Indonesian property stock soars nearly 1,700% since January IPO

Jakarta

THE best-performing Indonesian stock this year has been trading for less than two months.

Shares of PT Citra Putra Realty, which builds and runs hotels and restaurants, have vaulted 1,672 per cent since their Jan 18 debut. The stock, which sold at 180 rupiah each in an IPO, closed at 3,190 rupiah on Friday, valuing the company at 8.2 trillion rupiah (S$779.9 million).

PT Nusantara Properti International, another property-related stock that listed on the same day as Citra Putra, has soared 590 per cent.

The craze for IPOs, which have handed a windfall to Indonesian investors in recent years, explains why subdued real-estate prices haven't stopped Citra's shares from soaring.

The Jakarta Construction, Property, and Real Estate Index of 71 stocks is little changed since January after falling for two years in a row.

"After the strong rally in Indonesian IPO stocks in recent years, many retail investors are drawn to newly listed companies without considering the corporate or market fundamentals," said Chandra Pasaribu, head of research at PT Yuanta Sekuritas Indonesia.

"Many IPOs are designed to allow the companies or their shareholders to gain access to financing, so the rally in their shares are helping that effort."

PT Bursa Efek Indonesia, the country's only stock exchange, is targeting a record 75 IPOs this year, according to Laksono Widodo, a director at the exchange. BLOOMBERG