The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka says Budget 2027 has taken up two proposals it had put forward and advocated for repeatedly — a support mechanism to help small and medium enterprises list on the stock market, and a scheme called “A Share for Everyone” aimed at school leavers.

In a statement issued on the budget by SEC Chairman Senior Prof. Hareendra Dissabandara, the regulator said the two measures “represent a significant milestone in our collective efforts to deepen Sri Lanka’s capital market, broaden investor participation and strengthen the link between economic growth and capital formation,” the Daily Mirror reported.

The SEC noted that advising the government on securities market development falls within its statutory functions. “It is in this capacity that the SEC put forward these proposals and we are pleased to see them taken forward,” the statement said.

The two measures

“A Share for Everyone”, carrying the tagline “Let’s Know, Let’s Learn, Let’s Invest”, would give eligible Advanced Level students an opportunity to enter the capital market and gain first-hand exposure to investing. The commission described it as a step towards building financial literacy and a culture of informed investment among young Sri Lankans.

The SME Listing Support Mechanism is intended to help smaller firms raise capital through the stock market. The SEC argued that listing would also lift corporate governance standards and transparency at those companies, while widening the range of investments available to the public.

The regulator framed the pair as addressing both sides of the same problem: participation in the capital market remains low relative to the country’s potential, with “A Share for Everyone” aimed at expanding the investor base and the listing mechanism at increasing the number and diversity of listed companies.

Update: a second newsroom carried the statement a day earlier

Lanka Business Online published the SEC statement on 13 November, a day ahead of the Daily Mirror, reproducing it at greater length. Every figure and quotation matches the Daily Mirror’s account, and the LBO text adds the commission’s reasoning on why SMEs were singled out: that they are “the backbone of Sri Lanka’s economy, contributing significantly to employment generation, innovation, and regional economic development.”

The LBO version also states the commission’s statutory basis more fully — that its powers, duties and functions include advising the government on securities market development and assisting in the effective implementation of government policies and programmes with respect to the securities market.

On the scale of the problem the two measures are meant to address, the SEC said that “at present, participation in the capital market remains relatively low compared with the country’s full potential,” and that the pair address this “from both the supply and demand sides.” It listed the intended outcomes as improved capital mobilisation, increased financial inclusion, enhanced market liquidity and stronger long-term growth.

Both filings reproduce the same regulator’s statement rather than reporting on it independently, so the corroboration here confirms the wording of the SEC’s position, not the merits of either proposal.

Not reported

Neither filing carries an independent assessment of either proposal, and neither puts the SEC’s claims to the Colombo Stock Exchange, the Treasury or any SME body for comment. Neither gives eligibility criteria for the student scheme, nor detail on what the listing support consists of — whether fee relief, regulatory easing or direct subsidy — and neither states a timeline, a cost to the state or a target number of SME listings. Neither says how “eligible” Advanced Level students would be selected, or who would bear the risk on shares allocated to them.