expected to increase to 4.4 percent in 2026, up from 4 percent in 2025, showing a durable nonenergy sector, strong customer characteristics, and gradually enhancing oil output.

But the latest projections suggest that Gulf economies are now wellpositioned to restore momentum, buoyed by enhancing domestic need and a broadly steady global backdrop. The report highlights GCC customers as a major driver of the region's economic efficiency heading into next year. Low inflation, robust labour markets, and growing real disposable earnings are expected to sustain a rise in customer spending across the Gulf.

Credit development is likewise forecast to stay elevated as access to financial services expands. With GCC main banks anticipated to follow awaited US Federal Reserve rate cuts due to the area's dollar pegs, borrowing costs are likely to decline, offering households and companies even more impetus to invest and invest. While the nonoil sector continues to anchor the region's durability, the GCC's hydrocarbon outlook provides a combined picture.

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This could weigh on firsthalf development, particularly for economies more dependent on oil extraction. Oxford Economics predicts a rebound later on in 2026, with Opec+ members anticipated to resume raising production as inventories tighten up and international demand enhances. Qatar, meanwhile, sticks out as a local outperformer, with considerable expansions in gas production and exports expected to lift its overall financial efficiency.

Saudi Arabia's 2026 spending plan expects a 6 per cent cut in capital expenditure as the kingdom aims to narrow its fiscal deficit by two percentage points. The report notes that these cuts might not materialise completely if countercyclical costs procedures are triggered to support development. By contrast, more varied economies such as the UAE and Qatar are expected to continue advancing their advancement programs.

Despite shortterm threats tied to oil rates and international demand, the GCC's 2026 economic outlook is specified by strength in fundamentals: resilient consumers, robust nonenergy sectors, enhancing oil dynamics, and strategic financial planning. With these factors aligning, the region is getting ready for among its most balanced durations of growth in the last few years anchored by a clear upward trajectory in GDP development.

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RIYADH: Gulf Cooperation Council local economies are expected to remain durable in 2026, driven by strong domestic demand and a broadly stable worldwide economy, according to an analysis. In its latest report, Oxford Economics highlighted that the genuine gdp of the GCC region is expected to expand by 4.4 percent in 2026, up from the predicted 4 percent this year.

United States trade policy under President Donald Trump has had no significant effect on local growth, and non-energy sectors have sustained their robust momentum," said Oxford Economics. It added: "Meanwhile, oil production has actually slowly increased, offering an increase to the region's economies. We anticipate GCC development will rise to 4.4 percent in 2026, from 4 percent this year."In November, the GCC Statistical Center said that financial growth in the area is set to accelerate to 4.3 percent by 2027, driven by expanding non-oil sectors.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Non-oil activities represented 73.2 percent of total GDP, up from 70.6 percent at the end of 2024, highlighting the area's continued progress towards diversification. According to Oxford Economics, GCC customers will be standout entertainers in 2026 and are expected to outshine their worldwide peers. Oxford Economics said that low inflation has helped protect development in genuine disposable income, which has likewise been supported by strong demand and extremely low joblessness rates."We do not picture any let-up, as federal governments continue to press for higher foreign direct financial investment in their push to diversify their economies away from oil and gas," the report included.

In December, the IMF further said that heading inflation is anticipated to remain listed below 2 percent in Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar, near 2 percent in the Kingdom and the UAE, and a little above 2 percent in Kuwait in 20252026. According to Oxford Economics, credit growth is anticipated to stay raised in the GCC area during 2026, as access to financial services is anticipated to grow and loaning is projected to be supported by additional cuts in rates of interest."Owing to their currency pegs to the United States dollar, GCC central banks are anticipated to follow the US Federal Reserve by relieving financial policy further, which in turn will lower financial obligation servicing expenses and improve disposable earnings and demand," stated the report.