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As it bought and borrowed its way to becoming one
of the country’s most prominent private compa-
nies, travel and finance conglomerate HNA Group
Co. sought to embody a new brand of Chinese cap-
italism: aggressive, unafraid of risk, and above all
global, with assets and operations on every inhab-
ited continent. Its co-founder and chairman, a
devout Buddhist named Chen Feng, styled himself
as a sort of Asian Warren Buffett, advocating a “har-
monious” management style based on Confucian
principles and boasting that HNA would one day be
among the world’s 50 largest corporations.
That dream, it turned out, couldn’t withstand
problems close to home. On Feb. 29, the governmentEdited by
James E. Ellis● HNA was once a symbol
of an ascendant China. Then
debt—and coronavirus—did it inHow the Virus Finally
Killed a High Roller
of Hainan, the island province where HNA is based,
began taking control of the company, appointing
new leaders and assuming management of its debts.
The move, the first step in what could be a slow-
motion takeover, will see HNA’s remaining assets
sold off, according to people familiar with the mat-
ter. It paves the way for a humiliating end to one of
China’s most remarkable corporate stories, one that
saw a little-known conglomerate become the core
of an international financial empire, all run from an
out-of-the-way resort island in the South China Sea.
The proximate cause of HNA’s downfall is,
of course, the new coronavirus outbreak that
brought China’s economy to a virtual dead stop,
taking an especially heavy toll on travel and tour-
ism. Globally, about 80% of China flights have
been halted, and the International Air Transport
Association estimates the virus epidemic could cost
the industry almost $30 billion in lost revenue.
But the seeds of HNA’s demise were sown long