REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Head of the sharia bank department of the Financial Service Authority (OJK) Ahmad Soekro Tratmono said the interest shown by the people in sharia banking is growing.

The increase is reflected by the number of sharia bank accounts, which rose to 26.57 million in October 2017 up from 23.45 million accounts in Dec. 2016.

The numbers of accounts are recorded by independent sharia banks and sharia units of conventional banks, and sharia people's credit banks, Soekro said here on Friday.

The assets of sharia banks totaled Rp406.23 trillion in October or 5.55 percent of the total bank assets in the country .

Soekro said OJK would continue to encourage development of sharia banking industry by improving literacy of the Islamic banking industry in this world's largest Muslim country.

"OJK will encourage the industry to promote sharia finance as the literacy of sharia finance is till oow," he said.

Sharia banks operate on sharia law with profit sharing prohibiting credit for gambling and alcohol related companies.

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