DHAKA: App-based car-hire service Uber is losing more than $1bn (£699m) a year in China, as it struggles against what it called a "fierce competitor".
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick made the admission while speaking at a private event in Vancouver, according to Canadian tech news site Betakit.
US-based Uber launched in China in 2014 and competes against the country's largest taxi app Didi Kuaidi, reports the BBC.
Uber is available in more than 40 cities in China.
It announced last year that it would expand into 100 Chinese cities over the next 12 months.
"We're profitable in the USA, but we're losing over $1bn a year in China," Betakit quoted Mr Kalanick as saying.
He described China as the firm's largest international marketplace. But Uber's market share is dwarfed by that of the larger Didi.
"We have a fierce competitor that's unprofitable in every city they exist in, but they're buying up market share."
Kalanick has previously said the firm had gone from a tiny 1% share of China's market at the beginning of 2015 to about 30% to 35%.
Didi, which is backed by Chinese tech giants Tencent and Alibaba has now also partnered with Uber's rival - US ride-sharing service Lyft.
BDST: 1157 HRS, FEB 19, 2016
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