Five sources said the brokerages were told by regulators to suspend the data feed business due to data security concerns. A sixth said regulators told the money brokers that conducting data feed operations was beyond the scope of their licensed business. Five of China's six money brokers, which also include the joint ventures of BGC Partners, Central Tanshi and Compagnie Financiere Tradition, had received the notice from regulators, according to sources.
It was not clear if the sixth broker, Ueda Yagi Money Broking (China) Co, had also received the instruction.
Neither the money brokers nor their regulator, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, immediately responded to requests for comment.
The ban would force traders to receive price quotes via social media tools such as QQ and WeChat, rather than through popular financial terminals. That could impact trading efficiency and hurt turnover.
"We did not do much trading this afternoon. All hands were on joining private chat groups," said a trader who declined to be identified. "It seems we are all going back to 10 years ago when trading was very manual."
China has in recent years grown more concerned over data
security and has rolled out new laws and compliance requirements
for companies that handle large amounts of data.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and
Jan Harvey)
