Didi Chuxing Purchases Brazilian Firm

Didi Chuxing, China's largest ride-hailing platform, has expanded its overseas business by acquiring Brazilian ride-hailing leader, 99 Taxis.

The purchase cost Didi Chuxing US$1 billion, media reports say, though Didi Chuxing has not confirmed the figure.

99 Taxis's CEO Peter Fernandez said Didi Chuxing's move would help 99 Taxis improve its service capacity and benefit drivers and users. Founded in 2012, 99 Taxis is Uber's biggest rival in Brazil, operating in 400 cities and connecting over 300,000 drivers with 14 million registered users.

Also founded in 2012, Didi Chuxing now has over 21 million drivers and 450 million registered users in China. In 2016, Didi Chuxing purchased Uber's business on the Chinese mainland.

Didi Chuxing's founder and CEO Cheng Wei told media that “internationalization” is his company's core strategy and that Didi Chuxing intends to promote a revolution in the global traffic and vehicle industry by cooperating with foreign peers. Before purchasing 99 Taxis, Didi Chuxing set up partnerships with several other leading traffic businesses worldwide and its international service network is said to cover more than 1,000 cities.