Indonesia's Sharia Economy Continues To Grow And Is Increasingly Important, Erick Thohir: Supported By 229 Million Muslim Residents

SOE Minister Erick Thohir. (Photo: Doc. Antara/Secretpres Press Bureau)

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir said that the Islamic economy in Indonesia is increasingly proving its role. This is marked by the growth of the Islamic economy which is above the conventional economy.

"Even above conventional economic growth, both in terms of asset growth, financing and growth in third party funds, this certainly further proves the important role of the Islamic economy for Indonesia," he said at the Talkshow 25 Years of the Indonesian Capital Market Journey, Tuesday, April 12.

Sharia economic growth in Indonesia is supported by the Muslim population which reaches 229 million people or about 87.2 percent of the total population.

As the Chairman of the Sharia Economic Community (MES), Erick also has a commitment to encourage sharia economic growth in Indonesia. One of them is through Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI).

Erick said that the merger of these three banks led Indonesia to have the seventh largest bank in Indonesia and to become the 13th largest Islamic bank in the world.

"I will continue to encourage this BSI until it can be entered as the number 10 largest Islamic bank in the world," he said.

In addition to BSI, Erick's alignment with the sharia economy is also shown by the launch of the IDX MES BUMN 17 index, as well as a commitment to strengthening sharia financial literacy.

"This is expected to support increasing investment knowledge for Indonesian Muslims, especially in line with technological transformation and digitalization which also has a very significant impact on investment methods," he said.

Erick also emphasized that all parties must work together in maintaining the investment ecosystem in Indonesia. The goal is that there are no more people who become victims of detrimental investments.

"We have to work together in maintaining the investment ecosystem in Indonesia so that people never again become victims, who fall into the trap of detrimental investments," he said.

"It is also important to remember that investing is an act of our efforts to continue to improve ourselves and maintain every step of the future development of our beloved nation and country," he concluded.