(News Bulletin 247) – The sector leader in China plans to enter the Asian market next year, Bloomberg reported this Friday, citing sources close to the matter. The company has reportedly improved its relations with Chinese regulators, after having been in their crosshairs for a long time.

After the fiasco on Wall Street, will Didi go public again, this time in Hong Kong? According to information reported by the Bloomberg agency this Friday, which cites sources close to the matter, the Chinese specialist in VTC services (transport car with driver) plans to enter the Asian market next year.

Contacted by Bloomberg, Didi did not respond to the agency’s emailed request for comment.

Didi was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2021, raising $4.4 billion, for a valuation of $57 billion. But the adventure quickly turned sour, because the company subsequently found itself in the crosshairs of Chinese regulatory authorities. Beijing then made a turn of the screw in tech which also led it to manhandle the online commerce giant Alibaba and the world number one in video games Tencent.

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Market shares that have decreased

The Chinese cybersecurity investigation office opened an investigation in July 2021 concerning various points in the collection of personal data of Didi users. Which resulted, a year later, in a colossal fine of $1.2 billion imposed on the VTC specialist.

This investigation could also be perceived as a sanction on the part of the Chinese authorities, the IPO of Didi on Wall Street occurring in a context of Sino-American rivalry in tech.

On Wall Street, Didi shares were divided by more than three in the space of a few months. The group has now almost left the American Stock Exchange. As Bloomberg points out, its shares are only traded “over the counter”, that is to say over the counter via bilateral agreements, and not freely via a centralized system.

According to the agency, Didi has now calmed its relations with Chinese regulators, in particular by reducing its hegemony on the market. Its market share in China would thus have fallen from around 90% to around 70%.

Bloomberg also notes that giving its approval to the operation would allow the Chinese executive to send a political message by showing its support for the private sector. This could boost business confidence, at a time when Beijing badly needs the private sector to achieve its 5% growth target this year.