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Market Chatter: China Regulator Resumes Permit Issuance for Robotaxis After Three-Month Pause

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China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology resumed the issuance of permits for self-driving taxis following a hiatus that began in April, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

An outage involving dozens of robotaxis operated by Baidu's (HKG:9888) Apollo Go, which stranded passengers and disrupted traffic in Wuhan, China, triggered the suspension of permit issuances, according to the report.

Among the first companies to receive new permits was newly listed Momenta Global (HKG:6880) to allow the self-driving taxi operator to run trials in Shenzhen, while Baidu's robotaxi operations could also resume service, the report said.

The ministry was not immediately available for comment.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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