Chinese ride-sharing service provider Didi Kuaidi is expected to be one of the companies to raise a significant amount of funding this year. (Photo : Twitter)
China's venture capital market is expected to experience another surge, as major companies have raised more than $6 billion worth of funding for startups.
The outlook came after China's three major Internet companies--Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Baidu Inc.--embark on significant fund-raising activities for their various startup ventures, Bloomberg reported.
GGV Capital, one of Alibaba's major financial backers and the one responsible for the latter's Alipay online payment service, has reportedly raised $1.2 billion. Most of the money is expected to be used for funding already growing companies, while the remainder is to be used for emerging startups. The raised amount is part of GGV's $3.5-billion target for funding tech companies.
Meanwhile, both Tencent and Baidu have expressed interest in funding Beijing-based Homelink Real Estate Brokerage Co. If the two companies' funding offers push through, Homelink is expected to raise its value to $6.2 billion.
Ride-sharing company Didi Kuaidi is also expected to raise around $1.5 billion with its latest round of funding, the Venture Capitalist Post reported. With the backing of several major investors, including both Alibaba and Tencent, the company is expected to increase its value to around $20 billion with the offerings.
Didi is said to be global ride-sharing service Uber's main competitor in China. With its fundraising efforts, the company is expected to increase its coverage and reach more passengers and be able to generate more profits.
The global venture capital market saw a significant decline in the last quarter of 2015, with several high-profile startups like Snapchat and Flipkart being marked down by investors.
However, the Chinese venture capital scene was able to bounce back during the first quarter of this year, posting an increase of 50 percent and raising around $12.2 billion. This followed a successful string of venture deals in 2015 that netted $21.6 billion.
