Trading gallery opened at Roxymas

JAKARTA (JP): PT Bursa Paralel Indonesia, the operator of the over-the-counter stock market, opened yesterday its first trading gallery on the Roxymas shopping center to promote the retail trading of stocks.

The gallery, named Warung Pasar Modal which literally means capital market shop, was officially opened by Chairman of the Capital Market Supervisory Agency Bacelius Ruru.

Bursa Paralel's president, Tito Sulistio, said that the stock market gallery provided not only information of listed stocks and bonds but also trading facilities.

"The establishment of the gallery is another approach to socialize the capital market activities," he told reporters following the opening of the trading facilities.

He said that the trading facilities at the gallery are linked to computers of the bourse's members to enable users to make direct transactions.

Tito said brokerage companies which will handle transactions at the gallery included PT Sinarmas Ekagraha, PT Harumdana Securities, PT Philindo, PT Argha Artha Securities and PT Kosa Securities.

Shares which are available at the gallery include odd-lot stock companies listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchanges (JSX) such as those of Astra International, Barito Pacific, Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia, Indah Kiat, Tjiwi Kimia, Prodenta, Lippobank, Sekar Bumi, Metrodata and Jafpa.

Bursa Paralel recently took over the odd-lot trading of the JSX to facilitate retail trading activities.

Shares on the JSX are traded in lots of 500 stocks. The bourse, had, in fact, opened an odd-lot trading board specially designed for the transactions of stocks of less than 500 in number but many brokerage companies were often reluctant to carry out such a deal due to a low commission.

Sulistio said that the trading of stocks at the gallery was made in lots of 100 shares to facilitate small-scale investors.

He said that the opening of the gallery had no relation to the planned merger of Bursa Paralel with the Surabaya Stock Exchange.(hen)