Hajj Committee Proposes Transforming Arbab Al-Tawaif Firms to Shareholder Companies

Muslim pilgrims pray around the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Makkah on September 21, 2015. (Reuters)
Muslim pilgrims pray around the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Makkah on September 21, 2015. (Reuters)
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Hajj Committee Proposes Transforming Arbab Al-Tawaif Firms to Shareholder Companies

Muslim pilgrims pray around the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Makkah on September 21, 2015. (Reuters)
Muslim pilgrims pray around the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Makkah on September 21, 2015. (Reuters)

Vice President of National Committee for Hajj and Umrah Abdullah Omar Kadi said that transforming Arbab Al-Tawaif Establishments to shareholder companies would enhance services provided to pilgrims and ensure shareholder rights.

This step would achieve social integration of beneficiaries and shareholders, Kadi added, noting that pilgrims would receive quality services and privileges.

He stressed that the committee’s role was no longer restricted to the Umrah and Hajj companies of internal pilgrims, but another special committee will be formed to cater to external pilgrims.

These firms will be partners in this decision, he affirmed.

Meanwhile, Hajj and Umrah Committee member Mansour Abu Khanjar spoke about the importance of developing the internal pilgrims sector.

He stressed the need for more flexibility when it comes to transferring visas and the lending system and shifting them to a completely electronic platform.

He also highlighted the role foreign companies have played, in cooperation with Saudi firms, in providing cooling services at pilgrims’ camps.

He added that the coming period will witness reinforcing the privacy of every pilgrim by providing them with their own private chambers, each boasting a television that would broadcast pilgrimage guides and emergency alerts.



Egyptian Inflation Climbs to 13.9% in April

 Cotton candy vendors walk during a dusty weather, before expected sandstorm, in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP)
Cotton candy vendors walk during a dusty weather, before expected sandstorm, in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP)
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Egyptian Inflation Climbs to 13.9% in April

 Cotton candy vendors walk during a dusty weather, before expected sandstorm, in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP)
Cotton candy vendors walk during a dusty weather, before expected sandstorm, in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP)

Egypt's annual urban consumer price inflation accelerated to 13.9% in April from 13.6% in March, matching analyst expectations, data from statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Saturday.

Month on month, prices were 1.5% higher at the end of April than at end-March. Food and beverage prices decelerated by 1.5%. Annually, food and beverage prices rose by 6.0%.

The median forecast of analysts polled by Reuters was for annual inflation to have climbed to 13.9%. They cited an increase in the official price of fuel as the main cause.

Inflation soared following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, which prompted foreign investors to withdraw billions of dollars from Egyptian treasuries. Headline inflation rose by a record 38.0% in September 2023.

M2 money supply expanded in the year to end-March, but at a slower rate, dropping to 25.8% from an all-time high of 33.9% at the end of February, central bank data showed.

Egypt devalued its currency, raised interest rates by 600 basis points and signed an $8 billion financial support package with the International Monetary Fund in March last year, helping to bring its finances under control.