Chinese Ride-Hailing Firm Dida Revives $200 Million HK IPO
(Bloomberg) — Dida Inc. is considering raising about $200 million through its planned Hong Kong initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said, paving the way for the first listing by a Chinese ride-hailing startup since Didi Global Inc.’s ill-fated share sale in 2021.
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Dida refiled for the IPO on Monday without giving any details on the fundraising size and timeline in its preliminary prospectus. The startup could list in Hong Kong as soon as in June, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The company has obtained assurances from Chinese regulators for the share sale to go ahead, they added.
Deliberations are ongoing and details of the IPO including size and timeline could still change, the people said. A representative for Dida declined to comment.
The refiling is a sign that a long-standing chill on listings by ride-hailing companies could be coming to an end. Didi first filed for a listing in the Asian financial hub in October 2020. It then resubmitted when the application lapsed in April 2021 but the IPO didn’t occur before the end of the six-month window.
Dida’s previous failed IPO attempts coincided with Didi’s $4.4 billion first-time share sale in the US in the summer of 2021, which was carried out against Beijing’s wishes. Didi soon became the highest-profile company at the heart of a clampdown on the internet industry and was forced to delist from the US’s bourses. Didi’s main apps returned to China’s biggest mobile stores last month. Relaunching the apps is seen as a prerequisite for Didi to resume business as usual, and to eventually work toward a listing in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, China plans to launch a government-backed app to integrate a variety of services including ride-hailing, several media outlets including the Beijing Daily reported in January.
Founded in 2014, Dida runs ride-hailing services for private cars and smart taxis, according to its preliminary prospectus. It counts Nio Capital, IDG Capital and JD.com Inc. among its investors. The startup’s revenue fell by 27% to 428 million yuan ($62 million) for the first nine months of 2022 when China was still enforcing stringent Covid restrictions. Its profit for the same period slumped by 92% to about 75 million yuan as the company increased subsidies to private car owners to incentivize them to cruise in the streets.
China International Capital Corp., Haitong International and Nomura Holdings Inc. are arranging Dida’s IPO.
–With assistance from Zheping Huang.
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