(Yicai Global) April 25 -- Chinese ride-hailer Hello Chuxing will set aside CNY500 million (USD74 million) as a fund to benefit car owners and users, Jiang Tao, its president, said in an open letter yesterday.

The ride-hailing platform operated by Shanghai-based Junzheng Network Technology will exempt service fees over China's Labor Day holiday that runs from April 30 to May 4, grant a 50 percent discount to users and subsidies to drivers who run during the break.

This move is a bid to wrest market share from Didi, which is still reeling from reports of crimes -- including rape and murder -- by its drivers that have kept it on a tight official leash.

Chinese tech titan Alibaba Group Holding, a major investor in the platform through its Ant Financial arm, has hedged its bet by also investing in competitor Didi.

Editor: Ben Armour