(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –A special market opening ceremony was organized by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE)under the patronage of Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka to mark the Digitalization of the Sri Lankan Stock Market.
The launch event themed ‘Hyper-Leap to the future’ was also attended by the Hon. State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Hon. State Minister Lohan Ratwatte, Secretary to the Treasury and Ministry of Finance Mr. S. R. Attygalle, and other senior invitees from Foreign Missions in Sri Lanka, Stock Broker Firms, Listed Companies and the Sri Lankan Business Fraternity.
A Joint Committee comprising the representatives of the SEC and the CSE was formed by the Chairman of SEC Mr. Viraj Dayaratne PC., with the objective of identifying measures and mechanisms required for the Colombo Stock market to conduct its core activities digitally.A strategy was formed to digitalize all stakeholder touchpoints enabling end to end connectivity electronically with an interactive user interface and user experience.
The first phase of this initiative was to convert paper-based statements to electronic form and to facilitate companies listed on the CSE to pay dividends electronically to shareholders. As part of the second phase of the initiative the CSE and SEC today launched a transformative digital offering through the New CSE Mobile App, an end-to-end digital onboarding and online account opening feature that removes the barriers to entry for new investors and enablesany eligible prospective investor around the country to open a CDS account to trade in the market without the need to visit a branch office. The event also featured a further revamp of CSE and SEC digital touchpoints including new CSE SEC and CDS websites which were relaunched with user-friendly interfaces to offer browsers an informative browsing experience covering trading information, regulatory information as well as investor centric information maintained by the CDS. An investor education and financial literacy focused YouTube Channel to be managed by the SEC was also launched to create modern and digital learning opportunities for prospective investors, keeping with the growing demand for easily accessible learning opportunities.
With the new online account opening feature offered by the CSE Mobile App, prospective investors can now get started with investing instantly with their account opening, trading and settlement and monitor their accounts anywhere and anytime they want. It has also been enabled for them to access information designed specifically to make Informedinvestment decisions including access to research reports and interactive educational content to suit all types of investors.The platform is further designed to add value beyond the fundamentals of stock-trading, enabling companies to circulate media releases, host corporate videos and create an engaging digital experience for everyone involved.
The CSE and SEC have been pioneering transformation of the stock market since its inception and are in a mission toredefine the financial landscape of Sri Lanka; enhancing the investment experience for Investors, stockbrokers, listed companies and other stakeholders. The digitalization of the Colombo Stock Market brings the future to Sri Lanka positioning it to become a global financial hub, which will redefine the stock market landscape takinga hyper-leap into the future.
