The top banking and insurance watchdog in China is looking to crack down on Big Tech’s perceived monopoly of financial data and further curb abuses of power, CNBC reported on Tuesday (Dec. 8).
“Facing the rapid growth of fintech, we will adopt a positive and prudent approach. We will encourage innovation while enhancing risk control, so as to address new problems and challenges,” Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), said during a speech at the Singapore Fintech Festival running through Dec. 11.
Aside from cybersecurity, the other area of concern is curbing the power of big FinTech giants in China, Guo said, but he did not name any companies.
“Some big tech operate cross-sector business with financial and technology activities under one roof. It is necessary to closely follow this spillover … and take timely and targeted measures to prevent new systemic risks,” he said.
Alibaba’s Alipay, an Ant Group affiliate, and Tencent’s WeChat are the two dominant FinTechs in China, offering mobile payments and other financial services.
It is also necessary to start “clarifying data ownership,” Guo said. He added that big tech firms have “de-facto control over data” and it is “necessary to clarify data rights of different parties.”
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Ant Group’s proposed initial public offering in November in Shanghai and Hong Kong was pulled days before its debut, following its meeting with regulators. Last month, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued draft rules to oversee big tech companies in eCommerce and payments services. The goal of the new regulations is to reel in anti-competitive behavior.
