Indonesia aims to deepen stock market

The government of Indonesia plans to deepen stock market to boost its capacity in absorbing capital as an effort to ease risk of possible capital outflows causes by global financial crisis, spokesman of the central bank Difi A. Djohansyah said here on Wednesday.The plan was made following the concern from the rating agency that the country's stock market was shallow which give small option for the global investors to diversify their investment that lead them to exit from the market.The spokesman said that the government aimed at extending options for investment and boost infrastructure of the bourse. "They (the bourse authority) have had a roadmap for developing financial market for domestic non-bank, the projects would end by 2014 or 2015,"the spokesman said.Indonesia's stock market was still shallower than those in Asian peers, such as in Singapore which has more option for investment, he said. "The deeper financial market would has stronger capability to absorb (capital), because its has more instrument and more advance infrastructure. So its resilience against the external shock is going to be stronger," he said.Nevertheless, the spokesman said that the number of foreign funds flowing into Indonesia this year is going to be higher than that of at last year as the country's newly-endorsed the long awaited land acquisition bill into law in December and the commencement of the government long-term infrastructure project master plan planned last year, as well as the upgrade of the credit rating, were among the sweetener for the global funds to enter Indonesia.