Chinese bike-rental company Mobike raises fares
The rate increase is part of parent company Meituan's broader profitability push.
View ArticleBike rental firm Hello Global exceeds 300 million users
Hello Global, a relative latecomer to the sector, has outrun rivals Mobike and Ofo thanks to its focus on lower-tier cities.
View ArticleOfo bets on e-commerce to save its sinking bike operation
Ofo has released a revamped app featuring e-commerce offerings on JD.com and Tmall through which users can 'earn' back their deposits by shopping rebates.
View ArticleMeituan asks users to disinfect bikes for ‘contactless’ rides
Meituan Bike's 'no-contact' hygienic biking plan: We bring the bikes. You bring the hygiene.
View ArticleChina’s bike rental sector recovering as workforce returns
China's bike rental industry is rebounding after the Spring Festival holiday as riders see it as the safest transportation option during the outbreak.
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Didi raises $1 billion in push for 100 million daily trips
Didi is digging a wide yet deep competitive moat around the broader Chinese mobility market. Bike rentals will be a main driver of growth.
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INSIGHTS | The bike rental boom is dead. Long live bike rental
The bike rental bubble popped a long time ago. Now, a new group of companies are taking a different approach to their predecessors.
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Ant Group-backed bike-rental app Hello Inc files for US IPO
Chinese bike-rental firm Hello Inc has filed for an initial public offering in the US, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Why it matters: A survivor of China’s bike rental...
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China tightens grip on e-commerce, sharing economy IPOs: Retailheads
Last week, China’s market regulator rolled out a set of new rules addressing newer innovations in the e-commerce market. Two of China’s largest “sharing economy” firms filed for public listings in the...
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Hello Inc becomes first Chinese bike rental firm to file for US IPO
Hello Inc., the bike rental startup behind China’s ubiquitous blue HelloBikes, has submitted a prospectus to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in preparation for a Nasdaq IPO. This is a rare...
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ofo’s US fire sale is another spoke in China’s rental-bike wheel
Just over one year ago, when Chinese bike rental company ofo first rolled out its services in Washington D.C., the company said it was “thrilled” to be in the American capital, a city it described as...
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Ofo rumor mill continues as they battle whispers of bankruptcy
Over the past few months, rumors of ofo’s mounting debt, lawsuits, and potential mergers have been making the rounds in local news headlines. The latest one, surfaced yesterday, alleged that the...
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Ofo moves its Beijing headquarters in midst of cash crunch
In late September, news leaked that Ofo workers had deserted en masse their Beijing office, which once hosted the likes of Sina and Baidu. The bike-rental company responded afterward that their rental...
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Briefing: SoftBank may invest in Hello TransTech, insiders say
SoftBank to invest in Chinese bike-sharing firm Hellobike: sources–Reuters What happened: On Wednesday, The Information published a report that Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is in talks to invest in...
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ofo urges users to transfer deposits to online loan platform for deposit-free...
Bike rental firm ofo today (November 23) began urging its users to transfer their existing deposits in the app to online loan platform PPmoney as part of a commercial agreement with the lender, our...
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ofo says its refund system still works despite increased processing times
Amid rumors of bankruptcy and acquisition, Chinese bike rental firm ofo has said that its system for refunding users’ deposits is functioning normally, despite increased processing times. The company...
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ofo partners with nine online lenders amid cash strain
In a bid to ease its cash strain, Chinese bike rental firm ofo has entered into partnerships with nine online loan platforms, allowing them to acquire more users by listing their services within its...
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Some ofo users unable to apply for in-app deposit refunds
In the latest ofo debacle, some users of the Chinese bike rental firm found that they were unable to apply for deposit refunds within its app. ofo users told the Beijing Youth Daily (in Chinese) that...
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Briefing: ofo may soon require users to park bikes in designated areas
ofo将于本月10日推新版用户停车规范，用户须在指定区域停车 – PingWest What happened: ofo released a somewhat vague notice on Thursday (Dec. 6) saying it would begin regulating users’ parking habits across China. In response to...
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Mobike suspected of GDPR violations in industry-wide German investigation
Chinese bike-rental company Mobike is under investigation by data regulators in Germany over suspicions it may have breached EU data laws, reports Tencent Tech. The Berlin data protection commissioner...
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Briefing: ofo users descend upon its Beijing office to demand refunds
Frustrated Shared-Bike Riders Go to Ofo in Search of Refunds – Caixin Global What happened: More than 100 users of cash-strapped bike-rental platform ofo gathered outside the company’s Beijing office...
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Briefing: Mobike co-founder Hu Weiwei resigns as CEO
Mobike founder Hu Weiwei quits chief executive role at China’s leading bike-sharing firm – SCMP What happened: Mobike co-founder and CEO Hu Weiwei has resigned for “personal reasons.” The 36-year-old...
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Briefing: Didi executive says Ofo financing rumors are ‘foolish’
滴滴收购ofo文件曝光？滴滴李敏：10月9日就辟过谣了 – Sina Tech What happened: Didi Vice President Li Min has denied rumors that the company planned to invest $500 million in bike-rental firm Ofo’s Series F in August,...
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Briefing: Hello TransTech secures RMB 4 billion in funding
哈啰出行完成近40亿元新融资，春华资本、蚂蚁金服联合领投 – Jiemian What happened: Hello TransTech investors have revealed recently that the Chinese bike-rental firm closed a funding round of nearly RMB 4 billion (around $580...
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Mobike removed from WeChat Pay, increasing barriers for users
Super messaging app WeChat has removed bike-rental firm Mobike from its in-app wallet feature, a significant source of users for the mobility firm, reports Chinese media. “Riders can still access to...
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Hello TransTech to launch carpooling service in 10 cities
Chinese bike-rental firm Hello TransTech will launch a carpooling platform later this month, our sister site TechNode Chinese reports, marking its latest expansion into China’s increasingly regulated...
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Mobike to rebrand as Meituan Bike, fully integrate into Meituan’s app
Chinese bike-rental company Mobike will rebrand as Meituan Bike as it abandons its standalone app to be included in internet giant Meituan’s platform as an in-app feature. The Chinese bike-rental firm...
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Didi launches bike rental feature for blowing the whistle on ‘uncivilized’ users
Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi is rolling out a feature on its bike-rental platform allowing its users to report each other for “uncivilized” behavior. The feature enables users to blow the whistle...
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Briefing: Bike rental cool down prompts calls for policy change
街头共享单车数量明显少了 “禁投令”该不该放松 – Tencent Tech What happened: Alibaba-backed bike rental company Hello Transtech was summoned by the Shanghai government in January for illegally placing new bikes in downtown...
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Courts instruct Ofo to pay RMB 150 million in debts and fines
Beijing court records published online yesterday show that last November, rental bike company Ofo owed two suppliers almost RMB 150 million (around $22 million) after defaulting on payments. The...
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Failures and opportunities: A pivotal moment for China’s mobility industry
Last year was a rough one for the rental economy and mobility industries in China. With long lines of disgruntled customers outside Ofo’s Beijing office looking for refunds, sexual and physical...
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Court froze RMB 1.45 million of Ofo assets this month
A civil suit from a supplier has once again highlighted bike-rental startup Ofo’s plight, with a Tianjin court recently freezing RMB 1.45 million (about $220,000) of its assets. The order was released...
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Briefing: Ofo tests in-app store as solution for user refund issue
ofo悄悄试水折扣商城，也许还能抢救一下？ – 36Kr What happened: Bike-rental firm Ofo is testing an in-app discount store whereby users can convert deposits to virtual coins to buy daily items, including coffee, tissues,...
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Mobike will scrap some but not all of its Asia-Pacific businesses
Bike-rental startup Mobike owned by lifestyle services company Meituan confirmed Monday that it is shutting down some of its Asia businesses, but denied that the closures are part of a larger exit...
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Briefing: Didi takes punitive measures against deviant shared bike riders
滴滴发布违规使用单车惩罚措施，相关账号将被冻结5-90天 — Jiemian What happened: Mobility company Didi is taking more severe punitive measures against misbehaving rental bike riders. Rule-breaking such as locking and/or hiding...
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Mobike and Bluegogo double rates in Beijing in bid to stay afloat
Ride-sharing bikes line in a street in Shanghai (Image credit: TechNode / Shi Jiayi). Chinese bike-rental companies are taking action to bolster profitability amid huge losses and major cash flow...
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Ofo claims operations are ‘normal’ despite bankruptcy application
In a post on microblogging platform Weibo Tuesday evening, troubled bike-rental company Ofo denied reports of impending bankruptcy and maintained that the company is “currently operating normally.”...
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Briefing: Management buyout of Mobike Europe nearly finalized
Bike-sharing start-up Mobike close to management buyout in Europe – The Telegraph What happened: Citing an email sent from Mobike to investors, The Telegraph reported that the company’s European arm...
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Briefing: Mobike, Hellobike are charging extra in Shanghai suburbs
摩拜、哈罗正从郊区市场撤退 超出范围停车会向用户收取管理费 – IT时报 What happened: Bike-rental startup Mobike, which is owned by lifestyle app Meituan-Dianping, has started to charge Shanghai users an extra RMB 20 (around $3) if...
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Guangzhou invites bike-rental firms to bid for quotas after 19-month ban
A collection of Mobikes line the street in Beijing April 9, 2019. (Image credit: TechNode/Cassidy McDonald) Guangzhou authorities are inviting Chinese bike-rental companies to bring new bicycles into...
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Didi reprimanded for introducing new shared bikes in Beijing in red tape snafu
Chinese bike-rental companies are taking an indirect path to revive their businesses — replacing old bikes with new ones. Didi this week replaced 10,000 used bikes in Beijing with 3,000 new ones in an...
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Hello TransTech fuels Alibaba’s mobility ambitions
It’s rumored (Chinese link) that at a dinner attended by Ant Financial and Hello TransTech (formerly Hellobike) bigwigs, Ant Financial CEO Jing Xiandong cracked open a bottle of Guizhou Maotai, an...
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Briefing: Ant Financial’s Hellobike follows Mobike, Bluegogo in doubling...
Chinese Bike-Sharing Rental Rates Go Up Since April, Hellobike Increases to RMB 4 Per Hour, Double that Weeks Ago -PingWest What happened: Following in the footsteps of Mobike and Bluegogo, Ant...
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Mobike, Hellobike, Didi allowed to bring new bikes in Guangzhou
A commuter rides past a row of shared bicycles in Shanghai on March 22, 2019. (Image credit: TechNode/Cassidy McDonald) Guangzhou has become the first Chinese municipal government to reverse a ban on...
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Briefing: Didi sets up two-wheeler unit to capture short-ride demand
滴滴发内部员工信：宣布整合升级成立两轮车事业部 – Tencent News What happened: Didi has formed a two-wheeler business group according to an internal letter released late Monday, a person close to the company confirmed with...
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Briefing: Supplier takes Ofo to court over RMB 250 million manufacturing bid
2.5亿标的无法执行 法院认定ofo“无财产” – Xinhua What happened: A bike manufacturer in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin has taken bike rental company Ofo to court over a RMB 250 million (around $36.2 million)...
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Briefing: Nonprofit buys abandoned rental bikes for school kids in Myanmar
Myanmar entrepreneur buys unused bicycles for poor children – Bangkok Post What happened: Lesswalk, a nonprofit initiative launched by Myanmar-based tech entrepreneur Mike Than Tun Win, has bought...
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CHINA VOICES | Ofo’s final fight
Ofo flew too close to the sun. Their dockless bikeshare model blew my mind when I first moved to China (I snuck a ridiculous quote into the China Times) and for a time Ofo was perhaps the hottest...
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Chinese firms should focus on capital efficiency: GGV Capital
If you can’t see the YouTube player above, try watching here instead. Chinese innovation investment has continued to shrink as investor fundraising has cooled further this year. Only 271 private...
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Mobility giants Didi, Hellobike reportedly raise funding as competition looms
Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing is reportedly raising up to $2 billion from investors while bike-rental company Hellobike is seeking a $400 million cash infusion, the latest in a series of...
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