Jakarta. Bank Syariah Indonesia, also known as BSI, is still waiting for the Saudi Arabian authority to give its nod before the sharia-compliant bank can open up a branch.

If approved, this will become BSI’s first branch office in Saudi Arabia. 

“We have secured the Financial Services Authority or OJK’s approval to open the [Saudi] branch. We are currently trying to obtain a permit from the local authority,” BSI’s corporate secretary Gunawan Arif Hartoyo said on Monday.

BSI wants to launch the Saudi branch this year. However, this targeted launch date is susceptible to change as they are still working on the permit at the Saudi Central Bank, previously known as the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), .

Gunawan said he still could not reveal the exact location or city of the upcoming branch. He added: “Because we are still working on the license.” 

However, BSI is seeking to open branch offices in strategic regions that are hotspots for Indonesian haj pilgrims, diasporas, as well as business activities.

BSI is the result of a merger between the sharia businesses of the three state-owned banks: BRI Syariah, Bank Syariah Mandiri, and BNI Syariah.