BSI: There Is A 'Supply-Demand' Problem At Islamic Banks With Halal Industry

JAKARTA - Deputy President Director of PT Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) Bob Tyasika Ananta assessed that there was a problem of discontectivity between Islamic financial services (from the supply side) and the real sector of the sharia economy and the halal industry (from the demand side).

"It turns out that there is still a discreteness between supply and demand that is mismatch, between Islamic banking and the halal industry. So, this discontectivity with the real sector of the sharia economy and the halal industry is one of the challenges," said Bob at a national seminar in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Monday 26 February.

In terms of supply, BSI considers that there are not many sharia banking services that can be used by halal industry business actors. Meanwhile, in terms of demand, many sharia and halal businesses do not yet know Islamic banking products and services.

"Business actors whose context is actually deep inside he will go to sharia, his surroundment is also still a challenge," said Bob.

One of the problems with the halal industry on the demand side is the halal certification process which is still ongoing. Bob noted that currently only about 3.9 million products are halal certified out of the target of 10 million certifications in 2024.

Another problem is that the ideal halal industry has not yet been formed, while Indonesia still relies on imported raw materials. In addition, the development of halal logistics is still minimal.

Seeing these problems, Islamic banking is expected to contribute to encouraging the supply side by encouraging customers to carry out halal certification.

Sharia banking is also expected to be able to carry out halal sector tagging in its financing portfolio and invest or finance in the national strategic sector such as downstreaming of the halal industry, both in the manufacturing and logistics sectors.

In addition to supply-demand problems between Islamic banking and the halal industry, Bob added that low Islamic financial literacy and inclusion is also one of the main obstacles in ecosystem development.

He said the Islamic financial literacy index was only 9.14 percent in 2022. In fact, the national financial literacy index had reached 49.68 percent in the same year. Sharia financial inclusion is also still low in 2022, which is only 12.12 percent compared to the national financial inclusion which reached 85.10 percent.

Therefore, BSI also encourages various stakeholders in the field of Islamic economics and finance to collaborate in efforts to increase literacy and inclusion.

"To increase financial literacy and inclusion, it is not only the role of BSI. We need the role of ABP, namely academics, then also businessmen including BSI, and then the government," said Bob.