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Inform method with evidence: Use independent information on market self-confidence, development, and customer need to guide your strategic instructions. Validate investment strategies: Make sure resource allowance and efforts are backed by reputable market insight. Speed up confident decisions: Equip members of your executive group with clear, actionable insight to reach agreement quickly and take decisive action.
1 GCC, "HE GCCSG: The FTA in between the GCC and the UK is a Major Strategic Opportunity to Raise Economic Relations to New Horizons," October 20252 GCC, "Joint Statement 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 Corridor (IMEC) Progress Update," April 20254 WAM, "UAE's CEPA programme enhances worldwide financial ties with 26 strategic contracts," March 20255 Muscat Daily, "Oman, India set to sign open market pact 'soon'," September 20256 India Embassy Qatar, "India-Qatar Bilateral Relations," June 20257 Reuters, "Qatar's QIA plans to at least double annual US investments over next decade," May 2025; WAM, "US$ 110 billion in UAE financial investments in Africa position country as world's fourth-largest investor," October 2025; Whitehouse, "Reality Sheet: President Donald J.
Boards throughout Africa are getting in a specifying cycle. Capital is tighter. Scrutiny is higher. Risk is more interconnected. And the quality of conference room judgment will significantly determine which organisations sustain development and which fall back. In action, Climb Club, a presence launchpad curating access and chances for board- and C-level ladies, in cooperation with BusinessDay, is releasing a new month-to-month boardroom dialogue convening accomplished African female executives who actively serve at the highest levels of governance and corporate leadership and who are members of Ascent Club.
This inaugural session unites board specialists to take a look at the real pressures forming board agendas today: INSIDE THE CONFERENCE ROOM: The Strategic Risks and Priorities Shaping 2026 Financial discipline in constrained markets Evolving regulatory and governance expectations Technology interruption and cyber strength Long-lasting value development and sustainability imperatives Management decisions boards should prioritise heading into 2026 Ascent 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 directly to governance, threat oversight, and strategic direction within their organisations. Through this partnership, Ascent Club and BusinessDay are deliberately producing a repeating online forum that surfaces board-level insight, magnifies trustworthy female governance voices, and broadens access to the tactical thinking emerging from Africa's conference rooms.
4 March 2026 6:00 PM WAT Zoom Register to join the discussion. #InsideTheBoardroom #ExecutiveLeadership Registration Link: . Get the current insights, trends, and methods delivered directly to your inbox. Join Everest Group's newsletter to stay at the forefront of what's next.
Total properties held broadly steady over the quarter, while trading levels pointed to continued repositioning and as a response to geopolitical news rather than a significant new capital release. Worldwide macro conditions set a difficult background.
The GCC ETF universe made up 39 ETFs with a total AUM of $9.35 billion (as of Q1 2026). Efficiency across the market was broadly negative, with just 13 ETFs providing positive returns compared to 26 in decline. Performance in Q1 2026 was driven by a narrow group of idiosyncratic winners, rather than broad market strength.
Egypt provided strong performance 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 favorable returns for the quarter. The continuous Middle East dispute and resulting energy shock have actually reshaped the outlook for emerging market equities between the oil-haves and the oil-have-nots.
The sector also faced broader macro headwinds, including a more careful policy background in China and worldwide risk-off sentiment driven by geopolitical stress and greater energy costs. Thematic ETFs Struggled for the a lot of part, especially those connected to carbon and high-growth innovation, as evaluation pressures and global rate characteristics weighed on performance.
The petrochemical ETF substantially outshined. Flows in Q1 2026 were modest and extremely concentrated, showing selective allowance rather than broad market involvement. Regardless of weak performance, ETFs tape-recorded $27.1 million in net inflows, with only a small number of items attracting new capital. This shows that investors were targeting particular exposures, while decreasing or turning out of others.
Trading activity stayed consistent, with typical 30-day volumes around 33,000 shares, concentrated in a handful of larger and more liquid ETFs. Most activity appears to have actually taken location in the secondary market, enabling investors to adjust positions without substantial primary productions or redemptions.
In January, Boreas launched its S&P Global High-end UCITS ETF, adding a specific niche thematic direct exposure focused on worldwide luxury and consumer brands. Momentum continued into April with the approval of KraneShares AGIX and KWIN ETFs by the CMA for cross-listing on ADX. These funds are anticipated to introduce in April pending a final approval from ADX.
Q1 2026 revealed some progress connecting to ETFs in the GCC. We anticipate more worldwide and thematic ETFs to list in the GCC throughout 2026. While the dispute has actually affected sentiment and prices during the quarter, it has driven more volume and interest in regional assets.
Despite continuous geopolitical stress and security threats across the Middle East, the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have continued to show resilience, keeping favorable growth momentum over the last few years. While conflicts in the broader area and worldwide economic unpredictability remain a structural restraint, GCC nations have actually so far restricted their effect on domestic economic performance through strong fiscal positions, policy continuity, and sustained financial investment.
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