Bapepam issues penalty decree

JAKARTA (JP): The Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam) has issued a decree requiring that listed companies, stock exchange operators and their supporting institutions pay a fine if they fail to submit regular reports to the agency.

Bapepam secretary Pande Putu Raka said in a statement on Tuesday that the decree, signed by agency chairman Yusuf Anwar on Aug. 5, aimed to promote transparency and "good corporate governance".

Under the 1995 law on capital markets, listed companies, stock exchange operators and supporting institutions -- including securities companies, mutual funds, clearing agencies, custodian banks, guarantors -- must submit regular financial reports to the agency. Otherwise they will face a fine.

The statement however did not specify the amount of the fine.

However, Pande said the government had not issued a regulation on the payment of the fine, leading to cases of late payment.

Under the new Bapepam decree, a delinquent company has to pay the fine to the state treasury within 30 days of the issuance of the penalty statement from Bapepam.

Payment could be delayed for 28 days, but this would incur a 2 percent monthly interest charge.

If a company fails to pay a fine within 28 days, it would have to settle its debt with the state receivership agency. (jsk)