Didi exits Wall Street under Beijing pressure
Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi said on Friday it would “immediately” start delisting from the New York Stock Exchange and turn to Hong Kong instead, following a months-long struggle with Chinese authorities.
“After a careful study, the company will start delisting from the New York Stock Exchange immediately, and start preparations for listing in Hong Kong,” Didi wrote on its verified account on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
In a separate English-language statement, Didi announced its board of directors had authorized the move and stressed that its shares “will be convertible into freely tradable shares of the company on another internationally recognized stock exchange.”
Didi held its ill-fated $4.4 billion initial public offering (IPO) in the US a mere five months ago, despite Beijing’s insistent demands to halt the listing amid a review of the company's data practices at home.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) then forced mobile app stores to remove Didi's apps and ordered the company to stop registering new users, citing national security and public interest concerns. The company is still under investigation, but Reuters sources say it is preparing to relaunch its apps in China by year’s end, anticipating CAC’s investigation will be over by then.
Sources also claim that Didi plans to go through with its Hong Kong IPO in the next three months, and only then delist from New York – by June 2022. Didi shares dropped 0.13% during early trading on Friday, following the delisting news.
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