Didi Global To Delist From New York Stock Exchange

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global plans to delist from the New York Stock Exchange, only months after its IPO in July.

The company has been under intense pressure from Chinese authorities since the listing, while US regulators also introduced new restrictions on Chinese firms listed in the country last week.

Didi said it is “immediately” preparing to list its shares in Hong Kong, and said holders of its US-listed shares would be able to convert their holdings to those on another stock exchange.

“Following careful research, the company will immediately start delisting on the New York stock exchange and start preparations for listing in Hong Kong,” Didi said on its Weibo microblogging account.

Share slump

In a separate English-language statement it said its board had approved the move.

“The company will organise a shareholders meeting to vote on the above matter at an appropriate time in the future, following necessary procedures,” the firm stated.

It added that it is preparing to relaunch its apps in China by the end of the year.

Didi’s shares have lost more than 40 percent of their value since the IPO, a loss of nearly $30bn in market capitalisation.

The company raised $4.4 billion (£3.3bn) in its New York IPO in late June, but the company was said to have proceeded with the listing against the wishes of Chinese regulators.

Only days later the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) ordered online stores to stop offering Didi’s app, saying the company had broken data protection laws and was being investigated for “national security and the public interest”.

Crackdown

The move was seen as a punishment for defying regulators, and was part of a broader crackdown over the past year, as China’s government has sought to rein in the country’s biggest tech firms.

Didi responded at the time that it would “strive to rectify any problems, improve its risk prevention awareness and technological capabilities, protect users’ privacy and data security, and continue to provide secure and convenient services to its users”.

Since then regulators have reportedly considered various plans, including bringing Didi under state control or handing its sensitive data to a state-backed company.

Last week the US Securities and Exchange Commission introduced new restrictions of its own, saying it has finalised rules that mean US-listed overseas companies can be delisted if their auditors refuse to supply information to regulators.

The law was passed last year, following years of refusals by Chinese regulators to allow US authorities to audit Chinese firms that trade in the US.