HNA Group eyes further EX-YU growth

China's HNA Group, a sprawling conglomerate with interests in aviation and tourism, has underscored its commitment to pursuing transportation and infrastructure development opportunities in the former Yugoslavia. It comes after the company's CEO, Adam Tan, met with representatives from the Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian governments over the past month. Most recently, Mr Tan held talks with Croatia's President, Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, where the two discussed potential investments in the country's airport infrastructure. HNA is believed to be interested in a concession of Osijek Airport. Previously, HNA subsidiary Beijing Capital Airlines planned to commence services between Beijing and Zagreb over the summer, however, the flights were later cancelled. The Chinese Ambassador to Croatia, Hu Zhaoming, said in March that Croatia needed to do more to present its tourist potential to Chinese travellers. "It is important to establish direct flights, as well as simplify and speed up the issuance of visas. In that respect, I would really like for Croatia to approach China in a different way and view it from a different angle".

Mr Tan also held talks with representatives of the Slovenian government, which previously said it expected for flights to China to be established next year after an airline expressed interest to launch services between Xi'an and Ljubljana. Xi'an, in north-eastern China, serves as a hub for HNA subsidiaries Tianjin Airlines and Hainan Airlines, with the latter maintaining an extensive international network from the city. The Slovenian Minister for Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, said, "We expect that direct flights between the Chinese city of Xi'an and our capital city Ljubljana will be established soon. Connectivity with China will enhance bilateral tourism and people-to-people exchange, which is another very important aspect of our cooperation".

In March 2017, HNA Group and the Serbian government entered into a strategic cooperation framework under which HNA Group will work with the government to establish flights between the two countries, build an aviation training center in Serbia, lease and operate airports, and explore other joint investment opportunities. Mr Tan has held talks with Serbian officials on a number of occasions this year and recently attended the inauguration of Serbia's President. HNA is currently bidding for a 25-year concession of Belgrade Airport, with the company's representatives visiting the airport recently to assess its infrastructure prior to submitting a final offer. Last week, Hainan Airlines launched sales for its upcoming flights from Beijing to Belgrade via Prague, which are to commence on September 15.

Commenting on opportunities in the region, Mr Tan said, "As a leader in aviation infrastructure and related sectors with major assets in Europe, including Avolon in aircraft leasing, Swissport and Gategroup in airport and aviation services, and Carlson Rezidor in hotels and tourism, HNA Group provides much of the airport infrastructure in many European airports, working seamlessly with the host governments. HNA is committed to establishing additional partnerships in Central and Eastern Europe as we continue to build out our business in Europe". HNA Group is a global Fortune 500 company focused on tourism, logistics, and financial services. Since its founding in 1993, it has evolved from a regional airline based on Hainan Island in southern China into a global company with approximately 145 billion dollars in assets, more than 90 billion dollars in annual revenues, and an international workforce of 410.000 employees, primarily across the Americas, Europe and Asia.