Prime Minister Opens CSE Financial Literacy Event and Simulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission and Colombo Stock Exchange launched an online stock market simulation on 5 October during a financial literacy event attended by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, according to the SEC.

The Stock Market Game, based on the ATrad trading system, allows participants to practise investment decisions and build portfolios of listed shares without using real money. It is accessible through the SEC and CSE websites.

The organisers envisage using the platform for simulation competitions involving universities and the 100 Capital Market Clubs established in schools across Sri Lanka.

The launch formed part of World Investor Week, an annual campaign led by the International Organization of Securities Commissions to promote investor education and protection. The event also joined the World Federation of Exchanges initiative encouraging exchanges to ring their opening bells for financial literacy.

The ceremony marked the CSE’s 40th anniversary. A commemorative stamp and First Day Cover were presented to the Prime Minister in collaboration with the Department of Posts and Sri Lanka’s Philatelic Bureau.

CSE chief executive Rajeeva Bandaranaike urged investors to obtain information from reliable sources, warning that material circulating on social media could be inaccurate or misleading.

SEC chairman D.B.P.H. Dissabandara linked financial education to confidence in the capital market and wider participation. Amarasuriya encouraged young people to develop financial knowledge alongside their academic studies.

Other planned activities include an investor education stall at Colombo’s World Trade Center, participation in the Central Bank’s Financial Literacy Expo and broadcasts of a children’s animated educational series on Rupavahini.

The SEC also announced a campaign across 14 locations aimed at widening retail participation and facilitating 10,000 new Central Depository Systems accounts. Officials, stockbrokers, university representatives, principals and students attended the ceremony, according to the securities market regulator.