Reshuffle of three Directors’ roles at SEC Secretariat

Following the initial restructuring, including the appointment of the Deputy Director General, the SEC has implemented a fresh reshuffle of roles of Directors in the Secretariat.

The new Director Surveillance is Namal Kamalgoda, who was previously Director Supervision. He replaces Chandu Epitawala, who has now been assigned Director Corporate Affairs. Surana Fernando, who was Director Corporate Affairs previously, has been re-designated as Director Supervision.

The rest in the senior management are intact, with Ianthie Jayaratne remaining as Director Finance and Administration, Vajira Wijegunawardena as Director Capital Market Development and Research and Ayanthi Abeywickrema as Director Legal and Enforcement.

The team is headed by Prof. Hareendra Dissabandara as Acting Director General and Director Capital Market Education and Training and Dhammika Perera as Deputy Director General and Director Investigations.

The Daily FT last month exclusively reported the realignment of core roles within the SEC Secretariat with investigations, supervision and surveillance coming under Dhammika Perera and the rest of the divisions under Prof. Dissabandara.

The Corporate Affairs division is responsible for ensuring that investors are provided with material information in order to make informed investment decisions. The division reviews market disclosures and other information that listed companies are required to disseminate to the public to reduce asymmetry of information. The division conducts a Financial Reporting Surveillance Program aimed at improving the quality of the financial reporting of the listed companies.

Main activities of the Surveillance division include effectively monitoring trading activities to detect and prevent any transactions or trades that violate the SEC Act; conducting preliminary examinations into suspicious activities/price and volume movements in the securities market and violations of securities laws and regulations; examining surveillance referrals of the Colombo Stock Exchange brought to the attention of the SEC from time to time; examining complaints made by investors or members of the general public and referring them to the Surveillance Committee; preparing reports for submission to the Surveillance Committee on preliminary examinations of suspicious activity; and scrutinising news sources such as press articles, corporate disclosures vis-à-vis market price behaviour, etc.

The Supervision division is responsible for the licensing/registration, supervision, and compliance monitoring and onsite/offsite examinations of stock broking companies, unit trust managing companies and market intermediaries (investment manager, margin provider, underwriter, credit rating agency and clearing house).

The supervisory role of the division involves both on site and off site supervision on the financial viability and business conduct of market participants towards investor protection and thereby building investor confidence in the capital market. Onsite/offsite supervision is carried out adopting a risk-based supervisory methodology focusing on different risk categories such as prudential, liquidity, financial, credit, operational, legal and reputational risk with emphasis on compliance of market participants with applicable rules and regulations to strengthen market oversight.
http://www.ft.lk/2012/10/08/reshuffle-of-three-directors-roles-at-sec-secretariat/

thanx for shareing siri

Non-Transparent Non-International Media Joker Chandra Jayaratne

One time Head of now up for sale Aviva NDB Insurance (formerly CTC Eagle Insurance) and Head of so called 'Transparency International' Chandra Jayaratne (CJ) is promoting himself as a 'Transparent' Corporate Governance activist in the anti-Government newspapers.

It is surprising to know although CJ had been a Barking Dog in Public and in Media coughing on behalf of Transparency and Corporate Governance he had been involved in illegal deals just before he left his Insurance Coat from Eagle's House.

Following is one such event where CJ acted as a party that had conflict of interest in an non 'Transparent' manner.

CJ's Non-Transparent Deal

CJ the so called big transparency talker is presently serving as an affiliate local Director type of Transparency International a body that tries to tarnish the good image of Sri Lanka in front of Western Talk Tables.
Although paid media publishers such as LMD who will publish your image for Rs 100,000 in the front the page had nominated and praised CJ as a 'Shining Beacon of Ethical Conduct'. When it comes to his own financial gain 'Wheeler Dealer' CJ never practice what he preaches or writes in newspapers.

Just few days before CJ's retirement at CTC Eagle Insurance (now Aviva NDB Insurance PLC) as Managing Director in 2006, CJ is said to have purchased official Eagle owned house at an original cost of Rs.15 million less depreciation on the building where as the market price of the same property was estimated to be at Rs.80 to Rs.85 million.

In the cupboards of Eagle Insurance the company's Articles of Association of the company was found by its employees. In Article 108 of Eagle it says that any sale or disposal of land or fixed assets other than in the "Ordinary course of business" requires shareholder approval. In addition to this Article 108 A says that a Board resolution is needed for acquiring or disposal of any asset in excess of Rs.50 million.

Looking at Chandra's unethical non-transparent claim, however after carefully going through company's documents opinion of K. Kanag Iswaran PC who was the Chairman of the Company Law Commission who prepared the new Companies Act was sought as to whether it was in order to transfer the house to CJe at the original cost less depreciation.

But after analysis Mr Kanag Iswaran in his opinion dated 2 August 2006 had said that that under the circumstances the company has no legal right to transfer the said property at below market value.
But it could be only done so

(1) with shareholder approval and additionally
(2) with the Board approval - vide articles 108 and 108A respectively.

Followed by Mr Kanag Iswaran's opinion and in a haste CJ the Non-Transparent anti-Government activist; Eagle Insurance going beyond its owner NDB's action had sought the opinion of Julius and Creasy (JC) of which R Senathiraja (RS) was the Senior Partner.

Accordingly that time favouring CJ, R. Senathiraja advised Julius & Creasy had in the opinion dated 14th September 2006 by a convoluted confusion overturned the opinion of the PC Kanag Iswaran.
Our question is what happened to the rules of Companies Act in this Case? Didn't it apply for Good a Governance- Transparency Barking Dog CJ.

In fact does not the companies Act requires full disclosure of all transactions with directors and past directors in which case CJ did practice an unethical behaviour to gain the ownership of a company's property at a cheaper price? Has Eagle Done anything to prevent Chandra Non-Transparent unethical action?
CJ the Non-Transparent former Director of PERC in which the opposition UNP sold state owned enterprises for a 'Song' and worked closely with individuals such as the SEC Director Chandu Epitawala who was also in the PERC at the time when lots of Regional Plantation companies and money making top state owned enterprises were sold.

CJ during his tenure as the head of Eagle Insurance had under him as Fund Managers- past Director General of SEC- Channa De Silva, present SEC Directors- Vajira Wijegoonawardene and Namal Kamalgoda.
CJ's niece Iyanthi Jayaratne has been a Director of the SEC and parachuted to be the Officer in Charge.
CJ formed SLASIA and later converted it as the CFA Association. He made use of anti-government Stock market crash activists in this Association under the disguise of reducing systemic risk
These SEC Directors and these so called activists are still indirectly helping CJ's agenda of creating continuous fear in the Sri Lankan Stock Market through market destoying SEC Directives in the last four years.

A Progressive group of Eagle employees would be going to courts soon ..............
Following is one of many and the latest of CJ's misleading articles..................

SEC needs to be independent of the executive

September 3, 2012, 7:29 pm Island Newspaper

With a new head being appointed to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), effective regulations, embodying international best practices and strict enforcements are essential features of a sustainable, vibrant and investor confidence building stock exchange, which yields commensurate returns to all market participants, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) said in a statement yesterday.
Two chairpersons of the SEC resigned within a year of each other soon after influential investors and brokers got a hearing with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Both chairpersons tried to erase rampant market offences that had made use of a stock exchange boom in 2009-2011 but they resigned on principle as it became increasingly difficult for them to carry out investigations into market... offences.................................................................................

what is happening in sec?