BREAKING: Chinese securities regulator has issued notice to local brokerages to launch investigations on "quant hedge trading" - state media https://twitter.com/george_chen/status/634706796213485569
What? I am shocked! ... shocked I say! How could that possibly be? HFTs are like duckies and lambies and therefore can only bring goodness and light to the markets. I think the same firms implement HFT worldwide. But, I do often wonder if the ability to manipulate markets could be used by one super-power against another. If so, we will only hear the truth about it 20 years later on, if ever IMO.
No reliable source about this claim. All is from someone called from George Chen in Hongkong. Chinese government do not like guys like him who spread "unreliable" rumors like that. Actually, it is not a news that Chinese authority is investigating anyone who is doing illegal trading like short sells but they still struggling to define what is illegal, so there are some many insider trading activities in China. Quants in China no need to be panic. If quant hedge is illegal, they better just ban all computer use in the trading business.
Citadel was blamed/investigated for "evil short selling" in China. Not mention about HFT. that was reported a month ago.
Off topic, but I love how people bash China for trying to prop up their markets (like Jim Cramer) when last time I checked, the USA banned short selling on financial stocks during the financial crisis. They are just following our completely flawed play book on how to not let markets clear.
With the notable difference that no one was arrested or threatened with arrest in our markets, but whatever.