Stocks Trading

A stock is a unit of ownership in a company. If you own a stock, that makes you a shareholder. This means you may be eligible to receive dividends if the company performs well and you may have a vote in some company decisions.

A stock exchange provides a liquid, open market for buying and selling of shares, debentures etc of publicly owned companies.

The organization responsible for the operation of the stock market in Sri Lanka is known as the Colombo Stock Exchange. The CSE is a company limited by guarantee duly established in Sri Lanka and licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) to operate as a stock exchange in Sri Lanka.

A stock market investment is one of many potential investment vehicles in which you can invest your disposable income and reap the returns of its growth over a period of time. Stock prices rise and fall in value daily and investing in stable stocks would make you a profit at the point of sale. In addition to the capital gains in stocks you would also receive dividends declared by companies. However, you must keep in mind that dividend payments are not mandatory and solely depend on the decision made by the Listed Company. Other forms of investments, when compared to the stock market, can be reasonably illiquid, which means they cannot be immediately sold and easily converted into cash. Investing in stocks therefore gives an investor a considerable amount of financial control because of their flexibility and liquidity. Investing a part of your extra money in shares, along with investments in other asset classes, is also a great way to diversify your investments and spread the risk

Raising of funds by a company to support its growth by selling ownership interests to the investing public, those shares need to be listed and traded on that country’s stock exchange/s. Also these companies need to be in compliance with an Exchange’s set of listing rules.

You can purchase on the Secondary Market through a stock broker which we have partnered with on the Dialog Pay app

In order to trade in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), it is mandatory for investors to open a CDS account through an authorized Stockbroker firm. A CDS account is similar to a standard bank deposit account and acts as a means of representing ownership and movement of securities listed on the CSE.

The CDS account enables you to participate in trading on the CSE. Securities you purchase will be added into your CDS account and similarly securities that you sell will be deducted from your CDS account

You can log in to the Dialog Pay app, click on stock trading tile and then select open an account to submit your details in order to open a Securities Account in the CDS. Upon submission your details will be assessed by the stockbroker which will be sent to CSE for account creation.

Front and rear image of your NIC, Proof of billing (Only if it’s different from NIC address), proof of bank account number and Selfie needs to be uploaded in the e-form.

Opening of a CDS account is free of charge

Once you have submitted your e-form and verified your e-mail address it will take up to 3 business days for the stock broker to complete the verification process which is carried out as per the regulatory standards. This process includes a phone call or physical verification too.

Login to Dialog Pay app and click stock trading tile and go to your stock trading dashboard. You need to add money to your trading account to start buying and selling stocks.

• Other bank savings account • Dialog Pay Digital Savings account • Fund (CEFT) Transfer via 3rd party mobile banking app or web portal • Minimum deposit value is LKR 1,000

•Dialog Pay Digital Savings account - Free of charge •Other bank savings account - Free of charge •Fund (CEFT) Transfer via 3rd party mobile banking app or web portal – Respective charges from the bank may apply.

Login to Dialog Pay app and click the stock trading tile to access the stocks dashboard. Now you can click the withdraw button to request a withdrawal from your trading account In order to withdraw money, you need to have sufficient balance available to withdraw in your trading account. It will take up to 2 business days to process your request from the stockbroker’s end

It is the value of shares sold and cash yet to be settled. After settling, “unsettled cash” balance gets transferred to the “available to withdraw” balance. This will take up to 2 business days from the date of sale. Please note if you buy shares from the unsettled cash balance, the pending amount to be settled will be deducted according to the value of shares bought. For further inquiries, please contact your stockbroker on ssb.inquiry@softlogic.lk or call 0117277000

For transaction below Rs. 100 Million Respective charge Rate Brokerage Fees - 0.640% CSE Fees - 0.084% CDS Fees - 0.024% SEC fess - 0.072% Share Transaction Levy - 0.300% Total - 1.12% For transaction above Rs.100 Million Respective charge Rate Minimum brokerage (floor) - 0.200% CSE Fees - 0.0525% CDS Fees - 0.0150% SEC Fees - 0.0450% Share Transaction Levy - 0.300% Transaction Cost will be applied on a step up basis for transactions over Rs.100 Million.

The CSE is open from Monday to Friday every week of the year, except on public and bank holidays. Please check the CSE website for any special notice on holidays. General Trading times: 9.30-2.30 pm (Pre-open Session – 9.00am – 9.30 am) Trading hours are subject to change based on the CSE’s discretion.

A bundle of shares which is less than 100 in quantity is considered an odd lot

Yes you can

Risks associated with investing in stocks directly relates to the stock prices. The prices of stocks fluctuate, sometimes drastically. The price of a security may move up or down, and may even become valueless. It is likely that losses may be incurred rather than profits made as a result of buying and selling securities.