On Monday, June 30, in Jakarta, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) released the list of its new commissioners for the 2020-2023 period after the annual general stakeholder meeting.

One of them was a familiar name, Pandu Patria Sjahrir who is from inaugural class of Tsinghua PBCSF BRI Finance EMBA Program.

The figure of Pandu was in the spotlight of local media, perhaps even regional after being appointed as a Commissioner of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).

Currently holding the position of Founding Partner of AC Ventures, Pandu has a long track record in the startup scene. He is widely known for his involvement in leading names such as Gojek (as Board Member) and Sea Group (Chairman of Indonesia) as well as Xurya (Board Member) and Antler (Advisory Board).

He is also the Managing Partner of Indies Capital, which controls Indies Special Opportunities Fund, the leading alternative asset manager in the region, and Indies Pelago, a secondary tech fund in Southeast Asia.

Outside of the startup ecosystem, Pandu is the CFO of publicly listed energy company PT. Toba Bara Sejahtera Tbk (TOBA), that was selected as Forbes’ Top 30 leading companies in Indonesia.  He also serves as the Chair of the Indonesian Mining Association (APBI) for the period 2018-2021.

A fresh start for IDX

In his special interview, the startup investor reveals more details about the vision and mission for IDX –and how he is going to bring more Indonesian startups to get listed on the stock exchange.

“As you might be aware of, there has not been any major tech company listed on the IDX,” he points out.

“It’s a completely different story with China and the US where the top 10 capitalisations are owned by tech companies. In Indonesia, it is still being dominated by banking and telco companies –exactly how it was 10 years ago,” Sjahrir continues.

He further elaborates how these two goals will support each other. By having more younger investors, major tech companies such as the local unicorns are expected to consider listing in Indonesia instead of other capital markets.

“We need to take a more active role in preventing them from leaving to other capital markets. Because we have to remember: The bigger guys, they have options,” Sjahrir warns.

What will be the stock exchange’s strategy to encourage these unicorns to get listed on IDX, and not anywhere else?

Reference:

https://www.idx.co.id/en-us/news/press-release-detail/?emitenCode=1330

https://e27.co/as-idx-commisioner-this-is-how-pandu-sjahrir-aims-to-help-more-indonesian-startups-go-public-20200630/