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resident Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo led the celebration of the 38th anniversary of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) with a message to investors that the current bearish situation in the stock market was only temporary.

In his address, the President said that the government'€™s efforts to accelerate development, especially the construction of infrastructure facilities, would push the economy in the second half and, in turn, help revive stock trading.

'€œOur slowing economy is a result of the global economic slowdown. We are not the only country that is suffering from slowing economic growth. It should be noted that Indonesia'€™s economic growth is still in the world'€™s top five,'€ he said.

Jokowi said people must be optimistic that the government'€™s efforts to quick-start infrastructure projects in the second half would be able to revive economic growth. '€œWe have made thorough calculations and by the end of the year we would have spent 93 percent of our allocated spending. What we need to do is throw away pessimism.'€

The economic slowdown, sluggish infrastructure progress and slow government spending have been cited by analysts as having deterred investors from the stock market.

With spending below expectation and infrastructure projects far from sight, analysts said that investors were pessimistic that the country'€™s economy '€” which grew 4.67 percent during the first half '€” its lowest growth in the past six years , would improve this year.

The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) on Monday ended at 4,749, a decrease of 0.45 percent from the previous trading day as it closed in the red for three days in a row.

The current index level is now at a 16-month low. The JCI has been falling since April after it hit a historical high of 5,514 in early March on '€œthe Jokowi effect'€, following the presidential election win. Investors have been pulling out their investments since then, causing a drop in foreign net buying to Rp 2.85 trillion at present from its peak at around Rp 15 trillion earlier this year.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) and IDX have also introduced some steps expected to pump up investment and entice retail investors to enter the market, including boosting investors protection funds (IPF) by fourfold from its initial figure, to help prop up the index, which has slipped by nearly 10 percent year-to-date.

OJK commissioner for stock market Nurhaida also said that investors should take into account that regional bourses were also flailing, however adding that given the current condition, the regulator had prepared moves in case of further declines.

These moves include raising IPF from initially Rp 25 million per investor registered as an account holder in the Indonesian Central Securities Depository (KSEI), to Rp 100 million, in a bid to attract new investors. The funds, taken from dues routinely collected from brokers listed as members of the bourse, are designed to compensate possible theft and fraud.

'€œWe want more investors to enter the stock market comfortably by assuring them that their investments are secure,'€ she explained.

She also said that the OJK was working on 15 new regulations expected to stimulate investment appetite. The regulations include bringing in new products to help boost market liquidity, such as preparing a new board and public offering plan for small enterprises, developing bonds for regional governments and encouraging state-run firms to enter the bourse.