Ministry Of Finance, BI, OJK And LPS Agree To Encourage Literacy And Investment Among Young People

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu), Bank Indonesia (BI), the Financial Services Authority (OJK), and the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) are again working together to organize the Leading Indonesian Financial Literacy (Like It) earlier this week.

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani said that in order to become a developed and prosperous country, every generation needs to work hard and as early as possible needs to be given education and financial literacy in investing.

"Every generation has an important role to play in fighting for, building, trying, and financing development," he said in a written statement quoted on Tuesday, August 15.

According to the Minister of Finance, in order to achieve sustainable development, a stable and deep financial sector is also needed, which among other things is shown by high level of inclusion and financial literacy.

The state treasurer revealed that the development of digitalization in the financial sector, which has facilitated access to various investment products, needs to be balanced with increasing financial literacy.

"Indonesia will only be able to progress if we all care and take care of it together, starting from understanding how to manage this country, understanding how to take care of ourselves's finances, and maintaining it to be invested in a good place," he said.

On the same occasion, BI Governor Perry Warjiyo invited the millennial generation who dominates the current demographics of society to be at the forefront of financial literacy.

"The role of the younger generation in encouraging financial literacy can be a positive catalyst for Indonesia's development," he said.

Similarly, Chairman of the OJK Board of Commissioners Mahendra Siregar said that to maintain sustainability, there are a number of focuses in the financial services sector that must be optimized, including the development of MSME sector financing and capital market development.

"So all policy devices, supervision and actions for the MSME ecosystem and literacy access for increasing the community in understanding and utilization of all financial services sectors are OJK priorities," said Mahendra.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the LPS Board of Commissioners, Purbaya Yudhi Sadive, projects that the demographic bonus enjoyed by Indonesia confirms the potential for bright financial market investment. Therefore, he encouraged the investment awareness to be followed by strengthening financial literacy in order to support financial market deepening.

The well-litered young generation in financial investment can further increase investment outcomes through appropriate financial decisions and strategies. On the other hand, if the literacy level is low, it is likely that the level of utilization of financial investment products will be less than optimal, or even do not understand the risks that may arise from a financial investment product," he stressed.

The government itself says that financial literacy and inclusion provides great benefits for the financial services sector as well as business actors who contribute to paying taxes that support government programs, such as education, health, and infrastructure.

It is hoped that with higher literacy and financial inclusion of the community, more people will use financial products and services appropriately while still paying attention to risk management aspects and continuing to be aware of developments with technology in the financial sector.