`TVRI' to air information on stock trading soon

JAKARTA (JP): The state-run television network TVRI will next week begin providing information on price quotations and trading events on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) through a teletext service called TVRITEXT under an agreement signed yesterday.

The deal was signed here by JSX president Hasan Zein Machmud and Eddy Limantoro, the president of PT Pilar Kumalajaya, the company appointed to operate the service.

Hasan said that the teletext service, which has been tried since May, will be accessible during the on-air time of the broadcasting station and will be available throughout Indonesia.

He said that the on-line system will enable viewers to receive the latest information about transactions on the JSX by pushing a button on specially-designed television sets.

However, he acknowledged that bringing the most up-to-date information to the public will remain problematic because all transactions on the bourse are still conducted manually.

Furthermore, the service still requires transmission time, he added.

"Hopefully, beginning next year we will provide continuous supplies of information for the public when the JSX has fully computerized its trading system," he said.

Hasan said that the deal with Pilar Kumalajaya is a "win-win" situation and that no payment is involved. But the station will receive 12.5 percent of the total earnings generated from advertising.

Eddy Limantoro of Pilar Kumalajaya said that his company has already invested Rp 4 billion (US$1.8 million) in installing new equipment for the teletext service.

He said the cooperation will last 15 years.

He also said that TVRITEXT will expand its service to information on the Surabaya Stock Exchange and the parallel stock market in Jakarta in the near future. (05)