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Top Investment Story
Ride-hailing company T3 Chuxing raised RMB 7.7 billion (USD 1.2 billion) in a Series A financing round from investors including CITIC Group, Redview Capital, Alibaba, and Tencent. The investment marks the largest single investment for a ride-hailing company since 2018. T3 Chuxing’s CEO Cui Dayong confirmed that the company is planning an IPO in the future but emphatically ruled out listing on an overseas bourse.
Unlike Didi, which uses individual car owners on a contract basis to transport riders, T3 Chuxing operates a standardized ride-hailing service, employing a team of 50,000 professional drivers across 24 cities in China. T3 Chuxing currently ranks second among all ride-hailing providers in China in terms of monthly trip volume, according to data from the Ministry of Transport.
MNCs in China
On October 20, German automaker Daimler opened its new R&D center in Beijing. The facility, which was built using an RMB 1.1 billion (USD 172 million) investment, will strengthen the company’s presence in its largest market, propel global innovation, and enhance localized R&D capabilities to cater to Chinese customers.
The move comes as Daimler transitions to an all-electric fleet, with Chinese drivers at the forefront of adopting electric vehicles and other intelligent driving technologies. In July, Daimler became the first foreign automaker to receive a license to test L4 autonomous driving technology on Beijing’s roads.
KrASIA News Picks
China’s sweeping regulatory campaign in the tech sector continues. This time, policymakers are specifically targeting the country’s most popular apps. Last week, the State Administration for Market Regulation began seeking public opinion on a proposal to further regulate platforms in China that have more than 500 million active users in a given year and carry a valuation of over RMB 1 trillion (USD 156 billion).
Only a handful of apps in China match this criteria, including Tencent’s WeChat, Alibaba’s Taobao, ByteDance’s Douyin, and Meituan. These apps are deeply integrated into the daily lives of many Chinese. This ubiquity is pushing regulators to implement tighter restrictions.