Mobike's backpedal, and a lesson on ambition

Singapore

WHEN Qiming Ventures invested in Mobike, it saw a disruptive force tackling the issue of getting around dense cities in the world's most populous country, observed Helen Wong, the partner who was behind the Chinese venture capital (VC) firm's investment in the Chinese bike-sharing firm.

But Mobike may have erred in thinking that regional countries worked the same way as China. And despite the firm caution from Qiming - which has already exited its stake in Mobike - Mobike made a failed push into several markets that included Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.