Govt to speed up Bapepam merger<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government will speed up the merger of the Capital Market
\nSupervisory Agency (Bapepam) with the Directorate General of
\nFinancial Institutions by year's end in a bid to boost efficiency
\nat the Ministry of Finance.<\/p>\n
Finance minister Yusuf Anwar said the new watchdog resulting
\nfrom the merger would still be called Bapepam, with the current
\nDirector General of Financial Institutions Darmin Nasution as its
\nfirst chairman.<\/p>\n
"The merger will be concluded within 100 days (of the new
\ngovernment's tenure), that is, by the end of this year or by next
\nJanuary," Yusuf said on Wednesday during a breaking of the fast
\ngathering with capital market investors, brokers and analysts.<\/p>\n
"We want the merger to be completed quickly in order to make
\nthe Ministry of Finance more efficient in its operation. We don't
\nwant to leave the business community in a condition of
\nuncertainty," he said.<\/p>\n
The merger of the two institutions aims to focus the Ministry
\nof Finance on fiscal affairs and policy-making, and is part of a
\nsecond reorganization drive at the ministry ahead of the
\nestablishment of the Financial Service Authority (OJK) set for
\n2010.<\/p>\n
The OJK is designed to be a single agency to supervise all
\nbank and non-bank financial institutions.<\/p>\n
At present, the Bapepam oversees the capital market and the
\nDirectorate General of Financial Institutions supervises non-bank
\nfinancial institutions, with both falling under the auspices of
\nthe finance ministry.<\/p>\n
Yusuf said the new, merged Bapepam was expected to function as
\na temporary independent agency more or less like the future OJK,
\nexcept for the task of supervising the banking sector, which is
\nheld by the central bank.<\/p>\n
"If (the new Bapepam) carries out its tasks well, then we can
\nhope to speed up the process of establishing the OJK by two or
\nthree years," said Yusuf.<\/p>\n
According to the Central Bank Law, the powerful OJK is to be
\nset up by 2010 at the latest to take over the central bank's
\nsupervisory role of the banking sector.<\/p>\n
The OJK, which will also fall under the Ministry of Finance,
\nwill oversee all financial institutions such as banks, insurance
\nfirms, pension funds, securities houses and multifinance firms.<\/p>\n
Yusuf said the OJK was widely anticipated by the international
\ncommunity, as several capital market programs developed by
\nforeign donors had been left aground due to the absence of such
\nan agency.<\/p>\n
A team of officials from Bapepam and the Directorate General
\nof Financial Institutions are now settling legal matters for the
\nmerger and the new institution's authorities, after which they
\nwill consult the State Minister of National Development Planning.<\/p>\n
The team is also studying whether it would be possible for the
\nnew Bapepam to have as much as 11 subdivisions.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Yusuf told capital market players and experts that
\nthe finance ministry would focus its efforts on creating economic
\nefficiency by eliminating the high-cost economy and removing
\nunnecessary regulations and bureaucratic procedures.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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