Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi plans to enter the UK market within weeks and be in direct competition with Uber.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Didi has reportedly secured its first licenses in Manchester and Sheffield and will begin service as soon as this month.

Didi is facing a crackdown on its business in China. Last week, Didi completed a $68 billion IPO in the US, which was the largest listing of a Chinese tech company in the US since Alibaba went public in 2014. But a few days later, Chinese regulators pulled Didi from China's app stores citing national security concerns, a crackdown that caused the company's shares to plunge.

Didi will start offering its services in the UK in about three weeks. After it starts offering its services, Didi will likely apply for operating licenses in London and other cities in a few months. Recent documents show that the company was granted a one-year license in Salford and a five-year license in Sheffield.

Didi has start recruitment in London and Manchester for the past period and has opened a base in Manchester. These expansion plans will put more pressure on Uber, which already has local competitors such as Ola, Bolt, and Kapten.