China's big data industry has drawn the attention of the capital market, becoming a focal point for development of local governments and other businesses across the nation, Guangzhou's 21st Century Business Herald reported.
The cities of Guiyang and Wuhan, which first announced plans to build big data industries last year, have begun working on their respective schemes.
In April this year, Guiyang has already opened a big data exchange. Meanwhile, Wuhan has opened a big data trading center and a preparatory office for another last month.
Wuhan is expected to complete five big data companies, each predicted to generate an annual revenue of 10 billion yuan by 2018. The report also said that the sector's production value in the central China city is projected to reach 200 billion yuan annually.
Since this year commenced, the State Council has been issuing a number of documents on big data development. On July 1, the government published a paper tackling the use of big data to improve government services.
On July 31, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) held a working meeting, drafting proposals for the development of the sector as part of China's 13th Five-Year Plan to be implemented from 2016 to 2020.
Guiyang's big data exchange head Wang Sanshou said that big data, particularly those held by the government, will be a valuable resource for local officials.
However, several company executives claim that the definition of the big data sector is still vague.
According to MIIT's China Academy of Telecommunication Research, the sector covers solution providers, data providers as well as processing service providers.
Meanwhile, despite big data's potential, experts said that the sector still faces hurdles hindering its full development, including the lack of market regulation and industry standards.