By: Staff Writer
September 03, Colombo (LNW): The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) has taken a significant step towards strengthening its market surveillance role by acquiring a world class state-of-the-art market surveillance system from NASDAQ, a leading global technology company.
This acquisition aligns with the SEC’s commitment to ensure a fair, transparent, and efficient securities market in Sri Lanka. The parties are continuing commercial discussions to deepen their relationship.
SEC and NASDAQ signed the contractual agreement on 30 August 2024 in Colombo. The ceremony was attended by key officials from the SEC, including SEC Chairman Faizal Salieh, Commission Member Anton Godfrey, Director General Chinthaka Mendis, Deputy Director General Tushara Jayaratne, and Director – Legal Rishdha Zarook and Chief Digital Officer Madura Wanigasekara, and representatives from NASDAQ.
The system will undergo extensive testing and is expected to be fully operational within five months of signing the agreement.
Commenting on this landmark decision, SEC Chairman Faizal Salieh said: “The acquisition of this market surveillance system is a major milestone in our regulatory journey.
As Sri Lanka’s capital market evolves, it is fundamentally necessary to keep our regulatory market oversight mechanisms abreast with global standards and expectations.
Our partnership with NASDAQ equips us with world-class technology to monitor the market, enforce regulations in a timely manner, and foster a more transparent and investor-friendly market environment.”
NASDAQ’s market surveillance platform is world renowned for its advanced capabilities in market monitoring and regulatory compliance and will provide the SEC with cutting-edge technology to detect and respond to market anomalies, potential fraud, and other forms of market manipulation and abuse.
The system’s sophisticated algorithms, customisable alert and report generation capabilities, visualisation tools and real-time data analytics with market replays, will enable the SEC to proactively safeguard market participants and enhance the overall stability and credibility of Sri Lanka’s capital market.
The system is scalable to support increasing market activity, capable of processing large volumes of data, and can integrate AI and machine learning to enhance its detection capabilities.
By adopting this platform, the SEC joins an elite group of market regulators who have prioritised the use of cutting-edge technology to maintain market fairness and transparency.
