China's Didi Kuaidi raises $2b, boosting cash reserves

BEIJING - China's homegrown taxi-hailing service Didi Kuaidi announced it has raised $2 billion since starting fundraising two weeks ago, boosting its cash reserves.

Existing stakeholders such as Alibaba, Tencent, Temasek and Coatue Management participated in the fundraising, while Capital International Private Equity Fund, Ping An Ventures, and several other globally renowned investors have invested in this round of fundraising, the company said in a statement.

Didi Kuaidi had previously raised the financing target and is now looking to pool a further few hundred million dollars from new investors before the final closing in the coming month due to strong demand from existing and new investors.

Initially, the Chinese company had considered raising as much as $1.5 billion, according to previous reports.

With the newly added $2 billion, Didi Kuaidi will increase its cash reserves to above $3.5 billion.

Competition in China's ride-hailing market is growing as the US company Uber Technologies Inc started its formal fundraising specifically for its China operation, UberChina, this week as global investors are eager to tap into the fast-growing Chinese market.

Didi Kuaidi is trying to broaden its offering to Chinese riders by expanding its premium car services and a carpool offerings from its previous focus on the taxi market.

Didi Kuaidi now serves 3 million daily rides and covers 80 cities with private car services, with a 80 percent of the market share, and a 90 percent share, or 3 million daily rides, for taxi-hailing market, according to data from Analysys International.