Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    DIDI Chuxing (Didi) announced yesterday it received a strategic investment of US$600 million from China Life Insurance, including an equity investment of US$300 million and a long-term debt investment of 2 billion yuan (US$305 million).

    This investment in Didi Chuxing is led by China Life Investment Holding Co. Ltd., the professional alternative investment platform of China Life. With over 100 billion yuan under its management, China Life Investment Holding is an active champion for the growth of the sharing economy in China and invested in multiple leading Internet companies.

    The two parties will join hands in developing innovative business models for insurance, comprehensive financial services, market development and corporate mobility solutions to build a safer and more diversified mobile financial ecosystem. They will also collaborate on investment opportunities in mobile transportation and related sectors in China and beyond.

    The strategic investment from China Life adds another global institution to the rank of Didi’s existing Chinese investors, which include Tencent, Alibaba, China Investment Corporation, China Merchants Bank, Ping An Ventures, among others.

    “China Life is not only a leader in China’s insurance industry, but also a national pioneer for innovation in the financial services sector, and we believe this strategic partnership will bring long-term value to both parties. Leveraging China Life’s leadership in capital, brand, financial product portfolio and services network, Didi will develop a more flexible, reliable and enriched value-added mobility experience for our users, ”Jean Liu, president of Didi Chuxing, said.

    After four years of expansion, Didi Chuxing now works with close to 15 million car owners and drivers on its mobile transportation platform to offer taxi hailing, private car hailing, hitch, chauffeur, bus and test drive services to approximately 300 million users in China.

    The company’s data-driven intelligent dispatch system now completes as many as 14 million rides per day. According to China National Network Information Center and other sources, Didi is now the world’s largest mobile tech-based transportation platform with 87.2 percent market share in private-car hailing, as well as dominant positions in other verticals.