Gulf Cooperation Council
Gulf markets
Each of the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council allocates capital through its own sovereign and state investors, pension funds, regulators and financial centres. These pages set out what public sources, official wherever possible, say about them, with a link to every source.
The Gulf Cooperation Council
Six states.
One council.
The Gulf Cooperation Council has six member states: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. Its Secretariat General is in Riyadh, and its first summit was held in Abu Dhabi on 25 May 1981.
- USD53.9billion
- Committed by Gulf state-owned investors across 108 deals in the first half of 2026
- Global SWF, via The National
- 21of 42
- Deals worldwide worth USD 1 billion or more in the first half of 2026 in which Gulf funds took part
- Global SWF, via The National
- 1981
- First summit, held in Abu Dhabi on 25 May 1981. The Secretariat General is in Riyadh.
- GCC Secretariat General
The six markets
One page for each market.
Each page lists the sovereign and state investors, institutional investors, regulators and national agenda of one market, with its sources.
- 01Riyadh
Saudi Arabia
The Public Investment Fund, the National Development Fund and Hassana; the Capital Market Authority and the Saudi Central Bank.
Explore the market - 02Abu Dhabi, Dubai
United Arab Emirates
ADIA, Mubadala, L’IMAD Holding, the Investment Corporation of Dubai and the Emirates Investment Authority; DIFC and ADGM.
Explore the market - 03Doha
Qatar
The Qatar Investment Authority and Qatar Central Bank; the Qatar Financial Centre and the QFMA.
Explore the market - 04Kuwait City
Kuwait
The Kuwait Investment Authority and the Future Generations Fund; PIFSS, the Capital Markets Authority and Boursa Kuwait.
Explore the market - 05Manama
Bahrain
Mumtalakat and the Social Insurance Organization; a single regulator, the Central Bank of Bahrain.
Explore the market - 06Muscat
Oman
The Oman Investment Authority and Future Fund Oman; the Social Protection Fund, the Financial Services Authority and the Muscat Stock Exchange.
Explore the market
At a glance
Time zones and working weeks.
Monday to Thursday is the working window common to all six.
None of the six observes daylight saving time, so their offset from London and New York changes by an hour when those cities change their clocks.
| Market | Capital | Time zone | Working week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | Riyadh | UTC+3 | Sunday to Thursday |
| United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi | UTC+4 | Monday to Friday |
| Qatar | Doha | UTC+3 | Sunday to Thursday |
| Kuwait | Kuwait City | UTC+3 | Sunday to Thursday |
| Bahrain | Manama | UTC+3 | Sunday to Thursday |
| Oman | Muscat | UTC+4 | Sunday to Thursday |
The working weeks are those published by the Saudi Central Bank, the UAE government portal and the UAE’s exchanges, the Qatar Stock Exchange, Boursa Kuwait and Bahrain’s national portal; for Oman, the source is Gulf News. In the UAE, the federal working Friday ends at noon, and the Government of Sharjah works Monday to Thursday.
Islamic finance
Sharia-compliant finance.
53.8%of global Islamic finance assets are held in the GCC. Those assets reached USD 4.4 trillion in 2025, according to the Islamic Financial Services Board.
Where a national regulator publishes its own figure, the country page gives that figure instead; those figures use different dates and definitions from the IFSB series.
Sources
Every figure, with its source.
Each figure is given as its source published it, with the date stated on this page. All sources were accessed on 23 October 2026.
Artane Partners has no affiliation with, and is not endorsed by, any institution named on this page.
- GCC Secretariat GeneralThe GCC: member states, headquarters and first summit
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of OmanGCC Statistical Centre figures, 25 May 2026
- The NationalGlobal SWF figures for the first half of 2026, 1 July 2026
- Islamic Financial Services BoardIslamic Financial Services Industry Stability Report 2026
- Saudi Central BankRulebook: working hours
- UAE Government portalWorking hours in the public sector
- Dubai Media OfficeTrading Monday to Friday from 3 January 2022
- Qatar Stock ExchangeGeneral overview
- Boursa KuwaitContact and trading days
- Kingdom of Bahrain national portalBahrain at a glance: working hours and time
- Gulf NewsOman to follow a uniform Friday-Saturday weekend, April 2013
- UAE Government portalFact sheet
- Hukoomi, Qatar Government portalVisiting Doha
- Bahrain Authority for Culture and AntiquitiesAbout Bahrain
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of OmanOman by region
- IANA time zone databaseTime zone data for Asia
Considering a raise into Gulf capital?
Artane Partners has senior coverage across Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha and Kuwait City. If you are preparing a raise, we would be glad to hear from you.
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