Chinese bike-sharing company Mobike enters Italy

China's leading bike-sharing company Mobike announced Tuesday it had entered the Italian market after talks with local authorities.

Italy is the fourth overseas market for Mobike, following Singapore, Britain and Japan.

Mobike founder Hu Weiwei (R) poses a photo with the mayor of Florence Dario Nardella (L) and the mayor of Milan Beppe Sala in Florence July 25, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

The company is scheduled to deploy hundreds of bikes to Florence for a trial run this week, with 30 minutes on a bike costing 0.3 euros. In August, 4,000 bicycles will be officially launched in Florence and Milan.

Mobike users can locate a bike using a cell phone app and unlock it by scanning a QR code on the bicycle. The easy-to-use bike-sharing service has attracted local people, said Mobike's deputy head of international expansion Chris Martin.

Mobike founder Hu Weiwei(L), the mayor of Florence Dario Nardella (2nd L) and the mayor of Milan Beppe Sala (1st R) ride sharing bikes in Florence July 25, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

Mobike started its business in Shanghai in April last year. So far it has 100 million registered users and more than 6 million bikes in about 150 cities worldwide, with more than 25 million completed rides every day. By the end of this year, the company expects to reach at least 200 cities worldwide.