VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 2 - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Monday inaugurated PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk, merged from three state-owned sharia banks — PT Bank BRI Syariah Tbk, PT Bank Syariah Mandiri, and PT Bank BNI Syariah.

The inauguration, which took place at the State Palace, was well-received by the market, with the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) shooting up at the start of the new week.

The newly formed entity, Bank Sharia Indonesia (BSI), will 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.

On Monday, the JCI was up 205.19 points, or 3.5 percent, at 6,067.55 at close of trade. Meanwhile, the index of 45 leading stocks, or the LQ45 Index, rose 35.32 points, or 3.87 percent, to 947.3.

The JCI was already oversold after seven consecutive days of correction so the index bounced off its support area, Foster Asset Management analyst Hans Mulyadi Irawan said here on Monday.

"Today it strengthened in almost all sectors, especially by SOE stocks in the mining, banking, and construction sectors, which have been oversold and have experienced consecutive decreases. Today, the sentiment is the effective operation of Bank Syariah Indonesia (BRIS), SWF, and data. The improving Indonesian manufacturing index has also been the trigger for a stronger index, " he observed.

The merger of sharia banks, subsidiaries of state-owned lenders, 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, Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said earlier.

Earlier this week, BRIS shares shot up 360 points, or 14.75 percent, to reach Rp2,800 per share. This week, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) will still have a chance to strengthen, even though it will tend to be limited due to the lack of positive sentiment in the market, Hans forecast.

JCI, which opened lower on Monday, strengthened later and continued in the green zone until the close of trade.

Based on the IDX-IC Sectoral Index, all sectors recorded an increase, with the technology sector seeing the steepest jump at 10.07 percent, followed by the raw goods sector (8.25 percent) and the real estate infrastructure sector (5.24 percent).

The closing of the JCI was accompanied by sales of shares by foreign investors. The net foreign sales were recorded at Rp594.83 billion.

Meanwhile, 22.39 billion shares, valued at Rp24.02 trillion, were traded in 1,884,555 transactions on Monday. (Antaranews)