Chinese financial data providers have stopped providing key corporate information to overseas clients, underscoring the growing difficulty foreign firms face when trying to obtain information that Beijing might deem sensitive.
Wind Information Co (萬得資訊) has in the past few months stopped allowing customers using its platform outside mainland China from accessing its corporate registry database, multiple people familiar with the matter said.
The change is due to regulatory requirements, and other parts of its service are continuing as normal, they said, declining to be identified because the matter is sensitive.
Wind collects data on more than 200 million enterprises and 270 million legal representatives and executives, its Web site says.
It has information about company shareholders and affiliates, fundraising and investing activities, legal disputes and operation risks.
Registry databases at Qichacha (企查查) and TianYanCha (天眼查) — companies that provide similar services — have also been inaccessible for some time to users outside mainland China, several other people said.
More than 10 overseas users of Wind contacted by Bloomberg said they could still access other data from Wind apart from the corporate registry database and did not have problems renewing subscriptions to the service.
The Wall Street Journal over the weekend reported that some unidentified foreign firms, including think tanks and research firms, were unable to renew subscriptions to Wind over what the company described as “compliance” issues.
The restriction highlights the more difficult environment facing investors operating in China, despite Beijing’s push to improve ties globally. US consultancy firms are under the spotlight in particular, with authorities in recent weeks targeting the China offices of Bain & Co, Mintz Group and Capvision, media reports said.
The government last month passed a new counterespionage law that expanded the list of activities that could be considered spying, intensifying the risks for foreign firms.
The increasing pressure on foreign firms operating in China appears to run counter to Beijing’s efforts to improve diplomatic ties in the wake of the country’s reopening.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) in March vowed to establish a “broad space” for international companies to develop there. China has welcomed a host of leaders and business delegations, including from Germany and France.
Last month, China’s Politburo urged greater efforts at boosting foreign investment.
Global investors have turned more cautious on the country, despite improving economic fundamentals. The MSCI China Index is down about 17 percent from its January peak, while MSCI Inc’s global index is little changed over the same period.
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS