Sept 21, Colombo: The Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena endorsed his certificate on the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Bill today (21).

The Bill was presented by the Minister of Finance in Parliament on 9th of July, 2021 which was published in the Gazette on 28th of June, 2021.

Accordingly, the Securities and Exchange Commission Act No. 19 of 2021 will come into force from today (21).

The new Act to regulate the stock market in keeping with current international best practices will replace the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Act No. 36 of 1987.

The new Act enhances the powers of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and auditors, and deals comprehensively with market misconduct, with fines for those violating the law ranging from Rs. 1 million up to Rs. 25 million and jail sentences between five to 10 years.