INDEF: Sharia PFII Could Be a Differentiating Bargaining Chip

The Chair of the Center for Sharia Economic Development (CSED) at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), Nur Hidayah, has said that a sharia-compliant Pusat Finansial Internasional Indonesia (PFII) could become a bargaining chip and a differentiator compared with other financial centres.

“Sharia is the strongest differentiating candidate we have,” said Professor Nur Hidayah during a public discussion themed ‘PFII Syariah: Is Indonesia Ready to Become an International Sharia Financial Centre?’ in Jakarta on Friday.

According to her, the PFII Law, which was passed in mid-July 2026, is already valid and no longer needs to be debated.

For that reason, Professor Nur Hidayah said, what is most decisive now is the content of the law, especially since the government has not yet locked in the direction of the implementing regulations, so the matter remains open.

“This is our momentum to take advantage of it. The momentum for a sharia PFII is still very much open,” she said.

She said that if the PFII relies only on concessions such as low taxes and easy regulations, the government would be building a business model that is structurally fragile.

That is because, Nur Hidayah said, such a business model or direction can be pursued in other countries that could be even cheaper and easier for investors.

For that reason, according to Nur Hidayah, the PFII must have a durable differentiator, and that can only come from product specificity and institutional quality — and sharia can offer that.

“Sharia is the strongest differentiating candidate, but its status in the law is still merely recognition, not institutionalisation. It is mentioned in the list of business activities, but that does not mean a legal regime,” she said.

As long as sharia still lives only in implementing regulations, it will always depend on political and bureaucratic direction rather than on a binding commitment.

Meanwhile, global investors, she said, demand certainty, and certainty is not sold at the level of government regulations. That is why INDEF wants to recommend strengthening sharia norms and also demanding a stronger integrity regime so that its position is more robust.

“So that Indonesia’s PFII, with the professional value of sharia, offers an international financial centre that is well managed and can then attract potential global investment,” she said.