China's pawnbroking sees 31% rise in 1H

Chinese Ministry of Commerce released the sales of China's pawn industry on August 25, showing strong growth in the first half.

In the first 6 months of the year, China's pawn industry recorded total sales of RMB 44.1 billion (US$5.8 billion), soaring 31% year on year.

Among all the pawn business, real-estate mortgages takes up the biggest part, contributing 53.6% to the total turnover. Following the real-estate mortgage, the portable pledge and property rights pledge take 24.7% and 21.7% respectively.

By the end of the first half, China's 2,342 pawnshops created gross assets of RMB 86.2 billion in total, up 12.7% year on year. With 21,000 employees, workers in pawn industry jumped 40% from the same period last year.

Medium-sized enterprises are the major clients for the industry. Statistics show that the pawnbrokers nationwide provided RMB 22.2 billion to medium-sized enterprises and RMB 19.9 billion to individuals from this January to June.

China's pawn market saw continuous growth in recent years. In 2006, the industry realized a turnover of RMB 96 billion, up 40% from the previous year, according to ministry figures.