EIGHT Chinese home appliance makers, including Gree Electric Appliances, have cheated nearly 100 million yuan (US$16 million) in subsidies for energy-saving products last year by reporting falsely the number of installed appliances, the top auditor said.

Gree misused 21.6 million yuan the government gave to promote use of energy-saving air conditioners while the Galanz Group misused 18 million yuan.

On June 1, China stopped a one-year subsidy policy for buying energy saving appliances, which aimed at boosting domestic consumption.