Customers demand their bicycle refunds from Ofo

Nearly 2,000 people gathered outside the headquarters of bike-sharing giant Ofo in Beijing on Tuesday morning, anxious to know whether - and when - their deposits for the shared bikes will be returned.

Ofo, one of China's leading bike-sharing companies, said late on Monday that because of the increasing number of claims, applications for refunds will be dealt with in the order received. The company asked people to wait patiently.

The company claimed 200 million users in November last year, meaning deposits could amount to as much as 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion).