Chinese financial data providers have recently stopped providing key corporate information to overseas clients, underscoring the growing difficulty foreign firms face when trying to obtain information that Beijing may deem sensitive.

Wind Information Co in recent months stopped allowing clients using its platform outside mainland China from accessing its corporate registry database, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The change is due to regulatory requirements, and other parts of their service is 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, according to its website. It has information about company shareholders and affiliates, fundraising and investing activities, legal disputes and operation risks.

Registry databases at Qichacha and TianYanCha - companies that provide similar services - have also been inaccessible for some time to users outside mainland China, according to several other people.

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 didn’t have problems renewing subscriptions to the service. The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend 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. 

Wind and TianYanCha didn’t respond to email requests sent to addresses listed on their websites. A representative of Qichacha didn’t respond to a request for comment. The Cyberspace Administration of China didn’t respond to two phone calls and a fax. The nation is still on holiday for Labour Day.

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 & Company, Mintz Group and Capvision, according to media reports. The government last month passed a new counter-espionage law that expanded the list of activities that could be considered spying, intensifying the risks for foreign firms.

The increasing pressure on foreign companies operating in China appears to run counter to Beijing’s efforts to improve diplomatic ties in the wake of the country’s reopening. Premier Li Qiang - the country’s No 2 behind President Xi Jinping - vowed in March 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.  

Police visited the Shanghai office of Capvision, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday (May 2), citing four unidentified people familiar with the matter. Bain confirmed last week that Chinese authorities questioned staff at its Shanghai office, without revealing details on the nature of the investigation. In the most extreme case so far, all five of Mintz’s local staff were detained during a raid, The New York Times reported in March. 

Global investors have turned more cautious on the country, despite improving economic fundamentals. The MSCI China Index is down about 17% from its January peak, while MSCI Inc’s global index is little changed in the same period.

Concern about transparency of information in the world’s second-largest economy has grown, undermining the investing case. Last October, the government postponed the release of several major economic reports, including gross domestic product figures, without providing a reason for the delay. The World Health Organization repeatedly called for China to be more open about the Covid situation within its borders.  

  - Bloomberg