Ofo founder replaced as bike-sharing firm’s representative amid rash of lawsuits
- Change follows Shanghai Phoenix Bicycles’ lawsuit over US$10 million in unpaid bills
- Ofo also faces lawsuits filed by Tianjin Flying Pigeon Cycle Manufacturing and two logistics firms
Dai Wei, the founder and chief executive of Chinese bike-sharing services pioneer Ofo, has removed himself as the start-up’s legal representative after the company was slapped with lawsuits over unpaid bills by suppliers, according to its public business registration filing.
Beijing-based Ofo has named Chen Zhengjiang, head of the firm’s hardware supply department and one of its first five employees, as the new legal representative.
That change was made more than a month after Shanghai Phoenix Bicycles sued Ofo over unpaid bills totalling about US$10 million, according to a filing made by parent Shanghai Phoenix Enterprise Group Co to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Ofo had agreed in May last year to acquire five million bikes from Shanghai Phoenix Bicycles, but bought less than two million bikes during the contract period.
Other public documents showed that Ofo had also been sued by Tianjin Flying Pigeon Cycle Manufacturing as well as by logistics services providers Best and Deppon Logistics over “contract disputes”.
Ofo said in a statement that the change of legal representative was made “to streamline office operations and improve office efficiency”. Dai remained the company’s controller, it said.