Exclusive | HNA will ditch vanity purchases for aviation, logistics and tourism to develop its home turf
HNA Group poised to speed up investments in aviation, logistics and tourism sectors in Hainan, marking a fresh round of onshore business expansion after the Chinese airline to finance conglomerate sold series of global assets to repay borrowings under pressure from mainland regulators and creditors
HNA Group, which was among China’s biggest global asset buyers as recently as 2016, said its investments in the next few years will revolve around aviation, logistics and tourism in Hainan, as it puts up its hands to contribute to the growth of one of the country’s least developed economies.
The company, the largest employer on the island province of 9.2 million people, will use the three airlines it owns to expand transport links to Hainan, and build logistics warehouses to transform the island into a free-trade port, according to HNA’s founder and chairman Chen Feng.
“As one of the world’s 500 largest companies, we are capable of helping Hainan build its free-trade port through the development of aviation, tourism, modern logistics and finance businesses,” Chen wrote in reply to a query by the South China Morning Post.
The HNA Group, which turns 25 years old this week, has come a long way since Chen’s four-aircraft carrier began to connect Hainan’s provincial capital with the mainland. Its Hainan Airlines has grown into China’s largest privately-owned carrier, holding its own against three larger state airlines. It’s now the largest conglomerate in Hainan, with 30,000 employees, owning a clutch of businesses including aviation, hotels and health care.
