Stockbrokerages to move from JSX building
JAKARTA (JP): A number of stockbrokerages plan to move from the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) building to cheaper offices to escape soaring rental costs.
Executives of the securities houses said yesterday the rental fees, set in U.S. dollars, were too expensive for them.
The sharp fall in the rupiah against the greenback by over 75 percent since July caused sharp rental fee increases of over 300 percent in terms of rupiah, one of the executives said.
"Our rental payments have eaten up most of our earnings. With the current situation in which the market is not so promising, staying in an office like this is no longer feasible," he said.
Industry sources said that when the rupiah was quoted at 2,400 to the dollar last year, for example, they did not have problems paying rent.
"With the rupiah hovering around the 10,000 to the dollar level now, there is no brokerage which can afford the rent," he said.
"No company can operate under these conditions," he said.
The rupiah closed at 9,300 against the U.S. dollar yesterday after hitting an all-time low of 17,000 early last month.
Industry sources said the monthly rental prices at the JSX building currently ranged between US$18 per square meter and $30 per square meter.
"Just imagine how much rupiah we've spent on rent every month while the rupiah has fallen," another executive from a securities company said.
Some brokerages occupy office spaces of between 100 square meters and 300 square meters at the JSX building.
The source said that if a brokerage occupied a 200 square meter space in the JSX building, it would have to pay between $3,600 and $6,000 (Rp 60 million) per month for the rent.
"If the amount is annualized, the company has to spend between $43,200 and $72,000 (Rp 720 million) per year," he said.
The JSX building is currently managed and operated by PT Danayasa Arthatama, the owner of the Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD) on Jl. Sudirman, South Jakarta.
The management of PT Danayasa Arthatama, however, was not available for comment yesterday.
Some brokerages, including Pentasena Securities, Layang Megah Securities, Asiana Securities and BDNI Securities -- with current addresses on the fifth and 12th floors of the JSX building -- were seen empty yesterday.
"We can no longer afford to stay in this building. We have to relocate our offices to other places," another executive said.
A director of a securities company who asked for anonymity said yesterday his brokerage would soon move to the World Trade Center building on Jl. Sudirman.
Another executive said his brokerage would relocate to houses in a strategic area in Jakarta.
"Renting a house in another strategic area is another solution for us during the crisis," an executive from a local brokerage said.
The brokerage companies are not alone. Retailers and other companies have also complained about soaring rental costs. (aly)