Bulletins

Antitrust regulators might be investigating DiDi

Just ahead of its huge IPO, too.

DiDi's logo shown on a rendering of a smartphone

DiDi is set for an IPO.

Photo: Pavlo Gonchar/Getty Images

Chinese ride-hailing app DiDi Chuxing is being investigated by China's antitrust regulator , Reuters reported.

The country's State Administration for Market Regulation is reportedly investigating whether DiDi has been unfairly competing with smaller companies, and whether its ride-hailing pricing mechanism is adequately transparent. DiDi had previously disclosed that it met with SAMR in April and was asked to conduct a "self-inspection".

The SAMR probe comes just as DiDi prepares for a huge IPO , which could see it valued at over $70 billion. It's also the latest sign of China's growing antitrust crackdown on big tech companies. In April, Alibaba was fined $2.8 billion , while Tencent is reportedly facing a $1.5 billion fine . And in a situation somewhat reminiscent of DiDi's, Ant Financial's mega IPO last year was pulled after regulatory scrutiny that has since halved the company's valuation .

Shakeel Hashim

Shakeel Hashim ( @shakeelhashim ) is a former growth manager at Protocol, based in London. He was previously an analyst at Finimize covering business and economics, and a digital journalist at News UK. His writing has appeared in The Economist and its book, Uncommon Knowledge.

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