Didi ANZ to Open Headquarters in Melbourne

Didi Chuxing (Didi), China’s largest ride-hailing platform, announced today that it opened its official Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) headquarters in Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia.

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“We are excited to find a home in one of the world’s most livable, innovative and cosmopolitan areas,“ said Dillon Ye, General Manager of DiDi ANZ.

Melbourne is Didi’s first stop in its overseas expansion in western countries. DiDi Express service was launched there in June, but earlier operations started in May.

Chinese population ranked among top five in terms of demographics in Australia. People with Chinese ancestry accounted for 3.9 percent of the Australian population. And the number rises up to 6.1 percent in the Greater Melbourne area, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

For the 550 million Greater China App users in the world, Didi planned to introduce a cross-market roaming service in November to give access to DiDi Express rides in Australia.

The company wanted to bring extra income to local drivers and boost the regional tourist economy.

“We look forward to all the opportunities that DiDi’s new regional HQ will bring to Victoria,” said Philip Dalidakis, Minister for Innovation and the Digital Economy of Victoria.

In 2018, while extending its smart transportation projects to Latin America and other markets, DiDi also launched the AI for Social Good program which focuses on applying AI technology to the world’s environmental, safety and health challenges.