Indonesia was the worst-hit country during the Asian financial crisis and summer stirred up bad memories. Stefanie Eschenbacher finds asset managers in Jakarta are focusing on the long-term potential.

Michael T. Tjoajadi of Schroder Investment Management Indonesia tells Stefanie Eschenbacher that local asset management skills need to be strengthened, ahead of the country joining a regional fund passport scheme developed by Singapore, Malaysia and Thailan.

Indonesia will have to reinvent the concept of Islamic finance to compete with its rival Malaysia, whose assets dwarf those of all other Asian countries combined. Stefanie Eschenbacher talks to the central bank and other pioneers.

In an industry that is essentially based on ethics, sharia scholars make powerful decisions. Stefanie Eschenbacher talks to sheikh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo about his work as a sharia scholar and the future of Islamic finance.

This year saw 68 newly launched sharia-compliant Asian funds, with the most of the funds launched focusing on the Indonesian market. Zawya Islamic – Lipper analyses the data.

Assets of sharia-compliant funds and conventional funds are still commingled in Indonesia, but custodians say that as Islamic finance grows they might be asked by the regulator to separate the two. Stefanie Eschenbacher looks at the custody business.