BSI Expansion Plan to Dubai and Saudi Arabia

Dream - PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk (BSI) will reopen branch offices in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. After that, this state-owned sharia bank plans to expand to other Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia.

The President Director of Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI), Hery Gunardi, revealed that the opening of branch offices in Saudi Arabia has been a major corporate plan, in line with BSI's vision to become one of the top 10 global sharia banks in terms of capitalization or market cap by 2025.

"On the other hand, for a bank that wants to go global, we have an interest in the Middle East. The hajj-umrah ecosystem is pursued in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, transactions related to global sukuk and trade financing exist in Dubai," said Hery as quoted from Liputan6.com, Wednesday, August 23, 2023.

Hery also considers Saudi Arabia as a potential market for the pilgrimage and umrah business.

"We want the next step to be in Saudi Arabia, really want it, because the hajj-umrah ecosystem in Indonesia is huge. There are about 220,000 pilgrims per year for hajj, and more than 1 million per year for umrah," said Hery.

BSI's presence has also dominated the market ecosystem for hajj and umrah departures.

"Up to 85 percent of the ecosystem is in BSI. BSI handles payments related to LNA and 80-85 percent of hajj-umrah transactions are done through us, that's why we want to go there," said Hery.

Hery also expressed his desire for the realization of opening branch offices in Saudi Arabia to begin in 2024.

"If we can, we want it to happen next year, so we need to sort out all the requirements first," said Hery.