Jakarta. Gold has officially entered Indonesia’s stock market as regulators and financial industry players launch a new exchange-traded fund that allows investors to gain exposure to the precious metal without directly buying physical gold.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) launched the gold ETF on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) on Monday, with the product trading under the ticker XTRA.

OJK Chairman Friderica Widyasari Dewi said the launch marked the realization of an initiative that had been studied for more than a decade, enabled by regulatory changes and the development of Indonesia’s financial ecosystem.

“Gold ETFs have actually been an aspiration of ours for perhaps 10 to 15 years through various studies and research. At that time, however, it was not yet possible. Today, with changes in the law and other developments, we are ready to launch gold ETFs in Indonesia,” Friderica said at the launch ceremony in Jakarta.

The product is part of efforts to deepen Indonesia’s financial markets while expanding the country’s bullion ecosystem, which seeks to connect the gold and capital markets.

Unlike traditional gold investment, where investors buy physical bars or use digital gold services, the ETF allows investors to trade gold exposure on the stock exchange.

“This can be an alternative investment, especially for people who want to invest in gold. People have traditionally known gold in physical form, but today we also have gold recorded on the exchange through Indonesia’s gold ETF,” Friderica said.

The ETF has also received a sharia compliance endorsement from the National Sharia Board of the Indonesian Ulema Council (DSN-MUI), potentially broadening its appeal among investors who prefer sharia-compliant investments.

Friderica said gold could also serve as a safe-haven asset during periods of market volatility and uncertainty.

“Gold is one of the instruments that can serve as a safe haven or protection when there is volatility and uncertainty,” she said.

Targeting Hundreds of Billions in Assets
Trimegah Asset Management President Director Antony Dirga expects the gold ETF to attract assets under management of several hundred billion rupiah by the end of 2026.

“Hopefully, by the end of this year, the gold ETF can reach several hundred billion rupiah. Hopefully, we can achieve that,” Antony said.

He said the ETF offers a new way for Indonesians to invest in gold through the capital market, while opening access to both retail and institutional investors.

“This is a new way to invest in the market. It is a new instrument, an alternative instrument,” Antony said.

Indonesia already has a growing digital gold market through services offered by companies such as Pegadaian and Islamic banks. The ETF, however, brings gold investment directly into the capital market, allowing investors to trade it through the existing stock exchange infrastructure.

“Once it is launched in the capital market, access is not limited to retail investors. Institutional investors can also access it,” Antony said.

Five Investment Managers
Five investment managers have launched gold ETF products as part of an ecosystem involving OJK, the IDX and other self-regulatory organizations, investment managers, custodian banks, authorized participants, bullion banks and other industry players.

The five managers are Indopremier Investment Management, Mandiri Manajemen Investasi, BRI Manajemen Investasi, Trimegah Asset Management and Shinhan Asset Management Indonesia.

Pegadaian is also involved in the ecosystem, while custodian banks, authorized participants and bullion banks support the provision and safekeeping of the underlying gold.

The structure links physical gold to the capital market through an Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR) recorded at the Indonesia Central Securities Depository (KSEI), representing electronic ownership of the gold.

Investors can then trade units of the gold ETF on the IDX’s secondary market.

“The gold ETF is launched on the exchange, so access is immediately broad. The public can trade it directly on the exchange, in the secondary market,” Antony said.

He said the ETF’s XTRA ticker makes it accessible through the same market infrastructure investors already use to trade stocks.

While gold prices remain subject to global market cycles and can rise or fall, Antony said Indonesia still has significant room to develop its gold investment market, citing the growth of gold ETFs in China.

For OJK, the launch marks another step in developing Indonesia’s bullion market while bringing gold and the capital market into a more integrated ecosystem.

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