Industrial investment in GCC hits $626.4 billion; Kuwait’s sector shows strong growth
Industrial investment across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region increased significantly at the beginning of 2026, according to the latest data from the Gulf Industrial Platform of the GCC General Secretariat.
The total volume of industrial investments across member states rose to $626.4 billion, up by $10.2 billion compared with figures at the end of December 2025. The platform’s database now lists 22,030 registered factories, providing employment for 1.75 million workers.
In Kuwait, industrial investment reached $225.7 billion, reflecting a growth of $578 million from December 2025. The industrial workforce in Kuwait stands at 157,900 employees, supported by 927 active industrial companies, Al-Rai daily reports.
Kuwait’s foreign trade activity in this sector also showed robust figures, with imports valued at $37.2 billion, exports at $83.5 billion, and re-exports at $1.9 billion.
The Gulf Industrial Platform identified the top ten manufacturing sectors by investment volume. Leading the list are aluminum manufacturing workshops, which account for 19.6% of total investment, amounting to $44.3 billion.
Next is corn packaging and milling, with investments of $29.9 billion or 13.2%, followed by the hollow cement block industry, which recorded investments worth $19 billion or 8.4% of the total.
In terms of factory size, Kuwait’s industrial landscape comprises 197 large factories (21.2% of the total), 555 small factories (59.8%), and 175 medium-sized factories (18.8%). Large factories dominate industrial investment, capturing 99.5% of the total at $224.75 billion, while medium-sized factories account for $637.6 million in investment.
When examined by industry type, the plastics and synthetic rubber sector attracted the highest investment in Kuwait, with $66 billion, representing 10.5% of the total.
Following this, aluminum manufacturing workshops recorded investments of $45.9 billion (7.3%). The refined petroleum products industry came third with $44.4 billion, followed by corn packaging and milling at $29.9 billion and hollow cement block manufacturing at $22.7 billion.
The sectors of precious metals and basic non-ferrous metals manufacturing and gaseous fuel production attracted $22.6 billion and $20.6 billion, respectively.
