The Government has proposed introducing a new programme titled “A Share for Everyone” to encourage greater participation in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).
Delivering the 2027 Budget Speech, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that only around 0.7% of the population aged over 18 is currently actively engaged in trading on the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Under the proposed programme, titled “A Share for Everyone” and implemented under the vision “Let's Know, Let's Learn, Let's Invest”, students in schools who are studying for the Advanced Level in Grade 13 and are over 18 years of age will be encouraged to participate in the stock market.
The initiative proposes to introduce the project to provide a share portfolio subject to a maximum of Rs. 10,000, in accordance with a formal selection procedure.
The President also proposed to introduce a mechanism to encourage the listing on the stock market of small and medium-scale enterprises (SME Listing Support Mechanism), which makes a significant contribution to the economy and job creation.
The Colombo Stock Exchange will allocate Rs. 250 million towards these proposals, while an additional Rs. 500 million is proposed to be allocated for this purpose.
