Surabaya bourse to elect new bosses on Monday

JAKARTA (JP): The shareholders of the Surabaya Stock Exchange (SSX) will elect new management on Monday from among the three nominated teams of directors and the two teams of commissioners approved by the Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam).

Bapepam has ordered the election in line with its ruling on nomination procedures, even though the current management has served only one year of its three-year term.

The ruling stipulates that the exchange's management must be nominated by at least three securities companies with a minimum trading value and frequency of 4 percent of the total during the previous 12 months.

Data from the SSX show that only 32 of SSX's 112 shareholders were qualified to nominate the candidates.

The three nominated boards of directors are led respectively by SSX's current president, Basirudin A. Sarida, PT Mashill Securities president Isaka Yoga and PT Antaboga Securities T.Umar Laksamana.

Isaka's team consists of three SSX executives, Anton Natakoesoemah, Bibin Busono and L.M. Syahril Madjidi.

Basirudin's team consists of Mario M.Koetin, Muda Antartikawan and Indra S. Hadikoesoemo.

Laksamana's team includes Helmy T.Ashwary, Syafrullah Sahari and M.Samsul.

One of the two nominated boards of commissioners is headed by SSX's present chief commissioner, who is also the director general of financial institutions at the finance ministry, Bambang Subianto. The other one is led by Mohammad Noer, a former governor of East Java.

Bambang's team consists of Adrian Kiki Ariawan, Tito Sulistio, H. Moch. Zuhdi and Nurkhamid Akhmad. Mohammad Noer's team consists of TB.Mochtar Atmadja, Ackmal Husin, Mas Abdurachim Husein and Muhammad Nurdin Nasution.

The state-owned securities company, PT Danareksa, yesterday claimed that together with PT Indovest Securities, PT Pentasena and PT Bhakti Investama, it has nominated the management team led by Isaka Yoga and Bambang Subianto's team of commissioners.

"We believe that the SSX needs young people to make it more attractive. And I am sure that the team we nominated will be able to introduce more innovative products on the SSX," Danareksa's president Agus Projosasmita told journalists here yesterday.

Agus also claimed that his team is supported by 61 of SSX's 112 members.

The three nominated boards of directors plan to focus their program on how to develop the SSX into a bourse complementary to the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX).

"It is almost futile for SSX to compete with JSX. We also realize that the new management should enforce the SSX's mission as a bridging stock exchange for small and medium size companies," Isaka Yoga told reporters yesterday.

Basirudin said that "big companies can also be listed on SSX because the exchange allows crossing transactions to the JSX."

The latest data show that only 10 of the 189 companies on the SSX are listed on the basis of the single listing agreement. Eight of them were formerly listed on the Indonesian over-the- counter market (BPI), which was acquired by and integrated into the SSX in July 1995.

The other 178 companies are listed on the JSX and SSX under cross listing arrangements.

There are 47 listed bonds and six of them are also listed on the JSX.

The three teams said that they will accelerate the development of the SSX by focusing on securities products which are not available at the JSX, such as odd lot shares (100 shares), and by creating an efficient system.

SSX was founded in 1989 as the first private stock exchange in the country in order to accommodate both small companies and small-scale investors.

The exchange has yet to perform well. It booked total transactions worth only Rp 6 trillion in 1993, Rp 3 trillion in 1994 and Rp 5 trillion in 1995.

The total frequency reached 3,780 transactions in 1994 and 6,360 transactions last year.

Each of the nominated teams promised that they will develop an efficient system which allows brokers and investors to trade actively by improving the market maker mechanism.

Under a market maker mechanism the broker acts as a trader not as a broker.

Agus Projosasmita said that the SSX should find out whether small share issues will be absorbed by the market.

"That's why cooperation between the exchange and underwriters is very significant," Agus said.

"There should be supply and demand in any kind of market. In the case of the SSX, we have to try to find the demand for small stocks," Isaka added.

Isaka added that his team will also urge the SSX shareholders to open offices in Surabaya because only seven of the SSX's shareholders have branch offices in Surabaya. The remaining 95 companies are based in Jakarta. (08)