Uber's China unit secures new funding, firm revalued at $7b

A file illustration picture shows the logo of car-sharing service app Uber on a smartphone next to the picture of an official German taxi sign in Frankfurt, September 15, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick announced late Monday that the US ride-hailing firm's Chinese division has secured new funding from a bunch of local investors, including Hainan Airlines (HNA) and China Life Insurance.

He didn't reveal specifics of Uber China's latest funding round, but said CITIC Securities, China Taiping Insurance, and GAC Group are also on the funder list, according to Yicai.com.

Uber China has been revalued at $7 billion, said Kalanick.

The founder told media in September that Uber China had received $1.2 billion from Chinese investors, including from the country's search giant Baidu Inc, and will be raising funds as a standalone company.

Uber and Hainan Airlines jointly announced cooperation on the same day to link ride-sharing services with flights as the US company vies for a bigger market share in China.

HNA customers will enjoy Uber pick-up services at a discount and be able to complete their flight check-in en route to airports. Guests at the airliner's hotels can also take Uber cars at lower prices.

Meanwhile, the two companies are mulling the inclusion of each other's products and services into their mobile apps, and a tie-up in the country's financial sector.

According to Kalanick, the cooperation is of far-reaching significance for his company, which attaches great importance to the China market.

Uber launched its services in China in 2013 and says it has a market share of 30-35 percent, and that this is growing rapidly, according to AllChinaTech.com.

Didi Chuxing, formerly known as Didi Kuaidi, a homegrown ride-hailing app entity and Uber China’s biggest rival in the country, secured $3 billion investment in its latest funding round in September.

The company, now valued at $16 billion, announced on Monday that its overall ride-hailing deals hit 1.43 billion last year, overtaking Uber's accumulative deals of 1 billion in six years as of Dec 25.

Xinhua contributed to the story.