BEIJING, March 18 (Reuters) - Chinese ride-hailing

company Didi Global on Tuesday reported a 7.1% rise in

fourth-quarter revenue to 52.9 billion yuan ($7.32 billion), as

its recovery from a regulatory overhaul of its operations

gathered pace.

The Beijing-based company reported a net loss of 1.3 billion

yuan for the quarter, versus a profit of 45 million yuan a year

earlier, after adopting new accounting standards. The loss

stemmed from non-operating items, including investment losses of

742 million yuan.

Didi drew the attention of China's cyberspace regulator in

2021 over its pursuit of a U.S. initial public offering without

approval, prompting an inquiry that prohibited it from adding

users and saw many of its apps removed from stores.

The regulator fined Didi $1.2 billion in July 2022 over a

data security violation, before granting the company permission

to relaunch its apps in early 2023. The company was delisted

from the U.S. in 2022.

Travel demand in China has shown signs of a recovery, though

economic growth is sluggish. Didi completed 3.25 billion

transactions during the quarter, a 10.8% year-on-year rise

across its platforms in China.

While Didi maintains its dominant position in China's

ride-hailing sector despite the regulatory challenges,

competition has ramped up.

Companies such as Alibaba ( BABA ) and Meituan ( MPNGF )

have integrated ride-hailing services into their

broader digital ecosystems, attracting users who prefer

consolidated super-apps. These platforms operate as aggregators,

connecting passengers with multiple ride-hailing providers,

including smaller regional operators.

Didi generates most of its revenue at home but also has

a significant presence in Brazil and Mexico.

Fourth-quarter revenue from international operations

rose to 3 billion yuan from 2.2 billion yuan a year earlier.

Over the past two years, Didi has been divesting

non-core assets. Last August, it

sold its smart cockpit

unit to a subsidiary of state-backed map provider NavInfo.

In 2023, Didi

divested

its electric vehicle development business - the majority of

its EV-related assets - to Xpeng ( XPEV ).

($1 = 7.2228 Chinese yuan renminbi)