(Reuters) – China’s ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc has suspended its plans to launch in Britain and continental Europe, The Telegraph reported on Monday, against the backdrop of a regulatory backlash at home over data privacy.
Staff working on the planned launches have been told that they face possible redundancy and Didi has stopped hiring in Britain, pulling the launch plans for at least 12 months, according to the report. (https://bit.ly/2WaN29Z)
The move comes on the heels of a more than a month-long regulatory crackdown on China’s massive internet sector, which includes companies like Didi, for antitrust, customer data privacy and other violations.
Beijing’s regulators have removed its mobile app from app stores amid a cybersecurity probe triggered by concerns about user data leaving China.
The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Didi listed its shares in New York in June after raising $4.4 billion in an initial public offering (IPO), the biggest stock sale by a Chinese company since the 2014 listing of e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel and Anil D’Silva)
