Chinese chauffeured service Didi Chuxing said on May 13 that it had received an investment of about USD 600 million from China Life Insurance, boosting resources to fund its battle with Uber just a month after it raised USD 1 billion from Apple.

The latest fund-raising comes with China's top ride-hailing company locked in a struggle to fend off its global rival's march into China. Uber raised USD 3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund in new resources earlier this month.

The investment by China Life - the largest insurer in the Asia-Pacific region by market value - included equity of USD 300 million and a long-term borrowing commitment of USD 305 million, the companies said in a statement. The Chinese insurer also joined the series E round funding of Uber Global (not Uber China) in 2014, according to a Caixin report.

Didi and Uber have spent heavily to subsidise fares to gain market share in China, raising speculation in local media that they might ultimately join forces. Didi itself teamed up with a former local rival last year.

Prior to the China Life investment, the company had raised about USD 6.3 billion including funding rounds before and after it became a merged company, according to research firm CB Insights.

In May, sources told Reuters that Didi, which completes more than 11 million rides a day, was working towards in initial public offering in the United States that would likely take place in 2018. However, Didi dismissed all the rumours as false on May 30. 

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