Will Cheng, CEO of Didi Chuxing, and Jean Liu, President of Didi Chuxing, attend a launch event for Didi and BYD’s D1 electric van in Beijing, China, on November 16, 2020. Yilei Sun/Yilei Sun/Yilei Sun/Yilei Sun/Yile Reuters/HONG KONG/BEIJING, June 30 – Will Wei Cheng has overcome several obstacles on his way to taking Didi Global Inc (DIDI.N) public in a $4.4 billion New York float, from working at a foot massage company to founding China’s largest ride-hailing startup. Cheng faced difficult competition, strong criticism for Didi following rape and murder cases linked to its drivers in 2018, and a COVID-19-induced slowdown at home as he advanced to the top echelons of Chinese technology entrepreneurs. While Cheng and co-founder Jean Qing Liu are celebrating the largest share sale by a Chinese business in the United States in seven years, which values Didi at $67.5 billion, analysts warn the issues are unlikely to go away very soon. As they set out to develop Didi abroad, the duo will be put to the test on their capacity to reverse losses that increased last year owing to the epidemic and deal with regulatory scrutiny amid an antitrust crackdown at home. find out more Employees and investors at Didi stated Cheng has a strategic eye, is quiet confident, and hardworking. Cheng is a micromanager, according to some, and his managerial style might be harsh. “When there is a Will, there is a Way,” said Neil Shen, the founder and managing partner of Didi investor Sequoia Capital China. “We look forward to working with Didi and its hundreds of millions of users to build a better world of future mobility.” Cheng, 38, who likes polo shirts and Chinese history and military literature, was hoping for a $100 billion valuation for Didi, according to Reuters. find out more According to a top Didi insider, Cheng’s concentration on his status among his generation of entrepreneurs led to this goal. He hasn’t given up his combative position yet, according to the source. “He is really determined to turn Didi into a worldwide corporation with a market value of $200 billion,” said the source, who declined to be identified because he was not permitted to speak to the media. Didi’s founders lowered their IPO valuation aim as investors shied away from the $100 billion target, fearing that future ride-sharing restrictions would stifle the company’s growth prospects. find out more There was also doubt about the impact of Didi’s antitrust investigation, which was published by Reuters. find out more A request for comment from Didi and its founders was not returned by Reuters. Didi, which began operations in Beijing in 2012, intends to be a worldwide technology company, according to Cheng and Liu, who said in the IPO prospectus that the business model was applicable in areas including as Latin America, Russia, and South Africa. It already has a stranglehold on the ride-hailing market in China, having pushed out Uber (UBER.N) after the latter lost a price war and ended up selling its Chinese operations to Didi for a share in 2016. In China, Didi competes with ride-hailing services provided by automakers like Geely and SAIC Motor (600104.SS). Uber has a presence in Europe and South America, where it is expanding. find out more Didi will make its debut on Wednesday morning New York time, backed by SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), Tencent Holdings Ltd (0700.HK), and Alibaba Group (9988.HK). CHENG AND LIUCheng was born in 1983 in a small hamlet in Jiangxi, China’s southeastern region. He worked as an assistant to the chairman of a foot massage company after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in administration from Beijing University of Chemical Technology. He started with Alibaba as a salesperson in 2005 and rose through the ranks to become a senior management before launching Didi. Cheng, the current CEO of Didi, says the idea for a ride-hailing network came to him on a cold winter night in Beijing when he couldn’t find a taxi. Cheng was joined by Liu, a former Goldman Sachs banker who is now the president of Didi, in 2014. Liu, a Harvard alumnus, has played a crucial role in Didi’s important financial choices, including the company’s 2015 merger with Alibaba-backed Kuaidi, the acquisition of Uber’s China division, and fundraising from investors such as Apple Inc. (AAPL.O). Liu, 43, is the company’s external communications representative, especially during times of crisis. After two murder and rape incidents involving Didi’s Hitch carpooling service drivers in 2018, which the founders described as their “darkest days,” she became the company’s face. She also contributes to Didi’s safety procedure overhaul. Julie Zhu in Hong Kong and Yilei Sun in Beijing contributed reporting, while Sumeet Chatterjee and Himani Sarkar edited the piece. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles are our standards. Continue reading