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tock analysts have said the influence of parent company PT Multipolar has helped PT Multipolar Technology (MLPT), which focuses on the technology industry, get a good reception as it enters the bourse on Monday.

The share price of Multipolar Technology soared to Rp 720 (7 US cents) at the close of Monday'€™s trading session, 50 percent higher than its offering price of Rp 480.

Share prices of its parent, however, dipped 15 percent to Rp 510 apiece.

Multipolar Technology collected Rp 180 billion from its initial public offering (IPO). The company, which provides various information technology services including data centers, released 375 million new shares, equal to 20 percent of its enlarged capital, to the stock market.

Benny Anwar, the vice president for corporate finance at PT Launtandhana Securindo, said the fact that Multipolar Technology is affiliated to Multipolar has helped the company'€™s performance in its first day at the bourse.

'€œMultipolar is affiliated to the Lippo Group, which has a strong name in the business circle,'€ he said.

Multipolar has stakes in various companies involved in retail and multimedia, besides information technology. Its key subsidiaries include PT Matahari Putra Prima (MPPA), which is in charge of Hypermart supermarket and retailer PT Matahari Department Store (LPPF).

Benny added that Multipolar Technology'€™s plan to expand its data business center was '€œappealing'€, given the size of its parent company.

'€œMultipolar Technology can act as a system integrator for the entire conglomerate,'€ he said.

Reza Priambada, an analyst with Trust Securities, said Multipolar Technology had performed considerably well in its first day given that other stock prices had been in flux.

'€œMultipolar Technology, as well as two other companies that entered the bourse today, has been able to register positive movement,'€ he said.

Besides Multipolar Technology, Victoria Investama and Bank Mestika Dharma entered the bourse today. Victoria Investama saw shares rally by 68 percent to Rp 210 while Bank Mestika Dharma saw shares go up by 13 percent to Rp 1560 by the end of trading.

Share prices, including those that have just entered the bourse, sank last Thursday, prompting worries that Bank Indonesia (BI) would raise its key investment rate higher.

Reza added that although many companies now offered similar information technology services like Multipolar Technology, none of these companies were listed at the bourse yet.

He added the sustained performance of Multipolar Technology could entice these other companies to enter the bourse.

'€”JP/Mariel Grazella