Shares in the Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Global Inc. took another beating today following a report by the Financial Times that claims current and former employees at the firm have been banned from selling company stock indefinitely.

Didi’s stock lost 5.4% of its value, closing at just $5.30 per share in New York trading. The move by Didi to block employees from offloading their shares came as early investors in the firm were finally allowed to sell their own holdings in the company. That’s because a 180-day lock-up period that followed Didi’s initial public offering in June has come to an end.

However, Didi investors such as Uber Technologies Inc., SoftBank Group Corp. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. will likely face steep losses after months of selling pressure. At the end of trading today, Didi’s stock was down 62% from its IPO price, erasing more than $42 million in market capitalization.

Didi’s troubles stemmed from apparent anger by Chinese authorities over its decision to list on the New York Stock Exchange, despite concerns raised by regulators around its data security practices. In the wake of its IPO, the Chinese government announced a full investigation into Didi’s data security practices, before banning its applications from mainland app stores.

The company remains unable to sign up new users in China, and regulators have since ordered the company remove 25 of its other apps, including those used to register new drivers. Meanwhile, data shows that Didi’s ride count in China has declined steadily since its apps were effectively banned, with passenger rides declining by 11% in November, the Financial Times reported.

Didi has attempted to get the authorities off its back, announcing plans to delist from the NYSE and instead launch an IPO in Hong Kong. To protect itself, Didi has now prohibited employees from selling their shares until after it begins trading in Hong King, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. It also recently announced it is suspending its European expansion plans, presumably until it can sort out its differences with the Chinese authorities.

Photo: Didi Global