CHINA’S dominant ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing said yesterday that an initial public offering (IPO) was not its top priority and the company did not have any related plans at the moment.

Chinese financial magazine Caixin reported Tuesday that Didi was making preparations for an IPO in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the ride-hailing giant, backed by SoftBank Group, launched a test robotaxi service in a Shanghai suburb Saturday after installing V2X (vehicle to everything) hardware throughout the area.

Under the test, customers within a designated area will be able to hire free on-demand rides using Didi’s autonomous vehicles, which currently also have safety drivers, Didi said.

Didi has gained open-road testing licences in California, Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou, it said. It first began to develop and test autonomous driving vehicles in 2016.

Meanwhile, domestic media quoted Didi vice president Li Min as saying yesterday that the online seller of what are suspected to be Didi shares has been unidentified.

Li warned investors to be cautious of selling Didi shares on online auction platforms, as the company’s shareholder agreement strictly prohibits any private equity transactions.

Stakes in “the world’s leading ride-hailing company” appeared on Alibaba’s auction platform Tuesday, set for online auction July 29 with a starting price of 92 million yuan (US$13.2 million).

“The seller of what are suspected to be Didi shares on the online auction platform is unknown, and the shares cannot be identified as authentic. Please pay attention to the potential risks,” said Li was quoted as saying.

(SD-Agencies)