(Gulf Statistician): $618 Billion Value of Gulf Stock Market Trades in 2025

Muscat, Sept 13 (KUNA) -- The Statistical Center of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries said on Sunday that Gulf stock markets recorded trading volumes of approximately 401.7 billion shares, valued at around $618 billion, in 2025, representing a 19.5 percent increase compared to 2024.

In a report issued on the performance of GCC stock exchanges during 2025, the Center added that the total market capitalization of Gulf financial markets reached approximately $3.9 trillion in 2025, down by 6.2 percent compared to the previous year. It noted that the composite general index of GCC financial markets stood at around 165.2 points by the end of 2025, reflecting a decline of 3.8 percent compared to the end of 2024.

Regarding the total number of listed companies in GCC financial markets, the Center stated that it reached 779 companies, while the number of companies whose shares are permitted to be traded by GCC nationals in Gulf markets amounted to 756, equivalent to 97 percent of the total listed companies. This percentage reached 100 percent in the Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, and Qatar stock exchanges.

On the regulatory and legislative developments front, the Center pointed out that GCC financial markets witnessed broad developments in 2025, encompassing the regulation of financial markets and investment funds, the development of listing and issuance rules, the enhancement of corporate governance, the regulation of trading behaviors, and the development of market-making mechanisms, alongside the expansion of digital platforms and financial technologies. The markets also saw strengthened risk-based supervision and oversight, development of financial market infrastructure, and updates to capital adequacy frameworks, in addition to the expansion of sustainability-related disclosures and the development of systems for the electronic issuance of securities.

In the context of enhancing GCC integration, the Center noted the entry into force of the mutual registration regulation for investment funds, considered the first unified regulatory framework for a financial product at the GCC level, alongside continued efforts on initiatives supporting the listing and trading of bonds and sukuk, the promotion of dual listing, electronic linking between stock exchanges, and the unification of investor identification numbers for GCC nationals.

The Statistical Center of the GCC countries, headquartered in the Sultanate of Oman, was established in 2011 to serve as the official authorized body for data, information, and statistics related to the GCC countries, in addition to its role in enhancing statistical and informational work among national statistical centers and planning authorities within the member states. (End) M.J.B