Driving Dubai Industrial Expansion through Strategy

To reverse a decade of weakening total aspect productivity, local labour market policy is shifting from basic job production to handling active workforce transitions. Governments and companies are scaling short, modular training programmes and micro-credentials in information analytics and digital operations to gear up workers for emerging functions. Workplace-based knowing and apprenticeship-style paths are becoming more common as firms integrate AI tools into day-to-day workflows.

With oil costs anticipated to typical $55-60 per barrel in 2026, regional governments are heightening their focus on expense discipline and personal capital mobilisation. Financial policy is pivoting towards the monetisation of state-owned possessions in logistics, energies, and desalination to reroute funds toward higher-impact investments. While loaning via sukuk and sustainability-linked bonds is expected to increase to money strategic deficits, the focus stays on strengthening non-oil earnings structures.

PwC Middle East financial policy and technique partner Jing Teow said: "Having already mobilised capital and policy at scale, GCC governments are now concentrated on delivery. In 2026, the priority is strengthening financial strength through more safe and secure trade and investment relationships, reliable AI release, managed workforce transitions and disciplined fiscal policy in a more tough and fragmented international 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, resistant domestic demand and restored investment momentum, according to the most recent ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is expected to outshine most international areas peers next year, with regional 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 rising investment in innovation and AI-related facilities.

Oil profits will be under pressure in the first half of 2026, production is anticipated to increase once again in the 2nd half of 2026, supporting the region's medium-term outlook, it mentioned. Saudi Arabia will stay a significant factor to GCC momentum, with GDP forecast to grow 4.3% in 2026.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Operational Excellence: a Key Pillar for 2026 Success

Development will be supported by commercial growth and policy reforms, consisting of reduced foreign ownership guidelines that aim to promote more financial investment. The fiscal deficit is projected 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 aims to relieve inflationary pressures, though it might constrain future housing supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is also positioned for another strong year of efficiency, with GDP forecast to rise 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to expand. Tourism, trade and financial services remain essential growth drivers, supported by population development and continual domestic demand. 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 expected to pick up once again in the 2nd half of 2026, matching continuous investment in facilities, technology and worldwide trade partnerships. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, stated: "This quarter's outlook reinforces how far the GCC has been available in building varied, resilient and worldwide competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Advisor, and Chief Financial Expert and Handling Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, said: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are getting in 2026 with strong structures. Saudi non-oil activity is acquiring pace, supported by robust need and increasing financial investment, even as financial pressures increase.""The UAE continues to take advantage of solid domestic basics, a sharp uplift in federal government spending and continual diversification efforts.

Essential Tips for Operational Excellence in the GCC

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

Instead, they ask whether these centers drive innovation, own profit-and-loss obligation, and contribute to competitive distinction. In 2026, the most effective GCCs will behave like internal start-ups, nimble, cross-functional, insight-driven, and deeply aligned with global business results. This shift from execution to ownership represents possibly the single most considerable tactical recalibration in the GCC model's evolution.

Today, we're convening more than 3000 meetings in between investors and 119 Gulf-listed companies with a combined value of $2.4 trillion at the HSBC GCC Exchanges Conference 2026, in London. We're uniting financiers, business, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is changing in the region, and what follows, including the expansion and continuous advancement of the Gulf's capital markets, and the region's growing role in international networks of capital and trade.