With the rapid development of big data technology and its wider application in the commercial field, Guiyang is seeking to lead the nation in big data transactions.

China's first big data exchange - the Guiyang Big Data Exchange - became operational on April 14, 2015.

The exchange, also known as the GBDEX, offers a range of services for data assets transactions, big data cleansing, modeling and analysis, transactions of data futures, as well as financing for the industry.

According to Wang Sanshou, executive president of the exchange, the GDGEX had 360 members by the end of 2015. The members include such domestic big names as Taikang Life, Tianhong Asset Management, China Unicom, Alibaba, JD, China Life, Huawei and iSoftStone.

"To date, transactions have been made among more than 70 members, with total value surpassing 70 million yuan ($10.8 million)," Wang said.

"Data transactions are different from transactions of securities and commodities. What we transact here are the analysis results based on big data, not the big data itself," Wang said.

He said many enterprises hope to save their data collected from business operations in the GBDEX, expecting the exchange to offer them added value through processing, modeling and analyzing.

Wang said the long-term goal of the exchange is to have annual transaction volume surpassing 10 billion yuan.

He said the goal is practical because big data will be among the most valuable assets in the future with further development of the internet and other information technologies.

He said the exchange would encourage more entrepreneurs to use the GDBEX's big data platform for starting businesses and expanding markets.

The executive president said the biggest problems they face are the legislation needed for data transactions and the protection of the property rights of big data.

Wang said there should be an authoritative party to confirm the ownership rights of the data before they are traded at the exchange.

He said Guiyang is making some tentative experiments in this field by developing a big data special zone.

"Our ambition is to build the GBDEX into a national-level exchange by leveraging on Guiyang's breakthrough developments in the big data industry," Wang said.

Contact the writers through zengjun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/03/2016 page7)