Separation of Chairman/CEO roles only after public consultations: SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week said corporate governance provisions for the separation of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) roles in listed firms will only be introduced after stakeholder consultations.

A SEC media release said the Commission deliberated on the matter during the third quarter of 2018 and took a decision to hold public consultations in October/November. However, such was postponed due to the political situation prevailed after October 26.

However, the Commission at a meeting held early this year resolved to conduct a public consultation on the matter within a couple of week’s time.

“Corporate governance provisions for the separation of the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer roles in listed companies were to be introduced only after stakeholder consultation,” SEC Chairman Ranel Wijesinha said.

 The SEC said it is committed to building a robust, well regulated and attractive capital market. 

Sri Lanka’s SEC is an active member of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) for more than 15 years.  “In essence, we bring to bear upon our deliberations the latest developments in the field. However, we are not simply driven by best Practices of other jurisdictions alone or by rankings of the World Economic Forum or the global competitiveness rankings or ‘Doing Business Index’ of the World Bank,” Wijesinha said.