SHANGHAI: Guangdong province in southern China announced intentions to create a shared data platform for the Greater Bay Area, which includes Hong Kong and Macau, as well as a data trading market in Shenzhen: Part of a larger attempt to better govern data. Guangdong will also look into establishing a data “customs hub” to analyze and supervise data that crosses borders, according to a notice posted on the provincial government’s website on Sunday (Jul 11).
According to the statement, the government will “encourage the circulation and sharing of data between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau, as well as the use of data to improve industry growth, social governance, and people’s services.”
According to the Guangdong statement, authorities would also improve data transaction control and speed up the development of digital economy regulations.
It was unclear what types of data will be traded in Shenzhen at the time.
READ: China tightens the screws on foreign IPOs with a pre-IPO review of companies possessing a lot of data.
With a slew of new policies and efforts launched this month, data regulation, particularly cybersecurity related to Chinese firms filing or listed in the United States, has become a significant concern for Chinese authorities.
That started with the Chinese Cybersecurity Administration’s abrupt revelation of an investigation into ride-hailing company Didi Global just days after its IPO in New York, and the subsequent decision to remove its app from app stores.
It announced on Saturday that any company with more than 1 million customers’ data must undergo a security evaluation before issuing its shares on a foreign exchange./n
