HONG KONG, China — On Friday, China’s cybersecurity agency announced that a team of officials from seven national regulators would be assigned to check Didi Global’s activities on the ground. Other agencies represented in the group include the State Administration for Market Regulation, the ministries of public security, state security, transportation and natural resources, and the State Administration of Taxation, in addition to the Cyberspace Administration of China. Just days after the Beijing-based company’s $4.4 billion IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, the CAC ordered mobile app retailers to remove 26 of Didi’s programs, including its flagship ride-hailing app, and barred it from signing up new clients. Didi had improperly gathered and mismanaged personal data from its consumers, according to the government. Didi announced in a statement on July 4 that “we sincerely thank the authorities for advising Didi to control our risks.” “We will work hard to correct the issues and increase our risk awareness and technical capabilities.” On Friday, the business did not reply to demands for comment on the enlarged probe. Didi’s stock closed at $12.36 on Thursday, down from its IPO price of $14. Didi now controls a huge portion of China’s ride-sharing market after absorbing its main competitors over the last few years. Apple, SoftBank Vision Fund, Uber Technologies, and Tencent Holdings are among its owners. Following the CAC’s actions against Didi, the agency said that any firms with more than 1 million users will require its clearance before launching an offshore IPO. Several Chinese companies, including Alibaba Health Information-backed medical data firm LinkDoc Technology, have put their plans for New York listings on hold or canceled them since then./n
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