Chinese ride-hailing company DiDi Global (NYSE:) is being investigated by U.S. regulators over the company’s disastrous initial public offering last year.

In a regulatory filing issued this week, DiDi said it is cooperating with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its investigation of DiDi’s IPO last year, “subject to strict compliance with applicable PRC laws and regulations.”

DiDi explained that it was impossible to predict when, how and what would happen in an investigation like this.

DiDi launched a long-awaited $4.4 billion IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2021, the biggest share offering in the U.S. by a Chinese company since Alibaba’s IPO in 2014.

Just a few days after the offering, Chines authorities banned DiDi from app stores in the country and opened an investigation into the company’s customer data practices. China’s Cyberspace Administration of China charged the ride-hailing company with violating privacy laws, and potentially posing serious cybersecurity risks. Many viewed Bejing’s actions as a way to punish DiDi for going public in the U.S. instead of China.

This unexpected twist significantly hurt DiDi’s investors, with the company’s shares plummeting nearly 20% on its first trading day after the ban.

American regulators are approaching Chinese IPOs cautiously ever since. Since that time, the SEC has instructed its staff members to require more disclosures of Chinese firms seeking to be publicized in the U.S. in order to approve their listing in the country.

The regulatory clampdown by the Chinese government hurt DiDi’s domestic operations as well, with the company incurring a $4.7 billion loss in the third quarter of 2021, while its revenue fell 1.7% from the year-ago period.

The ride-hailing firm announced in December 2021 that it would seek listing its shares in Hong Kong and delist from New York Stock Exchange. Recently, however, reports indicated that DiDi had paused their Hong Kong listing plans.

By Senad Karaahmetovic