Ofo given more time to clear its bicycles, licence remains suspended
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has agreed to give beleaguered bicycle-sharing firm ofo more time to remove its yellow two-wheelers from public places here.
The company had been given until March 13 to do so, failing which its operator's licence, suspended last month, would have been cancelled.
Yesterday, LTA said ofo's Beijing headquarters was in negotiations for a partnership between its Singapore subsidiaryand another party, and had asked for an extension.
LTA did not reveal the identity of the other party or the nature of the proposed commercial arrangement.
It said ofo has also shown progress in implementing the Quick Response-code parking system, required in LTA's licensing regime, which allows shared bicycles to be parked only within designated areas.
A spokesman said: "LTA has therefore acceded to ofo's extension request. During this extension, ofo's licence will continue to be suspended."
LTA did not say how long the extension would last.
This comes after another Chinese bike-sharing firm, Mobike, asked to surrender its licence on Monday.
Six firms were given bike-sharing licences last September, with ofo initially allowed to operate a fleet of 25,000 bicycles. It later requested to cut this down to 10,000.
Battling cash flow problems, the firm, backed by Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group, had reportedly laid off its entire operations team here in January, and is said to owe vendors more than $700,000. - KOK YUFENG
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