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alaysia'€™s CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. says a new regionwide computer system will help increase the Islamic share of its business to 20 percent from 15 percent by 2020 with expansion overseas.

The lender is spending 1.1 billion ringgit (US$346 million) over five years from 2010 on the platform, which will help cut costs and improve administration of transactions by combining its Southeast Asian markets, said Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, chief executive officer of CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd.

It will help CIMB achieve targets to triple Shariah depositors in Singapore and double its growth rate in Indonesia, he said.

'€œThe system will facilitate Islamic banking transactions, offers consistency in processes and will allow us to compete with conventional banks more effectively,'€ Badlisyah said in a phone interview on Monday from Kuala Lumpur.

'€œIndonesia is a big market and will be a significant contributor to our Islamic business in the long run.'€

CIMB'€™s Islamic lender in Indonesia has 30 branches in a nation that is home to the world'€™s largest Muslim population but where Shariah banking assets account for less than 5 percent of the total compared with 26 percent in Malaysia.

Once the system is up and running in Indonesia next year, CIMB is targeting raising its annual Shariah-compliant growth rate for deposits and financing in the country to 100 percent, Badlisyah said.

'€œTechnology will be the force that drives efficiency and what CIMB has done is remarkable for the company and the Islamic finance industry,'€ Mohamed Azahari Kamil, chief executive officer at Asian Finance Bank Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur, said in a phone interview on Monday.

'€œWith this investment, CIMB will be able to capitalize on opportunities available in the region, especially in Indonesia.'€

In addition to its Indonesian Islamic bank PT CIMB Niaga, the Malaysian lender offers Shariah-compliant services through so-called window operations at PT CIMB Niaga'€™s 800 branches across the archipelago.

CIMB offers services to Muslims in Singapore via Islamic windows at its two outlets. It aims to increase Shariah depositors in the city-state to 10,000 from 3,000 in two years, Badlisyah said.

The company has 300 branches in its home market, where it is the second-biggest lender that complies with the religion'€™s ban on interest after Maybank Islamic Bank Bhd.

Malaysia'€™s Prime Minister Najib Razak embarked on a $444 billion 10-year plan to build power plants, roads and railways in 2010, while both candidates in Indonesia'€™s presidential election on Wednesday have pledged to raise state spending to boost the country'€™s economic growth from its slowest since 2009.

'€œInfrastructure projects fit very well into the many existing Shariah structures and this can also benefit Islamic lenders in the region,'€ Raj Mohamad, managing director at Five Pillars Pte, a consulting firm in Singapore, said in a July 4 email interview.

Worldwide sales of sukuk have increased 27 percent to $25.3 billion this year from the same point in 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Growth in Indonesia'€™s Islamic banking assets slowed to 15 percent in the year through May, compared with a five-year average of 40 percent, according to the country'€™s Financial Services Authority (OJK).

The nation has huge potential though, with Muslims accounting for 87 percent of the population of 253.6 million, the US Central Intelligence Agency'€™s World Factbook website shows.

'€œWe expect Indonesia to account for 10 percent of our business in five years from 5 percent currently,'€ CIMB'€™s Badlisyah said.