State Administration for Market Regulation registration bureau head Du Linya
said at a briefing on July 18 that, as of end-July this year, registered
individual businesses in China's lower-tier markets exceed companies by a ratio
of 209:100—well above the 85:100 ratio in first- and second-tier cities. There
are more than 78 mln such individual businesses, about 86% engaged in
services-related sectors.