Japan's Softbank has reportedly led a $600 million investment in China-based Uber competitor Kuaidi Dache.
The investment round also had the participation of Alibaba and Tiger Global Management, the Financial Timesreported.
Kuaidi Dache has a 54.4% share of the Chinese online taxi hailing market, ahead of rival Didi Dache with 44.9%. Uber only recently entered the market and only has a minimal presence so far.
Softbank's move follows its $250 million investment in Southeast Asian taxi-hailing app GrabTaxi last month, as well as a $210 million investment in Indian taxi app Ola Cabs.
The operator is pursuing numerous investments in what CEO Masayoshi son has called a “massive wave of internet revolution” in the APAC region.
While China's online taxi hailing segment is experiencing strong growth, this is threatened by a recent nationwide ban on offering unlicensed taxi services over mobile apps. But the ban appears to exclude premium services such as Kuaidi Dache.