HNA a launchpad for national, social support

Hainan Airlines launched the first direct flight between China and the Czech Republic in September last year, linking the capitals Beijing and Prague.

The initiative was part of the company's efforts to support China's ongoing Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious plan proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013 to revitalize the ancient Silk Road land and sea trade routes linking the East and West.

The flagship subsidiary of HNA Group, Hainan Airlines has been safely operating for 23 years, realizing more than 5 million hours of safe flights.

The fourth-largest carrier in China was ranked one of the world's safest airlines three times by Germany's Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre and was awarded the title of a five-star airline for five consecutive years by Skytrax, a London-based aviation website and source of airline ratings and reviews.

Its parent company HNA Group began as an aviation transportation operator in 1993 in Hainan province. It is now a conglomerate that covers six business sectors including aviation, real estate, tourism, finance, logistics and eco-tech, with total assets of more than 600 billion yuan ($92.3 billion) and nearly 180,000 employees worldwide.

The group manages 11 listed companies and generated revenues of nearly 190 billion yuan in 2015.

After more than 20 years of painstaking efforts, HNA now ranks 99th among China's Top 500 Enterprises and last year made its Fortune 500 debut, ranking 464th with annual revenue of over $25.6 billion.

To promote the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, HNA Group has been actively carrying out overseas investments and acquisitions since 2010 to expand.

It established more than 30 subsidiaries by the end of 2015 in 14 countries and regions in such sectors as aviation, logistics, finance, real estate, hotel and tourism. They have combined assets of nearly 140 billion yuan, with nearly 23,000 employees.

The group purchased two container leasing companies, GE Seaco in 2011 and Cronos in 2015, to develop its oceanic logistics. It also established Urumqi Air in 2013, Fuzhou Airlines in 2014 and Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines in 2015 by cooperating with local governments and companies to help create an aerial Silk Road route.

CSR initiatives

HNA is dedicated to creating a new business model that highlights corporate social responsibility. The group has considered CSR a core business development strategy for the past two decades.

To date, it has spent more than 1 billion yuan in public charities, developing such activities as HNA Brightness Action, Wells for Hainan Arid Areas, HNA Social Innovation and Business Competition and HNA Send Love Home.

The group also launched a nonpublic offering foundation - the Hainan Province Cihang Foundation - in October 2010 and donated about one-fifth of its equity to the foundation three years later. Cihang Foundation is now the largest single shareholder of HNA Group and also serves as an important platform for HNA to fulfill its social responsibilities and commitments.

HNA Group has won many awards, such as the China Charity Award and the United Nations' South-South Award for Corporate Social Responsibility.

It has also been granted several honorary titles, like the Outstanding Enterprise on China's Corporate Social Responsibility List, for its charity endeavors.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), the group will develop new flight routes and provide more transportation convenience to facilitate cooperation between China and countries along the Belt and Road routes. It will also create high-quality tourist products and travel routes for those countries, the company said.

With an ambition of becoming a world-class conglomerate, HNA Group said it would continue to innovate and pursue excellence in the coming years to make greater contributions to society.

"It is our mission to fight for the rejuvenation of the country and the realization of the Chinese Dream," the company said.

haonan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/29/2016 page5)