Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) Chief Economist Banjaran Surya Indrastomo believes Indonesia has a significant opportunity to develop a Sharia-compliant sovereign investment scheme with partners from the Middle East. According to Banjaran, Indonesia already has a strong sovereign wealth fund (SWF), Danantara, in terms of capital. "We just need to create a co-investment scheme or investment cooperation with partners from the Middle East," he told Kontan on Wednesday (August 13th). This was in response to a statement by Bank Indonesia (BI) Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti, who sees an opportunity for Indonesia to establish a Sharia-compliant Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) to accommodate investment flows from Middle Eastern countries. "If the Islamic financial market isn't deep, it will hinder development. This also includes foreign funds, especially from Arab countries, that want to enter here. They need a platform that complies with Sharia principles. We don't have one yet. As my team, let's try to create a Sharia-compliant Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF)," Destry said at the National Sharia Economics Seminar on Wednesday (August 13th).
Furthermore, Banjaran mentioned at least three reasons why a Sharia sovereign investment scheme is appropriate to prepare immediately. First, momentum. Indonesia has just established a SWF with very strong capital, while institutional investors in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and private companies like Mubadala Energy are aggressively investing abroad. Second, the investment climate. Banjaran stated that foreign investment interest in Indonesia is increasing 15.9% year-on-year (yoy) compared to the same period in 2024. This demonstrates the government's commitment, and institutions like Danantara are providing a very strong new investment partner (co-investor) option for foreign investors," said Banjaran. Third, sharia-compliant schemes. According to Banjaran, an increasing number of sharia-compliant financial instruments are available to facilitate investment in the Middle East. These include the Sharia Restricted Investment Account (SRIA) and global sukuk, both Government Sharia Securities (SBSN) and corporate sukuk. The development of this sharia-compliant sovereign investment scheme can strengthen economic cooperation between Indonesia and the Middle East while attracting more sharia-compliant foreign capital into the country.
