China’s Didi Chuxing investigation closes in on 60-day mark with no conclusion in sight

Initiated on July 2, the Chinese government’s cybersecurity review of ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing will mark its 60th day this Friday

The pace of the investigation showed that regulators are exercising prudence in this case, the resolution of which may affect the company’s investors

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Didi Chuxing’s ride-hailing orders have started to decline in August, as the company remains under the government’s cybersecurity review. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:30pm, 23 Sep 2021Updated: 10:41pm, 23 Sep 2021

China’s cybersecurity review of ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing shows no sign of concluding any time soon, as the widely followed investigation closes in on the 60-day mark and the company’s business starts to slow down.

Didi incurred the ire of regulators when it rushed to raise US$4.4 billion from its initial public offering in New York, ignoring their warnings about network security compliance. On July 2, internet watchdog the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) launched an investigation into Didi and then ordered the company’s app removed indefinitely from local app stores, which stopped it from registering new users.

While Didi’s cybersecurity review will mark its 60th day on Friday since CAC initiated the action, analysts said the pace of the investigation showed that regulators are exercising prudence in this case, the resolution of which may affect the company’s investors as well as the relationship between the US and China capital markets.

There is no binding deadline for Didi’s cybersecurity review since this investigation “can be extended in case of special circumstances”, said Nicholas Bahmanyar, a senior consultant for cybersecurity at LEAF law firm in Beijing. Apart from Didi’s case, he indicated that major new laws being rolled out this year highlights data security’s importance “like never before” in China.

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Neither CAC nor Didi has provided any details about the ongoing investigation. Didi is “actively and thoroughly cooperating with the cybersecurity review”, according to a company statement earlier this week.

China’s Didi Chuxing investigation closes in on 60-day mark with no conclusion in sight

Initiated on July 2, the Chinese government’s cybersecurity review of ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing will mark its 60th day this Friday The pace of the investigation showed that regulators are exercising prudence in this case, the resolution of which may affect the company’s investors

Initiated on July 2, the Chinese government’s cybersecurity review of ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing will mark its 60th day this Friday

The pace of the investigation showed that regulators are exercising prudence in this case, the resolution of which may affect the company’s investors