The Hon. Kanchana Welipitiya

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I direct the following questions to the Hon. Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

¶ 02 A sharp rise in activity has been observed in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) since the assumption of office by the present Government. This confirms the positive outlook in the private sector regarding political stability and the Government’s economic policies. However, against this background, an irregularity was also reported in trading recently.

¶ 03 01. From the time the present Government assumed office up to now, by how much has the CSE grown?

¶ 04 02. Has the recent questionable incident been resolved?

¶ 05 03. Have the causes and those responsible been identified?

¶ 06 04. What measures have been taken to prevent such incidents in the future?

¶ 07 05. What plans are there to attract more investors to the stock market and broaden trading?

¶ 08 06. What steps are being taken to increase the number of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in the stock market? What are the targets for 2026?

¶ 09 Hon. Presiding Member, in particular, on 23 September 2024, the day our President was sworn in, the All Share Price Index (ASPI) stood at 11,096.81. As of this morning, it stands at 23,958.51, more than a twofold increase. Market capitalization has risen from Rs. 4.04 trillion to Rs. 8 trillion-plus, nearly doubling. In the last quarter, profits of some listed companies have exceeded Rs. 1 trillion, and dividend distributions have increased investor enthusiasm, as the recent data show.

¶ 10 Hon. Presiding Member, despite these data, the Opposition is trying to portray economic instability and create doubt among the public. Yesterday and today’s debate on education reforms is similar—they aim to undermine confidence in the Prime Minister and paint the Government as unstable, publicizing no-confidence moves in the media, which then do not materialize. Their objective is to sow doubt and erode confidence. Before we came to power, they said we had no international relations, that the IMF would walk away if the National People’s Power formed a Government, and that we could not manage debt. However, as a stable Government, we are proceeding according to our policies and fulfilling the promises made to the people.

¶ 11 The confidence placed in this Government by our people, our business community, and local and foreign companies is reflected in the data. While we earn the trust of the public, the business community, and the international community, the Opposition is agitated. Hence my questions to the Hon. Minister. If there are shortcomings as we grow the market in 2026, we should correct them. There was heavy media publicity about a “crash” on the stock market on the 7th of last month, but it was later reported as a minor aberration. In such times, when the Opposition spreads false alarms, I ask the Hon. Minister to set out the measures taken by our Government to sustain confidence in our market.