Indonesian Islamic industry lacks of innovations

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDUNG – Indonesian Islamic industry was not quite innovative as it only had 16 products for customers, the Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, Halim Alamsyah said on Monday. “The products of Islamic bank in Malaysia are more than 40,” he said on International Seminar of Islamic Financing.

Islamic industry was indeed smaller than the conventional one, yet he said the competition was very tight given that the growth of Islamic bank in Indonesia was high. Lacking of alternatives is an obstacle of Islamic banking development in Indonesia.

Islamic companies should create Islamic original products. The Islamic and unique products can attract the consumer. The new products, he said, should fulfill the people’s need.

The codification of products should be developed globally, he added. Indonesia has several statements related to fatwa of a product. The dissent creates confusion that lead to the difficulty of product standardization. As the standard should also meet international quality, the codification issued by international institution can decrease discrepancy and promote harmonization of product in cross-country.

He said the growth of Islamic economy was phenomenal on the last two decades. Should it keep increasing, the asset of Islamic banking can reach five trillion USD on 2015. “We believe Islamic financing can boost economic growth and increase the stability of financial system,” he said.

The Chairman of Indonesia Islamic Bank Association (Asbisindo), Yuslam Fauzi, said the small quantity of Islamic banking products was caused by its immature age. Compared to Malaysia, Indonesia is eight years younger on the development of Islamic banking.