Jakarta. Friderica Widyasari Dewi, the new boss of Indonesia’s financial regulator, wants to restore investor trust after market turmoil triggered leadership changes.

Friderica, also known as Kiki, took her oath at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, officially marking her leadership at the Financial Services Authority (OJK). Earlier this year, the Jakarta Composite Index plunged after index provider MSCI warned about trading transparency. Kiki promised that OJK had taken several steps to enhance the Indonesian market's credibility.

“Maintaining and restoring public trust — especially in Indonesia’s capital market and other sectors — remains our priority agenda,” Kiki told reporters.

To this end, the OJK has been pushing for the free float rule of requiring companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) to comply with a minimum public shareholding of 15%. This marks an increase from the previous threshold of 7.5%. Companies have until March 2027 to follow this new rule.

OJK has also begun disclosing data on share ownership above 1%. The regulator is also developing policies related to the ultimate beneficial owners and expanding the granularity of investor data at the Indonesian Central Securities Depository (KSEI) from 9 to 28 subcategories. 

"This data can provide a clearer picture to investors, to all of us who want to invest in certain stocks," Kiki said.

Kiki replaced career diplomat Mahendra Siregar who helmed OJK since 2022. The latter stepped down in late January. An OJK press statement wrote at the time that Mahendra decided to resign as a "form of moral responsibility to support the necessary recovery steps".