HNA to lead US$3.17b funds for key 'Belt and Road' investments
Chinese conglomerate HNA Group’s unit HNA Capital said it will lead two funds totaling 20 billion yuan (US$3.17 billion) that will focus on investments linked to the ambitious Belt and Road initiative of the world’s second-largest economy.
Through these two funds, HNA Group’s financial arm will prioritize projects in the infrastructure, financial services and high technology sectors across China and Southeast Asia, it said in a statement yesterday.
The company did not provide any other key details about the two funds.
The Belt and Road initiative, which was introduced in 2013, is aimed at building a modern-day economic “Silk Road,” connecting China by land and sea to Southeast Asia and Central Asia, and beyond to the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
Another HNA unit — HNA Innovation Finance, whose portfolio firms include Singaporean logistics provider CWT Ltd, said in January that it would focus on deals that are mapped out under Beijing’s Belt and Road scheme.
HNA Capital is the controlling shareholder of aircraft lessor Bohai Capital Holdings that acquired Irish peer Avolon Holdings in 2015.
In a separate statement, HNA Group said it would team up with Asia’s biggest warehouse operator, Global Logistic Properties, to build a global logistics network and establish fund management firms to focus on areas such as aviation logistics. Last July, GLP was acquired by a Chinese private equity-led consortium for US$11.6 billion.
After announcing US$50 billion of deals over two years, HNA has been in the spotlight together with other Chinese conglomerates, as China cracked downs on excessive deals.
The group has also faced questions over its shareholding structure and debt. S&P Global Ratings has downgraded the credit profile of the group and two of its units, citing a “deteriorating liquidity profile” as it faces mounting debt maturities this year.
HNA has been selling some of its assets to address its liquidity stress. Earlier this month, it announced a US$2 billion deal for two Hong Kong land parcels.