Sri Lanka's capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will acquire a market surveillance system from the U.S.-based Nasdaq, SEC Chairman Faizal Salieh said on Sunday.

The advanced technology aims to detect and respond to market irregularities and potential fraud, according to Salieh.

He said that the initiative was expected to bolster investors' confidence and foster a fair and transparent trading environment.

Salieh said that the partnership with Nasdaq provided the SEC with cutting-edge technology to monitor the market, enforce regulations promptly, and cultivate a more transparent and investor-friendly market environment.

The system will undergo testing and is expected to be fully operational within five months of the agreement signing, he said.

The SEC and Nasdaq signed a contractual agreement on Aug. 30 in Colombo.