Local exchanges sign MOU with ASX

Local exchanges sign MOU with ASX

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's capital market should expand
cooperation with developed markets in the Asia-Pacific,
Indonesian Capital Market Supervisory Board (Bapepam) chairman I
Putu Gede Ary Suta said yesterday.

Putu said information exchanges would help stop manipulative
investors and brokers entering the Indonesian capital market.

He was speaking after signing memorandums of understanding
between the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and the Jakarta and
Surabaya Stock Exchanges, and between Indonesia's Bapepam and the
Australian Securities Commission (ASC).

Putu said the Indonesian capital market was still in its
infancy and the possibility of market fraud was high. "We do not
know if investors are qualified and of good repute," he said.

One thing the JSX could learn from the ASX's management
operation was the way it accommodated mining companies.

He said there were about 1,200 Australian mining companies
listed in the ASX. "We need to learn from them," he said.

Putu foresaw the possibility of Indonesian-Australian joint
venture companies of being listed simultaneously on both
exchanges.

Cooperation would help the exchanges anticipate the future of
borderless transactions, he said. "Today someone does not need to
be present at the exchange and public offerings can be done
through the Internet".

He said market regulators were needed all over the world to
investigate market manipulation.

He said there was an increasing flow of funds between Asia-
Pacific nations and multilateral and bilateral cooperations would
help protect investors' interests.

Putu said Bapepam had sent several people to Australia to
learn how to identify market manipulation, how law enforcement
was conducted and how the ASX detected insider trading.

Bapepam has also signed cooperations with the U.S.' Securities
and Exchange Commission, Hong Kong's Securities and Futures
commission and Malaysia's Securities Commission and would soon
cooperation with Japan's Securities Commission.

ASC chairman Alan Cameron agreed with Putu and said
the ASC had signed cooperation agreements with securities and
market regulators in the U.S, Britain, France, New Zealand, Hong
Kong, China and Canada.

Cameron, who is also former president of the committee of
International Organization of Securities Commission said emerging
markets in the Asia-Pacific, South America and Eastern Europe
accounted for up to 10 percent of global investment funds. (09)