The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka on Thursday (30th April 2020) proposed establishing a joint committee comprising members of the SEC and the CSE in order to identify mechanisms required for the stock market to conduct all its core activities digitally as well as to enable clearing and settlement electronically and to make recommendations to have the said measures in place.

Accordingly, the SEC calls upon the Chairman of the CSE to submit the names of the nominated members for the committee soon.

the letter as follows:

30th April 2020
Mr. Rajeeva Bandaranaike
Chief Executive Officer
Colombo Stock Exchange
#04-01, West Block
World Trade Center, Echelon Square
Colombo 01

Dear Mr. Bandaranaike,

Appointment of a joint committee of the SEC and the CSE to consider measures necessary to conduct activities of the CSE digitally as well as to enable clearing and settlement electronically

The inadequacies of the measures currently in place at the Colombo Stock Exchange to conduct all its core activities digitally came to light during the correspondence exchanged between the CSE and the SEC recently.

You will appreciate that it is imperative to have a mechanism in place for the CSE to conduct all core activities of the stock market digitally as well as to have measures in place to ensure electronic clearing and settlement in order to keep abreast with the development of technology.

The situation prevalent in the country as a result of the Covid 19 Pandemic has highlighted this need more than ever before and the SEC is of the view that it is best for the SEC and the CSE to jointly look in to this aspect as an urgent requirement.

For this purpose, the SEC proposes the setting up of a Committee comprising of two members of the SEC and three officers of its Secretariat and two members of the Board of the CSE and three officers of its Secretariat.

The Terms of Reference of this Committee can be broadly defined to “Identify measures/ mechanisms required for the Colombo Stock Exchange to conduct all core activities of the stock market digitally as well as to enable clearing and settlement electronically and to make recommendations to have the said measures/mechanisms in place”.

The Chairman of the SEC, Mr. Viraj Dayaratne PC has nominated Commission Members Mr. Manil Jayesinghe and Mr.Naresh Abeysekara as well as Director General and Directors Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma and Mr. Prabash Wanigatunga to serve as SEC nominated members of this Committee and kindly calls upon the Chairman of the CSE to nominate members from the CSE.

If the CSE has any alternative proposal, the SEC will be happy to consider same.

Yours sincerely

…………………………..

Chinthaka Mendis

Director General