Regarding BSI Being A BUMN, Special Staff Erick Thohir: The Process Is Still Long

Special Staff to the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Arya Sinulingga. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Special Staff to the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Arya Sinulingga clarified his statement regarding the status of PT Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) which will become a state-owned company in the near future. Arya said the government actually had control with the ownership of red and white shares in the sharia bank.

For your information, Bank Syariah Indonesia is the result of the merger of three Islamic banks belonging to SOEs, namely Bank Mandiri Syariah, Bank BNI Syariah and Bank BRI Syariah.

"I clarified the status of BSI yesterday, currently the red and white shares are in BSI, and that is the government's control of BSI, it is very strong, and that actually makes BSI's position almost similar to other SOEs," Arya said in a written statement in Jakarta, Friday, September 30.

Regarding the change in status to BUMN, Arya continued, BSI still needs a number of stages. In fact, the process of changing the status to BUMN takes a very long time.

"So, if the process regarding BSI will become a BUMN, it will be a long process. It will take a long time and maybe we are not in a hurry at this time. So, it is hoped that the information regarding BSI will be clear," said Arya.

The government does want to fully control BSI's business. Currently, the control is carried out through a scheme for granting a Red and White share.

For your information, the majority of Bank Syariah Indonesia shares were previously held by Himbara, namely PT Bank BNI Tbk, PT Bank BRI Tbk, and PT Bank Mandiri Tbk. Where, Bank Mandiri owns a stake of 50.83 percent, Bank BNI 24.85 percent, Bank BRI 17.25 percent, and other shareholders, including the public 7.08 percent.

The ownership of this stock makes BSI not a state bank, so options appear if BSI must be used as a state-owned company. This option arose when Vice President (Vice President) Ma'ruf Amin reminded BSI to be converted into a state-owned company.

In August 2022, the Vice President expressed his hope that in the future BSI will become one of the Himbara banks, and enter the ranks of SOEs.