First 100 Days of New IDX Board: Continuing Reforms and Accelerating Market Development

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) board for the 2026–2030 term faced a major agenda from the time it was inaugurated on 29 June. Priorities include strengthening market integrity, deepening liquidity, broadening the investor and product bases, and improving the exchange’s competitiveness amid global market dynamics.

In its first 100 days, the board began implementing various strategic initiatives as part of the IDX Master Plan 2026–2030. The plan is intended to improve market quality and transparency, deepen liquidity, and strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of Indonesia’s capital market.

One of the most visible changes has been to trading quality. During the early period of the new board’s tenure, IDX continued reforms intended to support healthier price formation and broaden opportunities for investor participation.

Trading-quality measures include refining the High Shareholding Concentration (HSC) methodology by adding a price-impact ratio for shares with a market capitalisation above Rp5 trillion, as well as conducting regular reviews to make it more responsive to market developments. Trading access was also widened by lowering the minimum price for shares and DINFRA from Rp50 to Rp1, effective 28 September 2026, alongside adjustments to the auto-rejection limits. The changes are intended to improve price formation and trading activity.

IDX also refined the rules for the Special Monitoring Board, while continuing to prioritise price discovery and investor protection.

The quality of listed companies is also being strengthened through revisions to various rules. These include raising the financial and fundamental requirements for prospective listed companies and refining the calculation of free float, while maintaining market transparency and integrity.

The changes also introduce greater flexibility by removing the minimum price for public offerings and simplifying order placement and company code changes, while retaining evaluation and disclosure requirements as part of the listing process.

Capital-market observer and Gadjah Mada University professor Eduardus Tandelilin said the developments showed that the new board’s policy direction was on the right track.

“In my view, the new IDX board’s policy direction is right because it starts from the right point. What the market needs now is stronger credibility and quality, and several of the steps taken show a serious effort to address those needs,” Eduardus said, according to an official statement on Tuesday (13 October 2026).

During its first 100 days, IDX also broadened the range of investment instruments to support diversification and risk management. One initiative was the launch of five gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), managed by five investment managers and listed on 10 August 2026.

By 8 October 2026, the number had risen to seven gold ETFs from seven investment managers. Alternative trading strategies were also expanded through the Intraday Short Selling (IDSS) mechanism, which became available on 1 October 2026, initially supported by two exchange members and five underlying shares.

From the start of trading through 8 October 2026, the exchange recorded average daily short-selling transaction value of Rp1.68 billion.

Eduardus said diversifying instruments and adding investment strategies for investors were important to deepening the market.

“A deeper market needs to give investors more ways to take positions, diversify and hedge. The introduction of gold ETFs and short selling shows that Indonesia’s capital-market ecosystem is beginning to become more complete,” he added.

Alongside expanding investment choices, IDX is promoting a capital market that supports sustainable financing through the launch of the IDX Green Equity Designation. Effective since 31 July 2026, the initiative aims to increase the transparency and visibility of green shares, while broadening listed companies’ access to investors and sustainable financing.

The expansion of the ecosystem has taken place alongside continued growth in the investor base, amid volatile market conditions. The number of capital-market investors has now reached 32 million.

That growth reflects broader public participation in the capital market and creates scope to improve the quality of participation through education, literacy and understanding of long-term investing.

“Investor growth is certainly very encouraging. The challenge ahead is to ensure that registered investors become more active, better understand the instruments they use and ultimately take a longer-term approach,” Eduardus said.

Ultimately, a stronger capital-market ecosystem serves a broader purpose: providing financing for businesses. For IDX, however, strengthening this financing function must go hand in hand with improving the quality of listed companies, ownership transparency and corporate governance, as well as ensuring that funds raised are used productively.

Alongside these developments, IDX is working on a more fundamental objective: strengthening the foundations of Indonesia’s market investability. The ownership-transparency agenda, improved investor classification, implementation of a 15% minimum free float and refinement of the HSC methodology form part of reforms being undertaken with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and the Indonesian Central Securities Depository (KSEI).

Eduardus said transparency, the quality of price formation and institutional reform were mutually reinforcing elements.

“Global investors do not look only at the size of a market, but also at the quality of its governance, ownership transparency, availability of publicly held shares and integrity of price formation. The steps taken by IDX address fundamental issues for improving Indonesia’s market competitiveness,” he said.

He stressed that the first 100 days were not enough to assess the full impact of all the reforms. However, the period offered an indication of the intended direction: a more transparent, diverse and liquid market with a broader investor base.

For Eduardus, sustaining the reforms is key to ensuring that market growth is not limited to an increase in size, but develops into a higher-quality market that investors trust.

“Maintaining the reform momentum is essential. The ambition to make IDX bigger must go hand in hand with efforts to build a deeper, more transparent and liquid market that investors trust,” Eduardus concluded.