T

he Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) says it may soon delist eight companies for failure to improve their finances, ongoing investigations or irregularities.

IDX president director Ito Warsito said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the companies had been temporarily suspended from trading for almost two years. “If they are not able to improve their financial condition or cannot show proper corporate action, they will be delisted,” he added.

The companies under fire are PT Surya Intrindo Makmur, suspended since November 2009; PT Pelita Sejahtera Abadi, suspended since March 2010; PT Entertainment International, suspended since July 2010; PT Wahana Phoenix Mandiri, suspended since July 2010; PT Katarina Utama, suspended since September 2010; PT Arpeni Pratama Ocean Line, suspended since December 2010; PT Zebra Nusantara, suspended since February 2010; and PT Gowa Makassar Tourism Development, suspended since February 2011.

The firms were suspended for several reasons. Surya Intrindo, for example, was suspended for suffering financial losses since 2008. The footwear company reported net losses of Rp 2.34 billion (US$264,000) in the first nine months of 2011, Rp 4.69 billion in 2010, Rp 8.25 billion in 2009 and Rp 58.28 billion in 2008.

Katarina Utama is under the investigation by the Capital Market and Financial Institution Supervisory Agency (Bapepam-LK) for allegedly abusing funds raised during its initial public offering in 2009.

Meanwhile, Entertainment International and Gowa Makassar was suspended for an “unrealistic” increase in its share price to Rp 2,175 on June 30, 2010, up 140 percent from Rp 900 on June 23, 2010. The jump followed a tripling of the company’s share price on Feb. 17, 2010, when shares rose to Rp 660 from Rp 220 on Feb. 9, 2010.

IDX corporate listing director Eddy Sugito said that the bourse always gave reminder letters to companies facing delisting following a suspension in trading.

“We have reminded the companies that have been suspended for one year or close to two years. If we see they have made no serious commitment, we will delist the companies in accordance with the deadline,” Eddy said.

The IDX delisted five companies in 2011: PT New Century Development, PT Aqua Golden Mississippi, PT Dynaplast, PT Anta Express Tour and Travel Service, and PT Alfa Retailindo.

PT Bukaka Teknik Utama is struggling to re-enter the stock market, as delisted companies are entitled to, but is facing difficulty, as the IDX asked them to first increase their share of public ownership. Bukaka previously said that the public owned more than 50 percent of its shares, mostly of which were discovered to be owned by a single investor, Akses Karya Indonesia Bhd. (rcf)