Erick Thohir Encourages BSI To Rebuild Indonesia's Halal Industry

The Minister of SOEs, Erick Thohir, encouraged Bank Syariah Indonesia to rebuild Indonesia's halal industry. (AMONG)

JAKARTA - SOE Minister Erick Thohir encouraged Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) to rebuild Indonesia's halal industry.

Erick Thohir said that Indonesia already had the largest bank as long as Indonesia was established, namely a sharia bank called BSI.

"We encourage this BSI to rebuild the halal industry in Indonesia so that it can become a player to serve our people in Indonesia, but also serve other people in the world," said Erick Thohir when delivering his speech at the closing of the XI Indonesian Sholeh Children Festival at the National Level - 2022 in Palembang, South Sumatra as monitored online in Jakarta, Sunday.

Indonesia is a Muslim-majority population, for its economy and halal industry, Indonesia is the fourth largest in the world. However, when it comes to halal industrial production, Indonesia is neither in the top 5 nor the top 10. This means that Indonesia is only a consumptive nation, not a productive nation.

"That's why from the start I encouraged us to become a people who can also move the economy," said the Minister of SOEs.

Previously, SOE Minister Erick Thohir hoped that the BSI Entrepreneurial Talent program launched by BSI could create Muslimpreneurs in Indonesia.

Erick Thohir really appreciated when BSI launched the program.

According to Erick, when compared to developed countries, it can reach 10-14 percent of the number of entrepreneurs, but in Indonesia alone the number is still 3.5 percent.

Regarding assistance to MSMEs, Erick said that the context was in three areas, namely financing, mentoring and market access.

Regarding the second focus of BSI, namely the halal industry ecosystem, Erick Thohir said that so far Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, but if you look at the halal industry, Indonesia is not in the top 5.