The governor of China’s Hainan province told Reuters he believes HNA Group will eventually resolve its liquidity issues, adding that a government-led working group had helped mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic for the troubled aviation and tourism group.
Responding to written questions from Reuters, Hainan Governor Shen Xiaoming did not go in detail into how the working group was helping HNA, saying only that steps taken so far had helped to reassure creditors.
“The working group has effectively helped stabilise the confidence of creditors, the market and HNA’s employees,” Shen wrote, adding that as a result the company was still in business, reports Reuters.
It is the first time that Shen has responded to questions about Hainan-based HNA from international media since the conglomerate said in February it was not capable of dealing with liquidity risks on its own and then reached out to the Hainan government for help.
HNA Group, parent of Hainan Airlines, was once one of China’s most aggressive deal-makers, spending $50 billion in an acquisition spree featuring big names such as Deutsche Bank AG and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.
It began selling many of its purchases two years ago to focus on its airlines and tourism businesses, after its massive spending drew scrutiny from China’s central government and overseas regulators. (Reporting by Zhang Yan and Ryan Woo; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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