Vice President Ma’ruf Amin highlighted four focus areas for development of the Islamic economic and financial industry in Indonesia.
“The first focus area is the halal industry that is implemented by developing the halal industry zone within industrial areas,” Vice President Amin stated in his keynote speech at the Bizare Investment Conference 2021 held online from Jakarta.
The government remains committed to prioritizing Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) while formulating policies for development of the domestic halal industry, Amin affirmed.
“Our second focus is the Islamic financial industry aimed at establishing a modern and reliable financial system as the backbone of the national industry and trade,” the vice president remarked.
The merger of three Islamic state-owned banks into a single state-owned Sharia Bank Indonesia (BSI) is testament of the government’s commitment to developing the Islamic financial industry, Amin noted.
The government also encourages the development of small- and medium-sized Islamic financial institutions in Indonesia, such as micro waqf bank, Islamic microfinance institution, and Islamic cooperatives, he remarked.
“The third area of focus is to develop the national Islamic social fund system by waqf (endowment) reorganization,” the vice president stated.
The government should ensure that reorganization of the waqf institution will not harm Muslim funds and properties entrusted to the waqf agency, especially during the transition to change the waqf property status from immovable goods to movable goods, Amin stated.
“Our fourth focus is to enhance and expand the Islamic business scope,” Amin remarked. Amin noted that expansion of the Islamic business scope is an important strategy to boost the Indonesian Muslims’ economy.
Development can be achieved by establishing business incubation centers to accommodate business ideas as well as to develop Islamic businesses in Indonesian regions, he added.— Antara News
