Beijing will take efforts to regulate the city's car rental firms to help achieve a healthy development of the sector, Beijing Evening News reported yesterday.

The city's transportation authorities said yesterday that only six out of the city's total of 223 car rental firms were qualified.

The fast-growing number of people holding driving licenses but not having cars has largely stimulated the business of renting cars.

The number of people reached 2.5 million and increased by an annual rate of 10 percent. The more than 200 car rental firms have more than 20,000 cars.

Officials are now considering enacting regulations for the newly developed industry. Unqualified businesses will have to make changes, otherwise they will be merged or transferred, officials said.

(Eastday.com.cn 05/31/2001)