Business

QatarEnergy's North Field East LNG expansion — the world's largest LNG project — has completed Phase A at a cost of USD 28.7 billion, adding 32 million tonnes per year of new capacity and positioning Qatar to produce 126 million tonnes of LNG annually by 2027, cementing its lead as the world's largest LNG exporter.

Saudi Arabia's NEOM megaproject has opened its first residential district for early residents and workers in 2026, with THE LINE's mirrored facade structure advancing in the Tabuk desert and the broader NEOM development receiving USD 500 billion in committed investment as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accelerates Vision 2030 delivery.

Salalah Free Zone has broken export records in 2026, with its strategic location between Asia, Africa and Europe positioning Oman's southern port city as a critical logistics hub, attracting investment from global manufacturers and logistics companies seeking a GCC base with direct Indian Ocean access.

Oxford Economics forecasts GCC real GDP growth of 4.4% in 2026, driven by strong domestic demand, non-oil sector expansion across all six states, and elevated credit growth supported by interest rate cuts — with the region's combined economy worth over USD 2.1 trillion.

The UK and GCC signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement on June 8, 2026 — the first trade deal between the Gulf bloc and any G7 nation — eliminating 93% of GCC tariffs on British goods and unlocking £3.7 billion in annual trade gains, with total bilateral trade of £53 billion set to grow 20%.

Two cities. Two visions. Two Gulf states reshaping global business, tourism and investment. Dubai and Doha are the GCC's most internationally connected cities, and...

GCC nations are fast-tracking pipelines, port expansions, and rail connections to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, the UAE's Habshan-Fujairah bypass, Oman's Indian Ocean ports, and Etihad Rail are all being accelerated as the 2026 Hormuz disruption makes alternative routing a commercial and strategic emergency.

A potential SpaceX IPO is generating sustained Gulf sovereign fund attention because Starlink — the world's most commercially advanced satellite internet constellation — represents the connectivity layer that is conspicuously absent from portfolios that already cover AI models, chips, and data centre infrastructure.

Off-plan apartments purchased in 2021-23 and now reselling near completion are trading 10-15 per cent below original investor prices in supply-heavy Dubai communities — creating a genuine buyer opportunity alongside the removal of the AED 750,000 residency visa threshold and a 65,000-unit pipeline being delayed to 2027.

Saudi Arabia has undergone one of the most dramatic tourism openings in the modern history of travel. In just six years since the kingdom...

Two June 2026 UAE deals signal the maturation of Gulf AI from experimentation to consolidation: CNTXT AI acquired dialect-aware Arabic voice AI startup Actualize for enterprise GCC deployment, while du launched a $50 million corporate venture fund targeting fintech, AI, and cybersecurity.

Salaries in the Gulf Cooperation Council states remain among the highest in the world for professional expatriates, driven by the zero-income-tax environment, strong employer...