Jakarta. The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) is preparing connectivity with US-based brokerage infrastructure and API provider Alpaca Trading, a move that could allow Indonesian securities firms to give their clients access to overseas financial markets.

IDX President Director Jeffrey Hendrik said on Tuesday that the Financial Services Authority (OJK) is drafting regulations that would allow IDX member brokerages to offer investment services involving overseas assets and financial instruments through providers such as Alpaca.

“Exchange members will be able to establish connections with Alpaca, which is connected to many exchanges overseas, allowing our investors to gain exposure to numerous foreign markets,” Jeffrey told reporters in Jakarta.

According to Jeffrey, Alpaca is connected to more than 50 global exchanges and holds licenses in several jurisdictions. The planned cooperation could provide infrastructure supporting the development of offshore investment services by Indonesian securities firms.

Jeffrey said enabling IDX members to provide access to global investments could also create new sources of revenue for domestic brokerages.

Indonesians seeking to invest in foreign stocks and other overseas capital market instruments currently tend to use platforms or intermediaries outside the IDX member ecosystem.

With regulations and infrastructure enabling domestic securities firms to provide such services, the IDX hopes more offshore investment activity by Indonesian investors can be brought within the country’s regulated capital market ecosystem.

“This will certainly create new business opportunities and potential sources of revenue for our exchange members. Indonesians investing in foreign stocks have so far not been doing so through our exchange members,” Jeffrey said.

He stressed that individual securities firms would determine which investment products they offer. Alpaca would serve as the infrastructure provider connecting local brokerages with global markets rather than determining the products available to investors.

Alpaca co-founder and CEO Yoshi Yokokawa previously said the company serves more than 300 institutional clients across around 50 countries.

Yoshi described Indonesia as an important market for the development of global capital market connectivity, noting that Alpaca has operated and worked with institutions in the country for about five years.

“We want to connect global capital markets with Indonesia and provide opportunities for the Indonesian market to connect with investors around the world,” Yoshi said.

Firlie Ganinduto, secretary general of the Indonesian Fintech Association (Aftech), welcomed the initiative, saying advances in technology and growing public interest in international investments have increased demand for cross-border investment infrastructure.

“Indonesians’ interest in investing in global markets also continues to grow. The challenge is ensuring that this interest can be facilitated through services that are officially regulated, orderly, and provide adequate consumer protection,” Firlie said.

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