Overland trade through the Hatta Customs Crossing between the UAE and Oman surged 175% in value in the first half of 2026, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed exporters and logistics companies to shift cargo to land routes.

The number of loaded trucks crossing the checkpoint rose 160% year on year to 109,000 between January and June, up from 42,000 in the same period last year, according to the Dubai Media Office.

Almost one million people crossed the checkpoint in the first half of the year, with transiting buses up 78% and 322,000 light vehicles recorded.

Dubai Customs launched a Green Corridor initiative following the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict on February 28 to help sustain regional and international trade flows and support market stability as key shipping routes came under pressure.

The land route shift is driving broader infrastructure investment. Oman is accelerating construction of a OMR1 billion ($2.6 billion) road network proposed before the war, as it moves to strengthen its position as a Gulf logistics hub.

Trucking companies across the GCC have also scaled up capacity — Saudi-based Flow Progressive Logistics nearly doubled its fleet from around 340 trailers before the conflict to more than 500.

The conflict has intensified this month, with the US and Iran targeting tankers in the strait, keeping pressure on alternative overland and coastal trade corridors.

LEAP 2026, held August 31–September 3 in Riyadh and organized by Tahaluf under the theme "Into New Worlds," closed with over $15 billion in investments and partnerships, a sign Saudi Arabia is moving from tech showcase to tech builder. The fifth edition drew over 1,500 exhibitors from 72 countries, 1,323 speakers, and 1,397 investors from 1,027 firms managing $18.3 trillion in assets.

Scale, stakes, and strategy
Opening-day attendance alone included 1,289 investors from 1,016 firms representing $14.5 trillion in assets, a figure that grew by the final day.Communications Minister Abdullah Alswaha called it "the largest technology movement of the 21st century," citing over $44 billion in investment across LEAP's first four Riyadh editions.

Since LEAP's debut in 2022, Saudi Arabia's digital economy has grown from $118 billion to $199 billion, a 69% increase, with women now making up 36% of the tech workforce.

HUMAIN, the Public Investment Fund-backed AI company, anchored nearly every major deal: a $5 billion joint pledge with AWS for an "AWS HUMAIN AI Zone," one of AMD's largest inference clusters outside the US, and deepened ties with Microsoft and Cisco. xAI announced a Saudi data center starting at 50 megawatts and scaling toward 500 MW, part of the push for sovereign compute capacity.

Arabic AI takes the lead
The most closely watched unveiling was HUMAIN M3, a frontier Arabic-language model commissioned by HUMAIN and built by MiniMax on the MiniMax-M3 lineage: a 428-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts model pre-trained on over one trillion Arabic-native tokens, scoring 89.37% across seven public Arabic benchmarks, the highest among frontier models tested. HUMAIN made it available in research preview via HUMAIN Node ahead of a planned open-weight release.

The company also introduced HUMAIN Voice, a conversational platform for Saudi, Maghrebi, Egyptian, and Levantine dialects and a bet that Arab AI adoption will not run on English-first models retrofitted for Arabic. It integrated HUMAIN ONE with Microsoft 365, targeting a million users across the Middle East and Africa, and partnered with Applied Intuition on autonomous trucking, aiming to deploy thousands of self-driving vehicles on Saudi logistics routes by 2030.
 

Infrastructure, power, and localization
Al Moammar Information Systems (MIS) committed $1.2 billion to expand data-center capacity; NHC Innovation added $800 million to the Khuzam Digital Valley. Adobe pledged over $4 billion to a creative-industries partnership, including 12 months of free access to Firefly Standard and Express Premium for over 27 million eligible Saudi residents, plus a Firefly Foundry model built for Saudi culture and Arabic prompts. Microsoft's Azure region goes live in November 2026, AWS's in December.

None of it works without power. Saudi Energy signed agreements at LEAP to supply it: National Grid SA will electrify a HUMAIN data center in Riyadh, and Saudi Electricity's PDC arm partnered with center3 and Huawei on future data-center, energy, and AI-facility projects. These rarely make headlines alongside AI announcements, but they underpin the larger compute build-out.

AMD, Cisco, and HUMAIN switched on AMD's largest active inference cluster outside the US, running Instinct MI355X GPUs over Cisco Silicon One networking. HUMAIN plans to deploy 13,000 AMD GPUs this year, add up to 250 MW from 2027, and reach 1 GW by 2030 as a joint venture. It also launched an NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra (HGX B300) AI cloud, already at roughly 1.1 MW and over 90% utilization, targeting about 35 MW by mid-2027.

Regional participation and sector breadth
Pakistan fielded a pavilion of 20 companies via the Pakistan Software Export Board and TDAP, with over 100 Pakistani companies and nearly 1,000 delegates taking part overall, spanning sectors from real estate and logistics to enterprise tech. Oman fielded 24 companies showcasing services, reflecting broader MENA engagement.
The event also spotlighted telecom, gaming, cybersecurity, and skills initiatives matched to labor market needs, while HUMAIN's partnership with France's Mistral AI signaled expanding international AI alliances.

Startups, prizes, and the next frontier
Over 3,000 applicants entered the Rocket Fuel pitch competition, and 100 finalists competed for a $1 million prize pool. Waspito, a Cameroon-based AI healthcare company, took the $250,000 grand prize (the LEAP Award), with five other finalists splitting the remainder. The newly launched AIMAGINEX initiative, a $104 million hub for AI-powered immersive media backed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Nourah Cloud, and SeeCubic, signaled where Saudi Arabia wants its next tech investment to land.

What's next?
A sixth edition is set for April 12-15, 2027, with 653 startups already signed up to pitch before the doors open.Tahaluf co-creator Mike Champion framed the week's ambition plainly: "deepening its international reach, creating greater opportunities for companies and founders to access capital and new markets."

Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and Bangladesh have signed a $1 billion financing agreement to expand its eastern refinery project. 

The project, which is expected to be completed in five years, will add three million metric tons of annual refining capacity to reach 4.5 million metric tons per annum.

The upgraded refinery will process a broader range of crude oils and produce 15 types of refined petroleum products. It is expected to support a 5% reduction in the cost of major petroleum products and enable production to meet Euro 5 standards, replacing the current Euro 2 grade, the lender said in a statement. 

Local refining of imported crude oil is expected to save about $394 million in foreign exchange each year.

The $2.5 billion project comprises approximately $1.5 billion in contributions, including taxes, customs duty, and VAT from the Bangladesh government, complementing the $1 billion IsDB financing. 

"By expanding domestic refining capacity, the Eastern Refinery project will strengthen energy security, reduce dependence on imported refined petroleum products, and support cleaner fuel standards," said Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, IsDB Group chairman.

This financing will help build greater economic resilience and deliver lasting benefits for businesses, workers, farmers, and households across Bangladesh, he added. 

IsDB is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Jeddah, focusing on Shariah-compliant financing for infrastructure and socio-economic development. 

Vision Bank, an Abu Dhabi-based Islamic bank, has launched a Shariah-compliant trade finance solution for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to support cross-border flows. 

The new solution will focus on providing short-term trade finance to SMEs, originated through a multi-channel approach led by platform partnerships, the bank said in a statement. 

The bank said that it aims to support SMEs that require working capital linked to real trade flows as opposed to traditional balance-sheet lending criteria. The financing solution will support a more efficient approach to SME trade finance by assessing underlying trade transactions, relevant counterparties and associated credit risks. 

“The proposition is particularly relevant for exporters and SMEs in markets such as the GCC, India, Southeast Asia and other trade-driven economies, where businesses may face limited access to competitive US dollar financing through local channels,” the lender said. 

Vision Bank Limited is a Prudential Category 1 Islamic Financial Institution registered with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and regulated by its Financial Services Regulatory Authority. The bank has regulatory permissions for accepting deposits, advising on investments or credit as well as providing credit, according to its website. 

“SMEs are increasingly operating across borders, platforms and supply chains, but access to short-term trade finance has not always kept pace with how these businesses work,” said Jeremy Parrish, chairman, Vision Bank.

“Vision Bank is introducing a platform-led SME financing proposition designed to support real trade flows across markets in a Shari’ah-compliant and commercially practical way.”

Vision Bank is owned by the GII Group, a Shari’ah-compliant alternative asset manager headquartered in the UAE. GII manages over $3 billion of assets across private equity, real estate, private credit and strategies on behalf of sovereign institutions, financial institutions and family offices in the GCC and internationally. 
 

Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) has signed a preliminary agreement with AlRayan Bank to strengthen Islamic finance and local capital markets. 

The financial centre will promote AlRayan Bank as a strategic banking partner to licensed firms as well as encourage new QFC firms to bank with the Islamic lender. Meanwhile, AlRayan will offer customized banking services to QFC firms and their employees.

The MoU aims to support businesses through access to financial services, deeper collaboration on Islamic finance and capital markets, and knowledge-sharing programmes. It will also establish a framework for cooperation on preventing, detecting and mitigating financial crime risks, including money laundering, terrorist financing and fraud, QFC said in a statement issued Wednesday.

Mansoor Rashid Al-Khater, QFC CEO said that the partnership will help enhance the business environment for the QFC firms by expanding access to banking solutions and financial services, while fostering innovation across Islamic finance and capital markets.”

“By exploring the integration of our digital platforms, we aim to simplify account opening for QFC-registered entities, improve efficiency, and provide faster access to our banking services,” Fahad Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, group CEO at AlRayan Bank. 

QFC has recorded sustained growth over recent years, in tandem with regional rivals such as Dubai’s DIFC and Abu Dhabi’s ADGM. It onboarded 1,135 firms during the first half of 2026, rising 37% year-on-year to bring the total registered firms to over 4,700 at the end of June. 

QFC, which ranked third across MENA and 29th overall in the Global Financial Centres Index, contributed 2.2% to Qatar’s economy in 2024. 

Qatar received cumulative investment worth $68.25 billion in the industrial sector in the three months through June 2026, backing the country’s diversification of productive activities and industrial expansion plans. 

11 new factories began production in Q2, raising the number of factories that commenced production since the beginning of 2026 to 28, according to data released by Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry. To streamline procedures for industrial investors, the processing time for issuing initial approval was reduced to one working day.

The country reported substantial business formation activity in the second quarter, with 6,745 new commercial registrations, rising 6.6% quarter-on-quarter. In terms of foreign investment, 5,272 non-Qatari companies were established during the same period, representing growth of 60%. 

Factories exporting goods and services increased from 23% in the first quarter to 25% in the second quarter, while private-sector exports rose 12.5% quarter-on-quarter from QAR 800 million to QAR 900 million. 

The International Monetary Fund in April estimated Qatar’s economy to contract sharply by as much as 8.6% this year against a 6.1% growth projection in its Regional Economic Outlook report last October. The fund expects the economy to grow 8.6% in 2027, and by 5.9% in 2030.

Bahrain has recorded its first quarterly contraction since Q1 2021 and its steepest decline since the fourth quarter of 2020, as the US-Iran conflict continues to disrupt oil output.  

The kingdom’s real GDP (gross domestic product) – a measure of economic output adjusted for price changes - slid 3.8% from January through March this year, ending a five-year run of quarterly year-on-year growth, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Finance and National Economy. 

The contraction was driven by a 37.2% dip in oil activity, driven by restrictions on maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz which affected export capacity, alongside scheduled maintenances, the ministry said. 
Non-oil real GDP grew 2.2% in the first quarter, with financial and insurance activities recording the highest growth rate among non-oil activities at 8.6%.

Nominal GDP contracted 2.7% year-on-year, caused by the 31.1% decline in oil activities, compared to a 1.9% increase in non-oil activities.  

“The national economy recorded strong performance in January and February 2026, before it was impacted in March 2026 due to the hostile Iranian aggression on the kingdom,” the ministry said in a statement issued Wednesday. 

The International Monetary Fund in April estimated the kingdom’s economy to contract by 0.5% this year against a 3.3% growth projection in its Regional Economic Outlook report last October. The fund expects the kingdom to grow 4.5% in 2027. 

Foreign direct investment grew 2.6% year-on-year, bring the total FDI stock to 17.6 billion Bahraini dinars. 

The kingdom ranked 1st globally in public-private partnerships, in the World Competitiveness Ranking 2026, published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). 

Saudi Arabia's construction sector has shifted from hiring at breakneck pace to single-digit workforce growth, as the kingdom recalibrates its giga-project ambitions and developers demand greater certainty before adding headcount.

The number of workers registered under construction activity reached 365,562 in the first quarter of 2026, up 6% year on year, according to Saudi Contractors Authority data. That marks a steep deceleration from growth of 32% in 2025 and 41% in 2024. Across all worker categories including engineers and technicians, growth slowed to 8% in the first quarter from close to 20% in each of the two prior years.

The slowdown in hiring reflects a fundamental shift in how Riyadh is funding construction. The Public Investment Fund's 2026-30 strategy drops explicit references to The Line and Trojena — Neom's flagship developments — and instead commits to expanding private sector participation. Budgets on some Neom projects have been cut by up to 60%, and PIF capital expenditure is expected to fall around 15% this year.

Experts say the days of assuming every giga-project will develop at maximum speed are over as the market becomes more selective. Despite the hiring slowdown, contract awards have accelerated. The Saudi Contractors Authority recorded $30 billion in construction contracts between January and July, up nearly 60% year on year, with Saudi awards more than quadrupling year on year in June alone.

Demand for workers has also broadened beyond the headline giga-project names. Experts say there is now much more attention going into Riyadh, housing, transport, utilities, energy, mixed-use development and major infrastructure, alongside increased private-sector participation.

Talent shortages persist despite the hiring slowdown, particularly for experienced mechanical, electrical and plumbing tradespeople, site supervisors and specialist quantity surveyors, according to Dubai-based cost consultancy Stonehaven. Projects that are proceeding are competing for the same finite pool of specialists — with Neom, Red Sea, Diriyah Gate and Qiddiya all drawing from the same talent base simultaneously.

Pay continues to rise even as headcount growth slows, though at a more modest pace than the broader economy. The General Authority for Statistics' employee compensation index for construction rose 6.5% year on year in June, trailing the 9% gain recorded across the whole economy.

Added to that mix is the regional conflict, which has reinforced existing caution without fundamentally altering hiring decisions.