By Anniek Bao and Yongchang Chin


SINGAPORE--Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc. said it has to delist its American Depositary Receipts from the New York Stock Exchange before it can resolve an ongoing Chinese cybersecurity probe.

In a May 11 regulatory filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Didi said that "if it does not delist from the NYSE, it will not be able to complete the cybersecurity review and rectification, which would have a material adverse impact on the company's ability to conduct normal operations, restore its businesses and serve the best interests of its shareholders."

The Beijing-headquartered company will hold a shareholder vote on May 23 to determine the outcome of its delisting proposal, which it first disclosed in late 2021. Didi became subject to a cybersecurity probe shortly after its $4.4 billion U.S. initial public offering in June last year, and 26 of its apps were taken down from stores in China to meet Cyberspace Administration of China's order.

Didi also had to suspend new user registrations, which hurt its gross transaction value in the China Mobility segment during the third and fourth quarter of last year. Its ADRs closed Wednesday at $1.53 per share. They have fallen sharply from their IPO price of $14, saddling investors with billions of dollars in losses.

Last month, Didi said that in order to cooperate with the continuing cybersecurity probe, it won't seek a public listing in Hong Kong or other markets before its U.S. delisting is completed. The company said it needs to complete the cybersecurity review and rectification before it can apply for its apps to be restored and register new users again.

Didi said that it had rectified some of the issues raised by China's Cyberspace Administration by improving internal management mechanisms for data security.

The delisting decision needs to be passed by a simple majority of votes cast by shareholders at the upcoming meeting. Didi said its founders Will Wei Cheng and Jean Qing Liu have decided to vote on a "one vote per share" basis--the same as Class A ordinary shareholders--and will be voting in favor of the delisting plan.

As of Apr. 28, Didi had 1.21 billion ordinary shares outstanding of which nearly 1.10 billion are Class A ordinary shares and 117.34 billion Class B shares.


Write to anniek.bao@wsj.com and yongchang.chin@wsj.com


Corrections & Amplifications

This item was corrected at 0756 GMT to reflect that as of April 28, Didi had 1.21 billion ordinary shares outstanding of which nearly 1.10 billion are Class A ordinary shares and 117.34 million Class B shares. The original version incorrectly said Didi had 117.34 billion Class B Shares in the last paragraph.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-12-22 0341ET