Smart convenience store operator Bianlifeng has upped its registered capital from USD 100 million (RMB 692 million) to USD 150 million, per the company’s filings.
Bianlifeng, which translates to “Convenient Bee”, uses mobile payments and a QR code-enabled point-of-sale system to offer cashier-free convenience stores, though there are still some staff in the store for manual duties like serving prepared foods, restocking items, and conducting cash payments, if necessary.
Companies in China usually increase registered capital for three reasons: To increase liquidity and borrow money, since loans are to a company’s registered capital; to attract new investors, because more shares are now issuable; or to expand a business scope, as companies are sometimes legally required to increase registered capital in order to do so.
In October, Bianlifeng had raised USD 256 million (RMB 1.77 billion) from Tencent and Hillhouse Capital and launched a logistics and food delivery service in Beijing. Altogether, the company has around 677 stores across in China. More than half are in Beijing, with Tianjin, Nanjing, and Shanghai also accounting for a large share of its footprint.
The company was founded in 2016 by Zhuang Chengchao, who previously launched and sold one of China’s travel services platform Qunar for USD 4.4 billion (RMB 30.5 billion).
Editor: Nadine Freischlad