Further demonstrating its efforts to keep up to date on the latest regional developments, Perbanas Institute has published an article highlighting the readiness of Indonesia’s Shariah banking industry in the face of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). Written by Perbanas lecturer Ms Indra Siswanti, the article focuses upon the AEC’s goal of integrating the region’s banking sector by 2020 and how Indonesia’s Shariah as well as its conventional banking industry should be reformed accordingly, so as to add to the sector’s resilience and competitiveness against ASEAN banks entering the market.
Ms Siswanti’s article underlines the local Shariah banking sector’s small market share of just 5%. As Indonesia contains the largest Muslim population in the world, the country has the potential to become a major hub for Islamic financial services in the ASEAN and the world. However, due to low penetration and the fledgling state of the industry, Shariah banking in Indonesia has thus far not fulfilled expectations. Ms Siswanti further highlights this by demonstrating how many foreign banks have opened branches in Indonesia and yet only one Indonesian Shariah bank has been successfully launched abroad.
The article emphasises that one of the major obstacles for Indonesia’s Shariah banking industry is the availability of qualified human resources. Ms Siswanti suggests that the government has to play an increasingly active role in this regard, from developing the necessary regulatory framework to encouraging a higher quality of education in this field. Through establishing educational centres and training programmes specialising in Shariah banking, the industry can prosper by offering innovative products and spurring the introduction of a more assertive legal framework, in preparation for the AEC. Perbanas Institute itself has sought to drive progress in this domain through the launch of a new undergraduate programme in Shariah Economics.
This informative article demonstrates Perbanas Institute’s ongoing efforts to contribute to the realisation of Indonesia’s Shariah banking potential. By showcasing the need for skilled human resources, Perbanas not only highlights its significance to a more progressive Shariah banking industry, but also to driving progress and advancement on a broader scale in Indonesia.