NEED TO TREAD WITH CAUTION IN REVIVING HALAL TOURISM INDUSTRY by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 23/6/2022 (ANTARA) -With the COVID-19 situation getting relatively under control in many countries, a number of people have become eager to travel to escape from the boredom and stress caused by the pandemic over the past two years.

According to data provided by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the number of international tourist arrivals in Indonesia in April 2022 reached 111,100, the highest on record since the pandemic hit the nation.

This figure is the highest since the start of the pandemic. This indicates that the tourism sector has started to recover, BPS head Margo Yuwono said recently.

The number of international tourists arriving in Indonesia in April 2022 increased drastically by 499.01 percent compared to April 2021.

Compared to the previous month, the number of international tourists arriving through the main entrance increased by 172.27 percent in April 2022.

Indonesia hosted the 2022 International Halal Congress in Bangka Belitung province, which is one of Indonesias halal tourism destinations, on June 14 and 15, 2022.

The congress, which was attended by participants and speakers from 40 countries, offered an opportunity for halal industry players to formulate policies related to halal tourism and products.

It yielded a nine-point resolution, among other things, calling for an acceleration of halal tourism and halal industry development as a significant pillar of national and global economic growth.

 

RISING ROLE OF SHARIA ECONOMY IN INDONESIA by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 4/5/2021 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is indubitably catching up with other countries in the development of the sharia economy, although the world's largest Muslim population nation was considered as being rather late in paying heed to Islamic economics.

The world's fourth most populous country has realized the need to tap the potential of sharia economy, as the State of Global Islamic Economy Report 2020-2021 indicated that Muslim consumers' expenditure on halal food, beverage, pharmaceuticals, and tourism had reached US$2.02 trillion in 2019.

With a population of 271 million, of which almost 90 percent are Muslims, Indonesia is the world's biggest market for halal products, especially food, tourism, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.

Refusing to be a mere market, Indonesia is determined to play a bigger role in the sharia economy domestically and also globally, by developing four aspects: halal industry, sharia finance, sharia social finance, and sharia entrepreneurship.

The government's support is apparent from the several policies to develop the halal industry, including establishment of the Special Economic Zones (KEK) for the halal industry.

Moreover, President Joko Widodo, as head of the National Islamic Finance Committee (KNKS), had launched the Indonesian Islamic Economics Master Plan (MEKSI) 2019-2024 in May 2019, which is the country's first road map for Islamic economy that aims to strengthen the national economy.

In February 2020, the KNKS was transformed into the National Committee for Sharia Economy and Finance (KNEKS).

INDONESIA'S HALAL INDUSTRY GAINS MOMENTUM AMID PANDEMIC by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 1/5/2021 (ANTARA) - Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, is focusing on developing its halal industry to meet domestic and global demand in light of trends that indicate sharia businesses grew amid the economic crises wrought by the pandemic.

The halal industry has been able to record positive performance despite the pressure on economies around the world owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, the industry had recorded a growth of 3.2 percent higher than global economic growth of 2.3 percent.

"Globally, spending on halal products in 2019 before COVID-19 occurred, especially on food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fashion, and travel products had reached US$2.02 trillion," Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati informed on the sidelines of the online launch of a halal industry collaboration program on April 14, 2021.

Indonesia is the world's biggest market for halal products, particularly in the food, tourism, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics sectors, she pointed out.

"This potential must inspire business operators to work on the halal industry," she said.

Indonesia's sharia economy is focusing on developing the halal industry, sharia finance, sharia social finance, and sharia entrepreneurship.

The government's support has been apparent from the several policies aimed at developing the halal industry, including the establishment of a Special Economic Zone (KEK) for the industry.

In addition, the collaboration between the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS) and companies such as PT. Unilever Indonesia is expected to encourage the halal industry in the country.

Supply chain cooperation is a necessity at this time for strengthening the ecosystem and creating a comprehensive supply chain cooperation, Indrawati said.

Hence, it is crucial to develop a cross-sector collaboration program to support the development of sharia economy and finance in Indonesia, which is targeting to become the world's sharia economy hub, she added.

"This (the Muslim Center of Excellence program) is an initiative from a very positive industry in order to strengthen the ecosystem of the halal industry in Indonesia and strengthen the capabilities and capacities of the industry, including MSMEs, in producing goods meeting the preferences of Muslim groups," she said.

Bank Sharia Indonesia vying for place among leading Islamic banks by Fardah

 Jakarta, March 20, 2021 (ANTARA) - Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority country, may have been rather late in entering the Islamic (sharia) business compared to other countries, but the mood in the nation is upbeat that it is catching up thanks to several advantages.

The Southeast Asian country is projected to have a population of 184 million Muslim adults, of which over 50 percent are from the upper middle class and mostly work in the private sector.

Besides, the nation's Islamic financial services are growing at a swift pace even as the pandemic ploughs on. Indonesia’s Islamic banking assets in 2020 grew by 10.9 percent, while the conventional ones only clocked 7.7-percent growth.

Likewise with third-party funds — Islamic banking recorded an increase of 11.56 percent, slightly superior to conventional banks, which registered a rise of 11.49 percent.

"In terms of financing, Islamic banking recorded the largest growth of 9.4 percent, far ahead of conventional banking that only grew by 0.55 percent. In addition, the market share of the Islamic capital market has reached 17.39 percent, and the number of cooperatives for savings and loans and sharia financing has reached 4,115 units," State Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, concurrently chairman of the Sharia Economic Community, informed.

He said the development of Islamic economics and finance in Indonesia won it accolades from the international community in 2020.

This was apparent from the Islamic Finance Development Report 2020, which placed Indonesia in the second place globally and the Global Islamic Economy Indicator 2020, which placed Indonesia in the fourth position globally.

To strengthen the national sharia economy, the government on February 1 this year merged the sharia compliant subsidiaries of three state-owned lenders — Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) to form Bank Sharia Indonesia (BSI).

BSI is expected to be one of the largest sharia banks in Indonesia and also the world, with total assets of Rp214 trillion and core capital of Rp20.4 trillion. It is also expected to propel the development of the halal value chain in the country. Based on the global index, Indonesia’s ranking in sharia economy and finance is among the top 10 in the fields of finance, food, and fashion,