From bicycles to basketballs, everything's on loan in China's sharing economy

Last year, China's sharing economy transactions were worth more than $500 billion, according to a report from the country's State Information Center. Meanwhile, 600 million people were involved in activities related to that sharing economy, which could grow to account for 10 percent of China's GDP by 2020, the report added.

Growth in the Chinese space is occurring in tandem with the broader global adoption of the phenomenon — with tech savvy consumers always on the lookout for affordable conveniences.

A key difference in the Chinese sharing economy has been the role of mobile technology in driving developments.

"The sharing economy is only as strong as it is in China due to cashless transactions," Andrew Atkinson, marketing manager at consultancy China Skinny, told CNBC. Atkinson pointed to China's robust mobile usage as a factor facilitating growth in the space, which has seen everything from basketballs to battery packs on loan.

Bikes
Mobike and Ofo might be the most popular bike-sharing start-ups in China right now, but the ultra-competitive space has attracted plenty of other smaller players.

Apart from Mobike's orange-and-silver bicycles and Ofo's iconic yellow ones, sky blue models from Bluegogo (or Xiao Lan, in Mandarin), neon green offerings from U-bicycle and rainbow-colored, glow-in-the-dark bikes from Qicai are just some of the alternatives users have when it comes to bike-sharing in China.

Approximately 30 companies offer some form of bike-sharing services to the Chinese market.

Once registration and deposit payment is completed, users pay as little as 0.5 yuan (7 cents) for a half hour of use. Bike-sharing companies also offer hongbao, or red packets, where users stand to win cash rewards by riding "bonus bikes."

Full article: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/18/from-bikes-to-basketballs-chinas-fast-growing-sharing-economy.html