Despite Didi’s US$1.2bil fine, China tech’s regulatory woes may not be over

Authorities have, in recent months, softened their tone on the crackdown as they seek to boost an economy hurt by Covid-19 containment measures, and the probe into Didi was among cases being closely watched for clues on how this could play out. — AFP

HONG KONG/BEIJING: China’s US$1.2bil (RM5.34bil) fine on Didi Global draws a line under the ride hailing company’s regulatory woes, but the retroactive application of laws and a lack of clarity on the firm’s business revival show the worst for its tech sector may not be over.

Beijing’s launch of a cybersecurity probe just over a year ago into Didi was part of a wider and unprecedented crackdown on violations of antitrust and data rules, among other issues, that targeted some of China’s best-known corporate names such as Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings.