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China’s "Amazon for services" wants to hail rides and rent bikes too
Consumer app Meituan buys Mobike, as it beefs up transportation options to take on Didi
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
The app used by people in China when they want to buy movie tickets, have food delivered or book a hotel may now be able to rent bikes too.
Meituan is buying bike sharing company Mobike for US$2.7 billion, according to the South China Morning Post.
Mobike has struggled along with the rest of China’s bike sharing industry, which grew rapidly in 2016 -- and declined just as quickly, as competitors flooded the market.
The move into bicycles comes a month after Meituan added another form of transport to its app: Ride-hailing. It launched the service in five cities as it takes on Didi, the company that vanquished Uber in China.
Meituan started as a site similar to Groupon, but now offers a wide range of consumer services like ticket booking, food delivery and other on-demand services. Meituan’s CEO Wang Xing recently called his company “Amazon for services”.
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