Aroundtheworld

Ofo enters cities in Spain, Portugal

Chinese bike-sharing services provider ofo on Tuesday announced plans to enter Spain and Portugal, which will be its seventh and eighth markets in Europe.

Ofo bikes will be available in Madrid and Cascais, a step forward to achieve its annual target of expansion into 20 countries and regions by the end of 2017.

Chinese bike-sharing companies like ofo and Mobike have been expanding aggressively in overseas markets this year. Ofo and Mobike investors were reportedly in early talks to push China’s two largest bike-sharing platforms into a merger, Bloomberg reported earlier this month. Both companies subsequently denied any such plans.

Chinese buyers eye Germany-based FFT

Chinese companies including high-end equipment maker Jiangsu Hagong Intelligent Robot Co plan to bid for German industrial company FFT, likely to be valued at up to $712 million, Reuters reported.

China’s State-owned power company Shanghai Electric and Asian-European private equity firm AGIC Capital had also expressed interest earlier in the process, according to the media report.

Chinese interest in FFT comes as the world’s second-largest economy strives to boost domestic products as part of a broad “Made in China 2025” plan.

Jiangsu Hagong is among a growing number of Chinese companies seeking access to advanced German industrial technology as China pushes to bolster its high-end manufacturing.