Few companies heed government call to register

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Trade and Industry has received a low response from private and state-owned companies to its call to register.

Director General of Domestic Trade Teddy Setiadi said on Saturday that only 877 companies, or 29.2 percent, of the 3,000 eligible limited-liability entities had registered and submitted their annual financial reports as required.

Teddy said the response from local firms remained low although the regulation has been effective since April.

The companies that are required to register with the ministry's directorate of corporate registration include publicly listed companies, issuers of bonds or promissory notes or those with assets worth more than Rp 50 billion.

Besides annual financial reports, these companies are also required to provide data and information on their shareholders and business profiles.

Teddi said at least 3,000 private and state companies met the criteria to be required to register with the ministry's directorate of corporate registration.

"But until July 1, only 877 companies, or only 29 percent of the targeted 3,000 companies, have submitted their reports."

According to data from the ministry, only 134 publicly listed companies had registered their financial reports with the ministry as of early July.

The number accounted for only 44.7 percent of the country's more than 300 publicly listed companies.

The ministry data also indicated that only 15 state companies had submitted their financial reports, or only 9.7 percent of the country's 154 state-owned companies.

The obligation to submit financial reports was imposed to comply with Government Regulation No. 24/1998 and a Minister of Industry and Trade Decree on Annual Financial Information and Financial Report Registration of Companies, both issued late last year.

The annual financial reports will be re-audited by an independent public accountant before being submitted to the ministry.

The registration is free of charge.

Teddy said companies were obliged to submit financial reports and other information to provide to the public clear and transparent information about companies and their performance.

"The data would enable us to observe companies' conditions and performance, whereby the government could see which company should be helped," he said.

He added that people who wanted to get information about a company would be allowed access to the ministry's corporate data network.

The ministry's director of company registration, Edy Suseno, said the government had set up several penalties for companies failing to meet the obligation.

The government would revoke the business licenses of public accountants who failed to submit their clients' financial reports, he said.

A company not meeting the requirement would face a maximum fine of Rp 1 million and two months' jail terms for its executives, he added.(gis)