Didi Global Inc., a Chinese provider of ride-hailing services, is in negotiations that could give control of its data to a firm owned by the country’s government, Reuters reported on Friday (Aug. 6), citing unnamed sources.
Didi collects data about car locations and trips and shares reports that indicate when workers in certain cities tend to end their workdays and which companies have the longest hours.
According to the news service, Didi’s talks with Westone Information Industry Inc. are aimed at finding a way to mollify government regulators, which want to keep potentially sensitive data in Chinese hands. News of the talks, which emerged in recent days without identifying the potential data company with which Didi would work, appears to be a factor in the recent recovery of Didi’s share price.
Read more: Uber’s Didi Holdings Plummet $2B As China Accelerates US Crackdown
Didi Global Inc.’s ADR was trading on the New York Stock Exchange at $9.51 a share at 11 a.m Friday, according to market data provided by Google Finance. The stock debuted on June 30 at about $14 a share and fell to $8 a share on July 26.
Regulators at the Cyberspace Administration of China had expressed their concerns in advance of Didi’s $4.4 billion U.S. initial public offering (IPO).
Didi, Westone, the Cyberspace Administration of China and the State Council Information Office did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Didi has 493 million active users and 15 million annual active users, and saw 41 million average daily transactions in the 12 months through March 2021, PYMNTS reported at the time of the IPO.
Uber sold its China business to Didi in 2016 in return for a 20 percent stake in the Chinese company and $1 billion in cash. Uber is now reportedly the second-largest shareholder in Didi with a 12 percent stake. The largest shareholder is SoftBank.
See Also: Uber’s Didi Exposure Signals Bumps Ahead
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