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.