Photo/Shetuwang

Jan. 21 (NBD) -- Chinese drone maker Dà-Jiāng Innovations Science and Technology Co Ltd (DJI) is cracking the whip on serious internal corruption.

The company claimed in an anti-corruption report released on Thursday that 45 people from the departments of research and development (R&D), procurement, administration, and design as well as factory were investigated and held accountable, and the total losses due to graft were expected to exceed 1 billion yuan (147.5 million U.S. dollars) last year. DJI's public relation team confirmed the matter to NBD.

According to the report, among those people, 16 were handed over to the judicial system and 29 were dismissed.

The large-scale corruption surfaced by accident during an internal management reform in 2018 which was aimed at optimizing the management and process.

DJI's public relation team told NBD the company puts much emphasis on the anti-graft campaign and has set up a special anti-corruption task force to investigate further and develop culture of integrity. The drone making giant will grant no tolerance to any form of corruption, the public relation team added.

In recent years, China has seen an unprecedented number of companies crack down on corruption.

DJI's move was on the heels of ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing's announcement earlier this month that it dismissed 83 employees in 2018 over corruption. Other Chinese companies including Wanda, 58.com, Meituan Dianping and Youku also launched initiatives to stamp out corruption last year.

Noticeably, Wanda's founder Wang Jianlin stated unremitting efforts should be made to fight against corruption. High salaries do not bring integrity and anti-corruption should be a long-term practice, he noted.

Founded in 2006, DJI, after over a decade of development, has grown into a well-known unicorn company worldwide. According to a report from the Hurun Research Institute, DJI ranked fifth among unicorn companies in the greater China area with a valuation of 100 billion yuan (14.8 billion U.S. dollars) for the third quarter of 2018.

But in 2018, DJI took a hit from the sluggish consumer drone industry and was challenged by Internet giants as the domestic consumer drone market entered a period with low increase rate and companies like SF and JD.com were devoted to the R&D of drones in scenarios such as food and express deliveries.

International Data Corporation estimated the global consumer and corporate drone market to hit 9 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 and to achieve a compound annual growth rate of about 30 percent in the coming five years. Based on that, the global drone market will reach approximately 33.41 billion U.S. dollars by 2023.

With a raft of behemoths competing for a slice of the drone market, DJI's future will be full of challenges.

Email: wenqiao@nbd.com.cn