Short Interest Plunges
Recent September reports show sharp short-interest declines across major listed Asian companies.
Anonymous
Key Points
1
Pacific Alliance Bank’s 200 shorted shares represented approximately 0.0% of its shares; with average daily volume of 440 shares, its short-interest ratio was 0.5 days.
2
Telkom Indonesia’s average trading volume was 100 shares, leaving its short-interest ratio at 0.1 days after short interest fell to 13 shares.
3
Bank Rakyat Indonesia’s shares remained flat at $0.18 during Thursday’s trading; the article listed a 52-week range of $0.13 to $0.27.
4
Minor International’s shares were unchanged at $0.00 during midday trading, with a reported 52-week range of $0.00 to $0.29.
Short-interest positions across four major Asian companies swung dramatically in September, with Pacific Alliance Bank's shorts skyrocketing 545.2% while three Indonesian firms saw their short positions nearly vanish. Watchlist News reported that Pacific Alliance Bank's short interest reached 200 shares, Minor International plunged 90.3% to 123,300 shares, Bank Rakyat Indonesia dropped 100% to just 18 shares, and Telkom Indonesia fell 99.7% to 13 shares. The extreme percentage swings mask a troubling reality: most of these stocks barely traded at all, making traditional short-squeeze metrics impossible to calculate.
The data reveals a stark divide between headline percentages and actual market impact. Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Minor International recorded zero trading volume during the reporting period, rendering their short-interest ratios mathematically meaningless. Defense World noted that similar dramatic short-interest swings appeared across other markets in September, suggesting this represents a broader pattern of illiquid securities reporting extreme statistical moves rather than genuine shifts in investor sentiment.
Pacific Alliance Bank Breaks Records, But Numbers Deceive
Pacific Alliance Bank's 545.2% jump in short interest looks alarming on paper. The bank went from roughly 31 shorted shares to 200 shares in September, Watchlist News reported. Yet these 200 shares represent approximately 0.0% of the company's total outstanding shares. With an average daily trading volume of just 440 shares, the short-interest ratio sits at a mere 0.5 days—meaning shorts could theoretically cover their positions in half a day if they wanted to sell.
Indonesian Banks Virtually Cease Trading in U.S. Markets
Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Minor International both recorded zero trading volume in September, according to Watchlist News, making any short-interest metric essentially useless. Bank Rakyat Indonesia's shares fell to just 18 shorted shares, representing a 100% decline from the previous month. The stock held flat at $0.18 during Thursday's session, with a 52-week trading range of $0.13 to $0.27. Similarly, Minor International's short interest plummeted 90.3% to 123,300 shares amid zero volume, with midday trading stuck at $0.00.
The disconnect between U.S. secondary listings and domestic markets is severe. Bank Rakyat Indonesia delivered solid fundamentals at home, with first-half 2026 net profits rising 17.5% year-over-year to IDR 31.2 trillion on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Yet its American Depositary Receipts remain essentially abandoned by traders, making the short-interest data more statistical noise than meaningful market signal.
Telkom Indonesia Collapses to Negligible Short Position
Telkom Indonesia's short interest fell 99.7% to just 13 shares in September, per Watchlist News. The telecommunications giant's average daily trading volume of 100 shares produces a short-interest ratio of only 0.1 days. The stock traded unchanged at the report date, with a 52-week range of minimal movement, underscoring the near-total abandonment of this security in American markets despite Telkom's status as Indonesia's principal state-owned telecom operator.
Why Extreme Percentages Hide Irrelevant Trading Realities
Percentage-based short-interest moves look shocking when bases are tiny. A jump from 31 to 200 shares sounds massive as 545%, but it represents negligible capital and zero short-squeeze risk. Zero trading volume renders the standard short-interest ratio—days to cover—mathematically undefined. These securities lack the liquidity needed for serious institutional positions.
Investors seeking exposure to major Southeast Asian financial and telecom names now prefer trading primary listings on the Indonesia Stock Exchange and Thai exchanges rather than thinly traded U.S. over-the-counter receipts. Until American trading volumes normalize above zero, short-interest data for these stocks will remain more statistical artifact than market-moving signal.
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