Will Market Research Drive Middle East Corporate Growth?

To reverse a decade of weakening total factor performance, local labour market policy is shifting from simple task creation to handling active workforce shifts. Federal governments and companies are scaling short, modular training programmes and micro-credentials in information analytics and digital operations to gear up workers for emerging roles. Workplace-based learning and apprenticeship-style pathways are ending up being more typical as companies integrate AI tools into everyday workflows.

With oil costs anticipated to average $55-60 per barrel in 2026, local governments are magnifying their focus on expense discipline and private capital mobilisation. Fiscal policy is pivoting towards the monetisation of state-owned possessions in logistics, utilities, and desalination to redirect funds toward higher-impact financial investments. While loaning through sukuk and sustainability-linked bonds is expected to increase to fund tactical deficits, the focus stays on reinforcing non-oil earnings frameworks.

PwC Middle East financial policy and technique partner Jing Teow said: "Having already mobilised capital and policy at scale, GCC federal governments are now focused on shipment. In 2026, the priority is enhancing economic durability through more protected trade and financial investment relationships, reliable AI implementation, managed workforce shifts and disciplined fiscal policy in a more difficult 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 need and renewed investment momentum, according to the most recent ICAEW Economic Insight Q4 2025 report, produced by Oxford Economics. The GCC is expected to exceed most international areas peers next year, with regional GDP projection to grow by 4.4%. Across the GCC, non-energy activity is predicted to expand by 4.1% in 2026, driven by strong labour markets, improving credit conditions and rising investment in technology and AI-related infrastructure.

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

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

How to Maintain a Leading Edge in 2026

Growth will be supported by commercial expansion and policy reforms, consisting of alleviated foreign ownership guidelines that aim to stimulate further investment. The financial deficit is predicted to expand to 5.6% of GDP next year in the middle of softer oil costs, while the recent five-year rent freeze in Riyadh intends to reduce inflationary pressures, though it may constrain future real estate supply.

Strong domestic fundamentalsThe UAE is also placed 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 remain crucial growth chauffeurs, supported by population development and continual domestic demand. Dubai's economy grew 4.4% in the very first half of 2025, showing broad-based non-oil strength.

ANSR July GCC PRs 50DR+

Oil production is expected to select up once again in the second half of 2026, matching ongoing financial investment in infrastructure, innovation and worldwide trade collaborations. Hanadi Khalife, the Head of Middle East, ICAEW, said: "This quarter's outlook strengthens how far the GCC has been available in structure diverse, resilient and globally competitive economies.

Scott Livermore, ICAEW Economic Consultant, and Chief Economist and Managing Director, Oxford Economics Middle East, said: "Saudi Arabia and the UAE are going into 2026 with strong structures. Saudi non-oil activity is gaining pace, supported by robust demand and increasing investment, even as fiscal pressures increase.""The UAE continues to benefit from strong domestic basics, a sharp uplift in government spending and continual diversity efforts.

Analysing New GCC Research for Future Insights

What identifies 2026 from preceding years is not merely the velocity of technological change, though that velocity is real, however rather an essential shift in how business envisage their GCCs' function. The is expected to grow to four hundred thirteen billion dollars by 2040, however this growth masks a more profound improvement.

Rather, they ask whether these centers drive innovation, own profit-and-loss responsibility, and contribute to competitive differentiation. In 2026, the most effective GCCs will behave like internal startups, agile, cross-functional, insight-driven, and deeply aligned with international organization outcomes. This shift from execution to ownership represents perhaps the single most substantial strategic recalibration in the GCC design's development.

This week, we're assembling more than 3000 conferences 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 area, and what follows, including the growth and continuous advancement of the Gulf's capital markets, and the region's growing function in worldwide networks of capital and trade.