Indonesia’s stock exchange is considering a major change to one of the most visible rules in its equity market: the IDR50 minimum trading price.

Under the proposal described in the source material, the Indonesia Stock Exchange would remove the IDR50 floor in the Regular and Cash Markets, potentially allowing shares to trade as low as IDR1.

IDX President Director Jeffrey Hendrik said the objective is to improve liquidity and allow more effective price discovery.

The IDR1 Concept Is Not Entirely New

An IDR1 share price would sound radical to many Indonesian investors, but it already exists in one part of the market.

Since March 2024, stocks placed on the Special Monitoring Board and traded through the full periodic call-auction mechanism have been permitted to trade as low as IDR1.

For securities priced between IDR1 and IDR10, the applicable rejection parameter is IDR1, while stocks above IDR10 use a 10% limit under that mechanism.

The important difference is that the general Regular and Cash Markets have continued to apply an IDR50 minimum price.

The new proposal would therefore represent a significant expansion of below-IDR50 pricing beyond the special monitoring mechanism.

Why Can a Price Floor Hurt Liquidity?

Imagine a stock trading at IDR50 with far more sellers than buyers.

If IDR50 is the lowest permitted price, sellers cannot lower their asking prices to IDR45, IDR30 or IDR10 to attract new demand.

The stock can effectively become stuck.

The displayed market price remains IDR50 even though the actual equilibrium price—the level at which enough buyers and sellers would transact—may be substantially lower.

Removing the floor gives the market more room to discover that price.

That is the logic behind the term price discovery.

The GOTO Case Shows the Problem

Recent developments surrounding GoTo illustrate why the issue has become particularly relevant.

GOTO remained at the IDR50 minimum price for an extended period in 2026 while trading liquidity fell sharply.

The company said MSCI’s August index decision involving GOTO was technical and related to the stock remaining at the IDR50 minimum with low trading volume, rather than deterioration in its operating performance.

MSCI had previously cited possible index-replication problems caused by extremely low liquidity while the stock remained at the exchange’s minimum tradable price.

There is no verified evidence that the proposed market-wide rule change was specifically triggered by GOTO.

The case does, however, demonstrate how a hard price floor can interact with liquidity and institutional index requirements.

What Could Investors Gain?

The first potential benefit is more accurate pricing.

A stock that the market values below IDR50 would be able to move toward that level rather than remaining artificially pinned at the floor.

The second is liquidity.

Some investors may refuse to buy a stock at IDR50 but become willing buyers at IDR30 or IDR20. Allowing lower bids can help buyers and sellers find a clearing price.

The third benefit is transparency.

An IDR50 quote currently does not always tell investors whether IDR50 represents real market equilibrium or simply the lowest price permitted by exchange rules.

A wider range could make that distinction clearer.

The Downside Is Equally Important

Allowing lower prices does not protect investors from losses.

A move from IDR50 to IDR25 is a 50% decline.

A fall to IDR5 represents a 90% loss from IDR50.

A stock declining all the way from IDR50 to IDR1 would lose 98% of its quoted value.

The regulatory change would not necessarily create that economic loss. Instead, it could allow an existing deterioration in perceived value to become visible in the traded price.

That distinction is crucial.

IDR1 Does Not Mean “Cheap”

A one-rupiah stock is not automatically a bargain.

Nominal share price says very little about valuation on its own.

Investors still need to assess market capitalisation, earnings, cash flow, debt, book value, number of shares outstanding, free float and business prospects.

A company trading at IDR5 can theoretically be more expensive than one trading at IDR10,000 if the underlying economics and number of shares are different.

The proposal therefore should not be interpreted as creating a new universe of “cheap” stocks.

Why Brokers Need Time to Prepare

A market-wide change to the minimum price would also require technical adjustments.

Brokerage systems must correctly process orders below IDR50, calculate tick sizes and price limits, display portfolios, manage risk systems and ensure settlement works under the new parameters.

According to the supplied material, IDX is still gathering feedback and reviewing the readiness of member brokerage platforms.

That is consistent with how previous below-IDR50 mechanisms were introduced: the Special Monitoring Board used dedicated trading parameters and periodic call auctions rather than simply changing a single price field.

Will Every IDR50 Stock Collapse?

No.

The ability to trade below IDR50 does not force prices lower.

If investors believe IDR50 represents attractive value and sufficient demand exists, the stock can stay at that level or rise.

The biggest effects would likely occur in shares where selling pressure is already heavy and buy-side liquidity is weak.

That means the impact would differ significantly across companies.

When Will the New Rule Take Effect?

That is not yet clear.

The source material says IDX is still collecting feedback from market participants and assessing brokerage-platform readiness.

No verified effective date has been located.

As of August 20, 2026, the proposal should therefore be described as a plan under review, not as an already implemented market-wide rule.

Investors should wait for formal exchange documentation covering issues such as:

• the minimum permitted price;
• tick sizes below IDR50;
• auto-rejection parameters;
• transition arrangements;
• affected markets;
• and the implementation date.

Bottom Line

The Indonesia Stock Exchange is considering removing the IDR50 price floor in its Regular and Cash Markets to improve liquidity and price discovery.

Trading down to IDR1 is not entirely new: Indonesia’s Special Monitoring Board has allowed it under its full call-auction mechanism since 2024.

What makes the 2026 proposal significant is its potential application to the broader market.

For investors, that creates a trade-off.

Prices could become more transparent and previously frozen stocks could find new liquidity. But stocks with weak demand would also have room to fall substantially below IDR50.

The central message is therefore not that “stocks will become cheaper.”

It is that the exchange may give supply and demand more room to determine what a stock is actually worth.