Foreigners have sold a net of around US$736 million worth of shares since Wednesday
Published Mon, Feb 2, 2026 · 11:07 AM
[SINGAPORE] Indonesian stocks slid on Monday after a tumultuous week during which a warning from MSCI over transparency concerns triggered an US$80 billion market rout and the country’s top financial regulators resigned.
The benchmark Jakarta Composite Index fell over 4 per cent in early trading after sliding nearly 7 per cent last week, its steepest drop in a year. Indonesian stocks recouped some losses on Friday after the government rolled out a slew of measures to allay some of index provider MSCI’s concerns.
Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) late on Friday said its chief had quit along with three senior officials, including his deputy and the head of capital markets. Indonesia Stock Exchange chief Iman Rachman also resigned on Friday.
The departures came after MSCI flagged concerns about ownership and trading transparency in Indonesian stocks on Wednesday, warning that the market could be downgraded to “frontier” status if it did not resolve the issues by May.
Jeffrosenberg Lim, head of research at Maybank Sekuritas, said the market may initially react to the resignations with “uncertainty and questions.”
“This could act as a short-term negative catalyst at the start … The speed at which market optimism returns will depend on the government’s ability to appoint credible leadership and to outline a clear, comprehensive reform roadmap for a healthier capital market,” Lim said.
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Investors rattled
Global investors have been rushing for the exits due to rising concerns about President Prabowo Subianto widening the fiscal deficit and expanding the state’s involvement in financial markets.
Investors are also worried about the central bank’s independence after Prabowo’s nephew was appointed to Bank Indonesia in January. The Indonesian rupiah has been stuck near a record low of 16,985 per US dollar, which it touched in January. It was last at 16,775.
Foreigners have sold a net of around US$736 million worth of shares since Wednesday, according to exchange data. They sold US$1 billion worth of shares in all of 2025.
On Saturday, Indonesia’s financial regulator named Friderica Widyasari Dewi as its interim chief and Hasan Fawzi as its executive chief for capital markets, a move that analysts said could help soothe investor nerves.
“We view these appointments positively, as the new leadership has hands-on experience across trading, clearing, settlement and custody, key areas highlighted by MSCI, and should be able to move swiftly on execution,” Citi strategists said in a note.
“Near-term volatility may persist, but support pillars should help stabilise markets. We believe reforms plus domestic flows should underpin sentiment, suggesting the MSCI setback may be temporary.” REUTERS
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