ofo ceases Malaysia operations a year after launching in Melaka

Ofo has ceased operations in Malaysia, more than a year after the bike-sharing service expanded into Melaka in 2017. In a statement to A+M, ofo's spokesperson said the company has adapted its international markets to "focus on priority countries". In Asia, these countries are Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan."As part of our focus, we have been working towards profitability and this has meant that some markets have had change in staff priorities and positions. We remain fully committed to providing affordable efficient green mobility options to our priority markets," the spokesperson added.Ofo did not respond to A+M's queries on whether its marketing team in Malaysia was affected by the move.When it first launched in Melaka, ofo planned to deploy 2,000 bikes and aimed to contribute to the government's vision to transform the city into a green technology state by 2020. Lawrence Cao, head of ofo’s APAC business, said the company foresees that cycling will become a form of green transportation to enhance livability for locals and tourists, leading to a reduction in carbon emission and introduction of green practices into everyone’s daily lives.Last year, the company appointed former country manager of Uber Indonesia Alan Jiang as head of Southeast Asia based in Singapore. During his tenure at Uber, Jiang helped the company launch in new markets such as Malaysia, China and Vietnam.Meanwhile across the border, bike-sharing company oBike ceased operations in Singapore this June, following difficulties foreseen to fulfil new requirements and guidelines released by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) towards dock-less bicycle sharing in Singapore. The decision however, does not affect oBike’s operation in countries outside of Singapore.