China tightens cybersecurity rules on domestic financial information providers to protect stock markets
- Foreign vendors such as Bloomberg and Reuters have been subject to government regulation on market-sensitive financial data since 2009
- New rules take effect on February 1 as Beijing seeks to avoid further damage after Central Economic Work Conference tax leak hit stock prices last week
China’s new cybersecurity rules bring domestic financial information providers in line with regulations that have governed mainland-based foreign bureaus since 2009 and vow to punish those fabricating news or distorting the country’s monetary and fiscal policies.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released the regulation on Wednesday that governs financial data and information providers which serve institutional and “certain professional investors”, in an apparent crackdown on content deemed detrimental to the country’s financial stability.
The new rules, which take effect on February 1, will extend the scope of the government's regulation on market-sensitive financial data – in place for foreign vendors such as Bloomberg and Reuters since 2009 – to include domestic providers such as Shanghai Wind Information.
The rules also apply to blogs and websites that have appeared in the last decade, potentially shaping the way financial data and analysis is distributed in China.
“Some service providers do not have a good checks on their content,” the watchdog said.
