China’s top financial data provider restricts offshore access due to new rules-sources

HONG KONG, Could 4 (Reuters) – China’s largest monetary knowledge supplier Wind Data Co advised some clients late final yr that it was limiting offshore customers from accessing sure enterprise and financial knowledge on account of the cybersecurity regulator’s new knowledge guidelines, two sources stated.

Restricted entry to Wind by offshore customers comes as China sharpens its give attention to knowledge utilization and safety amid rising geopolitical tensions and considerations about privateness on the planet’s second-largest financial system.

The transfer by Wind, whose companies are utilized by economists, fund managers and others, additionally comes as China is trying to entice extra overseas investments and revive an financial system struggling for a post-COVID lift-off. The curbs embrace entry to particulars on some corporations’ shareholding buildings.

Shanghai-based Wind has made a part of its knowledge reminiscent of house sale numbers, which was once up to date commonly, inaccessible for customers based mostly exterior mainland China since September final yr, one of many sources stated.

A Wind salesperson advised the supply in September the corporate had made the adjustments as per directions from the Our on-line world Administration of China (CAC), which requested it to cease offering offshore customers with sure knowledge.

The second supply was additionally advised by one other Wind salesperson that the restrictions had been put in place after the CAC unveiled new knowledge guidelines final yr.

The cybersecurity regulator issued last guidelines final July requiring knowledge exports to bear safety opinions, as a part of a brand new regulatory framework that may have an effect on a whole bunch, if not hundreds, of Chinese language corporations.

The brand new guidelines got here in to impact from Sept. 1.

Beijing has in recent times issued new cybersecurity, knowledge and privateness legal guidelines that require organisations with massive consumer bases to bear assessments and approvals when dealing with the info they accumulate.

Lawmakers additionally handed a wide-ranging replace to Beijing’s anti-espionage laws late final month, banning the switch of any info associated to nationwide safety and broadening the definition of spying.

The restrictions on offshore customers’ entry to sure Wind knowledge have expanded since final September, stated the primary supply. It’s unknown whether or not the CAC stepped up entry tightening necessities because the identical month.

Thus far, offshore customers’ entry to Wind info that has been blocked consists of enterprise registry particulars reminiscent of an organization shareholding construction and its final controller, in addition to financial knowledge reminiscent of house and land gross sales in sure cities, sources have advised Reuters.

Wind, which serves quite a few home and overseas monetary establishments, didn’t reply to requests for remark.

The CAC didn’t instantly reply to a faxed request for remark.

When requested about Chinese language monetary knowledge suppliers together with Wind having stopped offering key company info to abroad subscribers, overseas ministry spokesperson Mao Ning advised a information briefing that she was not conscious of the state of affairs.

The sources declined to be recognized as they weren’t authorised to talk to the media.

Based in 1998 by entrepreneur Lu Feng, private-held Wind is by far the most important participant in China’s fast-growing marketplace for monetary knowledge, as per estimates by dealer Guotai Junan Securities.

LIMITED ACCESS

Enterprise teams have warned concerning the imprecise wording of China’s new anti-espionage regulation, which bans the switch of any info associated to nationwide safety, the rise in use of exit bans on overseas enterprise executives within the nation and heightened scrutiny towards due diligence companies.

U.S. due-diligence agency Mintz Group stated in late March the authorities had raided the agency’s China workplace and detained 5 native workers. The overseas ministry stated on the time Mintz was suspected of partaking in illegal enterprise operations.

Police visited Bain & Co’s workplace in Shanghai and questioned workers, the U.S. administration consultancy stated final week.

Apart from Wind, China’s foremost tutorial database China Nationwide Data Infrastructure (CNKI) has restricted entry to abroad subscribers from April 1, in keeping with customers notified of the suspension.

The entry restrictions imposed on the database apply to dissertations and convention papers in addition to authorized and statistical knowledge, the Nationwide College of Singapore stated in March in a discover on its web site concerning the disruption.

CNKI didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the matter.

Reuters has reported, citing sources that Chinese language knowledge suppliers together with firm databases Qichacha, partially owned by Wind, and TianYanCha have stopped opening to offshore customers for no less than months.

Headquartered in Shanghai’s monetary district Lujiazui, Wind has expanded its footprint exterior China to locations together with Hong Kong, Singapore, New York and London, and competes with Refinitiv and Bloomberg LP.

Wind raked in 2.5 billion yuan ($361.84 million) in gross sales in 2021, in keeping with Guotai Junan’s estimate, virtually doubling from 2016 income of 1.33 billion yuan.

($1 = 6.9091 Chinese language yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Julie Zhu and Xie Yu in Hong Kong, Yew Lun Tian in Beijing and the Shangahi newsroom; Modifying by Sumeet Chatterjee and Kim Coghill

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Rules.