Hainan Airlines & Co. given to mid-4Q21 to submit draft plan
Six months after they collectively applied for creditor protection, the Hainan High People’s Court has given Hainan Airlines (HU, Haikou) and ten of its subsidiary companies a further three months to submit their draft reorganisation plan following an application lodged last week.
In a stock market filing, the ailing HNA Group holding said Civil Order (2021) Qiong Po No. 8-18 had given the collectivity until November 10, 2021, to come up with the plan which would then be subject to review.
Aside from Hainan Airlines Holdings, the order includes:
- China Xinhua Airlines Group Co., Ltd., t/a China Xinhua Airlines (CXH, Beijing Capital);
- Shanxi Airlines Co., Ltd. t/a Shanxi Airlines (Taiyuan);
- Haihang Aviation Technology Co., Ltd.,
- Fuzhou Airlines Co., Ltd., t/a Fuzhou Airlines (FU, Fuzhou);
- Yunnan Xiangpeng Airlines Co., Ltd., t/a Lucky Air (China) (8L, Dali City);
- Chang’an Airlines Co., Ltd., t/a Chang An Airlines (9H, Xi’an Xianyang);
- Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines Co., Ltd., t/a GX Airlines (GX, Nanning);
- Beijing Kehang Investment Co., Ltd.,
- Urumqi Airlines Co., Ltd., t/a Urumqi Air (UQ, Urumqi);
- Hainan Fushun Investment Development Co., Ltd.
Even if the plan is accepted, should the reorganisation process fail, the eleven firms will be at serious risk of being declared bankrupt and thus liquidated, the notice warned.
Over 67,000 creditors owed a total of CNY1.2 trillion yuan (USD188 billion) had submitted claims against bankrupt HNA Group through June this year. At that time, administrators had confirmed CNY405.7 billion (USD63.4 billion) in claims as valid and had rejected those worth CNY353.5 billion (USD55.3 billion).
Various Chinese conglomerates have so far signalled their interest in acquiring select HNA Group assets, as divestments are likely to be one of only a few means for the group to raise funds to repay debts.