Laidian will charge up overseas expansion

China's power bank rental service provider Laidian Technology Co Ltd looks to steadily expand overseas businesses in the coming year, amid increasingly intense competition at home.

"We will ramp up efforts to enlarge our overseas business in more countries globally, including the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, as well as increase our international patents," said Huang Yun, chief operating officer of Laidian.

Huang added that the company has applied for 30 international patents under the Patent Cooperation Treaty and is on track to accelerate its applications for more international patents.

The move comes just a few days after Laidian announced it would offer its shared power banks in Indonesia, with the first batch of 10 shared power bank machines opening for public at one of the biggest music festivals of the country.

In Indonesia, users can download the app "Power On The Go" to rent a power bank for 5,000 rupiah (37 cents) per hour. In this case, rather than paying by WeChat or Alipay, users can pay directly through the app.

The Shenzhen-based company chose to globalize its business in Indonesia through equity cooperation with local partners, although it didn't disclose the name of the company.

"In 2018, we plan to put thousands of power bank machines in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, especially in airports, train stations, shopping malls and government office blocks," said Dick Listijono, its local partner responsible for business in Indonesia.

It's not the first time the company has joined hands with partners to promote overseas business; earlier this year, it cooperated with a shared tourism platform to roll out its businesses in eight countries, including Thailand, Japan, France, Canada, Australia and the US.

In addition to announcing its plans for international expansion, the company unveiled its new products, among which the maximum one can charge up to 124 power banks. Users can also recharge, print photos and purchase lottery tickets all-in-one through one of Laidian's new products.

"We have our big cabinets in major public venues and removable ones in cafes and restaurants. We are turning from recharging-only to multiple scenarios in a bid to meet diversified demands of customers," said Yuan Bingsong, CEO of Laidian.

The company also inked a strategic partnership with Alibaba's Sesame Credit to further cooperation on deposit-free shared power banks. New data from the company showed that more than 12 million users in over 250 cities across China have used their deposit-free services in a year.