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Dec 21, 2017

12/21/2017: Didi funding dials up the heat in Uber rivalry

(Global Edition) From the BBC World Service… Uber’s China rival, Didi raised more than $4 billion in its latest funding round – which may give the ride-hailing company the cash injection it needs to more aggressively expand in overseas markets. Then, months after Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S., its U.K. company is teetering on the brink of collapse. We’ll explain how a rescue plan seal of approval from the state-backed Pension Protection Fund could save stores and thousands of jobs. Afterwards, a trip to Taiwan where tea makers there are working to revive the industry. 

A taxi driver uses the Didi Chuxing app while driving along a street in Guilin, in China's southern Guangxi region.
A taxi driver uses the Didi Chuxing app while driving along a street in Guilin, in China's southern Guangxi region.
GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Images

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(Global Edition) From the BBC World Service… Uber’s China rival, Didi raised more than $4 billion in its latest funding round – which may give the ride-hailing company the cash injection it needs to more aggressively expand in overseas markets. Then, months after Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S., its U.K. company is teetering on the brink of collapse. We’ll explain how a rescue plan seal of approval from the state-backed Pension Protection Fund could save stores and thousands of jobs. Afterwards, a trip to Taiwan where tea makers there are working to revive the industry.