SharpFokus Brief – June 24, 2025
How to Make Stocks Cashflow Sooner
In Indonesia, every company that lists on the stock exchange must raise money. It’s a rule — you can’t just go public and let existing shareholders trade shares. You must issue new ones and bring in fresh capital.
But in the US and UK, companies can list without raising any new funds. It’s called a direct listing in the US or an introduction in the UK. Spotify, Slack, Palantir — all went public this way. No new shares. Just a public market for the shares already in circulation.
Why does this matter?
Because in Indonesia, quite a lot of listed companies now have more cash than liabilities. But they can’t return that cash to shareholders, because the rules say you can’t use IPO proceeds for dividends or buybacks. The money has to stay inside the company — even if there’s no productive use for it.
So capital gets stuck.
If Indonesia allowed direct listings, like in the US or UK, companies could go public when they’re ready — without being forced to raise cash they don’t need. That would free up balance sheets, let capital flow more efficiently, and potentially bring more high-return companies onto the exchange.
Maybe it’s time for the IDX to take a closer look at the listing rules.
A market that allocates capital well is even more important than one that just raises it.
⸻
🔎 See which companies actually use capital well
Explore the Top 100 highest cashflow return companies in Indonesia
👉 sharpfokus.com/subscribe
Includes ranked access starting at IDR 150,000 per quarter.
How to Make Stocks Cashflow Sooner
In Indonesia, every company that lists on the stock exchange must raise money. It’s a rule — you can’t just go public and let existing shareholders trade shares. You must issue new ones and bring in fresh capital.
But in the US and UK, companies can list without raising any new funds. It’s called a direct listing in the US or an introduction in the UK. Spotify, Slack, Palantir — all went public this way. No new shares. Just a public market for the shares already in circulation.
Why does this matter?
Because in Indonesia, quite a lot of listed companies now have more cash than liabilities. But they can’t return that cash to shareholders, because the rules say you can’t use IPO proceeds for dividends or buybacks. The money has to stay inside the company — even if there’s no productive use for it.
So capital gets stuck.
If Indonesia allowed direct listings, like in the US or UK, companies could go public when they’re ready — without being forced to raise cash they don’t need. That would free up balance sheets, let capital flow more efficiently, and potentially bring more high-return companies onto the exchange.
Maybe it’s time for the IDX to take a closer look at the listing rules.
A market that allocates capital well is even more important than one that just raises it.
⸻
🔎 See which companies actually use capital well
Explore the Top 100 highest cashflow return companies in Indonesia
👉 sharpfokus.com/subscribe
Includes ranked access starting at IDR 150,000 per quarter.