DiDi Global has decided to shelve its plans of going public in the UK. Per a Reuters article, the Telegraph reported on this latest development that suggests the Chinese ride-sharing company to pull the plug on its strategy to become a publicly-traded entity in the UK for at least a year.

The launch preparations in Britain and the continental Europe are put on the backburner due to regulatory pressures in China pertaining to data security issues. DiDi Global along with tech giants in China including Alibaba (BABA Quick QuoteBABA - Free Report) is persistently facing a regulatory crackdown in their home country in the internet sector. On one hand, the Chinese firms are grappling with regulatory backlashes on the domestic front, while on the other, they are being scrutinized by nations in the West.

Against this backdrop, the Beijing-based ride-hailing giant arrived at a decision to scrap its launch plans in the UK. Evidently, DiDi Global stopped its recruitment process in Britain with the staff that was working on the launch plans, fearing the risk of being rendered redundant.

We remind investors that the Chinese clampdown came close on the heels of DiDi Global’s debut as a publicly-traded entity on the New York Stock Exchange on Jun 30, 2021. Due to the regulatory repercussion, the DiDi Global stock has lost 45.4% of its value since the US IPO.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

DiDi Global apart, the U.S. ride-hailing market includes players like Uber Technologies (UBER Quick QuoteUBER - Free Report) , which has a stake in DiDi Global, and Lyft (LYFT Quick QuoteLYFT - Free Report) .

Even though DiDi Global decided against going forward with its launch plans in the UK, the Chinese company is very much involved in expanding its international base. To this end, it recently unveiled operations in countries like South Africa, Ecuador and Kazakhstan.