MSCI下调至独立市场威胁发酵，印尼股指连续暴跌至六年低位

JAKARTA -- Indonesia's benchmark stock index fell sharply on Monday for the second consecutive trading day to its lowest level in six years, after global financial services company MSCI raised the prospect of downgrading the country to standalone market status.
The Jakarta Composite Index at one point fell over 5% to an intraday low of 4,907.37, its lowest since September 2020. The market saw a buyback toward the close, and ended at 4,996.61, down 188.50 points or 3.6% lower from Friday.
The decline was less severe than Friday's, after the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) lowered the threshold for its lower auto-rejection limit. On Friday, the index plunged 8.01% shortly after opening, triggering a trading halt.
The IDX specifically cut the lower auto-rejection limit for stocks priced above 11 rupiah to 7% from 15%.
"We know this is not common practice, but our aim is to prevent investors from making decisions amid extreme uncertainty, confusion and, above all, fear," IDX President Director Jeffrey Hendrik told reporters on Monday.
Hendrik said the policy had been effective in curbing investor panic, pointing to the index's decline of less than 7%.
The adjustment followed a meeting on Sunday between the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the IDX, capital market analysts and investment managers to discuss market conditions.
The meeting focused on measures to improve transparency, liquidity and consistent law enforcement, including administrative sanctions and tighter oversight of suspected coordinated trading and market manipulation. MSCI has pointed to a series of challenges as issues plaguing the Indonesian market.
In response to MSCI's concerns, the OJK has emphasized that it has been promoting market reforms, including penalties for companies that do not comply with new regulations.
On Friday, the OJK imposed about 2.1 trillion rupiah ($116 million) in administrative sanctions on parties linked to trading manipulation and opaque initial public offering allocations. Three major listed companies -- Dian Swastatika Sentosa (DSSA), Barito Renewables Energy (BREN) and Petrindo Jaya Kreasi (CUAN) -- were found to have violated capital market rules.
"The market manipulation was carried out in a planned and structured manner, causing DSSA's share price to rise significantly," Hasan Fawzi, the OJK's chief executive for capital markets, derivatives and carbon exchange supervision, said at a press conference on Friday.
The OJK found misleading practices in share orders for BREN and CUAN, with parties linked to the companies' controlling shareholders securing large allocations while concealing their identities. This concentrated ownership among certain groups, limiting the shares available for public trading.
The regulator also identified illicit gains from trading violations involving DSSA and share allocation violations involving BREN and CUAN. It is also investigating suspected violations involving 31 of the 61 stocks classified as having high shareholding concentration (HSC).
OJK Chairperson Friderica Widyasari Dewi said capital market reforms had been underway since January. The measures include tightening share ownership disclosure requirements from 5% to above 1%, raising minimum thresholds, expanding investor classifications from nine to 39 categories, adjusting free-float requirements and strengthening law enforcement and imposing sanctions for capital market violations.
The OJK has also disclosed stocks with HSC to monitor risks of potential manipulation or ownership dominance.
"All concerns raised by global index providers have been addressed and implemented, including those related to transparency," she said at the same press conference.
Bhima Yudhistira, executive director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), strongly criticized Indonesia's stock market reforms, saying they had yet to deliver tangible improvements. He pointed to Jhonlin Baratama's acquisition of a 30.25% stake in coal miner Bayan Resources (BYAN). Jhonlin Baratama is owned by businessman Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, better known as Haji Isam, who has close ties to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
"The Bayan share acquisition is one indication that transparency and minority investor protection have yet to be made top priorities," he told Nikkei Asia.
IDX Development Director Iding Pardi remained optimistic that Indonesia would retain its emerging market status, citing solid economic and corporate fundamentals, rising trading liquidity and investor numbers.
"Trading liquidity and investor numbers continue to grow, while listed companies generally remain on a growth trajectory," he told reporters on Friday, adding that MSCI's concerns centered on transparency, integrity and investability.
The IDX put Indonesia's market capitalization at $498 billion, with inflation at 3.29% and nine Indonesian stocks in the MSCI Standard Index. It also said Indonesia's capital flows, foreign exchange market, stock market and geopolitical conditions distinguished it from standalone markets.
Armand Hartono, chairman of the Indonesian Issuers Association (AEI), said a world-class capital market should not only feature companies with large market capitalizations and high trading volumes, but, more importantly, be trusted by investors.
"A trusted capital market is built on reliable infrastructure, transparency, ownership disclosure, adequate and healthy free float, and consistent enforcement of rules. A strong market not only attracts investment but is also able to safeguard its integrity and protect the interests of all market participants," he said.
Evaluations by global index providers such as MSCI should be approached openly and constructively as a reference for further improving market quality, the AEI said. However, the ultimate goal should go beyond simply meeting the criteria of any particular index.
"We want to build an Indonesian capital market that has integrity, is competitive, offers legal certainty and earns investors' trust over the long term," Hartono said.