Indonesia Panel Backs Interim Financial Chiefs to Deliver Reforms

OJK - JAKARTA, March 11 - An Indonesian parliamentary panel on Wednesday voted to retain both the interim head of the Financial Services Authority and its acting chief capital market supervisor in a permanent capacity, to enable them to deliver on promised market reforms.

The panel selected Friderica Widyasari Dewi as the agency's chair and Hasan Fawzi as its chief capital market supervisor, both for five-year terms, pending certification by the wider parliament on Thursday.

"We have reached a unanimous decision," Mukhamad Misbakhun, head of parliamentary committee overseeing finance, told reporters, adding that one the main considerations was the officials' responses to the issues facing the regulator.

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Four officials, including the agency's chair and chief supervisor of capital markets, quit suddenly on January 30, days after index provider MSCI warned it could downgrade Indonesia to "frontier" status due to transparency and governance issues among listed firms.

The MSCI warning triggered selloffs that within days wiped about $120 billion off Indonesia's equity market, exacerbated by rating agency Moody's downgrading the country's sovereign credit rating outlook.

Parliament considered 10 candidates for a total of five vacancies at the agency, known by its Indonesian abbreviation OJK.

NEW TEAM TO IMPLEMENT VITAL REFORMS

The new leadership will oversee capital market governance reforms proposed by OJK and the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) to address the concerns raised by MSCI, which include doubling the minimum free float of listed company shares to 15% over the next three years.

In their interviews before the panel, Frideria and Hasan both pledged to push forward with the proposed reforms to win back investor trust before MSCI's next review in May.

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Hasan said capital-market achievements, including the main index hitting record highs in 2025 and 2026, had masked deep problems, including price manipulation, fake transactions, the use of nominee accounts and the spread of misleading information.

The reforms are meant to address those problems and restore public trust, he said, outlining a goal to increase the total market value of listed firms on the IDX to 25 quadrillion rupiah ($1.48 trillion) by 2031, up from around $790 billion now.

"For years it's true that public information transparency is a weakness that we must address immediately," said Hasan, who was previously OJK's chief digital asset supervisor.

Friderica, whose career includes stints at the Indonesia Stock Exchange and a local investment bank, underlined the importance of improving transparency relating to beneficial owners of listed companies.

"Regarding MSCI, they have acknowledged our proposals, but they cannot necessarily immediately accept them, they would have to see our consistency on implementation," she said.

Most of the candidates were officials with OJK, the central bank, the finance ministry and the state deposit insurer.

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SELECTION PROCESS FAST-TRACKED

The panel's picks will require certification by the wider parliament on Thursday.

This selection process for the OJK leadership is quicker than the usual months-long process. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said on Tuesday that the appointments were being fast-tracked because of concerns about financial market volatility due to the conflict in the Middle East.

"The war ... speeds up the need for more â??definitive persons at the OJK," Purbaya told reporters.