(FT) China’s ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing said it will start the process of exiting the New York Stock Exchange in preference for Hong Kong.
Didi says it has already authorized the delisting of its American depositary shares, aiming to convert them into freely tradable units on another globally recognized exchange.
Didi’s move to exit the US public market happens after pressure from the Chinese regulators on alleged data security concerns.
A series of regulatory crackdowns are believed to push Didi towards US delisting, including a ban of its app from the domestic app stores and being restricted from signing new users. Didi was also subject to government investigation following its US listing, which Beijing resisted.
The move by the ride-sharing giant weakened stocks of major tech giants, with Alibaba falling up to 5.4%, while Tencent dropped by 3.3%.
Launched in June this year, Didi’s $4.4 billion IPO was the most extensive listing by a Chinese firm in the US since the blockbuster debut of Alibaba in 2014.
DIDI: NYSE is up +9.36% on premarket.
