Ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is still waiting for a final ruling from Chinese authorities, one year after Beijing shocked the market by initiating an unprecedented cybersecurity investigation into the company on national security grounds.

US-listed companies Full Truck Alliance and Kanzhun, which were subject to a similar review by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) days after it initiated an investigation into Didi on July 2 last year, were both allowed to resume user registrations last week.

The CAC, however, has remained silent on whether and when Didi's dozens of apps can be restored to Chinese app stores, allowing the company to sign up new users. The ride-hailing firm has suffered huge business losses since last July.

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Daily active users of Didi plummeted in April by about 70 per cent from the time the investigation began, according to a person familiar with third-party tracking data on Didi. The person declined to be identified because the information is not public.

Didi Chuxing cannot file an application to list in another public market until Beijing recognises the completion of its business rectification measures. Photo: Reuters alt=Didi Chuxing cannot file an application to list in another public market until Beijing recognises the completion of its business rectification measures. Photo: Reuters>

Part of that user decline for Didi reflects the impact of China's rigid Covid-19 lockdowns, which have discouraged travel, the person said.

Didi, which has not published recent business operations data, declined to comment.

The Beijing-based company has been trying to satisfy regulatory requirements over the past year. Didi told investors in May that it had to delist from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), less than a year after raising US$4.4 billion from its initial public offering, as a necessary step to apply for permission from Chinese authorities to resume normal business operations.

Didi has said it will not seek to go public in another market until it completes business rectification measures.

The company, whose shareholders voted to delist from the NYSE last month, started trading on the over-the-counter market (OTC) on June 13. The Post reported last week that its 26 suspended apps are expected to be restored "soon".

China, according to report by The Wall Street Journal in early June, was concluding Didi's cybersecurity review and was preparing to lift a ban on adding new users.