SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Shares in listed firms linked to HNA Group slumped in early trade on Monday, after the embattled Chinese conglomerate disclosed that its creditors had applied for its bankruptcy.
HNA, once one of China’s most aggressive dealmaking firms, said on Friday its creditors had applied to a Hainan court for its restructuring as well.
Shares of Hainan Airlines Holding, HNA Innovation, CCOOP Group, HNA Technology Bohai Leasing and HNA Infrastructure Investment Group fell between 4.7% and 9.8%.
Over the weekend, Hainan Airlines, HNA Infrastructure and CCOOP also disclosed that a total of 61.5 billion yuan ($9.57 billion) had been embezzled by shareholders and other related parties. It did not, however, give further details on who these shareholders were.
HNA Group used a $50 billion global acquisition spree, mainly fuelled by debt, to build an empire with stakes in businesses from Deutsche Bank to Hilton Worldwide. Its flagship business is Hainan Airlines.
But its spending drew scrutiny from the Chinese government and overseas regulators. As concerns grew over its mounting debts, it begun in 2017 to sell assets such as airport services company Swissport and electronics distributors Ingram Micro to focus on its airline and tourism business.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh, additional reporting by Luoyan Liu; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
