Chinese car-hailing app Didi confirmed today that it had secured USD 600 million from China Life Insurance, part of its ongoing financing round that its president says will exceed USD 3.5 billion.
The money provided by the Chinese insurer includes USD 300 million in equity financing and USD 305 million (2 billion yuan) in long-term debt.
Didi declined to comment on the stake the insurer will hold or the maturity of the debt.
The investment is made through China Life Investment Holding Co Ltd, Didi said in a statement.
After rival Uber announced a funding round of USD 3.5 billion earlier this month, Didi's president Jean Liu said that the company is looking to surpass that amount in its current funding round, which also include USD 1 billion from Apple.
This round of funding could result in the Chinese start-up being valued at over USD 25 billion, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted analysts as saying.
Didi said it will also work with China Life on insurance and other financial services and corporate car services. The two will also seek investment opportunities in transportation services both in China and abroad.
The Beijing-based start-up is engaged in aggressive financing to retain its dominance in China and to build alliance with similar firms overseas to counter Uber.
According to Didi, its ODM platform has mobilised 15 million drivers to deliver rides for 300 million registered users, with daily orders over 14 million.
