Hardship on JSX to Check Shares of PT Energi
Friday, 01 December, 2006 | 15:21 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The management of the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) is yet to notice the incongruity of share trade of PT Energi Mega Persada . “We need to doublecheck,” said Director of Supervision of JSX Justitia Tripurwasani yesterday (11/30) in Jakarta. The checking took the form of supervision over a business transaction of the issuer's share trade at JSX.

Justitia said that the JSX authority seemed to be able to detect an indication of price manipulation of Energi's shares. The stock exchange has its ups and downs. “Maybe there was a positive sentiment around or it was deliberately made,” he said. Therefore, Justitia could not say whether or not the JSX authority will check price manipulation of Energi's shares.

As reported, trade of Energi's shares during the last three days has been awkward. Based on the trade record, one minute before closing trade, the shares of the Bakrie Group's company were always bought by one broker. So, when closing trade occurred, the share price was always above Rp500 per share. In fact, since the Lapindo case emerged, its share price kept decreasing from the level of Rp700 per share.

Managing Director of PT Danareksa Lin Che Wei has stated that the practice of safeguarding or maintaining the share price was not proper. “It was common. But, it was like bribing a police officer on the street,” he told Tempo yesterday. He said that share purchase in a high amount, to make it on the certain level of price, was part of manipulation of the market.

Che Wei said that the of stock exchange in Indonesia has a rule which forbids a trade from creating or maintaining the share price. So, he said, it was not difficult to investigate the manipulation. “We could simply trace (data of) recapitulation of trade,” he said.

According to him, the stock exchange authority has high credibility for not letting the practice occur. Underdeveloped stock exchanges tend to allow the practice to happen.

YULIAWATI