BEIJING: China’s largest ride-hailing application Didi Chuxing yesterday received a strategic investment of US$605 million from China Life Insurance, comprising an equity injection of US$300 million and a long-term debt investment US$305 million.
The two parties also plan to partner comprehensively in Internet-related financial innovation and other initiatives, a joint statement said yesterday.
The latest investment came less than a month after Apple’s US$1 billion investment in Didi. Didi President Jean Liu told a technology conference on June 2 that its current financing round has already exceeded US$3.5 billion.
China Life joined the ranks of Didi’s existing Chinese investors such as Tencent, Alibaba, China Investment Corp, China Merchants Bank and Ping An Ventures.
Prior to the China Life investment, the company raised about US$6.3 billion including fundraising rounds in Didi and Kuaidi separately, which merged in early 2014 to form Didi Chuxing.
Global rival Uber raised US$3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund earlier this month.
