ramus
5th July 2018, 13:53
Chairman of Chinese conglomerate HNA dies in accidental fall
This is what happens when you run a foul of the Banking Industry or your boss .
Hhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-05/in-wake-of-death-at-hna-chairman-chen-seen-as-having-to-step-up
Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co. said its chairman and co-founder Wang Jian died after being injured in an accident during a business trip in France.
HNA 000616, -0.29% said Wang, 57 years old, died unexpectedly Tuesday after an accidental fall. He was accompanied by a few colleagues from HNA during the sightseeing trip in Provence, a person close to the company said.
Wang was visiting a cliff-side church in Bonnieux, a village in the Vaucluse department of France’s southeast, according to a French police official. He stood on a wall meant to keep people from falling off the cliff and asked a friend to take a photo of him, the official said. Wang then fell over the side of the cliff, about 10-15 meters, and died at the scene, the official added.
For HNA Group Co. leader Chen Feng, the sudden death of his No. 2 raises the pressure for the Chinese tycoon to step up his involvement in fixing the finances of a group saddled with more than $90 billion in debt.
The late Wang Jian, the junior of HNA’s two chairmen, died while sightseeing in a French village this week at a time the group was undertaking an urgent restructuring that’s already involved more than $16 billion in asset sales this year. That leaves remaining managers, particularly Chen, to split the challenge of navigating one of China’s most indebted companies toward the path of normalcy.
"Chen Feng has been retiring himself from day-to-day management over the years and a lot of the responsibilities have been concentrated around Wang Jian," said Yu Zhanfu, Beijing-based partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. "Chen Feng is now crucial in helping stabilize sentiment in the company. He will also be the most important person to relay key messages to the outside world about HNA going forward and he needs to be more proactive."
Mr. Wang kept a relatively low profile in recent years as HNA went on a global acquisition spree that saw the company scoop up stakes in Deutsche Bank AG and the Hilton hotel chain, purchase office buildings in New York, and acquire other businesses.
Mr. Wang’s sudden death raises more questions about the group’s mysterious and evolving shareholder structure. As of a year ago, he held a 14.98% stake in HNA Group, according to the company.
HNA disclosed last year that the international arm of its charitable foundation, which was set up in New York in 2016, was its largest shareholder with a nearly 30% stake. Together with the domestic arm, the foundation entities own a 52% position in HNA.
The company has said that all of the group’s shareholders “have pledged to donate all of their shares to the foundation upon resignation or death.” But HNA couldn’t be immediately reached to clarify whether Mr. Wang’s shares will be donated.
This is what happens when you run a foul of the Banking Industry or your boss .
Hhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-05/in-wake-of-death-at-hna-chairman-chen-seen-as-having-to-step-up
Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co. said its chairman and co-founder Wang Jian died after being injured in an accident during a business trip in France.
HNA 000616, -0.29% said Wang, 57 years old, died unexpectedly Tuesday after an accidental fall. He was accompanied by a few colleagues from HNA during the sightseeing trip in Provence, a person close to the company said.
Wang was visiting a cliff-side church in Bonnieux, a village in the Vaucluse department of France’s southeast, according to a French police official. He stood on a wall meant to keep people from falling off the cliff and asked a friend to take a photo of him, the official said. Wang then fell over the side of the cliff, about 10-15 meters, and died at the scene, the official added.
For HNA Group Co. leader Chen Feng, the sudden death of his No. 2 raises the pressure for the Chinese tycoon to step up his involvement in fixing the finances of a group saddled with more than $90 billion in debt.
The late Wang Jian, the junior of HNA’s two chairmen, died while sightseeing in a French village this week at a time the group was undertaking an urgent restructuring that’s already involved more than $16 billion in asset sales this year. That leaves remaining managers, particularly Chen, to split the challenge of navigating one of China’s most indebted companies toward the path of normalcy.
"Chen Feng has been retiring himself from day-to-day management over the years and a lot of the responsibilities have been concentrated around Wang Jian," said Yu Zhanfu, Beijing-based partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. "Chen Feng is now crucial in helping stabilize sentiment in the company. He will also be the most important person to relay key messages to the outside world about HNA going forward and he needs to be more proactive."
Mr. Wang kept a relatively low profile in recent years as HNA went on a global acquisition spree that saw the company scoop up stakes in Deutsche Bank AG and the Hilton hotel chain, purchase office buildings in New York, and acquire other businesses.
Mr. Wang’s sudden death raises more questions about the group’s mysterious and evolving shareholder structure. As of a year ago, he held a 14.98% stake in HNA Group, according to the company.
HNA disclosed last year that the international arm of its charitable foundation, which was set up in New York in 2016, was its largest shareholder with a nearly 30% stake. Together with the domestic arm, the foundation entities own a 52% position in HNA.
The company has said that all of the group’s shareholders “have pledged to donate all of their shares to the foundation upon resignation or death.” But HNA couldn’t be immediately reached to clarify whether Mr. Wang’s shares will be donated.