Two Chinese Companies Leave US: China Telecom Told It Can't Stay, DiDi Gets Out Of Dodge

Two Chinese tech companies, China Telecom and DiDi Global, are packing their bags and moving out of the US, one under the ruling of Washington, the other under the thumb of Beijing.

On Friday, DiDi Global announced it would delist from the New York Stock Exchange in favour of Hong Kong after a mere five-month presence.

The mobility technology platform floated on the NYSE on 30 June, raising $4.4bn, making them the biggest IPO of a Chinese company on an American exchange since Alibaba in 2014.

But not everyone was happy as DiDi had ignored a request from Chinese regulators to maybe not do that. And less than a week later, Chinese ride-hailing app DiDi Chuxing was removed from local app stores on the grounds that it violated data protection laws.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) then ordered the removal of more mobile apps – 25 in total – citing national security concerns, and affecting DiDi Global's bottom line.

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By late October, the CAC was pressuring DiDi and other companies to list in Hong Kong. The company is now complying.

As for China Telecom, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia denied China Telecom's last-ditch bid to retain its Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licence on Thursday.

"Petitioner has not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review," read the court document [PDF].

The FCC terminated China Telecom Americas Corporation's authority to provide telecom services within the US on 26 October, citing national security risks such as the telco's potential for exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government, potential espionage, and other harmful activities.

The carrier's appeal was based on the grounds that the FCC had rejected its request for a hearing and that it didn't pose an imminent threat to US national security.

China Telecom must comply with the 26 October orders to end US services by early January. ®