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AKARTA: The total assets of Indonesia’s sharia banks increased by 50 percent to Rp 158.8 trillion (US$16.99 billion) as of March from Rp 101.2 trillion in the same period last year, according to a senior Bank Indonesia official.

Edy Setiadi, the director for sharia banking at the central bank, said that the annual growth of the Islamic banks in Indonesia averaged 40.2 percent over the past five years.

“Sharia banking only accounts for a 4.23 percent market share. We aimed to achieve 15 to 20 percent of market share within 10 years,” he said during the opening ceremony of International Franchise License and Business Concept Expo & Conference (IFRA) in Jakarta.

As of April, sharia banks have disbursed Rp 10.3 trillion in mudharabah financing and Rp 20.4 trillion in musyarakah financing.

To boost sharia bank growth, Edy encouraged sharia banking to channel more funds, particularly for small and medium enterprises.

There are currently 11 sharia banks in the country, 24 sharia banking units (part of conventional banks) and 156 sharia-based secondary banks. Those banks have 10.6 billion accounts in total.