Investigate into financing of bus project

A ROAD-STRADDLING, elevated bus that allows cars to pass underneath was demonstrated on some specially constructed test track in Qinhuangdao, North China's Hebei province last week. Soon after reports emerged that the test had been conducted without approval and might be part of an illicit financing scheme. Thepaper.cn commented:

If the elevated bus was nothing but a harmless joke, we could laugh at it. The problem is, it might be a means to defraud people. According to reports, a person-to-person financial management company called Huayingkailai is selling loans, supposedly to raise money for the project, with annual interest rates as high as 12 percent.

The company that developed the bus has not responded yet, but if all the reports are true, they are suspected of breaking the law by issuing such high-interest loans, and conducting tests on the road without official permission.