Slow data dissemination irks Shanghai investors

For international investors accustomed to speed, trading in China's stock market is like flying blind.

That is because everybody who transacts on the Shanghai Stock Exchange gets price updates just once every three seconds, or five seconds if they have a lower level of service.

While the gaps have gone largely unnoticed by individual investors who make up more than 80 percent of the volume, they are presenting a problem for overseas traders - many of whom just recently gained access to Chinese mainland shares through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Exchange link.