New IDX Director 'Should Lobby for Tax Incentives for Listed Companies'
Jakarta. In order to attract more companies to list their shares, Indonesia’s securities firms hope the local stock exchange's new director will spearhead a new lobby effort for more tax incentives.
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) approved Tito Sulistyo, currently a vice president at listed toll road company Citra Marga Nusaphala, as the sole candidate for president director of Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), according to an official statement on the local bourse’s website published last Friday. The shareholders of the IDX are expected to give their stamp of approval in a meeting scheduled for June 25.
Michael Steven, the president director of listed investment holding firm Kresna Graha Sekurindo, said that the homework for the IDX’s upcoming board of directors would be to “get as many companies onto the bourse as possible.”
Jakarta-based Kresna Graha Sekurindo is the holding company for Kresna Graha Securities, which managed the country's largest initial public offering in four years with the Rp 4.5 trillion ($337 million) IPO of health care operator Mitra Keluarga Karyasehat in March.
According to Michael, one way to do attract more companies to list on the local bourse is to offer tax incentives for companies that are seeking to offer their shares to the public.
“For the longer term, it would be great if the board of directors can help the securities and brokerages to lobby the government about [tax incentives],” Michael said during a press conference in Jakarta on Monday. Currently, the government only gives a 5-percentage discount in corporate income tax — from the normal rate of 25 percent — for companies that float at least 40 percent of their shares.
"Once there are more companies listed, more investors will come."
There have been six companies — five initial public offerings and one re-listing — listed on the IDX since the beginning of the year, bringing the total to 515 listed companies. Still, this is far removed from the IDX's target for 32 new listed companies by the end of the year.
The country’s local bourse is slated to welcome a new board of directors this month for the 2015-18 period, which will step into the role amid looming uncertainties in the market due to slower global and national economic growth, as well as a depreciated rupiah.
Tito said he would present his strategic programs and action plan after the shareholder meeting. "Surely, we will be working hard and committed," he said.
Tito said during his fit and proper test at the OJK last week that he would focus on strengthening listed companies' portfolio, improving securities' brokerage role and improving surveillance. He targeted the IDX daily average transaction to rise to Rp 15.6 trillion, from Rp 6.5 trillion today.
He also aimed to add 20,000 new investors to the bourse every year. Today there are some 488,000 stock investors registered at the bourse.
GlobeAsia
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