Chitchat Sinkies kena conned by Chink oBike.... O'no!

[glockman]

Can grab 2 or 3...and cycle with family

Exactly my sentiments! Fuck them back deep deep

 

[eatshitndie]

In a separate statement on Thursday, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) announced that as of 5pm, it had received 772 complaints from oBike customers asking for deposit refunds. The majority of the complaints were lodged over the last four days< CASE added.
CASE also said that as soon as oBike's liquidation commences, there will be a stay of proceedings on litigation action and customers will not be able to proceed with any claims against the company.
"Once the company is in liquidation, affected consumers should file their Proofs of Debt against oBike with the appointed liquidator. Consumers should also attach copies of any relevant receipts or other supporting documents to the Proof of Debt form," it added.
The watchdog added that, as a general principal, it encourages consumers to minimise their prepayments or deposits where possible, as their advance payment may be lost in the event of an abrupt business closure.
"Consumers who have reservations about paying a deposit may wish to consider other bike-sharing options that do not require a deposit payment or reduce their risk by choosing a per use option, where they pay a small amount of money each time they use the bike-sharing service," CASE said.

all these long-winded motherhood statements basically mean shit. they should have simply stated "you die your biz". will save readers 69 seconds of reading crap. case stands for crap and shit empowerment.

 

[no_faith]

It seems like many set up company and run road after receiving package deposit.
We have tour agency, car broker, spa cases.
CASE was notified but since planned to run road, u will emptied everything you can.
So the company has nothing to pay up the victims, so CASE do what sia?

CASE will make a statment as always....
"We have recevied complains on a particular organization. Rest assured we are investigating...."
Time slowly slowly passed and slowly slowly buried.

 

[AhMeng]

It seems like many set up company and run road after receiving package deposit.
We have tour agency, car broker, spa cases.
CASE was notified but since planned to run road, u will emptied everything you can.
So the company has nothing to pay up the victims, so CASE do what sia?

They register your CASE. Do nothing, just register lor. Lol

 

[no_faith]

They register your CASE. Do nothing, just register lor. Lol

I nvr been to CASE nor report.
Register report to CASE, must consumer pay a fee?
Kana conned by people, go CASE still conned 1 more time?

 

[AhMeng]

I nvr been to CASE nor report.
Register report to CASE, must consumer pay a fee?
Kana conned by people, go CASE still conned 1 more time?

No idea where this toothless PAP tiger is. Lol

 

[Scrooball (clone)]

CASE is one mother fucking cheebye useless shit.

They equate raising consumer protection with high cost of doing business. OK... Then when businesses con ppl money, they ask u to pay to register as member first and then say they can't do anything.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Skip Navigation
Jump to Main Main navigation and Meta Navigation
To Home
Meta Main Navigation
OpenAll SectionsAll SectionsClose
Mobike, ofo submit licence application to LTA
Singapore
Mobike, ofo submit licence application to LTA
image: data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==
Mobike ofo collage
Collage of Mobike and ofo bicycles. (Photos: AFP/Reuters)
29 Jun 2018 04:09PM
(Updated: 29 Jun 2018 05:27PM)
Share this content




Bookmark

SINGAPORE: Bike-sharing companies Mobike and ofo have submitted licence applications to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Friday (Jun 29) to continue their operations.

"Today's submission is a testament to our commitment to Singapore and part of our ongoing effort to ensure that our riders can get to their destinations with ease," said ofo Singapore general manager Yau Fun Heng in a media release.

Advertisement
"The company remains confident in the bike-sharing industry in Singapore and will continue working with our partners to positively contribute to the Singapore government's vision of a car-lite nation," added Yau.

ofo's licence application is for a fleet of 80,000 bicycles.

Mobike Singapore country manager Sharon Meng confirmed in an email statement that the company has also submitted its licence application as well, although it did not include the number of bicycles in its fleet.

"We remain confident that we have submitted a compliant bid, We would like to assure our riders they can continue to enjoy riding Mobikes in Singapore with no disruption to our service," said Ms Meng.

Advertisement
"We sincerely hope that LTA will recognise our enthusiasm and commitment to continue to provide a sustainable and affordable mode of transport to residents in Singapore, and look forward to LTA’s decision to award licences to qualifying bike-sharing operators.”

The LTA has set a Jul 7 deadline for bike-sharing firms to either apply for a licence to operate in public places or cease operations.

Those who submit them will have their applications evaluated and licence awarded by September.

The new requirement by LTA follows the passage in May of the Parking Places (Amendment) Bill, a piece of legislation aimed at tackling the indiscriminate parking of shared bicycles.

Unlicensed operators may be fined up to S$10,000 and/or jailed up to six months. They may also face a fine of S$500 for each day the offence continues.

ofo and Mobike, along with SG Bike, Anywheel and oBike, had confirmed with Channel NewsAsia last week that they would be submitting their applications before the LTA deadline.

In a surprise announcement on Monday, however, oBike said that it would shut down its operations in Singapore from Jun 25, citing difficulties in meeting the new LTA requirements.

The LTA has since instructed oBike to work with its liquidator to remove its bicycles from public spaces by Jul 4, amid concerns that its fleet of about 14,000 bicycles is being left abandoned on streets, pavements and parks all over the country.
Source: CNA/na/ng(aj)
Tagged Topics
bike-sharing

business

transportation
law
Share this content




Bookmark

Get the Channel NewsAsia newsletter in your inbox


Enter your email address
SUBSCRIBE
Advertisement

More stories for you
Mobike waives deposits for Singapore users after oBike fiasco Toggle share menu
LTA instructs oBike to remove bicycles by next Wednesday Toggle share menu
LTA to engage oBike on exit plans amid concerns over idle bicycles on streets Toggle share menu
image: https://images.outbrainimg.com/tran...4MCwiaCI6ODAsImQiOjEuNSwiY3MiOjAsImYiOjB9.jpg
NTUC nominates Singapore Port Workers’ Union general secretary as next NMP
NTUC nominates Singapore Port Workers’ Union general secretary as next NMP
image: https://images.outbrainimg.com/tran...4MCwiaCI6ODAsImQiOjEuNSwiY3MiOjAsImYiOjB9.jpg
Residents are abandoning Australia at record levels
Residents are abandoning Australia at record levels
ABC.net.au
Recommended by
More information about Channel News Asia
jump to top of page
Sections
Singapore
Asia
World
CNA Insider
Business
Sport
Lifestyle
Technology
Health
Commentary
Podcasts
ASEAN
Video on Demand
About Us
About Channel NewsAsia
Hotel Partners
Events & Seminars
Presenters & Correspondents
Contact Us
Advertise with us
Contact Sales
Online Advertising
TV Advertising
Get the news that matters in your inbox every morning!
Please enter your email address
Enter your email address

I consent to the use of my personal data by Mediacorp and the Mediacorp group of companies (collectively "Mediacorp") to send me marketing and advertising materials in relation to goods and services of Mediacorp and its business partners and for research and analysis
SUBSCRIBE
Follow our news
Experience news with our apps
Play Store
App Store
Copyright© Mediacorp 2018. Mediacorp Pte Ltd. All rights reserved.

Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy
image:
image: https://rp.gwallet.com/r1/cm/p46


Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mobike-ofo-submit-licence-application-to-lta-10483660

 

[Hypocrite-The]

It seems like many set up company and run road after receiving package deposit.
We have tour agency, car broker, spa cases.
CASE was notified but since planned to run road, u will emptied everything you can.
So the company has nothing to pay up the victims, so CASE do what sia?

CASE will make a statment as always....
"We have recevied complains on a particular organization. Rest assured we are investigating...."
Time slowly slowly passed and slowly slowly buried.

Why must there be a deposit at all to access a service? Deposits are only paid to
Special order an item because it's an extra cost to a company to bring it in. If it's a service like bike share where one must pay to use via credit card. Why must give deposit? No pay no use tat is it. Sad that the Singkie consumers have no rights etc and priority is given to protect businesses n not the consumers whereby no consumers..business eat wat?

 

[555]

http://theindependent.sg/mould-infe...-days-after-company-pulls-out-of-the-country/

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Funny that this article makes no.mention of the deposit being stolen from customers. Just the deposit alone is enough to make up for the losses of bike.

Commentary: oBike’s closure, a cautionary tale about poorly conceived business ideas
oBike's closure shows that in times of euphoria, poorly conceived ideas may get funded and survive for some time, but they will meet their fate sooner or later, says NUS Business School's Nitin Pangarkar.
File photo of oBikes parked at a bike rack in an HDB block. (Photo: Elizabeth Khor)
By Nitin Pangarkar
30 Jun 2018 06:21AM(Updated: 30 Jun 2018 06:50AM)
Share this content

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

Bookmark
SINGAPORE: The recent news of oBike’s closure is a cautionary tale for start-ups and companies. I must say I did not think that oBike’s end would come so swiftly, otherwise I would have withdrawn my deposit with the firm in time.
So, what does the oBike closure in Singapore mean?

1. BUSINESSES MUST CHART A PATH TO PROFITABILITY
The first lesson here is that any business must have a sustainable business model.
Lately, there have been a number of money-losing ideas that have been jazzed up under the buzzwords of “sharing economy” and “new business models”.
Sceptics of these companies are branded as people who do not understand new technologies and are on the backfoot to embracing the future.

Advertisement


Not wanting to miss out on potential wins, venture capitalists have been seemingly over-eager in funding many business ideas that do not have sustainable business plans past five years.
But, with or without easy money from VCs, aspiring entrepreneurs would do well to chart out a path to profitability. To me, it was not clear that oBike had done this — to work out how and when it would become profitable.
In times of euphoria, poorly conceived ideas may get funded and survive for some time, but they will meet their fate sooner or later. It is in the interests of entrepreneurial companies to think deeply about the “when” and “how” of profitability.

The empty oBike office at Commonwealth Lane. (Photo: Amir Yusof)

2. REALLY KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS - HAVING THEIR DATA DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE INSIGHTS
The second lesson is the ability to really know who your customers are and what they want.
There is certainly value in collecting data about customer behavioural vis-à-vis purchasing patterns, as what Amazon does. However, to extract real insights that translates into actual value for the business in the form of greater revenue from general purpose data such as bike-riding patterns is challenging.
Unlike Amazon’s data about customer purchases or browsing patterns, the collected data – information about renting a bike at point A (say, near my home) and returning it at point B (say, near a hawker centre or a supermarket) – has a very weak connection to customer purchases, or even intentions that could have helped oBike gain more additional revenue.
Even if some value can be extracted out of this information, it is likely to be minuscule and hardly sufficient to justify a business pricing below costs in its core operations (bike rental, in this case).
3. BE AWARE OF ERRANT CUSTOMERS
A third lesson from this story, and an important one that young entrepreneurs may be missing out on, is about customer behaviour and its implications.
Some percentage of customers are likely to be errant - as in if they are not given incentives (either positive or negative) to use or park bikes appropriately, they will be abusive to the equipment.
The loss ratio because of these types of customers may be magnified by vandalism — a bike parked in a remote location is far more likely to be vandalised than a bike parked in a busy place like an MRT station.
The costs of collecting bikes parked all over the place will also go up, and some are bound to be missed because of obscure locations.
Thus there is an additive effect that needs to be accounted for, such as parking, vandalism and costs of collection, which can lead to an unexpectedly large negative impact on a business model. Any new business model needs to factor in these kinds of additive effects.

An oBike ditched along a pedestrian path.

4. INCLUDE COSTS OF COMPLIANCE BEFORE ENTERING A MARKET
The fourth lesson is the need to build capabilities within the start-up to mitigate regulatory changes in different countries they operate in.
The oBike management seems to suggest that the Singapore Government’s new regulations are too onerous. While the regulations are indeed stringent and impose a number of costs in the form of new requirements as well as potential fines, oBike should have seen it coming.
While the Singapore Government might want to encourage the usage of bikes because bike-riding is environmentally friendly and also eases pressure on public transport, encouraging bike usage cannot come at the expense of Singapore’s image of a clean and organised city, which has been cultivated over several decades.
Bikes parked at various places, some vandalised with parts missing, were an eyesore in an otherwise clean landscape. Even in other countries, bikes strewn around have invited regulations.
5. BUSINESS FOUNDERS SHOULD GET BASICS RIGHT
And the final lesson is that founders and owners should get their basics right with their companies.
Disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence and analytics may have opened up new avenues for earning revenues and profits, but it is unlikely that the old rule for business success of charging prices that will cover your costs will change. A price war for the sake of capturing market share might bleed you dry.
Any new company in the bike-sharing space or otherwise will do well to remember that.
Nitin Pangarkar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Strategy & Policy at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School. The opinions expressed are those of the writer and do not represent the views and opinions of NUS.
Source: CNA/sl

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Meta Main Navigation

• OpenAll SectionsAll SectionsClose

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

Singapore Edition International Edition








Mobike, ofo, Anywheel and SG Bike submit licence applications to LTA




SingaporeMobike, ofo, Anywheel and SG Bike submit licence applications to LTA




h
02:21
Three more bike-sharing companies Mobike, ofo and Anywheel have submitted licence applications to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Friday (Jun 29) to continue their operations. Elizabeth Neo reports.
2related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.
29 Jun 2018 04:09PM(Updated: 30 Jun 2018 01:23AM)
Share this content

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

Bookmark
SINGAPORE: Bike-sharing companies Mobike and ofo have submitted licence applications to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Friday (Jun 29) to continue their operations.
"Today's submission is a testament to our commitment to Singapore and part of our ongoing effort to ensure that our riders can get to their destinations with ease," said ofo Singapore general manager Yau Fun Heng in a media release.

"The company remains confident in the bike-sharing industry in Singapore and will continue working with our partners to positively contribute to the Singapore government's vision of a car-lite nation," added Yau.
ofo's licence application is for a fleet of 80,000 bicycles.
Mobike Singapore country manager Sharon Meng confirmed in an email statement that the company has also submitted its licence application as well, although it did not include the number of bicycles in its fleet.
"We remain confident that we have submitted a compliant bid, We would like to assure our riders they can continue to enjoy riding Mobikes in Singapore with no disruption to our service," said Ms Meng.

Advertisement

"We sincerely hope that LTA will recognise our enthusiasm and commitment to continue to provide a sustainable and affordable mode of transport to residents in Singapore, and look forward to LTA’s decision to award licences to qualifying bike-sharing operators.”
Anywheel also submitted its application on Friday, the company told Channel NewsAsia. It has a fleet of 4,000 bicycles, a quarter of which are in active deployment.
Meanwhile, SG Bike, which has a fleet of 1,500 bicycles, submitted its application on Wednesday. It told Channel NewsAsia that it is making changes to its app to comply with the licensing requirements.
The changes include requiring users to scan the unique QR code at parking locations as proof of proper parking before they can end their trip. Users who park indiscriminately will be charged continuously until they return the bicycle to a designated parking space.
The LTA has set a Jul 7 deadline for bike-sharing firms to either apply for a licence to operate in public places or cease operations.
Those who submit them will have their applications evaluated and licence awarded by September.
The new requirement by LTA follows the passage in May of the Parking Places (Amendment) Bill, a piece of legislation aimed at tackling the indiscriminate parking of shared bicycles.
Unlicensed operators may be fined up to S$10,000 and/or jailed up to six months. They may also face a fine of S$500 for each day the offence continues.
ofo and Mobike, along with SG Bike, Anywheel and oBike, had confirmed with Channel NewsAsia last week that they would be submitting their applications before the LTA deadline.
In a surprise announcement on Monday, however, oBike said that it would shut down its operations in Singapore from Jun 25, citing difficulties in meeting the new LTA requirements.
The LTA has since instructed oBike to work with its liquidator to remove its bicycles from public spaces by Jul 4, amid concerns that its fleet of about 14,000 bicycles is being left abandoned on streets, pavements and parks all over the country.
Additional reporting by Cheryl Goh.
Source: CNA/na/ng(aj)

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...-bike-submit-licence-applications-to-10483660

 

[rushifa666]

Sjnkies are like charlie brown. Dumb and always fall for the same trick. How many tjmes has it been since chinaman "scammed" them? If you can call cheating a retard a scam

 

[sweetiepie]

KNN when obike consumers went case to leeport the time and money spent maybe more than the amount owed by obike KNN

 

[hofmann]

Sjnkies are like charlie brown. Dumb and always fall for the same trick. How many tjmes has it been since chinaman "scammed" them? If you can call cheating a retard a scam

It's the implicit trust the people have in our government - that if the company is singapore based, it's safe, if not government won't let it operate here.

Watch this trust erode as our pathetic consumer protection laws do absolutely nothing for these agrieved folks.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

SingaporeoBike says it's working to refund deposits, collect remaining bicycles
image: data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==
Derelict oBikes abandoned near Raffles Place a day after the company announced that it will cease operations in Singapore. (Photo: Michelle Teo)
01 Jul 2018 04:12PM (Updated: 01 Jul 2018 04:20PM)
Share this content

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

Bookmark
SINGAPORE: Bike-sharing operator oBike on Sunday (Jul 1) said it is working with the relevant parties on a solution to refund users' deposits.
"The entire refund process will be announced once these details are finalised," oBike said in a statement.

The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) said on Thursday that it had received 772 complaints from oBike customers asking for deposit refunds, with the majority of it made in the four days following the operator's shock announcement on Monday that it was winding up its operations in Singapore.
However, CASE warned as well that there will be a stay of proceedings on litigation action as soon as oBike's liquidation commences, leaving customers unable to proceed with any claims against the company.
oBike acknowledged that it has caused problems to many parties and apologised for the inconvenience caused.
The company said that it is working with the Land Transport Authority with an "absolute focus" on the Jul 4 deadline to collect all remaining idle bicycles in Singapore.

Advertisement

"We will have further discussions with LTA if we are unable to collect the bicycles in the given time frame," said oBike.
The company said that it is also working with the Personal Data Protection Commission to "properly engage in the next course of action" regarding user data.
It assured users that the data will not be sold or used for any other purpose other than for the oBike service.
"oBike is fully committed to solve these issues to ensure proper closure for our stakeholders in Singapore," it added.

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...-deposits-collect-remaining-bicycles-10488270

 

[Hypocrite-The]

 

[AhMeng]

The user data has already been sold lah...Lol.. all these bike companies are in for your data.. not for your miserable $50 deposit. Lol

 

[rushifa666]

Investors will know about china shares who cnt be listed anywhere else in the world. Sgx lapped them up like the prostitute that they are. End up run road and again, sinkies are "scammed"

 

[555]

https://obikerefund.livejournal.com/341.html

If you have an oBike account, and worry that you will not get back your deposit, you are right. But you need not be kept in the dark about who took your money.

His name is Shi Yi 石一.

Shi Yi is the founder of oBike, a company portrayed as "homegrown" in Singapore. The truth is Shi Yi was born in Shanghai, China and he continues to reside there.

Shi Yi wants everyone to believe he is a tech genius. According to the 29-year-old, he left China to live in Germany at 11. As a lonely child, he learned different programming languages, including JavaScript, and how to build websites through online tutorials. At 14, he ran an online forum for people to discuss about computing and got his "pay cheque" of US$250 from Google. At 16, he had built more than 30 websites that earned him monthly revenues of between US$4,000 and US$5,000 in advertising revenue.

At 18, he enrolled as a computer science student at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Shi Yi dropped out after just three semesters because his online business was making him "a lot of money". How many of us would die to know how he made "a lot of money" from website building, media buys and online promotions, but unfortunately he didn't explain.

After quitting school because he had no time for his business, Shi Yi bought himself a business-class ticket to travel around the world (huh???). In August of 2009, he started in a small office opposite Shanghai an company called Avazu Advertising that offered multiple mobile advertising platforms for performance-oriented advertisers, focusing on a global market. Within one year, the company was profitable and three years later its profits exceeded US$10 million.

No mean feat for a 20-year-old, living in a country without Google since 2010 and 3G network was rolled out only in the same year.

oBike Singapore
Back to oBike.

oBike's operating entity in Singapore is oBike Asia Pte. Ltd. It was set up on 28 November 2016 and has paid-up capital of S$500,000. In spite of the scale of its operations, oBike Asia Pte. Ltd., currently has only one representive, who is a Singapore citizen company director, with a Chinese name, Zhu Yimin.

But as you can see, Zhu Yimin was appointed only on 27 April 2018. So Zhu Yimin is probably only a proxy and a scapegoat.

oBike Asia Pte. Ltd. is wholly-owned by oBike Hong Kong Limited.

oBike Hongkong Limited is a Hong Kong-registered company. It was established on 12 February 2014. Before 10 November 2016, this company was known before Avazu Hong Kong Limited.

oBike Hongkong Limited's registered address is that of its corporate secretary.

oBike Hongkong Limited has issued capital of only HKD10,000. It is most likely a shell-company.

The sole shareholder of oBike Hongkong Limited is oBike Inc., an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Island (BVI).

In other words, oBike Inc., through oBike Hongkong Limited, owns oBike Asia Pte. Ltd.

Before you think of getting back your money from the people behind oBike Inc., you need to know that companies are usually registered in offshore jurisdictions for one purpose — to hide the identities of their directors and shareholders, because the local laws are deliberately drawn up to allow this.

But rather foolishly, Shi Yi left himself registered as oBike Hongkong Limited's only one company director:

This is Shi Yi's hand signature:

Besides oBike Asia Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, oBike Hongkong Limited has another wholly-owned subsidiary in Shanghai called Shanghai Aozhi Network Technology Co., Ltd. (translated name) (上海奥致网络科技有限公司). This company, which is in effect oBike's Shanghai entity , was established on 29 August 2014.

Shanghai Aozhi Network Technology Co., Ltd. is managed by two persons, a supervisor named Zong Jun (宗俊) and a director-cum-general manager who is (you guessed it!) Shi Yi.

Incidentally Shanghai Aozhi Network Technology Co., Ltd. has registered capital of US$3million. The treasure pot, unsurprisingly, is close to home.

Shi Yi's Business Network
Shi Yi happens to be the legal representative of Shanghai Aozhi Network Technology Co., Ltd., and 10 other companies in China:

1. 艾维邑动(北京)信息技术有限公司 (Aiwei Dynamic (Beijing) Information Technology Co., Ltd. also reported to be known as DotC United). Formed on 2014-03-06 and has RMB100,000 registered capital. Likewise Shi Yi owns 99% of this company and is its executive director, and Jin Peifang 金佩芳 holds remaining 1% share, although the supervisor is Zong Jun.
2. 浙江艾维邑动信息技术有限公司 (Zhejiang Aiwei Dynamic Information Technology Co., Ltd.) Formed on 2014-06-04 and has RMB10million registered capital. Shi Yi is its executive director and 99% shareholder. A Jin Peifang 金佩芳 is its supervisor and holder of the remaining 1% share.
3. 安徽橙致信息技术有限公司 (Anhui Chengzhi Information Technology Co., Ltd. ) Formed on 2014-09-25 and has RMB1million registered capital. Zhejiang Aiwei Dynamic Information Technology Co., Ltd. is its 100% shareholder, Shi Yi is its executive director and Jin Peifang its supervisor.
4. 上海奔威信息技术有限公司 (Shanghai Benwei Information Technology Co., Ltd.) Formed on 2014-09-25 and has RMB 500,000 registered capital. Zhejiang Aiwei Dynamic Information Technology Co., Ltd. is its 100% shareholder, Shi Yi is its executive director and Jin Peifang its supervisor.
5. 西安麦橙信息科技有限公司 (Xi'an Maicheng Information Technology Co., Ltd.) (deregistered) Formed on 2015-04-03 and has RMB 500,000 registered capital. 上海麦橙网络科技有限公司 (Shanghai Maicheng Network Technology Co., Ltd. is its 100% shareholder, Shi Yi is its executive director and Li Wenjing 李文进 its supervisor.
6. 北京橙动信息技术有限公司 (Beijing Chengdong Information Technology Co., Ltd., also known as Teebik). Formed on 2016-03-09 and has RMB100,000 registered capital. 上海橙致信息技术有限公司 (Shanghai Chengdong Information Technology Co., Ltd., ) is its 100% shareholder, Shi Yi is its executive director and Zong Jun its supervisor.
7. 上海麦橙网络科技有限公司北京分公司 (Shanghai Maicheng Network Technology Co., Ltd. Beijing Branch) Formed on 2016-03-23. Shi Yi is the person-in-charge.
8. 南通艾维投资合伙企业(有限合伙) (Nantong Aiwei Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership) (deregistered). Formed on 2016-06-14 and has RMB 2 billion registered capital. Shi Yi is its 99.95% shareholder and the person-in-charge, while Sha Ye 沙烨 held the remaining 0.05%.
9. 上海奥梵信息技术有限公司 (Shanghai Ao Fan Information Technology Co., Ltd.). Formed on 2017-10-20 and has RMB100,000 registered capital. Shi Yi owns 80% of shares and 上海麦致信息技术有限公司 (Shanghai Maizhi Information Technology Co., Ltd.) owns 20%. Shi Yi is the executive director and Jin Peifang the supervisor.
10. 上海橙墨信息技术有限公司 (Shanghai Cheng Mo Information Technology Co., Ltd.). Formed on 2017-11-13 and has RMB100,000 registered capital. Anhui Chengzhi Information Technology Co., Ltd. is its 100% shareholder, Shi Yi is its executive director and Jin Peifang its supervisor.

Shi Yi is also a director or commissioner of the following business entities:

1. 上海渔歌网络技术有限公司 (Shanghai Yuge Network Technology Co., Ltd.). Formed on 2016-07-20
2. 上海手铺网络科技有限公司 (Shanghai Shoupu Network Technology Co., Ltd.). Shi Yi holds 1% share in this company. Formed on 2016-10-19
3. 霍尔果斯金狮影业传媒有限公司 (Khorgas Golden Lion Film Media Co., Ltd.). Formed on 2017-08-22

Why does one do with so many companies engaged in "information technology" and "network technology"? Under normal operations, companies like these serve to enable their clients to transmit and disseminate information . Knowledgeable persons have also advised that without the cumbersome needs of dealing with physical goods and hiring a large workforce, they can be set up to support the facilitation of sizable payments quickly, across national borders and seemingly in legitimate manner.

Shi Yi is no computer nerd, as his shares in a number of investment and venture capital businesses show:

1. 高榕资本(深圳)投资中心(有限合伙) Gaochun Capital (Shenzhen) Investment Center (Limited Partnership). Formed on 2014-06-11 and has RMB 320 million registered capital. Shi Yi owns 1.56% of shares
2. 珠海横琴富坤创业投资中心(有限合伙) Zhuhai Hengqin Fukun Venture Capital (Limited Partnership). Formed on 2014-09-03. Shi Yi has 21.06% shares.
3. 上海集观投资中心(有限合伙) (Shanghai Jiguan Investment Center (limited partnership)). Formed on 2015-02-17. Shi Yi has 99.95% shares and Aiwei Dynamic (Beijing) Information Technology Co., Ltd. has the remaining 0.05%.
4. 宁波丰厚致远创业投资中心(有限合伙)(Ningbo Fengyuan Zhiyuan Venture Capital Center (Limited Partnership)). Formed on 2015-03-26. Shi Yi owns 1.58% of shares
5. 新余艾动投资管理中心(有限合伙) (Xinyu Aidong Investment Management Center (Limited Partnership). Formed on 2015-05-04. Shi Yi has 99.% shares and JinPeifang has the remaining 1%.
6. 新余凹凸凹投资管理中心(有限合伙) (Xinyu Ao'tu'ao Investment Management Center (Limited Partnership)) Formed on 2015-05-18. Shi Yi has 90.% shares and JinPeifang has the remaining 10%.
7. 新余集观投资管理中心(有限合伙) (Xinyu Jiguan Investment Management Center (Limited Partnership)). Formed on 2015-05-18. Shi Yi has 90.% shares and JinPeifang has the remaining 10%.
8. 北京天际时空网络技术有限公司 (Beijing Skyline Matrix Network Technology Co., Ltd.). Formed on 2015-06-03 and has RMB 15.294 million registered capital. Shi Yi owns 1.70% of shares
9. 杭州塔酱科技有限公司 (Hangzhou Tajiang Technology Co., Ltd.). Formed on 2015-06-16 and has RMB 2.98 million registered capital. Shi Yi owns 14.00%of shares
10. 杭州领带蛙网络科技有限公司 (Hangzhou Lingdaiwa Network Technology Co., Ltd.) Formed on 2015-07-17 and has RMB 162,760 registered capital. Shi Yi owns 1.92% of shares
11. 深圳灿和星团投资咨询合伙企业(有限合伙) (Shenzhen Canhe Star Group Investment Consulting Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership)). Formed on 2015-12-21 and has RMB 5 million registered capital. Shi Yi owns 9.19%of shares
12. 上海陈石互联网信息服务有限公司 (Shanghai Chenshi Internet Information Service Co., Ltd.) Formed on 2016-07-25 and has RMB 1 million registered capital. Shi Yi owns 3.00% of shares
13. 宁波饮水思源投资管理有限公司 (Ningbo Yinshui Siyuan Investment Management Co., Ltd.). Formed on 2017-03-14 and has RMB 2 million registered capital. Shi Yi owns 29.85%of shares

Piercing through the veil
In June 2017, Shi Yi appeared on the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 China List, which is issued annually for "selecting Chinese young entrepreneurs and innovators, presenting to the world their entrepreneurial spirit and innovations, and hopefully can influencing more young people in the future".

The nomination marked the third time in four years Shi Yi was listed in the Forbes 30 under 30, having been first nominated as one of the Forbes China 30 Under 30 in 2014, and included in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in April 2017.

Interestingly Shi Yi's Forbes profile reported in March 2014 states:

"Shi Yi is the founder and CEO of Avazu, a digital advertising company. Avazu has offices in China, Hong Kong, Germany and Brunei, with more than 500 clients."

Interesting because we can see from the records of companies associated with him, Shi Yi first had his name to a company only on 12 February 2014 when oBike Hongkong Limited/Avazu Hong Kong Limited. Based in Shanghai, set up in Hong Kong, built offices in two more countries, gained 500 clients, and nominated on a Forbes list, all in a month. Wow.

A more recent Forbes profile of Shi Yi tells a slightly different story:

Zong Jun, whose name appears many times in the business records of Shi Yi in China is known to be the Vice President of Finance (财务副总裁) of Avazu Holding. So Shi Yi's intimate ties with Avazu Holding is not questioned. Furthermore, company records in China confirm that Avazu Holding was founded in 2009 as 上海威奔广告有限公司 (Shanghai Weiben Advertising Co., Ltd.) and it has RMB 5 million in registered capital.

However, Shi Yi is not a director or shareholder of Avazu Holding . Instead the company is equally owned by Shi Yi's close business associate Jin Peifang and Shi Hengzhong 石恒忠, who are also its directors. Jin Peifang is the company's legal representative.

The URL of Avazu Holding's official website in the record is given as http://www.avazu.cn. However, clicking on this URL redirects you to http://avazuinc.com/that belongs to a Avazu entity, also called DotC United, which "is founded in Brunei in 2009". A Chinese tech company in Brunei?

Confusing? Complicated.

The "about" page of Avazu/DotC United makes no attempt to clarify:

How does Zeus Entertainment come into the picture? Who are Jin Peifang and Shi Hengzhong?

According to this legal document produced by a Beijing law firm, Jin Peifang and Shi Hengzhong are the maternal grandmother and maternal grandfather of Shi Yi respectively.

So it was grandma and grandpa who started the Avazu mobile advertising empire.

Apart the companies associated with Shi Yi, Jin Peifang and Shi Hengzhong have registered business interests in the following other information technology and investment entities in China:

1. 上海奥邑信息技术有限公司 (Shanghai Aoqi Information Technology Co., Ltd.)
2. 上海邑为投资管理有限公司 (Shanghai Yiwei Investment Management Co., Ltd.)
3. 上海麦致信息技术有限公司 (Shanghai Maizhi Information Technology Co., Ltd.)
4. 上海邑为信息技术有限公司 (Shanghai Yiwei Information Technology Co., Ltd.)
5. 上海奔汇信息技术有限公司 (Shanghai Benhui Information Technology Co., Ltd.)
6. 新余邑为投资管理中心(有限合伙) (Xinyu Yiwei Investment Management Center (Limited Partnership))
7. 新余威风投资管理中心(有限合伙) (Xinyu Weifeng Investment Management Center (Limited Partnership))
8. 新余邑乐投资管理中心(有限合伙) (Xinyu Yile Investment Management Center (limited partnership))
9. 新余威奔投资管理中心(有限合伙) Xinyu Weiben Investment Management Center (Limited Partnership)

Xinyu is a city in Jiangxi province.

The document that spelt out Shi Yi's ties with Jin Peifang and Shi Hengzhong pertained to the acquisition of several Avazu companies by Zeus Entertainment (full name Dalian Zeus Entertainment Co., Ltd. 大连天神娱乐股份有限公司) in the latter's 2015 reverse IPO, as mentioned on Avazu/DotC United website.

Zeus Entertainment is controlled by a man called Zhu Ye 朱晔. Nicknamed the "Investment Hunter" (投资猎手), Zhu Ye had a reputation of perfect success in all his numerous acquisitions of technology, gaming, media and software companies and the market value of his companies are estimated to be RMB 20 billion. Successful as a tech entrepreneur by his early 20s, Zhu Ye's profile bears uncanny resemblance with Shi Yi's. However on 9 May this year, Zhu Ye was served a "notice of investigation" by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) for suspected violations of securities laws and regulations.

Not a good sign, for him.

So what has happened to our oBike money?
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Singapore has issued oBike an ultimatum to work with its liquidator to remove its bicycles from public spaces by 4 July, failing which LTA will remove the oBike bicycles (presumably at the expense of Singapore taxpayers) and demand oBike or its liquidator to pay the towing and storage fees in order to claim impounded bicycles.

We foresee the LTA being stuck with loads of unwanted bicycles.

After starting its operations in Singapore with much fanfare only a year ago, oBike supposedly found itself in tightening financial difficulties.

The situation is bizarre even if operations had not yet achieve profitability. Only in August 2017 had oBike pulled off one of the largest series B rounds on record in Southeast Asia to raise US$45 million from a venture capital firm linked to a co-founder of Russia’s Mail.Ru Group a mysterious “leading global transportation platform” and several unnamed family offices in Southeast Asia.

Moreover, bicycles can be bought off the internet in China for well-below the S$49 deposit fees collected from every oBike user in Singapore. Their cost price must be even much lower. So what did all the oBike investment and deposit money vanish to?

Regardless, Shi Yi appeared a desperate man to his associates at the end of 2017 and was looking for all ways to raise money to sustain oBike. Until an idea came to him — crowdfunding using cryptocurrency through Initial Coin Offering (ICO).

To accomplish this, Shi Yi roped in as his partners a Chinese investor named Sun Guofeng 孙高峰 and Sun Yuchen 孙宇晨 a.k.a. Justin Sun, the founder of crypto network Tron, which has just gotten into bed with PornHub.

Using Singapore-incorporated Odyssey Protocol Foundation Limited as their vehicle, they launched the cryptocurrency OCN on the trading site Gate.IO on 25 January 2018. OCN was traded on five trading exchanges Huobi Pro, Bit-Z, Kucoin, Bjex and Cobinhood. The venture was a success. Within six days, it raised 50,000 ETH, or equivalent to over S$82 million.

But this was only the beginning of the end of oBike. As this report by an information service provider on the venture capital and investment scene in Chinadisclosed back in late March, Shi Yi never had the intention of investing the funds raised into oBike.

Odyssey Protocol Foundation Limited was incorporated on 16 January 2018. Shi Yi's name does not appear anywhere on its registration papers. The company had two directors, Guan Xiaofei and Singaporean Ang Irene. Its secretary is Wu Lijuan, who like Guan Xiaofei, is a Chinese national holding a Singapore ID number. Ang Irene has since resigned from her position.

Instead Shi Yi and Justin Sun are shown on the Odyssey Protocol Foundation Limited website as chief advisors.

As Sun Guofeng grievously recounted, Shi Yi simply withdrew the tens of millions in the OCN pool and walked away. Not a single cent went into oBike as promised.

Having tasted blood with the OCN heist, Shi Yi moved swiftly to initiate two more new cryptocurrencies Content Neutrality Network (CNN) and DatX in China, using the tried and tested formula — assemble a small team of connected persons in Shanghai for execution and registered a limited company in Singapore for packaging. The companies used for the ICOs of CNN and DatX were D-Run Foundation Ltd. and Cosima Foundation Limited respectively. Like Odyssey Protocol Foundation Limited, Cosima Foundation Limited has the same address with oBike Asia Pte Ltd at 1 Commonwealth Lane #09-19.

The CNN and DatX white papers indicate that the ICOs were conducted with the service of Tzedek Law, a boutique law firm in Singapore whose directors are Guo Zhanzhi Clarence and Lionel Yun Weijie.

According to Sun Guofeng, Shi Yi took the following steps for each ICO to ensure the outcome:

1. Step 1: Prepare a well-packaged white paper. This included establishing credibility by recycling the names of investors of previous ventures, inviting foreigners (outside China) with relevant tech experience on their resumes to be consultants. and building an English language website and engaging the foreign media.
2. Step 2: Attract private investors and use their funds as capital
3. Step 3: Engage the media to shape opinion
4. Step 4: Harvest. Manipulate trading so that the value of cryptocurrencies are pushed low at the beginning, get the media to report on their potential returns to lure outside investors, and as prices spike, dump to cash in.

The ease by which he raked in millions through OCN, CNN and DatX gave Shi Yi great confidence to approach Sun Guofeng again to be his partner for one more ICO, together with a sidekick of his Chen Enyong 陈恩永 a.k.a.Joseph Chen. On 5 February 2018, they discussed on the division of the expected bounty (54% for Shi Yi, 23% each for Sun Guofeng and Joseph Chen) and responsibilities.

Targeting investors/victims in Singapore and elsewhere outside China, the corporate vehicle used this time was an existing one - OPG Asia Pte. Ltd., the developer of SpherePay, an app branded as "Singapore’s Homegrown Mobile Payment App".

In November 2017 SpherePay announced a partnership with oBike and just days before the chat shown above) issued a media release announcing the completion of a US$10-million funding round from "unnamed investors".

The partnership is nothing but a farce. Shi Yi himself is a director of OPG Asia Pte. Ltd, along with another Singapore ID-bearing Chinese national Liu Junfeng and German national Mi Yongliang.

OPG Asia Pte. Ltd's shareholders are Liu Junfeng and Mohammad Khairul Nizam bin Mohammad Mokhtar.

Probably not many oBiker users/victims realise that OPG Asia Pte. Ltd is also a party to oBike's bicycle rental service agreement with you.

The SpherePay cryptocurrency, SAY, was initiated on 7 February. Seeking to stir investment interest an announcement was released on 13 February that SpherePay had secured strategic investment from TrueChain, a Chinese entity described "one of the world's fastest blockchain company".

However, the plan never off as the bear market crashed on the crypto world. To keep the story short, the three men fell out and as things turned nasty.

Demand for Action
oBike claimed that it is withdrawing from Singapore because of new government regulations. Some observers said it has failed because of poor business plan.

What we have learned is that Shi Yi and his associates have been making use of Singapore and its clean reputation to form a base to make quick and big money using highly dubious means.

The securities regulators in China have began investigations into Zhu Ye, the man connected to Shi Yi's business network at a US$300 million reverse IPO in 2015 . It is possible that the sources of Shi Yi's wealth has not been properly accounted for.

If matters are otherwise, the onus is on Shi Yi to come clean and refund the oBike deposits.