Equity Market (Share Market)

Shares are securities representing a portion of the ownership of a company that are a claim on the company's earnings and assets. 

Shareholders are paid dividends which are a percentage of the profits of the company.

Share market operations in Sri Lanka began during the British colonial period with the inception of 'Colombo Share Brokers' Association in year 1896 and was renamed in 1990 as Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). 

The operations of the equity market are highly sensitive to the changes in the political and peace environment in the country as in most of other markets. In addition, the market performance is closely related to the sound fundamentals and profitability of key players in the market. The financial institutions exposure to the equity market through investment and lending activities are low and therefore, impact of equity market operations to the financial system stability is relatively low.