Entrepreneurs flee Chinese city

After borrowing money:

CHINA: At least one entrepreneur has killed himself and dozens of others are on the run in China after borrowing money from private lenders at very high interest rates, state media reported Thursday.

The private business owners were based in the eastern city of Wenzhou, which gained nationwide fame in the 1980s for its free-wheeling entrepreneurs and factories specialising in everything from cigarette lighters to badges.

A shoe factory owner facing “debt problems” jumped to his death on Tuesday and another 29 have fled the wealthy city since April after borrowing money at exorbitant rates, the 21st Century Business Herald said. The entrepreneurs owned factories, restaurants and printing businesses.

One of them owes two billion yuan ($312 million), the report said. China’s banks - which are not allowed to charge higher interest on riskier loans - mainly lend to other large state-controlled enterprises and shun small- and medium-sized enterprises. AFP