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Govt downsizes plan for giant state-owned sharia bank
The State-Owned Enterprises Ministry has toned down its plan for a giant Islamic bank in Indonesia, and is now aiming for a merger of only two Islamic lenders, namely BNI Syariah and BTN Syariah.
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A BNI Syariah customer makes a transaction at an ATM. (Kontan/Cheppy A. Muchlis)
T
he State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry has toned down its plan for a giant Islamic bank in Indonesia, and is now aiming for a merger of only two Islamic lenders owned by state-owned banks, namely BNI Syariah and BTN Syariah.
In the previous plan, the government had included Bank Mandiri Syariah and BRI Syariah in the merger, so that it would have involved all four state-owned lenders.
SOEs Ministry deputy for business service Gatot Trihargo said the ministry aimed to complete the concept for the Indonesian sharia bank consolidation this year. Besides the merger, the ministry is also considering a joint venture involving big investors as an option.
“We want investors who are committed to growing Indonesian sharia banks, not merely committing their money […] In the end, there will be only two Sharia-based lenders,” he said as quoted by kontan.co.id on Monday in Jakarta.
The state, he continued, would still control the new sharia bank by holding the majority of the shares while the remainder would be held by the investors. The ministry is currently seeking potential investors to support the plan, Gatot said.
The ultimate goal, he further said, was to create a giant sharia lender with minimum primary capital of Rp 5 trillion (US$373 million). After the consolidation, the market share of sharia banking is expected to reach 15 percent in 2019, from the current share of 3 percent. (ags)
