China private couriers hold lion's share of market

Workers sort packages at a facility of Yunda Express (Shanghai) Co Ltd during last year's Singles Day shopping festival in Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - China's privately-owned couriers delivered 90.2 percent of all packages handled in the first three quarters of 2016, up from a 88.3 percent share a year ago, official data showed Tuesday.

Private firms delivered more than 19 billion packages in the period, surging 57.3 percent year on year, the State Post Bureau said in a statement.

Their combined revenue climbed 50.3 percent to 224.77 billion yuan ($32.68 billion), representing 83.1 percent of the total reaped by all courier firms, the statement showed.

Customers chose private firms for their convenience and value for money.

State-owned postal and courier companies saw total business revenue surge 32.6 percent year on year to 378.3 billion yuan in the first three quarters.

The industry maintained relatively fast growth and beat expectations on the back of a stabilizing economy, the statement said. China's economy expanded 6.7 percent in the first three quarters, within a government target range of 6.5 percent to 7 percent for 2016.