Operational Excellence: a Key Driver for 2026 Growth

To reverse a decade of compromising overall factor efficiency, local labour market policy is moving from basic job creation to managing active workforce shifts. Federal governments and companies are scaling short, modular training programs and micro-credentials in information analytics and digital operations to gear up employees for emerging roles. Workplace-based learning and apprenticeship-style pathways are becoming more typical as companies incorporate AI tools into day-to-day workflows.

With oil costs forecasted to average $55-60 per barrel in 2026, local governments are intensifying their concentrate on expenditure discipline and personal capital mobilisation. Fiscal policy is pivoting toward the monetisation of state-owned assets in logistics, energies, and desalination to reroute funds towards higher-impact investments. While loaning via sukuk and sustainability-linked bonds is anticipated to increase to fund tactical deficits, the focus stays on reinforcing non-oil profits frameworks.

PwC Middle East economic policy and strategy partner Jing Teow said: "Having currently mobilised capital and policy at scale, GCC governments are now concentrated on delivery. In 2026, the priority is reinforcing economic strength through more safe and secure trade and financial investment relationships, effective AI release, 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 expansion in 2026, supported by strong private-sector efficiency, resistant domestic demand and restored financial investment momentum, according to the current ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is expected to surpass most global 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, enhancing credit conditions and increasing investment in innovation and AI-related facilities.

Oil revenues will be under pressure in the very first half of 2026, production is expected to rise once again in the 2nd half of 2026, supporting the area'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

Growth will be supported by commercial expansion and policy reforms, consisting of reduced foreign ownership rules that intend to promote further investment. The fiscal deficit is projected to expand to 5.6% of GDP next year amid softer oil rates, while the current five-year rent freeze in Riyadh intends to ease inflationary pressures, though it might constrain future housing supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is likewise placed for another strong year of performance, with GDP forecast to increase 5.6% in 2026 as non-oil sectors continue to expand. Tourist, trade and financial services stay crucial development motorists, 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, matching continuous investment in facilities, innovation and worldwide trade partnerships. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, stated: "This quarter's outlook enhances how far the GCC has can be found in structure varied, durable and globally competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Consultant, and Chief Economist and Handling Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, said: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are entering 2026 with strong foundations. Saudi non-oil activity is gaining rate, supported by robust need and rising investment, even as financial pressures increase.""The UAE continues to gain from solid domestic basics, a sharp uplift in federal government spending and sustained diversity efforts.

Operational Excellence: a Strategic Pillar for 2026 Success

What distinguishes 2026 from preceding years is not just the acceleration of technological modification, though that acceleration is real, however rather an essential shift in how business develop of their GCCs' purpose. 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 contribute to competitive differentiation. In 2026, the most effective GCCs will act like internal start-ups, nimble, cross-functional, insight-driven, and deeply lined up with global business outcomes. This shift from execution to ownership represents possibly the single most significant strategic recalibration in the GCC design's development.

This week, we're convening more than 3000 conferences between financiers and 119 Gulf-listed business with a combined worth of $2.4 trillion at the HSBC GCC Exchanges Conference 2026, in London. We're combining financiers, companies, exchanges, and policymakers to discuss what is changing in the region, and what comes next, consisting of the growth and continuous development of the Gulf's capital markets, and the region's growing function in worldwide networks of capital and trade.