These Are 4 Business Areas That Need To Be Focused On Future Financial Industry Players

Deputy Minister of Finance (Wamenkeu) RI Suahasil Nazara. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia Suahasil Nazara revealed four business areas that need to be focused by financial industry players in order to strengthen Indonesia's financial sector in the future.

"I convey four fields (business areas) which I think are future businesses that must be considered by the financial sector," said Suhasil in the "Indonesia Financial Group International Conference 2023" in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Tuesday, September 19.

The first is the health sector. Suahasil explained that COVID-19 is a period that shows that the health sector can be one of the sources of Indonesia's economic growth. This is reflected in Indonesia's position as one of the promoters of the Pandemic Fund program as a new financing concept.

The Pandemic Fund is funding used to prevent, prepare and respond to the next pandemic.

Then the Health Law is also considered to provide space for new improvement as well as space for the business world. Therefore, Suahasil hopes that the financial sector can focus on the health business considering its potential.

"Health sectors can be a source of growth (economics), in fact we have also issued a new Health Law, I believe our financial sector must consider this very carefully and look at business spaces in the health sector," said Suahasil.

The second business area is the downstream sector. Currently, Indonesia is committed to downstreaming natural resources (SDA) to increase export value.

According to Suahasil, the downstream industry will become a new economic landscape for Indonesia. He appealed to financial industry players to study and take advantage of opportunities in the downstream industry.

The third is digitization. This field is able to be a challenge as well as an opportunity for the financial sector. The reason is, by focusing on the digital aspect in a business, the financial industry will contribute to increasing economic inclusiveness to the value of Indonesia's digital economy.

Then the fourth is the green economy. Suahasil assessed that the green economy in the future will define new businesses in Indonesia and also the world.

Currently, the government is improving the energy transition mechanism, which can be the focus of financial industry players in order to be able to contribute to environmental sustainability as well as the economy.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) plans to launch the Carbon Exchange on September 26, 2023. The Carbon Exchange is a system that regulates Carbon Trading or the Carbon Unit ownership record.

"We are entering an energy transition mechanism. We offer many ideas in the international arena about a just and affordable transition to a green economy. I really hope that the financial sector will determine a place in the agenda. How do pension funds, banking, and insurance roles in this field (green economy)," he explained.

In addition, the OJK has also issued a Green Taksnomi which is a classification tool for the financial industry (banking) as an effort to protect the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"As regulators, the government, OJK, BI and LPS will continue to work together, to ensure the stability of the financial sector continues, and we appreciate especially IFG as part of State-Owned Enterprises," he concluded.