Didi Global Ride-Hailing Service Gets Green Light Again To Operate In China

Didi Global is back in operation in China. (photo: twitter @didiglobal)

JAKARTA - Didi Global China has received the green light from domestic regulators to resume new user registration for its ride-hailing services effective from Monday, January 16th which signals the end of 1-1/2 years of the regulation-driven reshuffle.

Didi has been waiting for approval to proceed with new user registrations and downloads of its 25 apps banned in China as a key step towards getting back to normal business since regulatory issues started in mid-2021.

Reuters reported on Friday, January 13 citing sources, that Chinese authorities will allow Didi to resume new user registration and download its app at home as early as this week.

"Our company has been conscientiously cooperating with the country's cybersecurity review, seriously addressing the security issues found in the review and carrying out thorough repairs for more than one year," he said in a statement on Monday, quoted by Reuters.

Didi will also take effective measures to ensure platform security and data security, as well as maintain national cyber security, Didi added in the statement.

The latest move comes as China's policymakers seek to restore private sector confidence and are counting on the tech industry to help spur economic activity that has been damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Didi will need its ride-hailing and other apps to return to domestic app stores to win over new users, although the statement did not specifically mention that.

According to Reuters sources, the Ride-hailer business was launched in Beijing in 2012 and backed by prominent investors including Alibaba, Tencent, and SoftBank Group, in defiance of the powerful regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) when in 2021 it resumed its US listing. against the wishes of regulators, sources previously told Reuters.

Didi's regulatory troubles then began, with orders for 25 of its mobile apps to be removed from app stores, new user registrations suspended, and a $1.2 billion fine for data security breaches.

The companies paid the fine last year, the largest regulatory fine imposed on a Chinese technology company since Alibaba and Meituan were fined US$2.75 billion and US$527 million, respectively, in 2021 by the antitrust regulator State Administration for Market Regulation in China.

It was also forced to end its 11-month run as a New York Stock Exchange-traded company in June last year, turning it from the fruit of China's internet boom into one of the biggest victims of Beijing's regulatory crackdown.

Regulatory issues have hit Didi badly, cutting into its dominance and allowing rival online ride-hailing services operated by automakers Geely and SAIC Motor to gain market share across China.