Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc (滴滴) on Wednesday reported a 1.7 percent decline in third-quarter revenue, as its domestic business took a hit from a regulatory crackdown.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) chief executive officer Daniel Zhang (張勇) had resigned from his post as director on Didi’s board, the company said.
He is succeeded by Yi Zhang (張毅), a senior legal director at Alibaba Group, it said.
Photo: Reuters
Chinese authorities have come down hard on Didi after its New York Stock Exchange listing in June, demanding that it took down its app from mobile app stores, while the Cyberspace Administration of China investigated its handling of customer data.
The restriction hit Didi, cofounded in 2012 by former Alibaba employee Will Cheng (程維) and backed by Softbank Group Corp, which was the dominant ride-hailing company in China.
The company now faces stiff competition from ride-hailing services by automakers Geely Holding Group (吉利控股) and SAIC Motor Corp Ltd (上海汽車).
Under pressure from Chinese regulators concerned about data security, Didi this month succumbed and decided to delist from the New York Stock Exchange and pursue a Hong Kong listing.
Shares of Didi, which soared on their initial public offering, giving the company a valuation of US$80 billion and marking the biggest US listing by a Chinese firm since 2014, have since declined 65 percent.
Didi on Wednesday said that its board had authorized it to pursue a listing of its class A ordinary shares on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
“The company is executing above plans and will update investors in due course,” Didi said.
Revenue for the third quarter fell to 42.7 billion yuan (US$6.7 billion) from 43.4 billion yuan a year earlier.
Didi, which is expanding its presence in Europe and South America, said that revenue from its international operations nearly doubled to 966 million yuan in the quarter. Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders was 25.91 yuan.
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