Agenda – Gulf Business Investment Summit 2026
8:00am – 8:30am
Registration, breakfast and networking
Guests arrive for breakfast and networking ahead of the morning’s programme.
8:30am – 8:35am
Welcome remarks
8:35am – 8:50am
Opening keynote: Where Capital Goes Next
A scene-setting look at the global investment landscape and the economic, geopolitical and technological forces likely to shape capital allocation in the years ahead.
8:50am – 9:15am
Panel 1: The Great Capital Reset
Where Is Capital Moving Next?
How are investors repositioning portfolios amid geopolitical uncertainty, changing interest-rate dynamics, technology disruption and shifting global markets?
The discussion will explore global capital flows, public versus private markets, private equity, private credit, family-office strategies and the emerging investment themes attracting capital.
9:15am – 9:40am
Panel 2: The Next Trillion-Dollar Opportunities
Investing Across the AI Economy
Artificial intelligence is creating an entirely new investment ecosystem. But where in the AI value chain will the greatest returns emerge?
This session will look beyond the hype to explore opportunities across AI companies, semiconductors, robotics, cybersecurity, enterprise applications and the technologies underpinning the next phase of growth.
9:40am – 10:05am
Panel 3: The Infrastructure Behind the AI Economy
Data Centres, Energy and Digital Infrastructure
The AI boom is also an infrastructure boom. As computing requirements accelerate, investment is pouring into data centres, energy, connectivity and the physical infrastructure required to power the digital economy.
This discussion will examine where institutional capital is finding opportunity across hyperscale development, power generation, digital infrastructure and financing.
10:05am – 10:30am
Panel 4: The Private Market Revolution
The New Architecture of Wealth Creation
Private equity, private credit, direct lending and secondaries are playing an increasingly important role in global portfolios.
As more companies remain private for longer and investors seek new sources of yield and growth, are private markets becoming the new public markets?
10:30am – 10:55am
Panel 5: The New Architecture of Ownership
Tokenisation and the Future of Investing
Could tokenisation fundamentally change how investors own, trade and access assets?
This session will examine the potential for tokenised real-world assets, fractional ownership and digital securities across property, funds, bonds and other asset classes – as well as the questions surrounding liquidity, custody, regulation and institutional adoption.
10:55am – 11:25am
Closing session: The $1 Billion Debate
If You Had $1 Billion to Invest Today…
Five leading investment figures. One hypothetical $1bn portfolio.
Each participant is given $1bn to allocate across equities, credit, private markets, infrastructure, real estate, commodities, digital assets and cash – before explaining and defending their investment decisions.
Where would they place their biggest bets? What would they avoid? And which asset class do they believe will deliver the strongest returns over the next decade?