The new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Act is expected to be passed by Parliament in the third quarter of this year.
Speaking at the South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE), seminar held at the Colombo Stock Exchange, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Tilak Karunaratne Karunaratne said the Act to be passed will align SEC’s regulatory framework with international benchmarks and will include provisions to enable the licensing and regulation of a Demutualised Exchange.
“In this process, we will focus on governance arrangements as the primary means of ensuring Stock Exchanges have robust arrangements for maintaining a proper balance between the commercial interests and its regulatory responsibilities.”
Moreover, after Demutualisation, stock exchanges evolved into profit seeking commercial enterprises which will explore arrangements to establish global alliances to remain profitable and internationally competitive, he said.
He said that for that reason, there is a need towards greater integration of markets where there are no barriers to the movement of capital and there is easy access to each other’s stock markets.
Noting that fair and efficient functioning of exchanges is of significant benefit to the public, he pointed out that failure of an Exchange to perform its regulatory functions properly can have a far reaching impact on the economy as a whole. “Regulatory functions of traditional Exchanges include rule-making in respect of members, products and trading itself. But as Exchanges move from mutual entities to for-profit enterprises, as most of you have already done, they can create a number of challenges in respect of the regulatory roles the Exchanges perform.
These concerns include the compatibility of for-profit operation of Exchanges with public interest objectives to the adequacy and efficiency of regulation.”
Commenting on regional capital markets activities, Karunaratne said the removal of controls on capital transactions within the region, harmonization of capital market infrastructure including regulations, taxation, accounting, trading systems and cross-listings of securities are necessary steps to move towards regional financial integration.
Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE), Chairman Vajira Kulatilaka speaking at the event noted that capital markets in the region are significantly evolving and at the same face the challenges of making them more viable and competitive with well developed capital markets in the world.
He also added that the SAFE event in Colombo could be better utilised to foster collaboration and to accelerate development in the regional capital markets.
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