China's bike-share app Ofo raises $850 mn to expand overseas

Chinese bike-sharing start-up Ofo announced Tuesday that it has raised around $850 million from investors including e-commerce giant Alibaba, to finance its overseas expansion while it battles rivals in China.

Ofo, whose lemon-yellow bicycles are ubiquitous in Chinese cities, said on the social network Weibo that it had raised $866 million dollars.

The consortium of investors was led by Alibaba, China's top online shopping conglomerate which also contributed to the 700 million dollars raised by Ofo in July 2017.

The latest cash injection will allow Ofo to expand its overseas presence. The company has already made inroads into France, Japan and the US, and says it is operational in around 20 countries.

It is also fighting to increase its market share in China, where it is competing against its local rival Mobike -- backed by another Chinese internet giant, Tencent.

The bulk of China's vast and rapidly growing bike-sharing market is shared between the two companies, which compete with each other by offering subsidies and extremely low fares.

Mobike, Ofo and others are tapping into the sharing economy ethic behind Airbnb and ride-hailing apps such as Uber, and targeting China's 700 million mobile phone users, who increasingly use their smartphone for transactions.

The bikes are unlocked using an app and cost as little as one yuan (15 cents) an hour.

Not everyone is happy with the service, though, which allows bikes to be left anywhere. Careless users often park the bicycles haphazardly on footpaths and roads.

Related Links
Car Technology at SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

VWs using more diesel, failing pollution tests after recalls: study
Sydney (AFP) March 12, 2018
Volkswagen vehicles recalled and fixed after the worldwide "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal are using more fuel and still failing pollution tests, according to a study by Australia's peak motoring body released Monday. VW admitted in 2015 to equipping about 11 million cars worldwide with "defeat devices", which allowed them to deceive emissions laboratory tests but emit up to 40 times the permissible levels of harmful nitrogen oxide during actual driving. The tainted cars were recalled by ... read more