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Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) will purchase a 25 percent stake in Indonesian Islamic lender Bank Panin Syariah. Under the agreement, DIB will jointly manage and operate Bank Panin Syariah along with parent Bank Pan Indonesia, which will remain a controlling shareholder. No purchase price was given for the deal, which will be subject to regulatory approval. The investment will involve DIB accumulating around a 25 percent stake in Bank Panin Syariah in the initial phase, with a view to subsequently increasing its shareholding in the bank to 40 percent. Bank Panin Syariah has a network of 10 branches and held assets worth 4.3 trillion rupiah ($376.8 million) at March 31.

Dubai Islamic Bank is to purchase a 25 percent stake in Indonesian Islamic lender Bank Panin Syariah, it said in a statement on Monday, adding it could ultimately increase the holding up to 40 percent. No purchase price was given in the statement, which said the transaction was still subject to regulatory approval. Bank Panin Syariah, which was listed in Indonesia in January, is the Islamic subsidiary of Bank Pan Indonesia .

Licensing and the implementation of sharia often cause investors to reconsider investing in Aceh. The Aceh provincial administration, through the Aceh Promotion and Investment Board (BIPA), has made strenuous efforts to convince investors to invest capital. BIPA has coordinated with various stakeholders, including city administrations and district level administrations, to help spur economic growth in Aceh. It also initiated a joint commitment to improve the image of Aceh and inputting data on impediments and issues faced by the business world to seek immediate solutions. However, uncertain regulations and licensing as well as an unfriendly attitude towards foreign investors are issues yet to be solved.

The International Islamic Financial Market ( IIFM ) held its 30th Board of Directors meeting at Bank Indonesia's headquarters in Jakarta. The Board commended IIFM efforts in holding two successful industry consultative meetings on Sukuk standardization requirements from documentation, structures and guidelines point of view which were very well attended by industry stakeholders. Moreover, IIFM aims is to come up with more standards as per its well established comprehensive development process, some of which will be issued during 2014 and in the next year. On the sidelines of the Board meeting, a specialized industry seminar on "Islamic Capital & Money Market" was also organized, discussing the technical aspects of Sukuk, Islamic hedging and liquidity management tools.

ndonesian airline Garuda Indonesia Tbk has secured US$100 million in financing from a unit of Malaysia's Maybank to fund its operations and expansion. The Musyarakah-based loan has a tenure of three years and will be issued through Maybank's Indonesian unit, PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk. Garuda Indonesia posted a net loss of $163.9 million in its first quarter ended March, compared with a loss of $33.75 million in the same period a year earlier, as the airline continued to struggle with rising competition.

Amid talk of merging banks in the country to boost size and competitiveness in the region, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has said that consolidation of sharia banks is also needed. At the moment, however, many sharia lenders are units that operate within conventional banks. OJK expects the consolidation to take place after all existing sharia business units (UUS) had been spun off from their parent banks. At the moment, there are 11 sharia lenders and 23 UUS operating in the country. After the spin-off, there would be more than 34, but the OJK would like to fix the number at between 25 and 30. One sharia business unit of a commercial bank is reportedly ready to be spun off in 2014.

In some countries such as Indonesia, creating shariah-compliant insurance products can touch the lower middle income people. However, awareness for micro insurance, in general, and Islamic micro insurance in particular is still very low. This will affect SME's decision to buy Takaful products, although the affordable premiums and significant benefit are the main determinant of preference between conventional insurance and Islamic insurance. In order to rise the awareness of Islamic micro insurance among BMT and insurance companies, the Islamic Economic Society (MES) held business matching events which were attended by dozens of BMT. Through these efforts, MES hopes to lead Indonesian BMT opinion that Islamic micro insurance is very important as one of the risk mitigation strategy for business customers.

The chief executive of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Adnan Chilwan, said it was in talks to buy a 40 percent stake in an Indonesian Islamic lender to help diversify its revenues. DIB hopes to conclude a deal before the end of the year and that it will pay for the purchase using its own cash reserves. However, Chilwan declined to name the acquisition target, adding its parent was a listed company. Chilwan said in March that DIB planned to expand its operations into Indonesia, Kenya and other African countries. DIB's last acquisition came last year when it completed the takeover of Dubai-based mortgage lender Tamweel, having previously owned 58.2 percent of the firm before the buyout offer.

In some countries such as Indonesia, creating shariah-compliant insurance products for the lower middle income people is a necessity that slowly started to gain attention and priority. Awareness for micro insurance, in general, and Islamic micro insurance in particular is still very low. This will affect SME's decision to buy Takaful products. In order to integrate equation viewpoint of Islamic micro insurance between BMT and insurance companies, the Islamic Economic Society (MES) actively held business matching events which were attended by dozens of BMT. Through these efforts, MES hopes to make Indonesian BMT aware that Islamic micro insurance is very important as a risk mitigation strategy for business customers.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd has reiterated its interest in the Indonesian Islamic banking market despite previous attempts at penetrating the world’s largest Muslim country seeing a dead-end. Managing director Datuk Seri Zukri Samat said Indonesia possessed tremendous prospects as the country, with a population of 240 million, is still underserved in the Islamic banking sector. Islamic banking penetration in Indonesia is about 3% to4%, whereby Malaysia is between 23% and 24%. There is a huge Muslim population in Indonesia but Islamic banking penetration is very low, certainly there is a lot of business opportunity there, he said.

Baitul Mal Wa Tamwil (BMT) is a microfinance institution in Indonesia that is a shariah compliant. It aims to develop micro and small business enterprise for the poor and economically marginalized sector in the society. BMT is a small financing institution which operates using mixed concepts of "Baitul Maal" and "Baitul Tamwil" with its target focused on the small business sector. By this concept, BMT also acts as Zakah institutions (Amil). BMT has been in operation since 1995 under the supervision of Incubation Center of Small Business (PINBUK). Since its establishment in 1995, around three million customers have obtained micro-financing from BMTs in Indonesia. At present, the role of BMT as an Islamic microfinance institution has become increasingly important, particularly regarding poverty alleviation in Indonesia.

Dubai Islamic Bank plans to expand its operations into Asian and African countries as it emerges from a period of consolidation, the bank's chief executive Adnan Chilwan said. The lender, which currently makes some 95 percent of its revenue within the United Arab Emirates, says it is entering a growth phase domestically and internationally. It is exploring opportunities in Indonesia, Kenya and surrounding countries in Africa, the Indian subcontinent and the GCC. Expansion could be realized via acquisition, a Joint Venture, a finance company or a greenfield operation as long as DIB keeps management control and operates under its brand, Chilwan added. However, Chilwan said the bank also expected strong growth in its domestic market, so the balance between local and international business would not change radically.

Dubai Islamic Bank has revealed plans to expand its operations to Africa as well as Asia, as it seeks growth for its domestic and international business. According to DIB’s chief executive Adnan Chilwan, the bank is exploring opportunities in Indonesia, Kenya and surrounding countries in Africa, the Indian subcontinent and the GCC, with the hope of doing this via acquisition, Joint Venture, establishment of a finance company, or through a greenfield operation startup. Given a five-year scenario, the bank expects a decent franchise spread across these countries with stable and solid yields across all sectors. International business is estimated getting at best 10 to 15 percent of the overall group numbers in about six to eight years.

Indonesia’s central bank hopes to attract a local bank to sign up as primary dealer for short-term sukuk issued by the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM). Bank Indonesia is one of 10 shareholders in the Malaysia-based institution, but it still lacks a local dealer bank for IILM sukuk. IILM sukuk just got issued recently, with limited outstanding, its illiquid and does not have secondary market. Hence, IILM sukuk is not yet well known by Indonesia-based primary dealers. A domestic primary dealer could help address this problem, even though other dealer banks have an indirect presence in the country, such as CIMB Islamic, Maybank Islamic and Standard Chartered Bank. Moreover, it could help the central bank justify its $5 million shareholding in the IILM.

Indonesia's finance ministry sold Rp 19.3 trillion ($1.7 billion) of the three-year Islamic bonds to households, exceeding its Rp 18.5 trillion goal. That came after two of its three Shariah-compliant debt auctions this year failed to meet their targets. The yield on the non-retail 10.25 percent sukuk due 2025 slid 29 basis points this week to 8.61 percent, the lowest since November. Indonesia is targeting Rp 57 trillion of Islamic bond sales this year and wants to sell most of that this half before a presidential vote in July. The next offer is scheduled for March 11.

Indonesia is facing tough economic challenges and a period of political uncertainty. In this climate, Indonesia needs to restore foreign investors’ trust and redirect their attention to its strong fundamentals: a politically stable country with the world’s fourth largest population and a young and growing consumer base. One fundamental step to restoring this trust and raising Indonesia’s standing as an attractive investment destination is to shore up the private sector’s corporate governance practices. Indonesian companies can build trust by protecting the rights of shareholders and honoring their obligations to staff, investors, suppliers and local communities. They should also institute a competent and independent board that can review management decisions.

Companies selling takaful in Indonesia are boosting agent numbers and product ranges ahead of a new rule that will require them to be run independently. Indonesia is so far dominated by takaful "windows" which allow insurers to offer Islamic and conventional products side by side. However, a new law requiring takaful firms to be spun off into stand-alone businesses is expected this year. Operating costs are expected to triple when the takaful business is spun off. Takaful firms have also begun to explore new streams of revenue in market segments that remain relatively untapped, like savings products for pilgrimages to Mecca. Moreover, agents are branching out into Indonesia's rural areas, moving beyond markets already crowded with conventional players.

Indonesia has a history of high inflation and a dependence on foreign capital. The Indonesian Rupiah was Asia’s worst performing emerging market currency in 2013. But Indonesia is also the world’s most populous Muslim nation. In order to reduce its reliance on other economies, the country’s religious ministry has built up $5.4 billion in reserves from deposits made by the millions of its citizens seeking to make the pilgrimage, or Hajj, to Saudi Arabia each year. Last year, the Hajj department began to invest in Sharia compliant bonds issued by the Indonesian government. Like its neighbor Malaysia, the country is now setting up a Hajj financial management agency, which could realistically play a key role in developing the country’s Islamic finance markets and reduce its reliance on offshore funds.

Panin Bank Syariah, the Islamic banking unit of Bank Panin Indonesia, plans to provide prospective hajj saving service for hajj and umrah. Managing Director of Panin Bank Syariah, Deny Hendrawati, said that company targeted hajj and umrah fund between 1 trillion to 1.5 trillion IDR from four thousand to five thousand customers. Panin Bank Syariah also develops its e-banking service. E-banking service is connected online to the Integrated Hajj Computerized System (Siskohat) at the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Hence, the customer's name who meets the minium saving will be automatically enlisted as a prospective hajj. According to central bank's new rule, Bank Panin Syariah can use its 500 parents' networks across Indonesia.

PT Bank Muamalat Indonesia, the second-largest sharia lender in the country, secured a loan commitment of $90 million from a commercial bank in Malaysia and an international financial institution based in Washington, reported Bisnis Indonesia. The loan has a tenure of 5-7 years and will be used for new financing in 2014 that is expected to reach 41.7 trillion rupiah ($3.43 billion), said Finance Director Hendiarto.