Dubai-based ride-hailing company Careem has secured $200m in fresh funding from existing investors, the company said in a statement.

The $200m came from existing investors including Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding; Al-Tayyar Group; STV, the investment arm of Saudi Telecoms Company, and Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten.

The firm said its latest funding effort aims to expand services into “mass transportation, deliveries, and payments”.

MEED understands the company, the main regional rival of US-based Uber Technologies, aims to reach another $300m in its latest funding round.

According to a report by UK-based news agency Reuters, the new investment gave the ride-hailing company an estimated valuation of over $2bn, or twice its estimated valuation as of December 2016.

Other Careem investors include Germany-based carmaker Daimler and Chinese ride-hailing company DiDi Chuxing.

It is understood Careem expanded into new markets this year, like Sudan, and started trialing food delivery services after buying a restaurant listing and online platform reservation.

Last month it was reported that Uber and Careem were in preliminary merger talks.

The report says the two ride-hailing companies are considering merging their operations in the Middle East, adding that the companies have discussed a number of deal structures but have not agreed on the details.