Gulf Common Market Drives Intra-GCC Investment And Trade In 2024

Economic, investment and services activity in the Gulf Common Market expanded further by the end of 2024, according to the Gulf Common Market – Facts and Figures publication from the GCC Statistical Centre (GCC-Stat). The number of public joint-stock companies whose shares are open to GCC citizens climbed to 748, up 30.3 percent from 2023, with total capital reaching US$549 billion and 246,600 shareholders.

GCC-Stat reported that intra-GCC trade reached US$146 billion in 2024, confirming stronger links among member states’ markets. The publication also noted that 30 GCC commercial banks were licensed to operate across borders within the bloc, underlining the wider access to banking services for GCC citizens and businesses, and supporting cross-border financing and liquidity flows.

The report stressed that applying the non-discrimination principle across GCC capital markets allowed GCC citizens to buy and sell shares and establish companies in any member state on equal terms. This framework, according to GCC-Stat, has helped deepen financial markets, increase investor participation, and create closer connections among GCC exchanges and listed companies.

The publication explained that wider rights for GCC citizens to invest, form projects and conduct commercial activities in any member state have raised the Gulf Common Market’s appeal for intra-GCC investment. These measures encouraged businesses to expand beyond home markets, supported sector diversification, and strengthened supply chains that operate within the GCC region under shared rules and procedures.

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The number of licences granted to GCC citizens to carry out economic activities in other member states reached 96,300 in 2024, the report stated. Gulf Common Market decisions also enabled GCC citizens to own real estate in other member states under unified regulatory frameworks, while allowing free movement of capital, which together supported real estate and financial investments and reinforced wider financial integration.

According to GCC-Stat, real estate ownership cases by GCC citizens in other member states reached 17,900 in 2024, illustrating how investors increasingly make use of cross-border property rights within the bloc. The Gulf Common Market, launched in 2007, remains a core pillar of GCC economic integration after the free trade area and customs union, supporting plans for a monetary union and broader economic unity.

With inputs from WAM