A woman walks past a sign of station for Didi Chuxing in Beijing, China January 2, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing said on Thursday that it had launched services in Chile and Colombia, as part of its push into Latin America.

The company kicked off operations of Didi Express in the two countries earlier this week and plans to launch a taxi-hailing service in Colombia later this year, it said in an e-mailed statement.

Reuters reported in February that Didi was recruiting managers in Chile, Peru and Colombia as part of a planned launch that would see it take on U.S. rival Uber.