When data stops being a record and starts being an asset
China’s efforts to turn live data into actionable intelligence and tradable products are lifting demand for real-time infrastructure, bringing Xunce Technology (3317) into focus after its Hong Kong listing.
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As Chinese regulators tighten oversight of financial markets and encourage institutions to make sense of live data, demand has grown for systems designed to produce actionable information at the point of decision rather than in overnight batches. One beneficiary of that regulatory shift has been Xunce Technology, a Shenzhen-based provider of real-time data infrastructure that has expanded from asset management into telecoms and other industries and was recently listed on Hong Kong’s main board (stock code: 3317).
Building the plumbing beneath financial markets
The move away from batch processing reflects practical pressure. Larger portfolios, faster trading cycles and closer supervisory scrutiny have reduced tolerance for delayed risk checks and retrospective compliance. Meanwhile, policymakers have begun to treat data as an economic input, with pilot rules allowing certain datasets to be recognised as assets. The convergence of such trends has drawn attention to the infrastructure that underpins financial decision-making.
Xunce was founded in 2016 to build that infrastructure. Its real-time data computing platform collects and processes data from multiple sources within milliseconds, allowing clients to track positions, risk and compliance as events unfold and make decisions on the fly. The systems are deployed inside clients’ own cloud or on-premises environments, a set-up intended to meet security and governance requirements in regulated sectors where control over data location and access remains tightly managed.
Asset management was the company’s starting point and remains its largest client base. Xunce’s systems are used by all of China’s top 10 asset managers by assets under management. Clients include insurers, fund houses, banks, securities firms, corporate treasuries and family offices. Taikang Life is among the insurers using the system.
Outside asset management, telecom operators such as China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom are also clients, reflecting a broader application of real-time data systems in operational settings where speed, accuracy and system stability are required.
That expansion is visible in the revenue mix. Asset management contributed 74.4 per cent of revenue in 2022 but 38.7 per cent in 2024. Over the same period, total revenue rose from Rmb287.9mn to Rmb530.5mn and then Rmb632.0mn. Growth has been steady, supported by sustained investment in product development and system capacity.
Growth backed by sustained investment
That investment has been deliberate. Xunce has focused on building product depth and system capacity, with research and development spending reaching Rmb450.4mn in 2024, equivalent to more than 70 per cent of revenue. Gross margins remained high, at 78.0 per cent in 2022, 79 per cent in 2023 and 76.7 per cent in 2024.
The growth pattern is familiar to investors who follow data infrastructure service providers that invest early to support broader deployment across clients and sectors, with upfront engineering intended to support repeatable rollout rather than bespoke delivery.
Modular system design for scalability
That scalability is supported by a modular system design. More than 300 functional modules had been developed by mid-2025, covering data ingestion, processing, governance and analytics.
Systems are assembled from modules configured for each client. Deployment times are short by enterprise standards, with installation, data integration and client onboarding typically taking between one and seven days, allowing systems to be rolled out at scale rather than rebuilt for each client.
Clients pay through annual subscriptions or transaction-based fees, depending on procurement rules. Average revenue per user increased as the business expanded. In 2024, however, the pace of Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) growth slowed, owing to the impact of macro policies affecting the asset management industry.
Management attributed the more recent moderation to industry seasonality and the timing of customer revenue confirmation. As the business continues to scale, ARPU is expected to resume sustained growth over the course of the year, supported by a broader client base and deeper system adoption.
A crowded market with uneven scale
Market position depends on where one looks. Based on 2024 revenue, Xunce ranked first in China’s asset management real-time data infrastructure and analytics market, with an estimated share of 11.6 per cent. Across the broader real-time data infrastructure and analytics market, it ranked fourth, with a share of 3.4 per cent.
The sector as a whole remains crowded, with more than 400 companies operating in related areas, many offering labour-intensive, project-based services rather than standardised systems. That fragmentation sits alongside a shareholder base that includes Tencent, KKR, Goldman Sachs, CICC Capital and Taikang Life.
Policy tailwinds and data governance
Policy direction has added to investor interest. Under the national “Digital China” strategy, data has been recognised as a factor of production alongside labour and capital. A three-year action plan covering 2024 to 2026 encourages enterprises and local governments to turn operational data into tradable products. Pilot rules allow certain datasets to be recorded as assets, with official estimates suggesting a potential uplift of 4 to 6.5 per cent in enterprise and government asset values.
Such policies place new demands on data systems. Information recognised as an asset requires clear lineage, audit trails and controls. Xunce’s architecture includes data lineage management and automated reconciliation, features first developed for asset management compliance. The same capabilities have been applied in other sectors, including smart city management and manufacturing systems, where live data is used to allocate resources and monitor operations.
Overseas exposure and operating conditions
The company has also begun to support Chinese financial institutions with overseas operations. Revenue from Hong Kong rose from 0.3 per cent of turnover in 2022 to 5.9 per cent in 2024. Management has said international expansion will be pursued in a measured manner, with initial efforts focused on supporting existing clients’ overseas needs.
As with many enterprise solution providers, performance has been influenced by market volatility. Net revenue retention eased during 2024 and early 2025 as some clients delayed technology spending, while cash outflows reflected continued investment in engineering capacity.
Data as an asset class
The bigger picture lies in changes to how data is used and governed. As China’s financial system adjusts to tighter oversight and new rules around data use, the rebuild of its data infrastructure is under way.
In that process, data is increasingly being treated not just as a by-product of activity but as an asset class, with systems judged by their ability to produce timely and actionable information. Xunce operates in a segment closely aligned with that direction.