A Taiwanese businessman investing in China was shocked when he found that a 50 million yuan (US$8 million) loan he applied for from the China Construction Bank (CCB) more than a year ago actually went into a unrelated business in China and was used as collateral for another 90 million yuan loan.
The 73-year-old Chen Hsi-so (陳細鎖) said that on the recommendation of a friend, he opened a lime absorbent plant in Wuping District, Longyan, in China’s Fujian Province last year, and applied for a 50 million yuan loan from CCB’s branch in Wuping.
Chen said that it was his first investment project in Fujian, as he had previously only made investments in Zhejiang and Anhui provinces since he started doing business in China in 1989.
Although Chen was told that his loan was approved not long after he sent the application, he never heard back from the bank again, Chen said.
In July, Chen applied for a loan of 17 million yuan from Shanghai-based SPB Bank, and when he made another loan application in August, he was told by SPB Bank that his plant in Wuping had been used by CCB as collateral for a 90 million yuan loan made to a real-estate developer in Xiamen in Fujian Province, for more than a year.
Chen said he was shocked upon hearing the news and immediately contacted CCB.
However, the bank told him it had been “only a small mistake in inserting company code” and the bank’s management even went as far as threatening Chen by saying that if he made a big deal out of it, “your business will not run smoothly here.”
“It’s not a big deal [for us] to borrow documents from your Taiwanese businesses, you lose nothing,” it said.
Chen said he did not believe it had been a small mistake, since he had applied for a substantial loan and the decision to approve it was not in the hands of the CCB’s branch in Wuping.
Only the provincial level of the bank’s management could have made the decision, the businessman said.
Chen said he believed his name was “borrowed” in a series of banking irregularities.
He said the Fujian Provincial Government had promised to do him many favors, including giving him a contract for a 30-year supply of minerals, but none of the promises have been fulfilled so far.
Because he encountered financial difficulties and his Japanese business partner withdrew, Chen has had to suspend operations at his plant. He says that the losses have cost him dearly.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS