Photo credit: Didi Chuxing
Didi, China’s top ride-hailing app, lost US$590 million in the first six months of the year, according to data seen by tech blog 36Kr.
(Updated September 7: It emerged today that Didi boss Cheng Wei admitted to the losses in a letter to employees dated August 24.)
The figure widens Didi’s 2017 losses of US$300 million to $400 million.
The report in Chinese states that the losses stem mainly from “subsidies for both riders and drivers, as well as rewards for drivers.”
Contacted by Tech in Asia, Didi declined to comment on the leak or answer a question about profit projections.
Here’s how Didi’s losses stack up to Uber’s:
Uber’s dramatically reduced losses coincide with the Silicon Valley firm in March selling off its Southeast Asia business to Grab. Uber similarly retreated from Russia in mid-2017, and from China in mid-2016.
Didi, which runs Uber’s China business, is sustained by just over US$20 billion raised from investors since 2012.
Converted from Chinese Yuan. Rate: US$1 = RMB 6.84.
More on Didi:
Editing by Terence Lee
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