Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi still awaits final ruling from Beijing, one year after it was put under cybersecurity review

The Cyberspace Administration of China has remained silent on whether and when Didi’s dozens of apps can be restored to mainland app stores

One year on, there has been no official update from Chinese authorities about the progress of Didi’s cybersecurity review, which remains shrouded in secrecy

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People walk past the headquarters of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:00am, 3 Jul 2022

Ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is still waiting for a final ruling from Chinese authorities, one year after Beijing shocked the market by initiating an unprecedented cybersecurity investigation into the company on national security grounds.

US-listed companies Full Truck Alliance and Kanzhun, which were subject to a similar review by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) days after it initiated an investigation into Didi on July 2 last year, were both allowed to resume user registrations last week.

The CAC, however, has remained silent on whether and when Didi’s dozens of apps can be restored to Chinese app stores, allowing the company to sign up new users. The ride-hailing firm has suffered huge business losses since last July.

Daily active users of Didi plummeted in April by about 70 per cent from the time the investigation began, according to a person familiar with third-party tracking data on Didi. The person declined to be identified because the information is not public.

Didi Chuxing cannot file an application to list in another public market until Beijing recognises the completion of its business rectification measures. Photo: Reuters

Part of that user decline for Didi reflects the impact of China’s rigid Covid-19 lockdowns, which have discouraged travel, the person said.

Didi, which has not published recent business operations data, declined to comment.