Chinese authorities are preparing to fine the ride-hailing firm more than $1 billion Elder sister Global, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, a move that could end an investigation into the firm’s cybersecurity practices.

People said the fine would be more than 8 billion yuan ($1.28 billion), which was about 4.7% of Didi’s total revenue of $27.3 billion last year. The information had not yet been made public, so he declined to be identified.

wall street journal First reported the potential size of the fine earlier on Tuesday.

The ride-hailing firm did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Didi’s fine will be the biggest regulatory fine imposed on a Chinese tech company since e-commerce

Alibaba Group and delivery giant Meituan were fined $2.75 billion and $527 million respectively last year Chinatrust is the regulator.

Alibaba’s fines are equivalent to about 4% of its 2019 home sales, while Meituan’s is equivalent to 3% of its 2020 domestic sales.

Didi’s fine could pave the way for Beijing to ease the ban from adding new users to its platform and allow it to reinstall its apps on the domestic app store.

Co-founded in 2012 by Didi, formerly Ali Baba Supported by staff Will Wei Cheng and softbank The group and Uber Technologies had previously set aside 10 billion yuan for potential fines, Reuters previously reported.

The company has struggled to get its business back to normal after angering Chinese regulators by moving its $4.4 billion New York listing in June 2021 despite being asked to put the float on hold.

Days after Didi went public, China’s powerful Internet watchdog, the Cyberspace Administration of China, launched a cybersecurity investigation into the company’s data practices and ordered the App Store to remove 25 mobile apps operated by Didi.

The sanctions have eroded Didi’s dominance and allowed rival ride-hailing services operated by automakers Geely and SAIC Motor to gain market share.

The company announced that it would delist from the New York Stock Exchange in December, and received its shareholders’ consent to the plan in May.

Didi’s shares rose in its initial public offering (IPO), giving the company a valuation of $80 billion. It was the largest US listing by a Chinese firm since 2014.

Apart from Didi, CAC also launched Cyber ​​Security Review of Full Truck Alliance and Online Recruitment Firm Kanjhun Limited July 2021.

Kanjhun and Full Truck Alliance said that on June 29, the regulator had pushed their apps to resume new user registrations.

stay high technology And Startup News that matters. to subscribe Get the latest and must-read tech news in our daily newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.