A new system set for launch Thursday to provide greater protection to stock market investors could instill some much-needed confidence back in the market, hit recently by a slew of high-profile fraud cases.
The Investor Area will allow investors to check on their portfolio balance in real time, as well as to access history of transactions involving their investments - all designed to boost transparency and act as an early-warning system to investors should a brokerage house act without their knowledge.
The system is facilitated by the Indonesia Central Securities Depository (KSEI).
KSEI president director Ananta Wiyogo said Wednesday the facility, which cost the stock market authorities Rp 1 billion (US$98,000), was expected to shore up investor confidence in the country's stock market, which was hit recently by several cases of securities companies misusing their investors' funds.
"This system will prevent cases like the Sarijaya incident from recurring in the future," Ananta said, referring to the case of PT Sarijaya Permana Sekuritas, whose president commissioner has been charged with allegedly embezzling Rp 245 billion in investors' funds.
The existing system does not allow investors access to monitor their portfolios in real time, as they have to seek permission from the securities firms to do so, enabling certain securities companies to take advantage of this loophole.
"We hope we can prevent capital market crimes in the future with this system," Ananta said.
However, he pointed out the system would still be optional, at least temporarily, adding that access would be granted only to investors who had requested the facility from their securities companies.
"We still want to wait until the market fully recovers before we make it obligatory," he said, adding that investors could start asking for access by Wednesday.
The stock market authorities have delayed the launching of the new system several times, due in part by technical problems and the lack of time needed to integrate all relevant regulators, including the Indonesian Stock Market Clearing House (KPEI) and the KSEI.
To date, of the 119 securities companies active in the stock market, only 60 are registered in the system.
"We hope the number will increase in the future as demand from investors asking for the access will definitely rise," Ananta said.
Besides granting direct access to real-time portfolio data, under the Investor Area system, the KSEI will also give each investor a single identification number that can be used to access all types of transactions and make trading activities safer.
Currently, investors have different passwords for each type of investment, be they securities or bonds.
