Jakarta bourse to acquire SSE next year
Jakarta bourse to acquire SSE next year
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) plans to
acquire the Surabaya Stock Exchange (SSE) early next year to
create a single Indonesian stock market.
The JSX's chief commissioner, Marzuki Usman, said yesterday
that the planned acquisition of the SSE will be put to a JSX
shareholders' meeting in February next year.
Marzuki said the main aim of acquiring the SSE is to create an
effective and efficient stock market in Indonesia that is able to
compete with other stock exchanges in the world's emerging
markets.
He said that listed and would-be-listed companies would
benefit most from the acquisition of the SSE because the listing
fee would be cheaper and their stocks could be traded at any
stock trading terminal.
"After the acquisition, the SSE will become one of the JSX's
trading terminals. I'm sure there will be no problem in trading
activities because the JSX's remote trading facilities are
expected to be ready by next year," Marzuki said.
Currently, stocks traded on the SSE are also traded on the
JSX. Approximately 75 percent of the SSE's trading activities are
carried out at its Jakarta terminals.
The SSE has gained a number of stock trading outlets in
Jakarta through its acquisition of Indonesia's over-the-counter
bourse, the Indonesian parallel market.
The parallel bourse was officially liquidated yesterday at an
extraordinary shareholders' meeting here.
Small firms
Tito Sulistio, former president of the parallel bourse, raised
questions yesterday about the fate of small- and medium-sized
listed companies in the event that the SSE is acquired by the
JSX.
Small and medium-sized enterprises had been accommodated by
the parallel bourse before it was acquired by the SSE. After the
acquisition, they were automatically listed on the SSE.
Commenting on the issue, Marzuki said the JSX could provide a
special board for small and medium-sized enterprises, so that
they would still have accesses to cheap funds through the stock
market.
Tito contended that, even supposing that the JSX can
accommodate small and medium-sized companies, the planned merger
of the Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges is premature.
"Indonesia is so large in size. Can you guarantee that the
planned remote trading activities will not fail? Why don't we
wait until the SSE has consolidated itself and is ready to become
part of the JSX?" Tito said.
Concurring with Tito, Sjahrir, former chief commissioner of
the liquidated parallel bourse, said the planned acquisition of
the SSE by the JSX should be a natural process, rather than a
"top-down" process.
"I don't agree with doing everything using a top-down
approach. The integration of the two exchanges should follow a
natural process. It should be done only when there is already a
real need to have a single market in Indonesia," Sjahrir said.
(rid)