"The sharia banks here can participate in financing prioritized projects in the fields of construction, electricity and gas, agriculture and creative industry, including small- and medium-scale businesses," BI deputy governor Halim Alamsyah said.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Bank Indonesia (BI) hopes the sharia banking system in Indonesia will help finance productive economic activities across the nation, according to an official from the central bank.
BI deputy governor Halim Alamsyah made the statement in his keynote address during a year-end seminar on sharia banking here on Monday.
"The sharia banking system is also expected to offer its services to all communities in the country," he said.
According to Halim, the sharia banking system can also help boost Indonesia`s economic growth and the country's position in Asia "as a prime mover of the global economy".
"The sharia banks here can participate in financing prioritized projects in the fields of construction, electricity and gas, agriculture and creative industry, including small- and medium-scale businesses," he noted.
Meanwhile, Executive Director of the Sharia Banking Department at Bank Indonesia, Edy Setiadi, said in Pekanbaru, Riau province, last month that the national sharia banking industry grew 36.7 percent in the year to September 2012, compared with the corresponding period last year.
He noted that Indonesia currently had 11 sharia commercial banks with 24 sharia business units and 156 sharia financing banks.
"The sharia banking industry also has a low net non-performing financing (NPF) ratio of 1.81 percent," Edy pointed out.
"The ratio of financial disbursement to third-party fund placement in the national sharia banking industry is relatively high at 102.1 percent," he said.
"Looking ahead, the sharia banking industry will continue to grow thanks to the expansion of sharia financing, along with the high economic growth in Indonesia despite the financial crisis in Europe," Edy added. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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