Vice President Expects Menara Syariah (Sharia Tower) to Become the Largest Islamic Finance Center in Southeast Asia

Tangerang, wapresri.go.id – Vice President KH Ma’ruf Amin today inaugurated the Sharia Tower Topping Off on Jl. Prince Antasari Unit CBD-21, Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) 2, Tangerang Regency, Banten, Tuesday (23/08/2022). This tower was the result of cooperation between Agung Sedayu Group, Salim Group, Matrix Concepts Holding Berhad Malaysia, PT Fin Centerindo Satu, as well as other domestic and foreign investors.

When delivering his speech, the Vice President hoped that the Sharia Tower would become the largest Islamic finance center in Southeast Asia and become an Islamic Finance Hub that plays a vital role in the world’s Islamic finance industry.

“This tower was built based on a noble intention, namely to present the first Islamic financial center in Indonesia, which later we hope will also be the largest in the Southeast Asian Region,” he hoped.

In addition, the Vice President said that the Sharia Tower was a symbol of hopes and aspirations to make Indonesia a major player in world Islamic finance.

“Therefore, I hope that the construction can be completed on time, immediately functioned properly, and become a center of activity for Islamic finance industry players and other Islamic business players,” he pleaded.

To that end, the Vice President hopes that various stakeholders of the Islamic economy and finance, such as the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS), the Association of Islamic Economists (IAEI), the Islamic Economic Community (MES) can take full advantage of the existence of this Sharia Tower, particularly as a center the ongoing coordination of economic development and sharia finance in the country.

“Office buildings, retail facilities, and various available facilities can be a place for business, commerce, commercial and even recreation. Of course, this will open up new jobs, improve the investment climate, and drive halal industry activities, as well as sharia business and entrepreneurship,” he said optimistically.

Moreover, Indonesia was now internationally recognized and is ready to become the main driver of sharia economic growth and innovation, as stated in the State of The Global Islamic Economy Report 2022.

“On the one hand, we have demographic potential, namely the largest Muslim population in the world. On the other hand, this assessment cannot be separated from the various achievements and strategic steps that have been taken by the Government, including the establishment of KNEKS), the management of hajj funds, as well as support for technology-based Islamic financial services, sharia insurance, and asset management. In fact, Indonesia is now the largest Sukuk issuer in the world,” he explained.

Not only that, said the Vice President, the Indonesian people at this time should also be grateful because the Islamic finance industry was also part of the nation’s economic recovery efforts after the pandemic.

“These various factors provide a positive atmosphere and generate trust and hope, that the Indonesian Islamic financial services industry will develop more rapidly, both at the domestic and global levels,” he said.

Lastly, the Vice President emphasized that the development of the Islamic financial services industry was not only the fruit of the Government’s high commitment, the synergy of Ministries and Institutions and the support of regulators, but also the active participation of industry players and the business world.

“The Sharia Tower which we will witness the inauguration of the topping off today is a tangible manifestation of the contribution of the business world, namely through the provision of infrastructure in the form of an international sharia financial center area,” he concluded.

Previously, President Director of Agung Sedayu Group Nono Sampono said that the Sharia Tower which was inaugurated today would accommodate Islamic banks as well as national and international sharia financial service authorities (OJK).

“We hope that with the potential possessed by Islamic banks and national and international sharia OJKs, they will interact and collaborate with other economic forces, especially MSMEs. So that we, in turn, will develop the strength to reinforce one of the pillars of the Indonesian economy, “he said.

For information, as reported by the Agung Sedayu Group press statement, in an effort to achieve Indonesia’s target as one of the world’s Islamic economic and financial centers, the Agung Sedayu Group and the Salim Group built an Islamic Financial Center in the PIK 2 area as a place for synergy of all Islamic financial forces in Indonesia.

This aimed at realizing the goal of making Jakarta an International Shariah Financial Hub (International Shariah Financial Center).

The initial stage of the development of the Islamic Financial Center was the construction of the Sharia Tower in the form of two twin buildings with a building area of 100,000 m2 and is estimated to accommodate around 5,000 workers.

Present at this topping-off ceremony were the Chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Bambang Soesatyo, Deputy Minister of Religion Zainut Tauhid Sa’adi, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Harvick Hasnul Qolbi, Tangerang Regent Ahmed Zaki Iskandar, Supreme Leader of the Sedayu Group Sugianti Kusuma, Representative of the Salim Group Franky Welirang, as well as related investors and stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the Vice President was accompanied by the Head of the Vice President Secretariat Ahmad Erani Yustika, Special Staff for the Vice President for Communication and Information, Masduki Baidlowi, Special Staff for the Vice President for Economics and Finance Lukmanul Hakim, and the Vice President’s Expert Team Iggi Haruman Achsien and Farhat Brachma. (DMA/LHS-BPMI Setwapres)