November 30, 2021: -Shares of China’s Didi sank sharply on Friday after Bloomberg reported that Chinese regulators had asked the firm’s executives to formulate a plan to delist from the U.S.

Didi shares were decreased nearly 7% in U.S. premarket trading amid a broader sell-off. SoftBank shares in Japan which is closed by 5%. SoftBank’s Vision Fund owned over 20% of Didi following its U.S. listing.

Bloomberg’s report said regulators want Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi to delist from the New York Stock Exchange due to the concerns about leakage of sensitive data. The news agency is citing people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified due to the issue’s sensitivity.

Bloomberg said that the Cyberspace Administration of China had asked Didi to work out the details for a delisting subject to government approval.

Didi could either go for privatization or a listing in Hong Kong after delisting in the U.S, the report said.

Privatization would be at the $14 per share IPO price when the company is listed, while a Hong Kong float would be at a discount to what Didi’s shares were trading at in the U.S., according to Bloomberg.

A state-directed delisting would be an unprecedented move but highlights Beijing’s continued push to reign in technology giants and put them under tighter regulation. Didi is a special case. Right after its IPO in the U.S. in June, regulators opened a cybersecurity review into the company.

Didi reportedly drew the ire of regulators by pushing ahead with an IPO that resolve outstanding cybersecurity issues that the authorities wanted to be solved. It is China’s biggest ride-hailing app and holds lots of data on travel routes and users.