Mobike receives first overseas investment from messaging app Line

BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese bike-sharing giant Mobike Wednesday announced that Japanese messaging app operator Line Corporation has bought into its Japanese subsidiary in the series A funding round.

Line Corp. now holds no more than 20 percent of Mobike Japan, Mobike said.

This is the first time that Mobike has received overseas investment, but it did not disclose the value of the deal.

Mobike said the partnership will help speed up its localization strategy in overseas markets, and the two will work together to put more shared bikes in Japan.

Some 71 million Line users in Japan will be able to use the messaging app to unlock Mobike's shared bikes and pay for rides, it said.

In June, Mobike set up its Japanese subsidiary in Fukuoka. It launched bike sharing services in Sapporo in August and in Fukuoka this week.

Mobike has launched services in more than 200 cities in 12 countries. It has more than 200 million registered users worldwide with over 30 million rides being made every day. Enditem