SEC celebrates its 38th Anniversary with a bell-ringing ceremony at the CSE

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) celebrated its 38th Anniversary with a bell-ringing ceremony held at the trading floor of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) on 30th October 2025. The event was attended by senior management of both the SEC and the CSE, along with the staff from both organizations.

The ceremony began with welcome remarks from Mr. Dimuthu Abeyesekere, Chairman of the CSE, who highlighted the continued partnership between the CSE and SEC in strengthening Sri Lanka’s capital market. During his speech, he said, “Today marks an important milestone in the history of Sri Lanka's capital market. For 38 years, the SEC has been our steadfast partner, providing critical leadership, guidance, and supervision to support all market stakeholders.”

This was followed by a speech from Prof. Hareendra Dissabandara, Chairman, SEC, who reflected on the Commission’s achievements over the past 38 years and its commitment to fostering a transparent and investor-friendly securities market.

In his speech, he mentioned that the SEC was established in 1987 under Act No. 36 to introduce a suitable legal and institutional framework for Sri Lanka's capital market. After serving for over 30 years with several amendments, the Act was completely repealed and replaced in 2021 with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Act No. 19 of 2021.

The Chairman noted that the SEC is a member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and strives to achieve capital market regulation and development suitable for Sri Lanka while complying with international standards.

Addressing a common misconception, the Chairman emphasized, "Some believe that the SEC only regulates the market. However, this is not the correct view. The SEC is only one stakeholder in the securities market. Without issuers, investors, the CSE as an operator, stockbrokers, investment banks, margin providers, and rating agencies, there would be no market. We are only one part of the entire securities ecosystem."

The Chairman reaffirmed that the SEC's efforts are linked to its institutional mission of creating, maintaining, and regulating a fair, orderly, efficient, and transparent capital market, while protecting the welfare of domestic and foreign investors and safeguarding capital market professional standards.

"This paves the way to achieving our vision of becoming a leader in the region in effective capital market regulation," he said.

Addressing concerns about the SEC's dual focus, the Chairman was unequivocal: "Some stakeholders may get the impression that whilst we have been focused on market development, we may have forgotten regulation. This is not so. I wish to state categorically that we have in no way forgotten our regulatory role."

The Chairman concluded with a call to action: "I invite all our regulatees to partner with us and work with renewed pride and strength towards the development of the securities market."

As part of the celebrations, the CSE presented the SEC with a special memorabilia, symbolizing the longstanding partnership and collaborative efforts between the two institutions in promoting a transparent and investor-friendly securities market.