China's freight service firm Manbang raises $1.7b

GUIYANG - Manbang Group, China's leading domestic freight service platform, raised $1.7 billion in its latest round of fundraising, the company announced Tuesday.

The fundraising round was led by Softbank Vision Fund, Sequoia, Permira and Fidelity, with the participation of several other investors such as Baillie Gifford and Tencent, the company said.

The freight service giant intends to use the funds for technological, service and model innovation.

Zhang Hui, CEO of Manbang Group, said the company will continue to build a reliable and comprehensive freight service platform to promote the high-quality development of the transport industry.

Headquartered in Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province, Manbang Group mainly uses big data to match cargo with freight vehicles to improve transport efficiency and reduce costs. The company currently has more than 10 million registered drivers and over 5 million registered cargo owners on its platform.