Didi suffers $14b blow after China’s app store ban

Shares of newly listed Didi Global, also known as Didi Chuxing, plunged 20% in US trading after China’s cyberspace regulator banned the ride-hailing giant from all app stores on grounds of an alleged breach in data protection rules.

The blow from the regulator wiped out US$14 billion from Didi’s market cap, which dipped to US$60 billion from over US$74 billion last Friday.

Photo credit: Didi

Didi shares closed at US$12.49, down from the company’s initial public offering price of US$14 apiece.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) had ordered smartphone app stores to take down Didi’s China service on Sunday as the company had allegedly collected users’ personal data illegally.

The Chinese regulator asked Didi to comply with the country’s data protection rules, just four days after the company raised US$4.4 billion in its US public listing.

However, the regulator did not specify the details of personal data that Didi allegedly collected.

The development is representative of a broader crackdown on tech giants in the country. Ant Group’s blockbuster IPO was put on hold in November and was followed up by antitrust investigations into Alibaba and Meituan.

See also: Why Alibaba is betting on Vietnam to reclaim Southeast Asian ecommerce

Over the weekend, the CAC also came down heavily against popular mobile apps operated by Full Truck Alliance and Kanzhun. On Tuesday, shares of the two companies – also listed on the US stock exchange – fell 6.6% and 16%, respectively.

The US stock market was closed Monday for the Fourth of July holiday.

Didi’s Chinese ride-hailing app, Full Truck Alliance’s two truck-hailing apps, and Kanzhun’s online-recruiting app were ordered to stop adding users during the period of the review.