Luckin Coffee raises $200m in A round financing

BEIJING - Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee has completed its Series A round of financing worth $200 million.

The funding lifts the on-demand coffee delivery start-up's valuation to about $1 billion, according to the company's statement.

Investors include Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and Legend Capital.

As an emerging market player that rivals Starbucks, Luckin Coffee started trial operation in January this year, selling coffee at brick-and-mortar stores while also delivering products by online orders.

It expanded quickly, opening 525 chain stores in 13 cities across the country by the end of May, becoming the second largest coffee chain in China.

Luckin Coffee will steadily expand its stores while ensuring product and service quality, and there is no specific target for store expansion, the company said.

The money will be used for product research, technology innovation, and business development, according to Luckin Coffee CEO Qian Zhiya.

"We have confidence in offering desirable product quality, price and user experience with mobile internet, big data and other technologies," Qian said.

Once a major consumer of tea, China has seen an expanding coffee consumption market, which is expected to be worth about one trillion yuan by 2025, according to an industry report.