Didi Loses $22 Billion in Market Cap After China Crackdown
Divya Balji and Filipe Pacheco, 06 July 2021
Didi Global Inc. plunged in premarket trading after a Chinese regulator ordered the removal of the company’s platform from app stores, days after a $4.4 billion initial public offering in the U.S.
Shares of the China-based tech firm fell as much as 30% to $10.90, wiping out about $22 billion of market value and taking the stock below the $14 IPO price. They traded at $12.17 as of 6 a.m. in New York.
The Cyberspace Administration of China barred new users from Didi’s app, citing security risks and tightening its grip on sensitive online data. Didi, whose American Depository Receipts only traded in New York since June 30, said the move may have an “adverse impact” on its revenue in China.
A Chinese crackdown on the nation’s big tech firms has knocked about $42 billion off of firms listed on the Nasdaq’s so-called Golden Dragon China Index, which tracks Chinese ADRs, since the government derailed the planned IPO of giant Ant Group Co. in November. Further moves included a record $2.8 billion fine on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. after an antitrust probe found it had abused its market dominance, sparking concern about the future of the sector.
“The Chinese government’s tactics appear to have the twin purposes of keeping its corporate leaders in check while also making sure the investor pain lands primarily in the U.S. more so than China,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading.
