Uber China unit valued at over US$8b after fundraising: Kalanick

[BEIJING] Uber Technologies Inc's chief executive Travis Kalanick said on Friday the ride-hailing firm's China unit was valued at more than US$8 billion after its latest fundraising round, over US$1 billion more than before the effort.

Uber China's recently-closed Series B fundraising brought in"well over US$1 billion", Mr Kalanick told reporters in the Chinese capital.

A spokeswoman for Uber said the series had raised over US$1.2 billion but declined to confirm an exact figure. "I thought we did remarkably well especially given the macro situation that was going on," Mr Kalanick said.

In September, he said the unit had already raised $1.2 billion. Mr Kalanick did not comment on how much had been raised in the four months since then.

Uber and its main rival in China, Didi Kuaidi, have spent heavily to subsidize rides to gain market share, betting on China's Internet-linked transport market becoming the world's biggest.

Despite the high valuation and fast growth in China, the San Francisco-based company was not yet profitable in any Chinese city due to intense competition, Mr Kalanick said.

Didi Kuaidi, backed by Chinese Internet heavyweights Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd, has the country's biggest market share of car-hailing apps.

REUTERS