Startups sprout in Chinese market

China has the largest number of unicorn startups outside the United States, with four Chinese companies rounding the top 10 globally in terms of valuation, a report said.

According to global consulting firm CB Insights, China is home to 55 unicorns－private companies valued at more than $1 billion each－among 214 unicorns worldwide.

The United States still holds the lead in the unicorn race by accounting for over half of global total unicorns while China and India follow as second and third, making up 25 percent and 4 percent of the total, respectively.

The United States and China together have more than 80 percent of the total global unicorns. This absolute advantage depends on the internet market scale, advanced infrastructure, well-rounded industrial structures and the amount of internet talent, according to a report by global accounting firm Deloitte.

Notably, four Chinese companies, namely Didi Chuxing, Xiaomi Corp, Lu.com and Meituan-Dianping, make the list of the world's top 10 most valuable unicorns.

In terms of valuation, US-based Uber tops the world with a valuation of $68 billion. China's ride-hailing platform Didi Chuxing follows with a total valuation of $50 billion, while Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi is the third largest unicorn ($46 billion).

China's Lu.com, valued at $18.5 billion, takes eighth place while Meituan-Dianping, a major food-delivery company, is the ninth largest unicorn with a valuation of $18 billion.

The report also found that though more than half of the world's unicorns are based in the US, more and more unicorns have been popping up outside the US.

As of 2017, 42 companies are newly added to the list of global unicorns, and of those, 24 are based outside the US. Sixteen Chinese companies, including news aggregator app Jinri Toutiao and bike-sharing company Mobike and Ofo, have joined the list of world unicorns.

Deloitte also predicted that more Chinese companies will become global unicorns, especially in the areas of company service, medical, automobile, transportation, consumer upgrade and the internet of things.

Contact the writers at chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn