Unconfirmed reports claim DiDi launched new services in Hong Kong, although its app service is not available in the city at this time
Mainland ride-hailing platform Didi will launch in Hong Kong, according to unconfirmed reports, with the news coming just hours after Hong Kong’s chief executive John Lee warned citizens and the taxi industry of vigilante reporting of illegal ride-hail services.
According to news site AAStocks.com DiDi Chuxing’s new service will offer taxi booking and cross-border car services.
Those services will be “DiDi Taxi”, which charges a charter fare, and “Ordinary Taxi”, which charges according to the distance meter.
DiDi, a firm 11.8% owned by Uber, also plans a cross-border car service from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Huizhou and Zhuhai, says AAStocks.com.
While the DiDi app would install in Hong Kong, and allow customer registration, a message says the service is “currently unavailable”. The app asked for permission to use the user’s phone service, highlighting a feature where the app itself could call taxi drivers to confirm or arrange bookings.
Didi already offers a Hong Kong taxi booking service for mainland Chinese tourists through WeChat Pay, but has not as yet tapped the wider ride-hail market in the city.
Warning against undercover evidence gathering
According to AAStocks.com, DiDi’s announcement came at lunchtime today. But just a few hours earlier, Hong Kong leader John Lee spoke out against taxi drivers reportedly running sting operations against illegal ridesharing.
In his weekly press briefing today, Lee was asked about cases of citizens undertaking “undercover” ridesharing trips to gather evidence for law enforcement.
Lee said such vigilante operations to flush out illegal rideshares were “at risk of breaking the law” and warned citizens to leave law enforcement to the police.
But police enforcement against illegal rideshares has been disappointing, according to taxi industry observers. Police charged four drivers with ride-hailing offences in 2023, compared to 67 taxi drivers for refusing hire, overcharging or other taximeter offences.
DiDi did not yet respond to requests for confirmation of the news.
The firm earlier told Bloomberg it plans an IPO in Hong Kong this year. The firm deregistered from a lacklustre appearance on the New York Stock Exchange in 2022 and is currently only available on US OTC markets.
Uber owns 11.8% of DiDi according to a May 2024 filing with the US Securities Exchange Commission, a result of the two competitors partly merging after Uber exited China in 2016.