China Life invests $600 mn in Didi ride-hailing app

Private car services operator Didi Chuxing Technology Co. said it has received about US$ 600 million in new funding from China’s top life insurer, which joined Apple as the latest major backer of the firm often called China’s homegrown Uber, according to Caixin. Didi, China’s largest private car services and taxi-hailing app operator by rides, said in a statement that the state-owned China Life Insurance Co. made the investment using US$ 300 million in cash and a long-term lending commitment of 2 billion yuan ($303 million). The two companies plan to cooperate in Internet finance and insurance, and to explore potential expansion of ride sharing in the international market. By December, Didi controlled 87.2% of China’s car-hailing market.