Bapepam cancels permits of 10 securities firms

JAKARTA (JP): Ten local and foreign joint-venture securities companies on the Jakarta Stock Exchange have lost their licenses for breaching capital market regulations or ceasing to be active.

Bapepam announced yesterday that the 10 firms were PT Creative Securities, PT Pancasumber Dhanamandiri, PT Patriatama Dhanamandiri, PT Saranadana Invesindo, PT Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Indonesia, PT Schroders Indonesia, PT Gandasurya Sekuritas, PT Mifcor Sekuritas, PT Buanamas Invesindo and PT Jardine Fleming Nusantara Investment Management.

Bapepam's secretary, Winarto, said in a statement that the first three securities firms were no longer allowed to operate as a brokerage for breaching capital market regulations. The remainder were suspended for being no longer active in the market.

He said that Morgan Grenfell lost its brokerage and underwriting licenses.

"The brokerage license of Schroders Indonesia is revoked while its underwriting license is limited."

Winarto said that Bapepam also revoked the underwriting licenses of PT Gandasurya, Mifcor Sekuritas and Buanamas Invesindo, and the license of PT Jardine Fleming Nusantara Investment Management as an investment fund management company.

He said the licenses of PT Schroders Indonesia, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Indonesia, Mifcor Sekuritas, Gandasurya Sekuritas and Jardine Fleming Nusantara Investment Management were suspended because they decided to stop their brokerage and underwriting business in Indonesia's capital market.

According to earlier reports, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, for example, decided to consolidate its Indonesian equities into the Hong Kong and Singapore hubs as part of its cost-cutting measures to cope with Indonesia's worst economic crisis.

Head of the company's Equities Asia and Australia division Mark Cullen said early this year that consolidation was expected to enable the company to integrate its regional operations more effectively into its global equities platform.

Bapepam also announced yesterday that it had suspended the licenses of Johan Yoranouw of Malonda & Partners public accounting firm and Ronny Wijata Dharma of KPMG Hanadi Sudjendro and Partners accounting firm for failing to comply with article 66 of Capital Market Law No. 8/1995.

"The agency has to take such measures to enforce the capital market law and protect the public investors," the statement said. (aly)