Executive’s death risks more turbulence at HNA

THE turmoil deepened at HNA Group Co., the Chinese conglomerate that’s been selling billions of dollars in assets to stay afloat, after its No. 2 executive died while touring southeastern France.

Co-Chairman Wang Jian, who helped found the group more than two decades ago, fell from a height of about 15 meters on Tuesday while having his photograph taken in the village of Bonnieux, a police officer said, adding that the death wasn’t viewed as suspicious. HNA declined to comment beyond saying the 57-year-old, in France on business, died after an accidental fall in Provence.

Wang’s sudden death comes as HNA, one of China’s most indebted companies, is undertaking an urgent restructuring. It was showing signs of putting its biggest problems behind it. People familiar with the matter said last month that China’s top leaders had agreed to help the company, which couldn’t generate enough profit in 2017 to pay interest expenses.

Wang was second only to Co-Chairman Chen Feng within HNA’s hierarchy, and owned about 15 percent of the conglomerate, making him one of the group’s biggest shareholders, according to HNA’s last update of its ownership structure. Chen also holds a 15 percent stake. HNA said last year that its executives plan to donate all their shares to the Cihang charities that own a majority of HNA should they resign or die. Eventually, HNA expects the foundations to own 100 percent of the group, the company said at the time.

Wang was instrumental during HNA’s era of empire-building and its subsequent dismantlement. The company, which once symbolized China’s insatiable appetite for global assets, has since reversed course by selling more than USD14 billion of buildings and shares this year, including its multibillion-dollar stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.

Wang lost his balance as he attempted to climb onto a retaining wall next to a rock at the highest point in Bonnieux, a scenic village, said Lieutenant-Colonel Hubert Meriaux, a police officer in nearby Avignon. An autopsy conducted Wednesday morning didn’t reveal anything suspicious in his death, he said. Bloomberg