Beijing: TikTok owner ByteDance put on hold its intentions to list offshore earlier this year after Chinese officials told the company to address data-security risks.
Founder Zhang Yiming decided to shelve plans for a potential IPO in late March after meetings with cyberspace and securities regulators, where the company was asked to focus on addressing data-security risks and other issues. The firm also delayed the listing because it didn't have a chief financial officer at the time, according to a media report.
The Cyberspace Administration of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission didn't respond to Dow Jones's requests for comment.
Regulatory framework
ByteDance is working to ensure it complies with data security requirements after meetings with government officials over the issue this year.
The Chinese tech giant had kicked off initial preparations for an IPO of its domestic assets in April. ByteDance's considerations about going public had been in flux even before Didi Global’s IPO in New York sparked a regulatory backlash, and the company is approaching any potentially IPO cautiously, people familiar with the matter said Monday.
Companies seeking to raise capital in overseas markets are now facing greater scrutiny, after China on Saturday proposed new laws that will require virtually all firms heading for an IPO outside of China to undergo a cybersecurity review. Didi had gone ahead to list in New York in June, even though Bloomberg News reported regulators asked it as early as three months ago to delay the debut. Authorities have since commenced a cybersecurity probe into the firm and removed its services from Chinese app stores.
