Transparency Reduces Risk
Transparency Reduces Risk, it doesn't increase it. All that said, China doesn't appear to be catching on.
"Beijing (AP) -- A new Chinese regulation announced this week will require foreign companies and foreign-Chinese joint ventures to acquire approval before publishing content online, in the government's latest move to tighten control of the digital realm."
China Requires Approval for Foreign Firms to Publish | Bloomberg [LINK]
While China isn't the only country with questionable rights around Digital Freedom, clamping down further is unlikely to serve the cause of calming the capital markets or reducing price supply/demand volatility (a form of uncertainty) in the broader economy.
Freedom on the net | Hong Kong Free Press [LINK]
A global survey carried out late last year and ironically published in Hong Kong through the HKFP, paints a relatively disappointing picture. 14 of the 65 countries assessed passed new laws to curb internet freedom and China is following suit.
Reasons given by Chinese authorities for policing internet traffic goes along the typical prosaic lines of "China is still focused more on maintaining the social stability and national security interests when it comes to making policies on the Internet industry, while caring less about the commercial and individual interests". [Director of the School of Communication | Zhang Zhian] BUT that can't be the case because new internet restriction rules that are due for release in March seem to be targeting corporates, not society at large.
Capital Outflows from China | Bloomberg [LINK]
Here is the catch and it is foolish for authorities to think otherwise. When it comes to investors, speculators and brokers of all tradable assets; they adapt quickly to overcome new epistemic gaps in any data flow that gives them a lead on the direction of markets. Reducing transparency further only fuels volatility, it does not resolve fundamental problems that remain untreated.
There is an obvious question that runs deep in the heads of traders, if you have nothing to hide, why are you hiding?
