Didi Chuxing, Uber’s Chinese Rival, Raises $600 Million From China Life Insurance

Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing received over $600 million in fresh funding from China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., it said Monday, just a month after Apple invested $1 billion in Uber’s rival in China. Didi, China’s largest company of its kind, also has Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings as investors.

The infusion of capital from China Life Insurance — the largest state-owned insurer in China — includes equity investment of $300 billion and long-term borrowing commitment for another 2 billion yuan (about $304 million), according to reports.

Didi, which completes more than 11 million rides every day, is likely to use at least part of the money to continue subsidizing fares for customers in China — a strategy used by most app-based ride-hailing services, including Uber.

“The two parties will also collaborate on investment opportunities in mobile transportation and related sectors in China and beyond,” Didi said in a statement.

After the latest round of investment, Didi would be valued at about $25 billion, far bigger than the roughly $8 billion valuation of Uber China, but less than half the size of $68 billion or so valuation of Uber globally.

While Didi does not operate outside China, it has invested in Uber rivals, such as Lyft in the United States and GrabTaxi in Singapore.

Uber, which is backed in China by local internet heavyweight Baidu, raised about $3.5 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia earlier this month, a part of which will flow into its China operations. The company was burning through $1 billion a year to increase its market share in China.

The Chinese ride-hailing company is reportedly planning a public listing in U.S. stock markets in 2018, even though Didi said it currently had no such plans.

China Life Insurance is also an investor in Uber’s China operations.