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Inform strategy with proof: Use independent data on market confidence, growth, and client demand to assist your strategic direction. Validate investment plans: Make sure resource allocation and initiatives are backed by reliable market insight. Speed up confident choices: Gear up members of your executive team with clear, actionable insight to reach arrangement quickly and take decisive action.
1 GCC, "HE GCCSG: The FTA in between the GCC and the UK is a Major Strategic Chance to Elevate Economic Relations to New Horizons," October 20252 GCC, "Joint Declaration on Economic Cooperation In Between the Association of the Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)," May 2025 3 IMEC, "India-Middle East-Europe Economic Passage (IMEC) Progress Update," April 20254 WAM, "UAE's CEPA program enhances global economic ties with 26 tactical arrangements," March 20255 Muscat Daily, "Oman, India set to sign open market pact 'extremely quickly'," September 20256 India Embassy Qatar, "India-Qatar Bilateral Relations," June 20257 Reuters, "Qatar's QIA prepares to a minimum of double annual US financial investments over next decade," Might 2025; WAM, "US$ 110 billion in UAE financial investments in Africa position country as world's fourth-largest financier," October 2025; Whitehouse, "Truth Sheet: President Donald J.
Boards across Africa are going into a specifying cycle. Capital is tighter. Examination is higher. Threat is more interconnected. And the quality of conference room judgment will significantly determine which organisations sustain development and which fall back. In action, Ascent Club, an exposure launchpad curating access and opportunities for board- and C-level women, in partnership with BusinessDay, is releasing a new monthly conference room discussion assembling accomplished African female executives who actively serve at the greatest levels of governance and business leadership and who are members of Climb Club.
This inaugural session combines board practitioners to analyze the real pressures forming board agendas today: INSIDE THE CONFERENCE ROOM: The Strategic Dangers and Concerns Forming 2026 Financial discipline in constrained markets Evolving regulatory and governance expectations Innovation disturbance and cyber resilience Long-term worth creation and sustainability imperatives Management decisions boards should prioritise heading into 2026 Climb members and speakers include: Moderator Nnoli Akpedeye MD/CEO, Contego Servo Limited Speakers Sarah Ajose-Adeogun Handling Partner, Teasoo Consulting Ochanya R.
Deborah David CFO, Powergas It is a convening of executives contributing straight to governance, threat oversight, and strategic instructions within their organisations. Through this collaboration, Climb Club and BusinessDay are deliberately developing a repeating online forum that surfaces board-level insight, enhances trustworthy female governance voices, and broadens access to the tactical thinking emerging from Africa's boardrooms.
4 March 2026 6:00 PM WAT Zoom Register to sign up with the conversation. #InsideTheBoardroom #ExecutiveLeadership Registration Link: . Get the current insights, trends, and techniques delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up with Everest Group's newsletter to remain at the forefront of what's next.
Total possessions held broadly stable over the quarter, while trading levels pointed to continued repositioning and as a reaction to geopolitical news rather than a significant new capital release. International macro conditions set a challenging backdrop.
The GCC ETF universe made up 39 ETFs with an overall AUM of $9.35 billion (as of Q1 2026). Efficiency throughout the market was broadly negative, with just 13 ETFs providing positive returns compared to 26 in decrease. Performance in Q1 2026 was driven by a narrow group of distinctive winners, rather than broad market strength.
Egypt provided strong efficiency in January and February. In spite of a market pullback in March due to the war, both Egypt's market and its ETFs still posted positive returns for the quarter. The continuous Middle East dispute and resulting energy shock have improved the outlook for emerging market equities between the oil-haves and the oil-have-nots.
The sector also faced more comprehensive macro headwinds, consisting of a more cautious policy backdrop in China and global risk-off belief driven by geopolitical stress and greater energy prices. Thematic ETFs likewise struggled for the many part, especially those linked to carbon and high-growth innovation, as assessment pressures and worldwide rate characteristics weighed on performance.
The petrochemical ETF substantially surpassed. Flows in Q1 2026 were modest and highly concentrated, showing selective allotment instead of broad market involvement. In spite of weak performance, ETFs tape-recorded $27.1 million in net inflows, with only a little number of items bring in brand-new capital. This indicates that financiers were targeting specific direct exposures, while lowering or turning out of others.
Trading activity stayed steady, with average 30-day volumes around 33,000 shares, focused in a handful of bigger and more liquid ETFs. The majority of activity appears to have actually taken place in the secondary market, making it possible for investors to change positions without considerable primary productions or redemptions. While recent geopolitical events have resulted in more monetary pressure on GCC countries, the region remains durable and well capitalized to deal with the situation.
In January, Boreas introduced its S&P Global Luxury UCITS ETF, including a specific niche thematic direct exposure focused on international luxury and consumer brand names. ETFs by the CMA for cross-listing on ADX.
Q1 2026 revealed some progress connecting to ETFs in the GCC. We expect more worldwide and thematic ETFs to list in the GCC throughout 2026. While the conflict has affected sentiment and prices throughout the quarter, it has actually driven more volume and interest in regional properties.
Regardless of ongoing geopolitical tensions and security risks throughout the Middle East, the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have continued to demonstrate resilience, maintaining favorable growth momentum recently. While conflicts in the broader area and worldwide economic uncertainty stay a structural restraint, GCC countries have so far restricted their impact on domestic economic performance through strong financial positions, policy connection, and continual financial investment.
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