As a diversification Push, Didi Rolls Out New Services

Didi, the Chinese Ride-hailing company is shifting its focus towards other fields as it continues to diversify its business following a year of safety scandals. Recently, the company has rolled out a set of financial products, including crowdfunding and lending.

The move by Didi comes after it aimed to improve safety on its platform as well as operating efficiency.

According to the company’s statement on Wednesday, the latest products were tested in ten different cities and it is now launched throughout China. The range of products includes- credit and lending and wealth management and crowd-funding for serious illness, targeted at the short term, temporary workers.

Didi’s new products put them in a competitive position with investor Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and technology peer Tencent Holdings Ltd.

The launch will boost the company since rivals including other Alibaba-backed firms have been building a renewed push in a ride-hailing market dominated by Didi, aiming to cater the unmet demand since the regulatory changes.

The company itself is being monitored and scrutinized from authorities after a few high-profile security incidents took place which includesmurders of two female passengers in different cases.

There are short of drivers in major cities, due to the regulations which were imposed in 2017.  The regulations curbed the number of eligible applications.

The company which is backed by SoftBank Group Corp and Apple Inc is making some changes in its domestic business as it is expanding worldwide with new services in Australia and South America.