Among Indonesia’s securities houses, Indo Premier Sekuritas stands head and shoulders above its peers, which include the trading arms of local banks and international brokers. During Asiamoney’s latest awards period, it was no different; the independent brokerage, led by president director and chief executive Moleonoto The, put in an impressive performance.
Indonesia’s equity capital markets are fuelled by small IPOs and follow-on offerings, typically worth under $100 million each. But they occasionally throw up a complex deal that needs a firm like Indo Premier to offer the right solution.
The firm worked on one such trade, a Rp208.1 billion ($14.5 million) IPO for Soho Global Health, last September as sole lead manager. The deal involved a concurrent issue of new shares to management and a conversion of Rp970.7 billion in mandatory convertible notes and warrants.
Indo Premier’s reputation for executing complex transactions successfully means it quickly became the bank of choice for investment banking mandates. Its pipeline for the coming year includes five IPOs, 15 DCM deals and one merger and acquisition deal.
The firm executed 45 bond and sukuk issues between June 2020 and the end of May 2021, according to data provided by the firm. Its main rival, Mandiri Sekuritas, worked on 46 trades, but as many as 30 came through its parent, Bank Mandiri. The latter is 60% owned by the Indonesian government.
Indo Premier and Mandiri Sekuritas are also rivals for the top spot as broker-dealers on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.
Mandiri leads almost consistently in trading volume and value, although Indo Premier is a close second. But where Indo Premier comes into its own is in trading frequency, where it tops the tables with a clear lead over its peers.
Indo Premier’s overall strength in secondary trading is also reflected in the growth in fee income from the business. For example, brokerage commission in the fourth quarter of 2020 jumped 72.4%, year on year, further cementing the firm’s credentials in Indonesia’s competitive securities market.