Schroders Plc vows to tap RI capital market
Schroders Plc vows to tap RI capital market
JAKARTA (JP): Schroders Plc, one of Britain's major merchant banks, pledged a stronger commitment yesterday to tapping the potential of the Indonesian capital market despite continued drops in share prices over the last few months.
George Mallinckrodt, the visiting chairman of the British bank, said that the long-term prospects of the Indonesian market remained good, even tough the exchange's condition was not very favorable at present.
The bank wanted a stronger presence here because it believed in the long-term prospects of the country's economy, Mallinckrodt said at a reception celebrating the inauguration of PT Schroders Indonesia as a full securities house.
Schroders Indonesia, 85 percent owned by Schroders Plc and 15 percent by the Panin Group, started its operation in Indonesia in 1991 as a fund manager. Last year the company received a new license to operate in underwriting and brokerage.
It has more than doubled its staff to 43, and its paid up capital had increased from Rp 1 billion to Rp 11 billion (US$5.11 million).
Bill Foo, Schroders Indonesia's president, said that the joint venture securities firm planned to further raise its investment in the local equity market in the second semester of this year when the market is expected to gain ground from its current bearish condition.
He said that the market's bearish condition in the first semester would affect the business somewhat but that he believed the company's turnover would remain stable at around Rp 1 trillion this year due to the expected improvement in market performance in the second semester.
In 1994, Schroders recorded transactions of around Rp 1 trillion, including the issuance of $70 million in a loan for PT Jakarta International Hotels and Development, $80 million for the development of Batamindo's industrial estates in Batam and rights share issuance for PT Sekar Bumi, PT Evershine Textile and PT Modernland Realty.
He said that share prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, which suffered significant drops over the last few months, were expected to gain ground in the second semester of this year, partly because of an expected increase in corporate earnings. (hen)