BANKING - Shariah Banks Look to Farmers In an Effort to Grow Lending

Indonesia’s largest Shariah-compliant banks plan to increase lending to rural areas, where total agricultural loans have doubled over the past five years.

Bank Muamalat Indonesia is seeking to boost lending tenfold outside cities in 2011 after opening 30 new branches last year, said Luluk Mahfuda, head of Islamic corporate banking. BCA Syariah said it would add 15 outlets aimed at small businesses this year. (full story)

FINANCE - OPINION - Toward a tax rebate of ‘zakat’

Muhammad Akhyar Adnan

After being silent for a long time, the issue of zakat (alms) has sparked a heated debate once again. Kompas published two short articles about it on Aug. 27, 2010.

The first was about the efforts of Irfan Syauqi Beik, who represents the Department of Sharia in the Faculty of Islamic Economic Studies at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), to amend the existing 1999 Zakat Law, so that the zakat paid can be considered as a rebate on an individual’s tax liability.