Vice President Ma'ruf Amin sought greater competitiveness from Indonesian Sharia Bank (Bank Syariah Indonesia/BSI) to draw public interest to expand its customer base at the joint bank of the State-Owned Bank Association (Himbara).
Vice President Amin conveyed the message to the BSI board of directors and commissioners during a meeting at the vice president's official residence in Jakarta, Wednesday (June 2).
"This (initiative) has provided more competitive opportunities, but it is not sufficient. Other breakthroughs must be sought, so that sharia is more competitive," Vice President Amin noted in a statement received by Antara, Thursday.
The vice president assessed that some people view sharia banking services to be more expensive than conventional ones, so to change this mindset, the government has urged the General Provisions for Taxation (KUP) to reduce the burden of sharia financial income to five percent.
Meanwhile, BSI Director Hery Gunardi, who partook in the meeting, reported that in the first quarter of 2021, BSI's asset growth had crossed 14 percent, financing had surpassed 12 percent, and profit reached 12.8 percent.
"This is indeed a challenge for us all on how to maintain good performance," Gunardi noted.
Gunardi also remarked that BSI will open an overseas branch office in Dubai to develop the operations of Islamic banking services.
BSI Independent Commissioner Komaruddin Hidayat highlighted Amin’s major role in the merger of three Islamic banks into BSI.
Komaruddin assessed that Amin was a person, who took real action, so he was optimistic that the BSI would build the economy of Indonesian people.
"This is essential in order to become a legacy that plays a more important role in developing the people's economy," he affirmed.
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