Wind Information
Wind Information is a Chinese financial-data and software company best known for its Wind Financial Terminal.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Wind Information, also known simply as Wind or WIND, is a Chinese financial-data and financial-software company headquartered in Shanghai. Founded in 1998 by Lu Feng, the company developed a specialized information platform for China’s securities, banking, investment-management, academic, corporate-finance, and governmental users. Its principal product is the Wind Financial Terminal, a professional research and market-data system widely used to retrieve, analyze, and compare information on Chinese and international financial markets. The terminal is commonly described as the largest domestic Chinese alternative to the Bloomberg Terminal, although Wind and Bloomberg serve different user communities and have distinct product histories. Wind’s business is centered on the organization and delivery of financial and economic information through subscription software and data services. The platform supports professional users who need market quotations, financial statements, company profiles, securities research, macroeconomic indicators, transaction information, and analytical tools. Its relevance is particularly strong in China because it aggregates and presents data in formats suited to Chinese securities markets, domestic regulatory classifications, local listed companies, and Chinese-language research workflows. The company’s offering extends beyond a simple quotation terminal: it functions as a structured data environment for investment research, portfolio analysis, financial modeling, screening, reporting, and institutional information retrieval. The company has also developed an international presence. In addition to its Shanghai base, Wind has offices in New York, London, and Hong Kong, supporting customers and users outside mainland China. This overseas footprint reflects the growing need among international investors, researchers, and financial institutions to access Chinese market and company information. At the same time, Wind’s operations have been affected by the legal, regulatory, and information-access conditions surrounding Chinese financial and economic data. Wind became involved in a significant intellectual-property dispute with Hithink RoyalFlush Information Network, a rival financial-information provider. Wind sued Hithink in 2012, alleging that Hithink’s iFinD terminal infringed Wind’s intellectual-property rights. In 2016, the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate Court ruled in Wind’s favor and ordered Hithink to stop operating the iFinD terminal and pay Wind 3.35 million yuan in compensation. The Shanghai High People’s Court upheld the ruling in December 2017, while the supplied account does not establish whether the appellate decision prohibited later versions of iFinD after substantial modifications claimed by Hithink. The company has also attracted public attention through interactions with Chinese officials and through changes to service availability. In March 2019, Li Qiang visited Wind’s office and encouraged employees to hold the company to international standards. In March 2023, Wind temporarily suspended real-time bond-pricing services after regulators ordered it to stop revealing bond prices; the service resumed two days later after the restriction was reversed. In May 2023, reports said that Wind had limited overseas access to selected datasets, including online-retail trends, satellite imagery concerning city lighting, and land-auction records. Wind characterized these changes as consistent with standard practices among global peers. A technical malfunction on 8 January 2024 temporarily prevented most users from accessing the platform during trading hours. Wind remains an active specialist information brand whose importance rests on the depth and China-specific orientation of its financial-data infrastructure. Its profile combines domestic market leadership, international expansion, dependence on regulated information flows, and competition with both Chinese data providers and large global financial-information companies.
History
Wind Information was founded in 1998 by Lu Feng in China. The company emerged as a specialist provider of financial data and software during the development of China’s modern securities markets and the increasing professionalization of domestic investment research. Its core business became the collection, structuring, presentation, and distribution of financial and economic information for professional users. The company’s main platform, the Wind Financial Terminal, developed into a broad institutional information system rather than a narrow quotation service. It provides access to market and company information and supports research, screening, financial analysis, and other workflows used by securities firms, fund managers, banks, corporations, academics, and public-sector institutions. The terminal’s China-specific coverage and Chinese-language functionality helped distinguish it from international financial-information products. Wind is frequently characterized as the largest domestic Chinese alternative to the Bloomberg Terminal, reflecting its importance in China’s professional financial-data market. Competition in the sector produced a major legal dispute between Wind and Hithink RoyalFlush Information Network. In 2012, Wind sued Hithink, alleging that Hithink’s iFinD terminal infringed Wind’s intellectual-property rights. In 2016, the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate Court ruled for Wind, requiring Hithink to stop operating the iFinD terminal and to pay 3.35 million yuan in compensation. Hithink maintained that the product had subsequently been substantially modified. In December 2017, the Shanghai High People’s Court upheld the lower-court ruling, although the supplied source does not clarify the precise effect of the appellate decision on later versions of iFinD. Wind’s profile also expanded beyond mainland China. It established offices in New York, London, and Hong Kong, allowing it to serve overseas users and institutions seeking Chinese and international market information. The international presence placed the company within a wider competitive field that includes Bloomberg and other financial-data vendors, while also exposing its services to differing expectations around data access, regulation, and cross-border information use. In March 2019, Li Qiang visited Wind’s office and encouraged the workforce to meet international standards. The visit highlighted the company’s perceived role in China’s financial-information and technology ecosystem. Later developments demonstrated the sensitivity of its business to regulatory decisions. On 15 March 2023, Wind temporarily stopped offering real-time bond pricing after regulators ordered it to cease revealing bond prices. Two days later, the restriction was reversed and the service resumed. In May 2023, reports stated that Wind had restricted overseas access to certain categories of information. Affected or potentially affected material included online-shopping trends, satellite images showing differences in city lighting, and land-auction records. Some overseas users reportedly received notices that the data was unavailable or were asked to submit a form explaining their intended use and confirming that the information was for personal use. Wind responded that the changes were consistent with standard practices among global peers. The episode illustrated the tension between Wind’s international distribution and the regulatory environment surrounding sensitive economic, geographic, and commercial data. On 8 January 2024, Wind experienced a technical malfunction that left most users unable to access the system during trading hours. The incident underscored the operational importance of the terminal to its users, since outages can affect market monitoring, research, and investment workflows. Despite legal disputes, regulatory interruptions, access limitations, and technical problems, the supplied sources identify Wind as an active company with a continuing role in Chinese financial information and software.
- 2024
Technical outage during trading hours
[1]A technical malfunction prevented most users from accessing Wind’s services during trading hours on 8 January.
- 2023
Temporary suspension of real-time bond pricing
[1]Wind halted real-time bond-pricing services after a regulatory order and restored them two days later when the restriction was reversed.
- 2023
Reported restrictions on overseas data access
[1]Wind reportedly restricted overseas access to selected datasets and introduced additional-use declarations for some information.
- 2019
Li Qiang visits Wind’s office
[1]Li Qiang visited the company and encouraged employees to hold Wind to international standards.
- 2017
Appellate court upholds the Hithink ruling
[1]The Shanghai High People’s Court upheld the earlier judgment in December 2017.
- 2016
Court rules for Wind in the iFinD dispute
[1]The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate Court ruled in Wind’s favor, ordered Hithink to stop operating iFinD, and awarded Wind 3.35 million yuan in compensation.
- 2012
Wind files an intellectual-property lawsuit against Hithink
[1]Wind sued rival Hithink RoyalFlush Information Network, alleging that its iFinD terminal infringed Wind’s intellectual-property rights.
- 1998
Wind Information is founded
[1]Lu Feng founded Wind Information in China, beginning the company’s development as a financial-data and software provider.
Products and positioning
A China-focused professional financial-information and analytics platform, positioned as a comprehensive domestic alternative to global financial terminals for institutional and research users.
Financial information terminal
Wind Financial Terminal
Wind’s principal professional platform provides structured financial-market, company, securities, economic, and industry information. It is designed for institutional research and analysis, including market monitoring, company comparison, data screening, financial modeling, and investment workflows. Its emphasis on Chinese market coverage and domestic financial classifications makes it a central alternative to international terminals for many China-focused users.
Data services
Wind financial and economic databases
Wind provides subscription-based access to organized datasets covering securities, listed companies, macroeconomic indicators, industries, transactions, and other financial or commercial subjects. These databases support professional research, quantitative analysis, portfolio work, academic study, and institutional reporting. The supplied sources do not identify separate product names or launch dates for individual database modules.
Brand decisions
2023
Temporary suspension and restoration of real-time bond pricingOtherBackground
On 15 March 2023, regulators ordered Wind to stop revealing bond prices, leading the company to temporarily suspend real-time bond-pricing services.
Action taken
Wind stopped providing the affected real-time pricing service and resumed it two days later after the regulatory restriction was reversed.
Aftermath
The episode demonstrated the dependence of Wind’s services on regulatory decisions concerning the publication of market information.
2023
Changes to overseas access for selected datasetsStrategyBackground
Reports in May 2023 said that users outside mainland China faced restrictions on selected information, including online-retail trends, city-lighting satellite imagery, and land-auction records.
Action taken
Wind limited access for some overseas users or required them to complete a form explaining the intended use and confirming personal-use purposes.
Aftermath
Wind said the changes were consistent with standard practices among global peers. The supplied source does not establish the full scope or permanence of the restrictions.
Recent events
Sources2 sources
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