Speaking In Front Of US Investors, OJK Boss Shows Positive Trends In Indonesia's Financial Sector

JAKARTA - Chairman of the OJK Board of Commissioners, Wimboh Santoso, said the pace of intermediation in the banking sector continues to increase. In fact, as of February, it has grown 6.3 percent year on year (yoy) with controlled risk as seen from the gross NPL data of 3.1 percent.

This was conveyed during his working visit to the United States to attend a number of meetings with business people and economic figures as well as academics at a number of campuses in New York City.

In the forum "The Indonesia B20 Roadshow: Indonesia-US Business Forum" which was held at the Office of the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, New York.

To the businessmen who were present, Wimboh conveyed the huge potential for Indonesia's investment, which was supported, among other things, by the financial services sector which remained stable amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The Indonesian banking industry also shows resilience that is consistent with the current Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 25.8 percent. This shows that Indonesian banks are very safe in facing potential risks in the future," he said in a written statement, Sunday, April 24.

In addition, said Wimboh, performance in the Capital Market sector also continues to show a positive trend. JCI on April 14, 2022 stood at 7,235.53 (9.94 percent year to date) and reached an all-time high. The proceeds also continued to reflect market optimism with 18 Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) throughout 2022, with a value of Rp19.21 trillion.

The Non-Bank Financial Industry (IKNB) is also stable and strong. Risk Based Capital (RBC) in life insurance and general insurance and reinsurance was well maintained at 535.7 percent and 323.1 percent, respectively. The growth of financing from finance companies also improved, growing by 2.43 percent yoy. Meanwhile, non-performing finance (NPF) finance companies were also stable at 3.25 percent.

According to Wimboh, the data on the stable performance of the financial services industry and its good prospects are very good information for potential foreign investors who want to invest in financial services companies, or invest in other business sectors in Indonesia.

Wimboh also said that Indonesia has very attractive investment potential because apart from being supported by a population of 274 million, most of whom are of productive age, the economy is also in very good condition and continues to grow and recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In the digital economy, Indonesia will be number one in Southeast Asia, I believe that. I think the contribution of transactions in 2025 is estimated to reach 124 billion US dollars. And we have 17,000 islands, we are the center of natural resources. We are developing a lot in mining, agriculture, palm oil, fisheries and tourism sectors," he said.

In supporting sustainable development, Wimboh explained that OJK has issued a number of policies in the green economy, including issuing a Green Taxonomy document that will serve as a guide for economic activities that protect the environment and climate change.