​Financial Services Authority, Jakarta, June 14, 2015: President Joko Widodo inaugurated national campaign on Sharia finance themed I Love Sharia Finance (ACKS), a campaign initiated by OJK in a bid to improve awareness and utilization of Sharia financial products and services among society. The inauguration took place during Pasar Rakyat Syariah (Sharia People`s Market) event at Parkir Selatan Senayan in Jakarta on Sunday (June 14, 2015). Members of OJK Board of Commissioners, ministers of Working Cabinet, and professionals of Sharia financial services industry attended the inauguration event.

Chairman of OJK Board of Commissioners Muliaman D. Hadad said in his speech that Sharia financial system has developed rapidly for the last two decades since the first Sharia bank appeared in Indonesia. In fact, this development not only covered Sharia banking, but also included non-bank Sharia financial industry, such as Sharia insurance, Sharia pension fund, Sharia financing companies, Sharia bond (sukuk), Sharia mutual fund and other Sharia capital market activities.

Sharia system has also expanded to real sector, indicated by several Sharia businesses that are now emerging, covering the fields of halal food and medicine, Islamic fashion and even Sharia tourism.

For that reason, OJK together with stakeholders in Sharia finance promote the ACKS national campaign in order to improve collective awareness among the whole stakeholders in Sharia economy and finance so that they can understand and love Sharia products and services. Thereby, Sharia economy and finance can contribute in accelerating economic progress, optimizing all of national and regional economic potentials, and eventually improving social prosperity in general, Muliaman said.

President Joko Widodo in his speech said he warmly welcomed the ACKS national campaign initiated by OJK as one of efforts to socialize and educate all levels of society about Sharia economy and finance. In that way, members of society can understand about basic principles and potential benefits of Sharia financial services.

President also conveyed that Indonesia is likely to become a center of global Sharia finance development considering the country has a quite large number of professionals and activities in Sharia finance.

Customers of Sharia banking has now reached around 18 million accounts, while number of microfinance entities in Indonesia is the biggest in the world (some of them are in the forms of baitul maal wat tamwil or BMT and Sharia cooperative). Indonesia is also one of the largest sukuk issuers and the only country that issues retail sukuk.

Therefore, in order to achieve the goal of becoming the leader in global Sharia finance development and to harness the development in Sharia financial services sector for the benefits of nation, President asked all ministries, government institutions and related non-government institutions to together support development in the industry and to synergize various efforts in improving efficiency and competitiveness of Sharia financial services sector.

During the occasion, Presiden took the opportunity to give SimPel iB saving books to representatives of students from preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school and senior high school, as a symbolic launching of SimPel iB. Simpel iB is Sharia saving account for students launched nationally by Indonesian banking industry, with easy and simple requirements and interesting features, in the framework of education and financial inclusion in a bid to stimulate the culture of saving at early age. For more information, please click on PDF icon to download the complete press release. ​