After weeks of uncertainty, the regulator has eventually come up with a clear plan to examine the claims of investors in troubled PT Sarijaya Permana Sekuritas.
The Capital Market and Financial Institutions Supervisory Agency (Bapepam-LK) said it would start working on the investors' claims early next month.
"If all procedures go smoothly, we expect to start examining the investors' claims in early February," said Bapepam's head of division for securities transactions Nurhaida in a statement last Friday.
As of Thursday, 7,147 investors of Sarijaya have submitted claims to Bapepam, according to Nuraida. The figure covers 88 percent of all the company's investors.
The claims have been under verification with Sarijaya as well as a joint team established by Bapepam and the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).
Three weeks ago, Bapepam head Fuad Rachmany sent a sobering message: do not count on Bapepam for protection (of your money); saying investors should not fully trust their brokers and should keep full control of their funds.
The message came up as a response to criticisms over the Agency's failure to detect the alleged fraud much earlier. The 1995 Stock Law stipulates Bapepam has the obligation to give protection to investors from fraudulent practices.
Sarijaya, one of the country's biggest securities companies, has been under strict supervision since the IDX and Bapepam spotted the alleged scam by the company's president director, Herman Ramli.
The scam has allegedly caused losses of at least Rp 245 billion (US$22.5 million) of investor's money.
Sarijaya's minimum net adjusted working capital has plunged to negative Rp 5.6 trillion from the required minimum level of Rp 25 billion.
Bapepam, however, said it had yet to start its due diligence process on Sarijaya's assets and liabilities due to the long administration process it had to go through.
"Our joint team is currently focusing on speeding up a reevaluation process after Sarijaya completed verifying the costumers' claims," Nurhaida said.
Having more than 8,000 clients and 48 branches in Java, Bali, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Kalimantan, Sarijaya is still considered a valuable asset for potential investors, including PT Panin Sekuritas, a subsidiary of financial giant Panin Group, plus a consortium of investors from Hong Kong, Melbourne in Australia and Indonesia.
Both announced an interest in taking over the company.
Another local securities company, PT Trimegah Sekuritas, has also been reportedly interested in acquiring Sarijaya. To facilitate the planned takeover, Bapepam said it has permitted potential buyers to conduct due diligence.
"The potential buyers can conduct their own due dilligence to faciliate their interest (bid)," Nurhaida said.
Panin said earlier it was interested in acquiring Sarijaya to expand its retail market. Panin has refused to disclose the amount put aside to acquire Sarijaya.
The consortium has announced it will allocate Rp 400 billion to acquire Sarijaya. This includes Rp 250 billion for restructuring and recovery purposes and Rp 150 billion for business expansion. (hwa)
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