Bike share firms peddle for profit

Fight by startups to be unicorn of emerging sector proving costly

Painting their bikes in highly conspicuous hues of yellow, orange or blue, China's 30-odd bike-sharing startups sport a parade of colorful branding and are striving to return the nation to its place of honor as the "kingdom of bicycles".

While bike-sharing is no rarity elsewhere in the world, the Chinese version gives wheels to the concept, with customers able to find a free bike anywhere in the city closest to you (located via GPS on an app) and leave them when they are finished in their journeys.