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Closing bourse last option, IDX official says regarding lockdown
Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) plans to keep the bourse operational amid a possible lockdown imposed in response to the surge in COVID-19 cases over the past few days.
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The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in Jakarta, pictured above on April 18, 2019, says closing the bourse is the last option should the government decide on a lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. (Bloomberg/Dimas Ardian)
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ndonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) plans to keep the bourse operational amid a possible lockdown imposed in response to a surge in COVID-19 cases over the past few days.
IDX trading director Laksono Widodo said the bourse would wait for the government to make a final decision on whether to enforce a lockdown. The government’s measures would determine IDX’s course of action.
“We will coordinate with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) regarding the steps needed to keep the market operating during the emergency,” Laksono told reporters during an online press conference on Tuesday.
“Will the bourse close? I think, in my personal opinion, closing is the last option,” Laksono said, adding that the exchange could respond in a flexible way to the situation and avoid a repeat of the 2008 closure, since the financial market conditions today were not as bad as that time.
Read also: Bukalapak eyes IDX listing in July
Suspending operations could disrupt plans for the bourse, which is looking to list several start-ups. Homegrown e-commerce platform Bukalapak, based on documents leaked to the media, plans an initial public offering (IPO) on the IDX on July 29. Two other tech companies were expected to list this year, Laksono said, without divulging further details.
“Hopefully, this big, attractive IPO [the Bukalapak listing] will increase the number of retail and institutional investors, both domestic and foreign, so that average daily transactions will also go up,” Laksono said regarding the Bukalapak IPO.
