China’s HNA Group has said it is walking a fine line between life and death, as internal conflicts at the heavily indebted conglomerate burst into the public sphere, reported the Financial Times.
In a letter published online on Thursday, the airline-to-insurance business criticized its own finance department for its handling of an investor meeting that prompted a suspension of trading in HNA’s debt.
The statement underlined the conglomerate’s growing credit problems — which have been compounded by coronavirus — and factional rifts that have hurt its operations since the sudden death of a top executive two years ago.
A senior Chinese government executive, Gu Gang joined the company in February to manage severe liquidity risks at HNA as a result of the coronavirus crisis. “Gu Gang emphasized that HNA’s problems accumulated over time and it is indeed difficult to solve the problems overnight,” the letter read. The company said its cash flow issues had been worsened by the coronavirus outbreak. “This is a big test for all HNA employees. Now HNA has reached the point of life and death,” it added.