Tencent-backed WeDoctor is backpedalling on plans to list overseas, according to people familiar with the Chinese healthtech group’s thinking, as international disclosure requirements start to weigh on data-heavy companies.
Many Chinese start-ups have amassed huge troves of data, including in sensitive areas such as citizens’ health. That has made companies — and regulators — wary of overseas listings, which would entail greater disclosure and scrutiny.
China’s data sovereignty rules call for all Chinese personal data to be held onshore, and industry insiders say there is increasing squeamishness about overseas listings by companies that store such data — in a mirror image of US regulators’ concerns about Chinese companies acquiring personal data in the US.