China presses Didi Global to delist from US over data security fears

Chinese regulators have pressed top executives of ride hailing giant Didi Global to devise a plan to delist from the New York Stock Exchange due to concerns about data security, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

China’s powerful Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has asked the management to take the company off the US bourse due to worries about leakage of sensitive data, said one of the people. It also wants the ride-hailing giant to promise it would solve the delisting issue within a certain period of time, said the person.

The cyberspace regulator said, according to the person, the prerequisite for the relaunch of Didi’s ride-hailing and other apps in China is that the company has to agree to delist from New York.

Proposals under consideration include a straight-up privatisation or a second listing in Hong Kong followed by a delisting from the United States, said the person.

In July, the CAC ordered app stores to remove 25 mobile apps operated by Didi — just days after the company listed in New York. It also told Didi to stop registering new users, citing national security and the public interest.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Didi is preparing to relaunch its apps in the country by the end of the year in anticipation that Beijing’s cybersecurity investigation into the company would be wrapped up by then, citing sources directly involved in the relaunch.

Neither Didi nor the CAC responded to Reuters’ requests for comments.

Shares in Didi investors SoftBank Group Corp and Tencent Holdings fell more than 5 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively following the report. SoftBank Vision Fund owns 21.5 per cent of Didi, followed by Uber Technologies with 12.8 per cent and Tencent’s 6.8 per cent, according to a filing in June by Didi.

Meituan posts widest loss since 2018

Meituan reported its biggest loss in three years, weighed down by a bruising antitrust probe, an investment spurt and mounting competition from Alibaba Group Holding.

The Chinese food-delivery behemoth said on Friday revenue for the September quarter climbed to 48.8 billion yuan ($7.6 billion), in line with analysts’ estimates. Net loss widened to almost 10 billion yuan, versus the 7 billion yuan projected, after the company incurred a 3.44 billion yuan fine for violating antitrust rules.

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor