The 15th China International Finance Forum (CIFF), under the banner "Construction of Modern Financial System for High-Quality Development of a Real Economy" was held in Shanghai on December 15 and 16, 2018. Heads of financial regulators, Chinese and foreign banks, domestic and foreign private-equity funds, financial intermediary service institutions, investment banks, securities companies and high-growth enterprises, as well as relevant experts and scholars gathered at the event, where they held discussions on development of the modern financial industry, the intelligent digital transformation of banking industry driven by financial science and technology, and other probative topics. Eric Yu, CEO of Global Tone Communication Technology Co., Ltd. (GTCOM) attended the forum called "Application of AI, Big Data and Cloud Computing in the Financial Industry," where he shared the innovative application of alternative data in financial quantification in a speech titled "Alternative Data: The New Oil." Industry experts such as Xiong Ming, the chief information officer of Taiping Life Insurance Co., Ltd., Zhou Hua, the deputy general manager of Unicom Big Data; Xu Shuyan, general manager of Microsoft's China Financial Sector; and Lin Leiming, the executive director of CCB Financial Technology, were guest speakers.

Eric Yu, CEO of GTCOM

"Alternative data: the new oil"

"Alternative data is the new oil," said Eric Yu, who, at the start of his speech, went straight to the topic. He introduced GTCOM's latest exploration perspective and the most cutting-edge attempt and presence in the field of financial big data.

Oil has, since the Industrial Revolution, been the fuel of industry, playing an essential role in the national economy. Thus it has been regarded as the lifeblood of the national economy. With the development of information technology, big data, like oil, plays a huge role in social and economic development. Therefore, as an important part of data, alternative data is as important to the financial sector as oil is to the national economy. Mr. Yu compared the role of "alternative data" in the financial sector to "the new oil."

In the eyes of insiders, data that is likely to influence financial decisions but isn't part of traditional information--such as market statistics and financial reports--is referred to as alternative data. The purpose of alternative data is to obtain excess market returns. It can provide investors with market insights from different perspectives thanks to its excellent real-time performance, large volume and "primitivity." However, it requires that investors have strong algorithms for data mining and data science. Mr. Yu described several types of alternative data from the dimensions of personal data, business data and information provided by monitoring tools. Additionally, he highlighted the global huge amounts of structured financial data, emotions, market sentiments, panic indices and other big-data algorithms.

Pioneering the application of alternative data

Given the development of AI big-data technology, alternative data is increasingly applied by financial quantification institutions. Therefore, based on massive global data resources and powerful data algorithms, GTCOM is preparing to launch the JoveArch Data Quantitative Analysis Platform.

The conference site

Mr. Yu emphasized the fact that JoveArch is the world's leading alternative data platform designed for the financial quantification field. In fact, the platform is the world's only quantitative research vehicle with the ability to provide cross-language global alternative data and market-sentiment factor calculations. Using SSEC and Brent crude oil as examples, Mr. Yu described the role of quantitative data that is calculated based on JoveArch in the decision-making of financial practitioners. "The power of computers is beyond human imagination. Thus, the role of alternative data in finance is to be expected," he said.

Player in AI big-data financial innovation

GTCOM has focused on technology big data, financial big data and knowledge-graph applications since the dawn of 2018. GTCOM brought its financial big-data products to the 15th China International Finance Forum as the means to establish and expand its presence in the financial field.

GTCOM displayed its JoveMind knowledge-graph building and analysis platform, JoveBird financial big-data platform, JoveArch data quantitative analysis platform and other latest AI big-data financial applications in the exhibition area of the form, thereby allowing visitors to experience the effects and changes to the financial industry made possible by AI big-data technology.

GTCOM's exhibition area

Previously, the JoveBird financial big-data platform and other financial regulatory technology products frequently appeared in North America and Europe. The quantitative application of alternative data in the financial sector, such as the JoveArch data quantitative analysis platform, became the subject of heated discussion among industry experts in the United States. GTCOM won the "2018 China ? Financial Technology Industry Innovation Enterprise of the Year" for its JoveMind knowledge-graph building and analysis platform and other innovative financial big-data applications.

Landmark events have in turn conveyed GTCOM's eagerness to focus on financial big data, based on the belief that innovation drives development and data empowers finance. GTCOM is simultaneously an explorer and observer in the innovation and exploration of financial development, and also an active player in technology-driven financial quantification. Therefore, GTCOM will redouble its efforts in the cutting-edge technologies of big data, artificial intelligence and language technology as it joins with the world's top industry experts, data scientists and business leaders to explore the infinite possibilities that AI big data brings to the financial sector, thus imbuing the industry with endless vitality.