T

he Indonesian Central Securities Depository (KSEI) expects the number of investors in the stock market to grow by up to 30 percent in 2015, as it plans to increase its campaign to target diverse new investors.

As of Dec. 18, there were 363,746 investors in the bourse, a 13 percent increase from 320,000 in the same period last year, KSEI director Margeret M. Tang said recently.

'€œWe predict that the number of investors will increase by around 20 percent to 30 percent next year, because annual growth is pretty strong,'€ she said.

KSEI plans to boost its advertising campaign on the benefits of stock-market investment aimed mainly at youngsters. Only 28,000, or 8 percent of the total number of investors, are under 25 years old '€” a figure that could still be improved.

The campaign has been conducted in a number of universities by KSEI and other self-regulating organizations in the bourse since a few years ago, Margeret said.

The number of individual investors in the capital market is expected to double from around 1 million to at least 2.5 million by 2016 or 2017, as many investors and businesspeople are optimistic about the country'€™s economic outlook under the new administration, according to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).

Of the one million investors, less than half invest their funds in the stock market, the others preferring mutual funds, retail bonds, sukuk (Islamic bonds) and unit links.

Margeret said the company would also strengthen its current partnership with the Home Affairs Ministry'€™s directorate general of citizenship and civil registry to create a valid and accurate database of capital-market investors.

In the first phase, the KSEI expects at least 50 percent of its registered securities sub-accounts to be updated to conform to the ministry'€™s citizenship data through the usage of electronic ID cards (e-KTP).

'€œAccording to the verified data, around 38 percent of investors are female,'€ she revealed.

Margeret said the company would also boost its routine education and campaign programs for its securities ownership reference (AKSes) facility, which enables investors to monitor their stock and mutual fund balances through their registered accounts.

As part of its campaign effort, she said the KSEI had started its cobranding of AK-Ses with four banks '€” Permata Bank, Bank Central Asia (BCA), Bank Mandiri and Bank CIMB Niaga '€” which act as administrators for customer
accounts.

'€œOf more than 340,000 accounts, around 90 percent were opened at the four banks,'€ Margeret added.

Another KSEI platform that has grown strongly is the central depository and book entry settlement system (C-BEST), which enables investors to transfer their funds securely in a scriptless settlement.

The company posted a 21.5 percent increase to Rp 3.144 quadrillion in C-BEST assets, from Rp 2.588 quadrillion at this point last year.