Middle East Smart Lighting White List Expanded with 8 Chinese DALI-2 Gateway Makers

On May 15, 2026, the Gulf Standardization Organization (GSO), together with national regulators from six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—including Saudi Arabia’s SASO and the UAE’s ESMA—updated the Smart Lighting Green Procurement White List. The revision added eight Chinese manufacturers of DALI-2 gateways certified to both GB/T 35658-2023 and IEC 62386-102:2022. This development directly affects exporters of smart lighting infrastructure, government procurement suppliers, and hospitality-sector system integrators operating in or targeting GCC markets.

Event Overview

On May 15, 2026, the Gulf Standardization Organization (GSO), in coordination with SASO (Saudi Arabia), ESMA (UAE), and four other GCC national standards and conformity assessment bodies, issued an updated version of the Smart Lighting Green Procurement White List. Eight Chinese companies manufacturing DALI-2 gateways were newly included. All listed manufacturers have demonstrated compliance with both GB/T 35658-2023 (China’s national standard for digital addressable lighting interface systems) and IEC 62386-102:2022 (the international DALI-2 Part 102 standard for control devices). Products from these manufacturers are now eligible for exemption from redundant local type testing when entering government and five-star hotel smart lighting tenders across the six participating countries; delivery timelines for such projects are shortened by over 45 days.

Industries Affected

Direct Exporters & OEM/ODM Lighting Equipment Manufacturers

These companies face immediate implications for market access strategy. Inclusion on the White List removes a major technical barrier—local retesting—for DALI-2 gateway products entering public-sector and premium hospitality projects in six GCC countries. The impact manifests in faster tender qualification cycles, reduced certification cost per project, and stronger competitive positioning against non-listed regional or European suppliers.

System Integrators & Smart Building Solution Providers

Integrators delivering turnkey lighting control solutions for GCC government buildings or luxury hotels may now prioritize sourcing from the newly listed Chinese gateway vendors. The exemption from local retesting simplifies documentation for bid submissions and supports tighter project schedules—particularly relevant where DALI-2 gateways serve as core interoperability hubs between lighting fixtures, sensors, and building management systems.

Supply Chain & Certification Support Services

Third-party testing labs, certification consultants, and logistics providers specializing in GCC market entry must update their service offerings to reflect this change. Specifically, demand may shift toward support for dual-standard alignment (GB/T 35658 + IEC 62386-102), pre-submission dossier preparation for GSO-led White List applications, and post-inclusion compliance monitoring—not just initial listing.

What Enterprises and Practitioners Should Monitor and Act On

Track official updates to White List implementation guidelines

The current update confirms inclusion but does not specify whether future revisions will require periodic revalidation, annual reporting, or surveillance audits. Enterprises should monitor GSO and national agency portals for procedural notices—especially any requirement to submit evidence of ongoing production conformity or post-market surveillance reports.

Verify eligibility scope for specific product models and firmware versions

Inclusion applies only to the exact DALI-2 gateway models certified under both GB/T 35658-2023 and IEC 62386-102:2022. Companies must confirm that their commercial SKUs—and associated firmware releases—match those submitted during certification. Minor hardware revisions or firmware updates may trigger re-evaluation, even if the base model remains on the list.

Distinguish between White List eligibility and full regulatory approval

Listing grants exemption from local retesting *only* for green procurement tenders administered under this framework. It does not replace mandatory national safety certifications (e.g., SASO IECEE CB Scheme acceptance, UAE ESMA Type Approval), nor does it cover non-DALI-2 products—even from the same manufacturer. Businesses must maintain parallel compliance pathways for general market access.

Prepare documentation packages for rapid tender response

Procurement officers in GCC government agencies and hotel chains are likely to request proof of White List status during bid evaluation. Firms should compile standardized, multilingual (Arabic/English) documentation—including GSO-issued listing reference numbers, test reports referencing both standards, and manufacturer declarations—ready for integration into RFP responses.

Editorial Perspective / Industry Observation

Observably, this White List expansion signals a maturing phase in GCC smart lighting standardization—not merely a technical alignment step, but an operational calibration toward interoperable, procurement-driven adoption. Analysis shows the inclusion criteria deliberately emphasize dual-standard conformance (national + international), suggesting regulators are prioritizing verifiable equivalence over unilateral recognition. From an industry perspective, the move is better understood as a policy signal than an immediate market transformation: while it lowers one barrier, broader adoption still depends on local system integrator capacity, project-level DALI-2 design literacy, and continued alignment between GSO’s harmonization roadmap and national enforcement practices. Continued observation is warranted on whether subsequent White List updates extend to other DALI-2 device classes (e.g., application controllers, input devices) or broaden to include additional markets beyond the initial six.

This update marks a procedural milestone—not a market opening—within an evolving, standards-led procurement ecosystem. Its primary value lies in predictability: for qualified vendors, it confirms a repeatable path to accelerated qualification in high-value, low-volume public and hospitality tenders. For the wider industry, it underscores that technical compliance alone is insufficient; sustained engagement with regional standardization timelines and documentation rigor is increasingly central to GCC market viability.

Source: Official White List update published jointly by GSO, SASO, ESMA, and four additional GCC national standards bodies on May 15, 2026.
Note: Future scope expansion (e.g., additional device types or countries) remains unconfirmed and requires ongoing monitoring.