Didi to raise $1.6b via ABS to help car leasing

Didi Chuxing, China's largest ride-hailing company, announced on Monday that it has received a no-objection letter from the Shanghai Stock Exchange to raise 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) through the issuance of asset-backed securities.

The new funds will be used to help car-leasing companies on its platform procure new vehicles, which can significantly boost Didi's transportation capacity.

Didi said the scale of the planned initial issuing is 300 million yuan, and claimed the issuance plan is the first with asset-backed securities supporting the new transportation supply chain finance economy in China.

"The plan is collateralized by the leasing claims of car-rental companies when leasing cars to drivers. We will act as a proxy of the originators, responsible for the coordination of leasing companies, and issue bonds through bundling the underlying assets to the capital market," Didi said in a statement.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange in a statement said that using financial tools to serve the real economy and incorporating modern finance into the industrial system are trends in economic development.

"The issuing of the new transportation supply chain ABS is a key step by the SSE to leverage the supply chain finance to serve the real economy," it added.

Didi’s online platform currently boasts more than 21 million drivers, 450 million passengers, car leasing companies and automobile dealers, which deliver more than 25 million rides a day. Meanwhile, the company works hard to mitigate urban transportation pressures by mobilizing vehicle resources.