Indonesian Government to Establish New Shariah Bank

The Indonesian government is planning to establish a Shariah-compliant bank in order to manage Rp 40 trillion ($4 billion) worth of Indonesian hajj funds. State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said the establishment of the bank will support the implementation of a new policy issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs obliging hajj funds to be managed exclusively by Shariah banks.Dahlan said the government wants to support the development of Shariah banking in Indonesia with the new bank since the sector controls only 4.9 percent of market shares in Indonesia’s banking industry, The government has stakes in four lenders that run their own Shariah units. None of these banks, however, focus solely on Shariah banking.