Chinese bike-sharing company ofo enters Kazakhstan

Photo shows bikes that users can easily ride or park under the sharing scheme. [Photo: diyitui.com]

China's leading bicycle-sharing service ofo announced on Friday it has entered the Kazakhstan market after rounds of negotiations with local authorities.

Kazakhstan is the fourth overseas market for ofo, following Singapore, Britain and the United States.

The company is scheduled to deploy 1,000 bikes to Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, for a trial run, while simultaneously launching the Russian edition of the ofo app.

During trial operations, the bicycle-sharing services will primarily cover the Expo area in Astana.

ofo founder and CEO Dai Wei anticipated that ofo could provide services in about 20 countries and regions, mostly Belt and Road countries such as Kazakhstan.

ofo, whose name is meant to resemble a bicycle, got its start at the Peking University. It now serves in 120 cities and has provided more than 1 billion rides within two years.