In a new episode of Marketplace Middle East, CNN’s Eleni Giokos attends the Future Investment Initiative [FII] in Riyadh where global investors, CEOs, and policymakers are talking not just about protectionism, but opportunity.

Kuwait’s Agility is one of the Gulf’s logistics giants and as global supply chains face uncertainty, Giokos asked the company’s global CEO, Henadi al-Saleh how that’s being felt across the industry, "We touch the entire world, and we touch supply chain services, we touch aviation, we touch fuel logistics. So, anything that touches trade and movement of people inadvertently impacts us. But we’ve been used to this, we’ve been logisticians for the past 20, 25 years and we’ve always focused on diversification and digitization. So indirectly, yes, it touches us, but we are prepared for it."

Al-Saleh explains to Giokos which regions have benefited the most from the supply chain, "We find the Gulf standing out quite clearly, not simply from a logistics super connector and a hub, but more importantly they give you certainty, they give you clarity. They’re talking about openness, they’re talking about mobility, they’re touching on all the right aspects, focusing on sustainability, energy transition, and logistics."

The retail company Spinney’s runs 80 stores across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, but now it’s eyeing new markets beyond the gulf. Sunil Kumar, the company’s CEO, told Giokos, "We want to be known as an international brand apart from Middle East. We will be opening a store in the Philippines for the first time and will be our entry to the international market."

At Abu Dhabi Global Market, investor licenses are soaring. Clear rules and full foreign ownership are giving companies confidence to list at home. Its Registration Authority CEO Rashed al Blooshi says it all starts with the right foundation, strong infrastructure, and laws that make investors feel at home: "We’ve seen a lot of companies went public, as a matter of fact 28 listed security as we were listed in ADX in 2024. So in addition to the high demand, in addition to the strong growth of the economy, the legal infrastructure, the technology and the digital makes it so easy, so efficient and the attractiveness of the local and foreign investors."

Al Blooshi explains the bigger move of reshaping how the Gulf does business, "You as a financial market cannot compete alone, you have to have around you strong players. We would complement Dubai and the countries around us in the GCC. And this is the beauty about you cannot work in isolation. You always need to have competition around you."