*By Conor White* Travel behemoth Booking Holdings, the company formerly known as Priceline, can add another service to its roster after announcing a $500 million investment in Chinese ride-sharing app Didi on Tuesday. "We're going to have them power their app through our app," explained Booking CEO Glenn Fogel on Tuesday during an interview with Cheddar. "So, if you're using Booking.com or Agoda.com ー which are ways you can get great hotels around the world ー you'll go on our app, and be able to get that ride right from the airport." Most Americans may not be familiar with Didi, but the company is well-known aboard. "Think of them as the Uber of China," said Fogel. "They are by far the leading ride-share company there." Fogel's analogy is not unfounded: Didi, last valued at $50 billion compared to $62 billion for Uber, provides transportation services for more than 450 million users across over 400 cities in China. The company's stranglehold on that market is so strong that Uber was forced to bow out in 2016 and sold its local operations to Didi for $35 billion. And Fogel sees a lot more opportunity in the country. "When you look at the number of planes that are going to be delivered to Chinese airlines over the next 10 years, it's a huge number," he noted. "When you see the number of airports that China's building, that's another sign that the tourist area in China is going to continue to grow very strong. That's why we're invested there." While Didi has a monopoly on ride-sharing in China, it faces more competition in other markets like Australia and Mexicoーwhere other ride-sharing companies have surfaced. But Fogel isn't worriedーnor does he think the market is a zero-sum game. "I wouldn't put it out there as sort of a 'winner take all' at all. I think there's lots of companies that are doing very well and will continue to do well, and I think Didi will be one of those successful stories in many places around the world." For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/booking-holdings-partners-with-chinese-ridesharing-app-didi)

Share:
More In Business
Michigan Judge Sentences Walmart Shoplifters to Wash Parking Lot Cars
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
State Department Halts Plan to buy $400M of Armored Tesla Vehicles
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
Goodyear Blimp at 100: ‘Floating Piece of Americana’ Still Thriving
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
Is U.S. Restaurants’ Breakfast Boom Contributing to High Egg Prices?
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
Load More