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The Hainan-based company's creditors have asked a Chinese court to approve plans for the company to enter bankruptcy, HNA said in a statement Friday. The creditors said the conglomerate couldn't pay off its debts.
The bankruptcy filing marks a dramatic fall for one of the country's most prominent companies. HNA began life as an airline but grew rapidly through investments in real estate and finance, and overseas acquisitions, to become one of the most important players in China's private sector.
But those acquisitions were built on a lot of debt, which hit 707 billion yuan ($110 billion) by June 2019. The company's woes were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, and in February 2020, government officials in Hainan took control. At the request of the company, authorities established a "working group" with other agencies in a bid to solve HNA's financial crisis.
Beijing, meanwhile, has been trying to tighten its grip over the country's private sector. Much of the scrutiny over companies like HNA and Anbang began in 2017, when regulators began more closely looking into their flashy overseas deals, worried about liquidity risks.