Operational Excellence: a Key Driver for 2026 Success

To reverse a years of weakening overall element productivity, local labour market policy is shifting from easy job development to managing active workforce transitions. Governments and employers are scaling short, modular training programmes and micro-credentials in data analytics and digital operations to equip employees for emerging roles. Workplace-based learning and apprenticeship-style pathways are becoming more common as companies incorporate AI tools into everyday workflows.

With oil prices forecasted to typical $55-60 per barrel in 2026, local federal governments are intensifying their focus on expenditure discipline and private capital mobilisation. Fiscal policy is rotating toward the monetisation of state-owned assets in logistics, utilities, and desalination to reroute funds toward higher-impact investments. While borrowing through sukuk and sustainability-linked bonds is expected 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 said: "Having currently mobilised capital and policy at scale, GCC governments are now concentrated on delivery. In 2026, the concern is reinforcing economic strength through more protected trade and investment relationships, reliable AI implementation, managed labor force transitions 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 area's economic growth in 2026, supported by strong private-sector performance, resistant domestic demand and restored investment momentum, according to the current ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is anticipated to surpass most international regions peers next year, with local GDP projection to grow by 4.4%. Across the GCC, non-energy activity is projected to expand by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, enhancing credit conditions and increasing investment in innovation and AI-related infrastructure.

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

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Driving Regional Industrial Expansion through Innovation

Growth will be supported by industrial expansion and policy reforms, including relieved foreign ownership guidelines that intend to stimulate more financial investment. The fiscal deficit is projected to broaden to 5.6% of GDP next year amidst softer oil rates, while the current five-year rent freeze in Riyadh aims to reduce inflationary pressures, though it may constrain future housing supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is likewise positioned for another strong year of performance, with GDP projection to rise 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to broaden. Tourism, trade and monetary services stay key growth drivers, supported by population development 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 select up again in the 2nd half of 2026, complementing ongoing financial investment in facilities, technology and global trade collaborations. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, said: "This quarter's outlook strengthens how far the GCC has actually come in building varied, resilient and worldwide 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 foundations. Saudi non-oil activity is gaining speed, supported by robust need and increasing investment, even as financial pressures increase.""The UAE continues to benefit from strong domestic basics, a sharp uplift in federal government spending and continual diversity efforts.

Methods for Optimising GCC Strategy in 2026

What identifies 2026 from preceding years is not simply the acceleration of technological change, though that acceleration is genuine, but rather a fundamental shift in how enterprises conceive of their GCCs' function. The is expected to grow to 4 hundred thirteen billion dollars by 2040, however this development masks a more extensive transformation.

Rather, they ask whether these centers drive innovation, own profit-and-loss responsibility, and add to competitive distinction. In 2026, the most successful GCCs will behave like internal start-ups, agile, cross-functional, insight-driven, and deeply aligned with worldwide company outcomes. This shift from execution to ownership represents maybe the single most substantial tactical recalibration in the GCC design's advancement.

This week, we're assembling more than 3000 meetings 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 combining investors, companies, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is changing in the region, and what comes next, including the expansion and continuous development of the Gulf's capital markets, and the area's growing function in international networks of capital and trade.