Key Steps for Industrial Excellence in the GCC

To reverse a years of weakening total factor performance, regional labour market policy is shifting from basic job production to managing active labor force shifts. Governments and employers are scaling short, modular training programmes and micro-credentials in information analytics and digital operations to gear up workers for emerging roles. Workplace-based knowing and apprenticeship-style paths are becoming more typical as companies incorporate AI tools into everyday workflows.

With oil prices anticipated to average $55-60 per barrel in 2026, local federal governments are heightening their focus on expense discipline and private capital mobilisation. Fiscal policy is rotating towards the monetisation of state-owned properties in logistics, energies, and desalination to reroute funds toward higher-impact financial investments. While borrowing by means of sukuk and sustainability-linked bonds is expected to increase to money tactical deficits, the focus stays on strengthening non-oil profits structures.

PwC Middle East economic policy and method partner Jing Teow stated: "Having currently mobilised capital and policy at scale, GCC federal governments are now focused on shipment. In 2026, the top priority is strengthening economic resilience through more protected trade and investment relationships, efficient AI release, handled workforce transitions and disciplined fiscal policy in a more tough and fragmented global environment.".

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Saudi Arabia and UAE are poised to lead the Gulf region's economic expansion in 2026, supported by strong private-sector efficiency, durable domestic demand and restored financial investment momentum, according to the latest ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is anticipated to outperform most worldwide regions peers next year, with local GDP projection to grow by 4.4%. Throughout the GCC, non-energy activity is forecasted to broaden by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, improving credit conditions and rising financial investment in technology and AI-related facilities.

Oil incomes will be under pressure in the first half of 2026, production is anticipated to rise again in the 2nd half of 2026, supporting the region's medium-term outlook, it mentioned. Saudi Arabia will remain a major factor to GCC momentum, with GDP projection to grow 4.3% in 2026.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

How to Optimise GCC Operations in 2026

Growth will be supported by industrial growth and policy reforms, consisting of eased foreign ownership rules that intend to stimulate further investment. The financial deficit is forecasted to broaden to 5.6% of GDP next year amidst softer oil rates, while the recent five-year rent freeze in Riyadh aims to ease inflationary pressures, though it may constrain future housing supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is also positioned for another strong year of performance, with GDP projection to rise 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to expand. Tourism, trade and monetary services stay essential growth motorists, supported by population growth and sustained domestic demand. Dubai's economy grew 4.4% in the first half of 2025, showing broad-based non-oil strength.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Oil production is expected to pick up again in the second half of 2026, complementing ongoing financial investment in infrastructure, innovation and worldwide trade partnerships. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, stated: "This quarter's outlook strengthens how far the GCC has actually can be found in building diverse, durable and internationally competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Advisor, 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 pace, supported by robust need and increasing investment, even as fiscal pressures increase.""The UAE continues to benefit from strong domestic basics, a sharp uplift in federal government costs and continual diversification efforts.

Navigating the Next Middle East Corporate Landscape

What identifies 2026 from preceding years is not simply the velocity of technological change, though that acceleration is real, but rather a fundamental shift in how business conceive of their GCCs' purpose. The is expected to grow to four hundred thirteen billion dollars by 2040, but this development masks a more extensive transformation.

Instead, they ask whether these centers drive innovation, own profit-and-loss obligation, and contribute to competitive differentiation. In 2026, the most successful GCCs will act like internal start-ups, nimble, cross-functional, insight-driven, and deeply aligned with worldwide company outcomes. This shift from execution to ownership represents maybe the single most significant strategic recalibration in the GCC model's development.

Today, we're convening more than 3000 conferences in between financiers and 119 Gulf-listed companies 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, including the growth and ongoing development of the Gulf's capital markets, and the region's growing role in global networks of capital and trade.