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Bloomberg
Troubled Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co repaid a 1.3 billion yuan ($185 million) bond due on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter, avoiding what could have been its first default on a publicly issued note.
HNA’s move is the latest of a series of developments that have helped calm frayed nerves in China’s debt markets in recent days. Peking University Founder Group secured an extension on a local bond repayment deadline and luxury clothing giant Shandong Ruyi Technology Group Co also repaid a dollar note.
An investor briefed by HNA’s bond trustee said the company has wired the funds to the clearing house, while another bondholder said it received the full payment. Both declined to be identified as they’re not authorized to speak publicly. Calls to HNA’s office responsible for information disclosure went unanswered.
Once a front-runner in China’s debt-fueled global spending spree, HNA said earlier this month that it would halt trading of the yuan bond from December 6 till its maturity due to an unspecified “major event that has yet to be finalizedâ€. It didn’t give any details. The suspended bond last traded at 97.55 yuan on December 5.
HNA has periodically been in the news in recent years for missing payments, selling assets and struggling with debts that climbed to as high as 598.2 billion yuan.
Haikou Meilan International Airport, a major airport backed by HNA units on the southern Hainan island, has defaulted on two private onshore notes.