INDONESIA - BANKING - BRI Syariah: Hadi Santoso be president

www.bisnis.com - JAKARTA: Hadi Santoso uncertain position as Director of BRI Syariah, replacing the resigned Ventje Raharjo.

Business Resource reveals Hadi had begun carrying out his duties as President Director of BRI Syariah.

"Hadi BRI has already been approved by the management to take the position as President Director of BRI Syariah," he said, this morning, January 27, 2012. (Source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - BRI Syariah expansion costs eroded profit

JAKARTA: PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Profit Sharia in the first half of 2011 fell due to network investment and recruitment of personnel intensively conducted in the last year until the middle of this year.

In the mid-year financial report received by Business Today, profit before tax fell 63.17% Sharia BRI to Rp7, 41 billion compared to the same period the previous year Rp20, 12 billion. (source)

INDONESIA - EVENTS - High level conference - Islamic banks still challenged by product innovation

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Product innovation remains a challenge for Islamic banks in the country. According to the Director of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) Sharia, Ventje Rahardjo, Islamic banks must continue to improve the innovation of products that address the needs of the market and highly competitive.

Islamic banks''is now entering the early stages of majority in the mainstream market,''he said when speaking of 'the Joint High Level Conference on Islamic Finance' that was held by Bank Indonesia (BI) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Tuesday (19 / 7) . He claimed it was characterized by high growth, competence and a high demand for banking products. (source)

INDONESIA - EVENTS - High level conference - Indonesian Islamic banks not interested to open branches in Malaysia

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - The Islamic banking, the country claimed to have attracted Islamic market in Malaysia. A number of bankers more glance at the domestic market for expansion in order to enlarge the business.

"We have no plans to make a branch in Malaysia," said Director of Bank Rankyat Indonesia (BRI) Sharia, Ventje Rahardjo. He claimed the national Islamic bank will be intensively working on the domestic market is still very large. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Islamic banks expect tax incentive

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Actor Islamic banking Homeland expect any tax incentives to customers who place their funds in Islamic banks. According to the Director of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) Sharia, Ventje Rahardjo, this could be one way of encouraging the growth of Islamic banking in the future.

"We hope that from the demand side," he told Reuters recently. He said for example on deposit products, there is a tax on customers below 20 percent. "So far, just the same as conventional," he explained. He claimed to expect leniency in order to place the acceleration in the growth of Islamic banking assets. (source)

BANKING - All that glisters for Bank Rayat Syariah

Local press is reporting that Indonesia’s Bank Rayat Indonesia Syariah – the Shari’ah compliant subsidiary of stateowned Bank Rayat Indonesia – has launched a new product that will allow customers to buy gold
as an investment in installments.

BRI Syariah hopes that by offering customers the opportunity to buy the physical commodity in small quantities as an investment that it would be able to attract new people from a broader demographic
into the Islamic banking fold. (source)

BANKING - BRI’s Shariah Branch Debuts Program to Tap Interest in Gold, Islamic Finance

BRI Syariah, a subsidiary of state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia, has launched a new product that allows its customer to buy gold in installments, in a bid to draw broader segments of the population to Islamic banking.

The bank plans to provide Rp 400 billion ($46.4 million) in financing for customers to buy gold, president director Ventje Rahardjo said on Wednesday. (source)

BANKING - BRI Syariah Targets 64% Portfolio Growth

JAKARTA (IFT) – PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Syariah (BRI Syariah), a subsidiary of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk (BBRI), targets a 63.64 percent hike in its finance portfolio to Rp 9 trillion this year from Rp 5.5 trillion in 2010. The bank has distributed financing amounting to Rp 6 trillion from January to May 2011, which is 67 percent of the target, said Ventje Rahardjo, President Director of BRI Syariah.  (source)

BANKING - BRI Syariah may sell Sukuk

PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BBRI IJ): The company’s Islamic banking arm, PT Bank Syariah BRI, may sell sukuk, or Shariah- compliant bonds, in the next one to two years to support expansion, President Director Ventje Rahardjo said. Bank Rakyat, Indonesia’s largest lender by revenue, rose 1.6 percent to 6,400 rupiah.(source)

BANKING - Will Sharia Banks Offer More Security? - Sharia banks have improved more. - BRI Syariah

VIVAnews – Conventional banks in Indonesia have been subjects to fraud. This issue may open chances for sharia banks to attain more customers. Sharia banks must work hand-in-hand to provide services of foreign banks qualities.

“The market share of sharia banks has only reached seven percent of the total national banking,” said Bank BRI President Director, Ventje Raharjo, in Bandung, on Tuesday. (full story)