JakartaPost/Kumparan-June 5
Bank Indonesia (BI) has slashed its sharia financing target on account of expected slower GDP growth this year and slow market adoption. BI’s sharia economic and financial department head Imam Hartono said on Wednesday that sharia financing would still grow but at slower pace. Instead of the initial between 11 and 13 percent target, the central bank adjusted it downward to between 8 and 11 percent. “This was related to GDP projection that has moved to between 4.6 and 5.4 [percent],” Imam was quoted as saying by Kumparan. The central bank last month trimmed its GDP growth forecast for 2025 to a range of between 4.6 and 5.4 percent, down marginally from its initial estimate of between 4.7 and 5.5 percent. Imam said sharia economics are projected to grow by between 4.8 and 5.6 percent this year. He argued that the system for sharia economics is up and running but few have utilized it. “The bus is actually there. But what we need now is the passengers,” Imam illustrated the situation with an analogy, explaining that Indonesians understand sharia economic theory but those who actually use it are few and far between. The 2025 National Financial Literacy and Inclusion Survey (SNLIK) published by the Financial Services Authority (OJK) in early May found that the national literacy level of sharia finance stood at over 43 percent, but its inclusion level only touched 13 percent. Meanwhile, the literacy index for its conventional counterpart stood at 66 percent with inclusion far higher at 80.5 percent. The survey involved 10,800 respondents aged 15 to 79 years old. Imam went on to say that many people perceived sharia financial products to be more costly or more complicated than conventional ones, which he said was not true, albeit acknowledging that sharia products have to be developed following market needs. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2025/06/05/bi-revises-down-its-target-for-sharia-financing-growth-in-indonesia.html.
