The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) is the main stock exchange in Sri Lanka. As of 31st May 2005, the exchange has 243 listed companies, and 20 business sectors are represented. It has a market capitalization of over 497 billion rupees (over US $ 4.9 billion) and this corresponds to approximately 24% of the country's GDP. Two indices currently exist in the CSE - The All Share Price Index ( ASPI) and The Milanka Price Index (MPI). It became the first South Asian member of the World Federation of Stock Exchanges in 1998 and it is also a founding member of the South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE).
The Colombo Stock Exchange is organised in the form of limited liability company under the Companies Act, and it functions as a non-profit organisation. It has a mutual ownership structure and to date, has a membership of 15. All members are corporate bodies, and each is licensed to carry out the duties as a stock broker.
The Board of Directors is the policy making body of the CSE, which consists of 9 directors, and amongst the 9, one is elected as the Chairman. Of the nine directors, five are elected by the members, and the Minister of Finance appoints the other four.
The CSE has proven itself to be one of the top Emerging Markets stock exchange in the world, with a recorded consistent annual growth of over 30% in 2002-2004, and in 2006, an annual growth of 41.6% was attained. It continued to achieve strong growth in 2007, which saw the stock exchange achieve a historic milestone - ASPI surpassed the 3000 mark for the first time in history. The excellent performance of CSE has been attributed to its advanced infrastructure of a fully automated trading platform, therefore enhancing its competitive edge and efficiency among the modern exchanges today.
