Didi Chuxing, China’s Ride-Hailing Giant, Holds Talks With SoftBank -<br />By PAUL MOZURMARCH 28, 2017<br />HONG KONG — Didi Chuxing, a company in China that last year bested Uber in<br />that huge ride-sharing market, is in negotiations to get SoftBank of Japan to take part in a multibillion-dollar investment round, according to people familiar with the talks.<br />Along with receiving a bigger valuation, analysts said Didi would most likely use the money to invest in next-generation technology, like autonomous vehicles,<br />and potentially also on international expansion, though the company has so far done little outside its domestic market.<br />The company has a number of high-profile investors, both Chinese and foreign, and whether it develops important technology for autonomous cars or is able to expand into other markets will become a new barometer for the abilities of companies<br />that have grown large in China’s relatively isolated market.<br />A deal with SoftBank is also intended to increase Didi Chuxing’s value, said one of the people familiar with the talks.<br />The fund-raising efforts by Didi Chuxing show how foreign investors currently value dominance in China, an internet market largely closed to foreign competition<br />that has the largest smartphone-using populace in the world.<br />While it is unclear whether that fund is involved in the talks over Didi Chuxing, analysts<br />say it could be further used to make sizable investments in big, global tech companies.<br />It is uncertain whether Didi would consider introducing its own service to challenge those partners as part of an<br />international push, look to other markets in developing countries or continue to invest in promising companies.
