Who gains from inter-corporate credit? To answer this question we investigate the market reaction of both the issuing and receiving firms to the announcements of inter-corporate loans in China. We find that the average abnormal return for the issuers of inter-corporate loans is significantly negative, whereas positive for the receivers. Investors may worry that issuing firms run out of worthwhile projects to finance, while they perceive credit-receiving firms as being certified as worthy borrowers. Firms have a lower / better performance after the issuance / receipt of inter-corporate loans, and corporate investment increases more for the receivers than the issuers.