Big Techs need stricter regulation: Financial regulator

Big technology companies should come under stricter regulation as those institutions can be deemed "too big to fail" and some of their financial businesses may arouse "new types" of risks, a top financial regulator warned on Tuesday.

A minority group of technology companies have dominated the micropayment market, which relates to broad public interest. Regulators need to pay close attention to these institutions' risks, which are complicated and contagious, Guo Shuqing, Party secretary of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said in a speech via video to the Singapore FinTech Festival.

These companies, which are called "BigTechs", are providing cross-sector financial and technology services, and are key financial infrastructures. The failure of BigTechs may lead to systemic financial risks, which require timely and targeted measures to control, said Guo, who also is chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

He stressed promoting fair market competitions in the financial sector, blaming some giant fintech groups that are "hindering fair competition and obtaining excess returns", and taking advantage of "data monopoly".

In the fintech industry, many new phenomena are rising, which leads to new problems, so financial regulators should pay more attention to whether the BigTech firms are blocking newcomers, collecting data improperly, refusing to disclose relevant information, or misleading consumers, the commission chairman said in the speech.

He also highlighted preventing cybersecurity risks, clarifying data ownership and strengthening international coordination for cross-border data flow.

As few jurisdictions have specified the ownership of data property, and BigTechs have almost controlled data. It is necessary to clarify data property rights while promoting data flow and the pricing mechanism, according to the regulator.