The Beijing-based firm will have to remove all of its 25,000 bright yellow bicycles around the island before March 13, South China Morning Post reported.
Chinese bike-sharing startup Ofo has been forced to halt operations in Singapore after authorities suspended its licence, saying it had breached regulations despite being given ample time to comply.
The Beijing-based firm will have to remove all of its 25,000 bright yellow bicycles around the island before March 13, South China Morning Post reported.
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) said it would only lift the suspension if Ofo met all regulatory requirements, including implementing a QR code system.
“LTA will continue to monitor Ofo’s efforts to comply and may cancel Ofo’s licence if Ofo does not show satisfactory progress,” it said in the statement.
This is but the latest in a series of cash flow woes at the bike-sharing startup. On the verge of bankruptcy, it has shuttered operations in Australia, Austria and Germany, among other locations.
In an internal note to employees last month, Ofo founder and CEO Dai Was said, “During the past year, we have borne immense cash flow pressure. We have to return users’ deposits, pay back our suppliers, and keep the company running. We have to turn every yuan into three.”
The company was first launched in Beijing by five former members of the Peking University cycling club in 2014, with the idea of promoting bicycle tourism through a bike-sharing platform.
In China, Ofo had dispatched one million bright yellow bikes across 35 cities. By 2017, after rounds of funding, the startup was estimated to be worth US$2 billion, with a presence in 250 cities across 20 countries.