TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Financial Services Authority has established a partnership with the UK's Lord Mayor of London, Alan Colin Drake Yarrow (Alderman). Yarrow, who is on a visit to several Southeast Asian countries this week, is acting as an ambassador for Britain's financial sector, seeking to promote bilateral businesses and investments.

A meeting between the OJK and Yarrow took place at the Indonesia Stock Exchange Building in Jakarta on Wednesday, May 20, 2015.

OJK's chief executive for capital market supervision Nurhaida said this was the first meeting the regulator had with UK delegates. "Our goal is to learn how to develop sukuks from the UK," he said.

According to Nurhaida, the UK has been successful in developing a number of Islamic bonds in the European region despite not having that many Muslim population.

Through an exchange of information, Nurhaida hopes the Indonesian sharia market can grow faster and expand its capital to more than the current five percent.

Yarrow said Indonesia is a country that has great economic potential, especially in Southeast Asia. Seeing the opportunity, the UK seeks to provide support to the government's infrastructure projects.

"We want to help by offering financial models and knowledge transfers," he said.

ADITYA BUDIMAN