BCA gets custodian license in futures

BCA gets custodian license in futures

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta

The Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Board (Bappebti)
issued on Tuesday a license for Bank Central Asia (BCA) to
operate as a custodian bank in futures trading.

Bappebti chairman Ardiansyah Parman told reporters that BCA is
the second custodian bank in the industry after Bank Niaga.

"Traders from across the country will now have better access
as BCA has a wide network across the country," Ardiansyah said.

Jakarta Futures Exchange (JFX) president director Hasan Zein
Mahmud said that the challenge of the Indonesian futures market
was the lack of active participants in the derivative industry.

Hasan hoped that the entry of BCA as custodian bank would
encourage more traders to join the industry.

Currently, the JFX has an average transaction of 2,500 lot per
day, far lower compared to transaction in Malaysia's derivative
exchange that reaches up to 20,000 lot per day, he said.

According to Bappebti data, there are 19 active future traders
in the exchange out of 31 registered brokers.

However, the agency also revealed that there were also some 77
unregistered brokers.

Ardiansyah said that the agency was working together with the
police to discipline the unregistered brokers, as their operation
is seen as a criminal activity under Law No. 32/1997 on futures
trading.