The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) and the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) have taken their ‘A Share for Everyone, A Unit for Everyone’ (Samata Kotasak, Samata Ekakayak) initiative to Anuradhapura and Jaffna, as part of an ongoing islandwide effort to broaden participation in Sri Lanka’s capital market.
Investor forums under the initiative were held on September 10 at the Golden Mango in Anuradhapura and on September 12 at the Tilko Jaffna City Hotel. The two forums attracted more than 600 participants, reflecting growing interest in learning about investment opportunities beyond traditional avenues.
The ‘A Share for Everyone, A Unit for Everyone’ initiative seeks to promote a shared commitment to creating wealth and value through a fair, efficient, orderly and transparent capital market. A key focus is to make capital market participation more accessible to a broader section of the population across Sri Lanka.
As part of the initiative, the SEC and CSE will continue conducting investor forums across the country to strengthen investor education and awareness while encouraging greater participation from regions outside the Western Province. By leveraging the CSE’s nationwide reach and growing interest in equity investments, the programme aims to provide prospective investors with greater access to the capital market through stockbroking firms and unit trust management companies.
Speaking on the outreach objectives of the initiative, CSE Executive Vice President – Marketing Niroshan Wijesundera said Sri Lankan investors had traditionally favoured conventional investment avenues, while highlighting the comparative returns that the capital market had provided in recent years.
“Traditionally, Sri Lankan investors have favoured conventional investment avenues, but it has yielded comparatively fewer returns than the capital market,” Wijesundera said.
He also highlighted what he described as a favourable investment environment, noting that Sri Lanka’s capital market was trading at a relatively low Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio of 11.03 times in a global context.
Wijesundera further pointed to the market’s resilience during periods of economic and geopolitical uncertainty. He noted that the Sri Lankan capital market had withstood several major shocks, including past economic crises, the war, the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic downturn and the fuel crisis.
“As covered in the presentations at the forums, the Sri Lankan capital market has demonstrated comparative resilience in the face of global market corrections, such as the Middle Eastern crisis. Sri Lanka has withstood bigger shocks, such as past crises, the war, Covid, the economic downturn, and the fuel crisis. The market has, despite all this, has provided better returns compared to traditional investment avenues over the course of the last four to five years,” he said.
Market performance over the past six years has also reflected significant growth in the All-Share Price Index (ASPI). The index increased from 5,320 points in August 2020 to 21,315 points by the end of August 2026, representing an increase of approximately 300 percent and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 26 percent.
The investor forums commenced with presentations by representatives of leading stockbroking firms, providing participants with an introduction to the capital market and an overview of current market conditions.
In Jaffna, A. Visaahan, Vice President – Research at Asha Securities (Pvt) Ltd, delivered a presentation covering the fundamentals of the capital market and the current market outlook. In Anuradhapura, Dilina Kulatunga, Head of Research at Capital Trust Securities (Pvt) Ltd, provided prospective investors with an overview of the market and key considerations when entering the capital market.
Participants were also introduced to unit trust investments and the opportunities available through equity funds. Kumudu Kekirideniya, Manager – Business Development at Softlogic Asset Management (Pvt) Ltd, and Thillainadarajah Luxchan, Senior Manager at NDB Wealth (Pvt) Ltd, delivered presentations in Anuradhapura and Jaffna respectively, explaining the role of unit trusts and their potential benefits for investors.
Both forums concluded with panel discussions and question-and-answer sessions, allowing participants to engage directly with industry representatives and clarify their queries about capital market investments.
The forums also provided prospective investors with an opportunity to meet representatives from stockbroking firms and unit trust management companies and take steps towards opening investment accounts, further supporting the SEC and CSE’s efforts to expand access to capital market investment opportunities across the country.
Members of the Anuradhapura Investor Forum Panel Discussion
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