By Keith Zhai and Liza Lin
SINGAPORE--Chinese authorities fined ride-hailing company Didi Global Inc. the equivalent of about $ 1.2 billion, bringing an end to a year-long investigation into the company's cybersecurity practices. The Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement Thursday that Didi was found to have flouted the country's cybersecurity, data-security and personal-information protection laws after an investigation by authorities. In addition to the fine, Didi's chief executive officer, Cheng Wei, and the company's president, Liu Qing, were each slapped with a penalty of about $ 148,000. Citing an unnamed cybersecurity official, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency described Didi's case as a serious one. "The nature of the issue was vile and it should be punished severely," Xinhua quoted the official as saying. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Chinese authorities were preparing to impose a fine of more than $ 1 billion on Didi, citing people familiar with the matter. Write to Keith Zhai at keith.zhai@wsj.com