Experts say laws needed for e-commerce<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Experts and Internet businessmen demanded on
\nTuesday that local stock markets allow the listing of prospective
\ninternet start-up companies to raise cheap funds to finance their
\ninvestment.<\/p>\n
They also demanded the government provide a legal
\ninfrastructure for the development of electronic commerce to
\nanticipate the growing demand for it.<\/p>\n
Felia Salim, former director of the Jakarta Stock Exchange
\n(JSX), said existing stock market regulations allowed only long-
\nestablished companies with adequate financial track records to
\nraise funds on the market.<\/p>\n
The regulations made it impossible for local Internet-based
\ncompanies to go public because they were mostly start-up
\ncompanies and had not generated profits, he added.<\/p>\n
\"The government and the exchanges should consider changing the
\nexisting regulations on the stock market, by creating a second
\nmarket for example, to give more opportunities for startup
\nbusinesses such as Internet-based companies to raise funds
\nthrough the market,\" she said at a seminar on e-commerce and
\ngovernment policy conducted by the Asia Foundation.<\/p>\n
The head of the Capital Market Supervisory Agency's stock
\nmarket supervision unit, Nur Sigit, said the agency was open for
\nany suggestions from market players, and was ready to modify
\nregulations to accommodate the demand for Internet companies to
\nraise funds through stock markets.<\/p>\n
He noted that the Surabaya Stock Exchange (SSX), which had
\nless rigid listing requirements than the JSK, could possibly
\naccommodate the interests of Internet startup companies by
\nmodifying its listing regulations.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, JSX corporate secretary Saka Abadi said the
\nexchange would possibly allow startup Internet companies to offer
\nstocks to the public through the exchange.<\/p>\n
He noted that the exchange was currently studying the
\npossibility of introducing three different trading boards for
\ndifferent types of companies.<\/p>\n
The first or the main board would be reserved for established
\ncompanies, the second board for prospective startup companies
\nlike Internet or mining companies, and the third for companies
\noffering stocks with a nominal value of below Rp 500 a piece.<\/p>\n
Saka also said that the exchange would continue to proceed
\nwith its scriptless trading program. When trading became
\nscriptless, Saka said, retail investors could also conduct stock
\ntrading from home via the Internet.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Sachin Gopalan, the cofounder of Kemana.com, and
\nJerry Justianto, the cofounder and chief technology officer of
\nwww.AsiaGateway.com, demanded the government provide a legal
\ninfrastructure for on-line transactions or e-commerce.<\/p>\n
Gopalan said the failure of the government to provide
\nlegal assurances on the security of making transactions on the
\nInternet would discourage customers from purchasing goods from
\nit.<\/p>\n
Jerry said the absence of a strong legal infrastructure for e-
\ncommerce would also deter foreign investors from investing in e-
\ncommerce providers here, because they would know that the
\nbusinesses would not generate much profit as not many customers
\nwould be willing to make purchases on the Internet.<\/p>\n
Indonesia Net Exchange director Eddie Darajat said such a
\nlegal infrastructure for e-commerce was necessary to provide a
\nconducive climate for e-commerce business.<\/p>\n
But he warned that the government should never control the e-
\ncommerce industry as it would be counterproductive for the
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
\"We don't need the government to regulate the industry. But we
\nneed the government to immediately provide a conducive
\nenvironment for healthy e-commerce development by encouraging e-
\nentrepreneurship and eliminating the barriers in
\ninfrastructures,\" he told<\/p>\n
Ichjar Musa, special assistant to the coordinating minister
\nfor economics, finance and industry, acknowledged that it was not
\neasy for the government to react fast and produce effective
\nmeasures to help develop e-commerce.<\/p>\n
\"The way the government is currently handling Internet-related
\nissues is so fragmented. You can't expect the government to act
\nefficiently on this issue since there is hardly any solid
\ncoordination between related government institutions,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Minister of Industry and Trade Jusuf Kalla said the
\ngovernment would provide better support for the development of e-
\ncommerce in the country.<\/p>\n
One of the significant steps to be taken soon by the
\ngovernment would be to launch a National Certification Authority
\n(NCA), he said.<\/p>\n
The NCA, currently being developed by the government in
\ncooperation with Indosatcom, an e-commerce division with state-
\nowned international call provider PT Indosat, aims to assess the
\nfinancial and legal capabilities of an individual or company to
\nparticipate in on-line trading.<\/p>\n
\"That way, both the customers and sellers can be sure that the
\nparty they are dealing with do exist and are capable financially
\nand legally of making a transaction with them,\" he said. (cst)<\/p>",
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