CHINESE group-buying service Meituan Dianping raised US$3.3 billion at a higher-than-expected valuation of US$18 billion, making the company backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.

    The latest round of funding was led by existing investors Tencent, DST and Trust Bridge Partners, Meituan said in an email late Tuesday.

    The deal amount would surpass the US$3 billion that ride-hailing startup Didi Kuaidi was said to have raised last year.

    The company was created by last year’s merger of Meituan.com and Dianping.com, a deal that people with knowledge of the matter said valued the business at US$15 billion. The new entity intended to use the money to fund its expansion, the people said.

    Meituan Dianping is among a growing number of startups vying for supremacy in the market for Internet services such as food delivery and home maintenance.

    Meituan Dianping finalized its latest round despite worries that investors were growing more cautious as the Chinese economy decelerates.

    Venture capitalists poured a record US$37 billion into the country’s startups last year, more than double the previous year’s tally, as the country emerges as a legitimate challenger to the United States for leadership of the technology industry.

    China’s venture boom created some of the world’s most-valuable startups, including smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi Corp., Didi Kuaidi and peer-to-peer lender Lu.com, officially called Shanghai Lujiazui International Financial Asset Exchange Co.

    (SD-Agencies)