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Inform technique with proof: Use independent information on market confidence, growth, and customer demand to guide your tactical instructions. Confirm financial investment plans: Ensure resource allocation and efforts are backed by trustworthy market insight. Accelerate positive choices: Equip members of your executive team with clear, actionable insight to reach arrangement rapidly and take decisive action.
1 GCC, "HE GCCSG: The FTA in between the GCC and the UK is a Significant Strategic Opportunity to Elevate 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)," Might 2025 3 IMEC, "India-Middle East-Europe Economic Passage (IMEC) Progress Update," April 20254 WAM, "UAE's CEPA programme strengthens global economic ties with 26 tactical contracts," March 20255 Muscat Daily, "Oman, India set to sign open market pact 'extremely soon'," September 20256 India Embassy Qatar, "India-Qatar Bilateral Relations," June 20257 Reuters, "Qatar's QIA prepares to at least double annual United States investments over next decade," Might 2025; WAM, "US$ 110 billion in UAE financial investments in Africa position country as world's fourth-largest investor," October 2025; Whitehouse, "Truth Sheet: President Donald J.
Boards throughout Africa are going into a defining cycle. Capital is tighter. Examination is greater. Risk is more interconnected. And the quality of conference room judgment will significantly figure out which organisations sustain growth and which fall back. In response, Ascent Club, a visibility launchpad curating gain access to and chances for board- and C-level females, in cooperation with BusinessDay, is launching a brand-new regular monthly boardroom dialogue assembling accomplished African female executives who actively serve at the greatest levels of governance and corporate management and who are members of Ascent Club.
This inaugural session combines board practitioners to examine the real pressures forming board agendas today: INSIDE THE CONFERENCE ROOM: The Strategic Risks and Top Priorities Forming 2026 Monetary discipline in constrained markets Developing regulatory and governance expectations Innovation interruption and cyber durability Long-lasting value production and sustainability imperatives Leadership choices boards need to prioritise heading into 2026 Ascent members and speakers consist of: Moderator Nnoli Akpedeye MD/CEO, Contego Servo Limited Speakers Sarah Ajose-Adeogun Managing Partner, Teasoo Consulting Ochanya R.
Deborah David CFO, Powergas It is an assembling of executives contributing directly to governance, risk oversight, and tactical instructions within their organisations. Through this partnership, Climb Club and BusinessDay are deliberately developing a recurring online forum that surface areas board-level insight, magnifies trustworthy female governance voices, and broadens access to the strategic thinking emerging from Africa's boardrooms.
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Total properties held broadly constant over the quarter, while trading levels pointed to continued repositioning and as a reaction to geopolitical news rather than a meaningful brand-new capital implementation. Worldwide macro conditions set a challenging background.
The result was a quarter specified by volatility, dispersion, and selective positioning, rather than a clear directional trend. Oil related possessions succeeded for the most part. On the positive side, in January, the Boreas Absolute High-end ETF released on ADX to include more thematic ETFs. In Q1, two more Kraneshares have actually been approved for launch by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and are about to be authorized by the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX). The GCC ETF universe comprised 39 ETFs with a total AUM of $9.35 billion (as of Q1 2026). Efficiency throughout the market was broadly negative, with just 13 ETFs providing favorable returns compared to 26 in decrease. Performance in Q1 2026 was driven by a narrow group of idiosyncratic winners, rather than broad market strength.
Egypt delivered strong efficiency in January and February. Regardless of a market pullback in March due to the war, both Egypt's market and its ETFs still published positive returns for the quarter. The continuous Middle East dispute and resulting energy shock have reshaped the outlook for emerging market equities between the oil-haves and the oil-have-nots.
The sector also dealt with wider macro headwinds, including a more mindful policy background in China and worldwide risk-off sentiment driven by geopolitical tensions and greater energy prices. Thematic ETFs also had a hard time for the a lot of part, especially those connected to carbon and high-growth technology, as appraisal pressures and global rate dynamics weighed on performance.
The petrochemical ETF considerably exceeded. Flows in Q1 2026 were modest and extremely focused, showing selective allowance rather than broad market participation. Regardless of weak efficiency, ETFs tape-recorded $27.1 million in net inflows, with only a small number of products attracting brand-new capital. This shows that financiers were targeting particular direct exposures, while decreasing or rotating out of others.
Trading activity remained stable, with typical 30-day volumes around 33,000 shares, concentrated in a handful of larger and more liquid ETFs. A lot of activity appears to have actually occurred in the secondary market, enabling financiers to change positions without significant primary productions or redemptions. While recent geopolitical occasions have actually led to more financial pressure on GCC countries, the area stays resistant and well capitalized to deal with the situation.
In January, Boreas launched its S&P Global High-end UCITS ETF, including a niche thematic direct exposure focused on worldwide high-end and consumer brands. ETFs by the CMA for cross-listing on ADX.
Q1 2026 showed some progress associating with ETFs in the GCC. We anticipate more international and thematic ETFs to list in the GCC throughout 2026. While the dispute has actually affected belief and prices during the quarter, it has actually driven more volume and interest in regional assets.
Reinventing Gulf Operations Through AI-Powered Shared ServicesIn spite of continuous geopolitical tensions and security risks across the Middle East, the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have continued to demonstrate strength, preserving favorable growth momentum recently. While disputes in the wider area and worldwide financial unpredictability remain a structural constraint, GCC countries have actually so far restricted their effect on domestic financial performance through strong financial positions, policy connection, and continual financial investment.
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