Didi Kuaidi, China's largest mobile-based car-booking services provider, has been given a formal license from transportation authorities in Shanghai for its ride-hailing services in the city.

Using privately owned cars to offer taxi-like services was not allowed in China until the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission gave the country's first Internet car-booking license to Didi Kuaidi.

Cheng Wei, founder and chief executive officer of Didi Kuaidi, said that the company launched the private car-hailing services in August 2014. "It took us 14 months to get the green light from the local government," he said at a forum in Shanghai on Thursday.