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Religion See other Religion Articles Title: Saudis moving away from oil toward Hajj PressTV...Saudi Arabia is reportedly planning to move away from oil and use the revenues it obtains from hosting Hajj pilgrimage as its main source of national income. The Saudi Gazette newspaper has emphasized in a report that annual revenue from the Hajj season stands at $5.3-6.1 billion (20-23 billion Saudi riyals) depending on the number of pilgrims. It says the high number of pilgrims has already turned the pilgrimage industry into the kingdom’s second most important after oil and gas. Nearly two million foreign pilgrims visit the holy city of Mecca annually during Hajj. The figure is expected to reach 2.7 million by 2020, added the report. The newspaper has further quoted economists as saying that the religious pilgrimages such as Hajj and Umrah have significant growth potential and the ability to create more job opportunities for young Saudis. It has further highlighted warnings by experts that Saudi Arabia will soon run out of money. Last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted years of higher taxes and low fuel subsidies for the oil-rich country. Saudi Arabia will need to stop relying so heavily on oil revenues, said the IMF. Saudi Arabia is facing a budget deficit which is expected to reach $87 billion this year. The crude price crisis has had an impact on the economy as oil sales account for almost 80 percent of the country’s revenue. Saudi Arabia’s foreign reserves fell to $640 billion last year from $737 billion in 2014, the Saudi Gazette added. The country’s construction sector has been hit hard by spending cuts as the government wants to preserve cash. In an effort to balance the budget Saudi Arabia’s government had already cut spending, sold bonds and tapped foreign reserves to compensate for the negative effect on the economy of the oil price plunge. It is also planning its first sale of international bonds. Latest News IAEA warns about ‘nuclear terrorism’ 3min 'Interview by Muslim angers Suu Kyi' 26min Brazil army hints allegiance to Rousseff 37min US moving to send more troops to Iraq 2hr UK vows to support Iran into WTO 4hr Turkey sends terrorists to Europe: Memo 4hr Iraqi Izadis cut key Daesh supply line 5hr US presidential election process broken 5hr Microsoft pulls plug on naughty AI 7hr ‘US officials stage coups with impunity’ 7hr Russia keeps countering NATO build-up 8hr Assad not on the agenda with US: Russia 9hr Daesh losing its territory, leaders: Kerry 10hr Chopper crash kills 10 in south Iran 11hr ‘President Obama is CEO of terror Inc.’ 11hr 30 killed in Baghdad bomb attack 12hr Poster Comment: Sometimes you can fool all of the people all of the time. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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