The owner of an orchid plantation in Chiayi County surnamed Chang (張) in June allegedly fled to the US after racking up NT$700 million (US$23.1 million) in debt, leaving debt collectors calling for his return.
Chang ran the successful plantation and is well-known in the international orchid cultivation industry, a source said.
Seeking to enter the biotechnology sector and raise Antrodia cinnamomea — a fungus marketed as a remedy for cancer, hypertension and hangovers — Chang began to expand his plantation, the source said, but added that when bank loans were insufficient to sustain the rapid expansion, Chang turned to loans sharks for funding.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsun, Taipei Times
Chang obtained interest rates far lower than the average person, as he asked an employee with connections to the local police force to negotiate the loan, the source said.
For the first several years Chang had no problems paying the high interest rate on the loans, but poor returns on investments over the past two years caused him to miss several payments, the source added.
The missed interest payments were added to his original debt, leading to even larger interest payments that he was unable to meet, the source said, adding that Chang is rumored to owe the loan sharks NT$50 million in interest per year.
Chang asked for help from friends, most of whom balked at helping extricate him from the financial sinkhole he had created, the source said, adding that one friend drew the line at several tens of millions of New Taiwan dollars.
All contact was lost with Chang in June after loan sharks stepped up the pressure to reclaim their money, the source said, adding that Chang had tried to negotiate a new deal, but failed.
In Chang’s absence, his business has been run by his son, who the source quoted as saying that operations are normal, but declined to comment on other matters.
The sourced quoted Chang’s son as saying that he was in talks with banks to set up a debt payment plan.
Some who loaned Chang money have expressed concern and their hope that he will make an official statement soon.
Chang’s alleged absconding is the second in Chiayi this year. Sun Yueh-tse (孫岳澤), manager of online vendor Catch Power, in March allegedly fled the nation and went into hiding in Hong Kong after accruing NT$14 billion in debt.
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