Taxi App Uber gets $2bn financing boost from Chinese investors

Uber gets $2 billion financing from Chinese investors — Uber's logo displayed on the screen of an Apple smartphone Getty Images

Uber Technologies Inc said that it has received financing from various Chinese firms, amounting to around $2bn (£1.4bn, €1.8bn). The company's Chinese unit was valued at around $7bn (£4.8bn, €6.4bn), prior to the inflow of funds, Uber said on Wednesday (13 January).

The company's global unit received the funds, which were amassed during a recent series B fundraising round. However, Uber has not specified how much funding each of its units has separately received, Reuters reported.

The Chinese firms that invested in the popular taxi company are the China Minsheng Banking Corp, real estate developer China Vanke Co Ltd and China Broadband Capital.

Other companies that financed Uber include the HNA Group Co Ltd, which owns China's largest private airline group, China Life Insurance Co Ltd, China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co Ltd, which already provides riders' insurance for Uber China, investment banking conglomerate CITIC Securities Co Ltd and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd.

Travis Kalanick, Uber's CEO, told reporters in Beijing on 11 January that the Chinese unit of the company had been valued at $7bn (£4.8bn, €6.4bn), prior to the company's funding round. The firm's series B funding round has lasted almost a year.

However, Uber China's partnership with the HNA group was highlighted by the company when it said: "The two companies will work together to develop innovative travel solutions for Chinese and global travellers, taking advantage of HNA Group's global network of interests covering aviation, financing, logistics, and tourism."

Uber is believed to be doing better than expected in the Chinese market. The firm recently reached the mark of completing one million rides per day in the country.

It also is working on making its services available in 100 additional Chinese cities by the end of this year. According to a report by Tech Crunch, Uber, in fact has predicted, that its total bookings in China alone this year, will exceed the total global bookings the company recorded in 2014.