Lippo opens new stock gallery

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed Lippo Securities opened a stock gallery and a dealing room at its headquarters yesterday to cater more to retail clients.

The company's managing director, Jos Parengkuan, said the opening of the gallery was expected to increase the number of the country's noninstitutional clients from 30 percent to 40 percent.

The gallery and dealing room cost more than Rp 2 billion (US$840,000). "Total investment for the dealing room was over Rp 1 billion while the gallery was Rp 1 billion," he said.

The Chairman of Capital Market Supervisory Board, I Putu Gede Ary Suta, opened the gallery and dealing room.

Jos said the company's dealing room was equipped with phone facilities which could accommodate more than 6,000 telephone numbers.

The telephone facility could also record conversations between dealers and the investors to avoid misunderstandings, he said.

Putu said he hoped new trading facilities could get more local investors involved in buying and selling shares because foreign investors dominate local markets.

Ary Suta said domestic investors in Indonesia's capital market accounts for 0.1 percent of the population. "This is still a small amount," he said in comparison to 11 million people or 10 percent in China, 40 million people or 5 percent in India, 15 percent in Taiwan and 20 percent in Japan.

"The presence of Lippo's gallery is expected to accommodate more domestic investors, not only in Jakarta but also from other cities," Putu said.

Jos said Lippo Securities' brokerage value reached around Rp 10.6 trillion, the second largest after those booked by Makindo Securities.

Lippo Securities posted 187 percent increase in net profit to 40.4 billion in 1996, while total revenue rose 216 percent to Rp 106.5 billion. (09)