DIWAN

Studies & Intelligence

Intelligence with context. Foresight that shapes decisions. The DIWAN register publishes commissioned studies, briefings, and market intelligence across sectors and jurisdictions.

Briefings room Membership

StreamsAll Trade & Capital 79 Law & Regulation 46 Country Files 196 Demand & Buyers 45 Platforms & Growth 180 Brand & Positioning 4 Commodities 23 Business 69 Technology 188 Cyber Security 4

GeographyAll

United Arab Emirates 49

Antigua and Barbuda 1

Bosnia and Herzegovina 1

Brazil 1

British Virgin Islands 1

Central African Republic 1

Northern Mariana Islands 1

Syrian Arab Republic 1

Trinidad and Tobago 1

Tunisia 1

Turkey 1

Turkmenistan 1

Turks and Caicos Islands 1

Demand & Buyers

2 of 223 items

Photo · janith devinda / Unsplash

RNK-DIWAN-074Legal review

LEX · 01 OCT 2026

What the Gulf Actually Asks: Incorporation, Directors' Duties and Exit Costs in the GCC

A demand-driven legal review answering the questions readers put to the platform most — mainland vs ADGM vs DIFC, what boards owe, and what employment exits cost

Reader demand on the platform clusters on three questions: where to incorporate in the GCC, what directors owe once incorporated, and what employment exits cost. This study answers all three — a six-door comparison of UAE mainland, ADGM, DIFC, Saudi Arabia, QFC and Bahrain/Oman; the ADGM directors'-duties framework in plain language; and the notice and end-of-service formulas for DIFC, ADGM and the UAE mainland — with indicative costs and a decision playbook by profile.

≈46%SHARE OF READER QUESTIONS ABOUT FORMATION & JURISDICTION CHOICE

≈ USD 1,000ADGM TECH START-UP LICENCE, PER YEAR

14 daysDIFC NOTICE FOR MOST TENURES (3 MONTHS–5 YEARS)

Members

15 minRead →

Photo · Ondrej Bocek / Unsplash

RNK-DIWAN-070Feasibility

DIWAN · 24 SEPT 2026

GCC Platform Signals: The Delivery War Goes to Margin

Two market signals to 24 September 2026 — the incumbent raises guidance while profit falls, and the challenger's China playbook turns profitable in Saudi Arabia. What is moving, and who should act.

In the weeks to 24 September 2026, the GCC platform economy produced two signals that read as one story. On 13 August, talabat — the region's largest consumer internet company — raised its full-year 2026 guidance across every key metric after Q2 revenue climbed 16% to US$1.1 billion, yet the same release showed adjusted EBITDA down 13% and net income down 18%. Growth is being bought with margin. Then, on 9 September, Caixin reported that Keeta, Meituan's international delivery brand, had turned profitable in Saudi Arabia in July 2026 — barely two years after entering with US$266 million of committed spend and sign-up vouchers worth 100 riyals. A subsidy blitz that incumbents hoped was temporary has instead converted into sustainable economics, with roughly a third of the Saudi market and around 700,000 daily orders across the region. The Gulf's platform contest has moved from customer acquisition to a war of operating margin, rider fleets, and supply infrastructure. This study sets out both signals, the numbers beneath them, and the concrete moves open to merchants, platforms, investors, and service providers in the window before Keeta closes the map at Bahrain and Oman.

US$1.1bnTALABAT Q2 2026 REVENUE (UP 16% Y/Y)

US$100mTALABAT Q2 2026 NET INCOME (DOWN 18% Y/Y)

~33%KEETA SHARE OF SAUDI FOOD DELIVERY, LATE 2025

Members

16 min$149Read →

Studies & Intelligence

Demand & Buyers

What the Gulf Actually Asks: Incorporation, Directors' Duties and Exit Costs in the GCC

GCC Platform Signals: The Delivery War Goes to Margin

Highlights

The Bahamas: Economic Outlook 2026

Estonia: Economic and Social Projections for 2026

Bulgaria: Economic and Social Projections for 2026

Monthly dossiers