Chinese debt-laden conglomerate HNA group saw a 22% increase in borrowing in 2017, Caixin Global reports, despite a frantic sell-off of assets amid liquidity concerns.
HNA’s debt stood at RMB 737 billion ($116 billion) at the close of last year, with total assets growing 21.3% from the previous year to RMB 1.23 trillion, the company’s stock exchange filing said. The debt-to-assets ratio was just short of 60% in December.
The report also showed that HNA’s cash stocks were RMB 176.3 billion at the end of the year, compared with RMB 126 billion in short-term debts.
HNA decided to rapidly shed assets following years of omnivorous acquisition fuelled by heavy borrowing, selling over $13 billion of assets in 2018 so far. This most recent report does not incorporate these figures.