On January 29, 2021, Hainan Airlines parent company HNA Group applied for bankruptcy and reorganization after a long period of financial struggles.
“The relevant creditors applied to the court for bankruptcy and reorganization of our group because our group could not pay off their due debts,” HNA Group statement reads.
The group will cooperate with the court to conduct judicial review and will actively promote debt disposal work, and support the court to protect the legal rights and interests of creditors in accordance with the law to ensure the smooth progress of enterprise production and operation, according to the statement.
In February 2020, Chinese authorities stepped in to run one of the largest conglomerates in China, as it struggled to overcome the debt crisis made worse by COVID-19 crisis. The move was made at HNA’s request, according to the statement.
HNA Group once attracted global attention for its aggressive spending including a stake in hotel giant Hilton Worldwide Holding and Deutsche Bank. However, the Group indebted after liquidity issues emerged in 2017.
The latest financial report it published, covering the first half of 2019, showed that the company had 706.7 billion yuan ($109 billion) of debt.
Hainan-based private conglomerate HNA Group was founded in 1993. It held a stake of 14 airlines and retained a fleet of 900 aircraft.