I hope Bank Riau Kepri will become (a sharia commercial bank) in the not distant future. I will discuss it with OJK (the Financial Services Authority) to accelerate the process.Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has voiced support for Bank Riau Kepri’s bid to become a sharia commercial bank so that it can contribute to the development of the sharia economy in Indonesia.
“I hope Bank Riau Kepri will become (a sharia commercial bank) in the not distant future. I will discuss it with OJK (the Financial Services Authority) to accelerate the process,” he said during an online interaction with the board of directors of Bank Riau Kepri on Wednesday, according to a written statement released the same day.
Amin joined the online dialog from his official residence in Jakarta.
The Vice President said he believes that once Bank Riau Kepri transforms into a sharia commercial bank, the development of the halal industry in the provinces of Riau and Riau Islands will soon materialize.
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Riau has the chance to contribute significantly to the development of the sharia industry, particularly in creating halal industrial estates, he noted.
"Right now, we have three halal industrial estates, namely in Modern Cikande, Banten (province), Sidoarjo (in East Java province), and Bintan, Riau Islands province," he said.
The presence of a sharia commercial bank could also serve as a means for the payment of social funds, zakat (alms), and wakaf, he added.
During the dialog, Bank Riau Kepri president director Andi Buchari reported the bank's assets are currently valued at Rp30 trillion.
With the assets, he said he believed the transformation of Bank Riau Kepri into a sharia commercial bank will soon materialize.
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Translator: Fransiska Ninditya/Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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