8 Months After Chen Feng'S "Comeback" Talk About Hainan Airlines: 2019 Is Still A Difficult Year For Opportunities In Hainan Free Trade Area (HK)

"At present, HNA is in stable situation, but in 2019, it still faces great difficulties, and the funding gap is still there. Therefore, the disposal of assets is still increasing efforts, not the main business of the project is good or not, resolutely disposed of.

In addition to continuing to divest off non main assets, Chen Feng, chairman of Hainan Airlines Group, said that in 2019, the aviation industry will also unswervingly invest in the construction of Hainan free trade area (port) and implement major projects such as aircraft maintenance, airport construction, airspace optimization and international routes.

Hainan Airlines Group Chairman Chen Feng - Data photo

Talking about 2019: still a difficult year

Chen Feng, chairman of HNA Group, said that after June 2018, according to the directive spirit of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, HNA disposed of assets, reduced leverage and focused on the healthy development of aviation main industry, and gradually came out from the predicament through the "struggle of life and death". The situation was stable: first, it kept the bottom line of aviation safety; two, it maintained the rigid payment and did not have systemic financial risks.

But he also admitted that because the process needed to solve the problem and the time needed to resolve the funding gap was gradually resolved, 2019 was still a difficult year. On the one hand, the debt maturity required a rigid payment. On the other hand, the disposal of assets needed a process, and high-quality assets could not be sold because of the rush to sell the cabbage price.

Chen Feng said, first, there is tension in Hainan Airlines. Two, financial institutions have confidence in Hainan Airlines. We can see that Hainan Airlines is a good company and good asset.

"Try your best to bring confidence to the society and all those who support HNA." Chen Feng believes that the biggest achievement of his eight months' comeback is to stabilize the situation. "It is not easy to stabilize the situation. We must have a firm belief. The confidence of" eight winds can not be moved "is rooted in the support and instructions of the party and the state, as well as unswerving self rescue.

In his view, the process of self-help and his rescue is indispensable. Enterprises' self-help is the market behavior. The bank "rescue" enterprises are business relations. The government's support for private enterprises will create a relaxed environment on policy guidance, and guide financial institutions and enterprises to form a cooperation mechanism to overcome difficulties.

At present, Hainan Airlines Group has a stable situation, but in 2019 it still faces great difficulties, and the funding gap is still there. -IC photo-

Talk about main business: continue to focus on main business development

After making clear the strategic requirement of "focusing on aviation transportation industry and healthy development", some structural adjustments made by Hainan Airlines in the recent half year have also attracted the attention of the industry.

In November 2018 and December, Hainan Airlines gradually sold Urumqi aviation and capital aviation control stake. The industry summed up as the "local holding + HNA management" mode, which is considered a step of "smart chess": Hainan can not only get funds to solve urgent problems, but also retain the actual control of airlines in the short term.

In this regard, Chen Feng said: "transferring part of the shares of the local aviation division is the need for strategic adjustment, which requires us to open our hearts and be willing to give up!" For example, he said that after the adjustment of Capital Airlines' shares, specialized air transport management would be carried out. With the construction of Daxing airport in Beijing, there would be no local aviation enterprises in Beijing's aviation industry chain. For employees, Beijing accounts and housing would be easier to solve.

Chen Feng revealed that Hainan Airlines sold its local airline shares to the local authorities. Next, seven or eight of the HNA's basic negotiated companies will sign contracts this year. The aim is to unswervingly develop jointly with the local authorities and achieve win-win results.

In addition, in terms of aviation industry, HNA plans to continue to expand its scale, improve its service quality and improve its business efficiency. Take the expansion of the scale as an example, HNA plans to take Hainan airlines as the main force, adding 40 new international routes to Hainan in the next five years, and supporting the construction of Hainan free trade area (HK). It is understood that in 2019, the direct flight route of Haikou Osaka was opened in February 28th, and then Haikou, Moscow, Haikou Tokyo, Haikou Seoul, Sanya Inchon and so on will be opened.

"As long as the local government cities need to be opened, HNA now has the capability of opening up, but the problem now is the lack of navigation rights." Chen Feng said.

The lack of aviation power resources has also become the main bottleneck for China's Aerospace Division to expand international air transportation and promote international development strategy. In May 2018, the Civil Aviation Administration promulgated the "Regulations on the allocation and use of international aviation rights resources" and the supporting policies for the allocation of international aviation rights resources in Beijing, which encouraged the air transport enterprises to open up new international routes according to the air transport agreement and related agreements, and to classify and manage the international aviation rights resources, and gradually break the rules of "a long distance international airline, a carrier".

HNA will take air freight, airport operation management and airport development as its main business direction, and strive to develop into a distinctive modern aviation logistics service enterprise. In March 2018, Hainan Airlines announced the establishment of Hainan logistics group, co ordinate the management of the original HNA modern logistics group limited and Hainan Industrial Group Co., Ltd., the headquarters also moved from Xi'an to Hainan.

In recent years, including Shun Feng and Yuantong, more and more surface express express companies have begun to expand air cargo. Chen Feng said that HNA has a larger scale on air cargo, operates 28 cargo planes, and operates and manages 16 airports.

Talking about the past: "going out" is not yet ready.

Looking back at the development of Hainan Airlines in the past, Chen Feng used eight words to describe "surging clouds and surging waves". He believes that in the national going global strategy, Chinese enterprises will take the lead in spite of the fact that the private state run enterprises are in the lead. But if the merger and acquisition of Hainan Airlines is put into practice today, it is almost impossible to acquire the world's top class enterprises, depending on the situation. It is not easy for HNA to buy a few companies that have not been completed for several years.

Take aviation related industries as an example. From 2015 to 2016, HNA successively acquired aviation ground service company Swissport, Irish aircraft leasing company Avolon, American CIT group's aircraft leasing business, and aviation catering company gategroup.

Chen Feng said that at that time, the opportunity was good, the price was cheap, foreign financing was cheap, and more than 50% were foreign bank loan financing.

"But once internal and external factors change, you are not mature enough to complete the acquisition logic, cash will be in trouble." Chen Feng said that the superposition of external factors led to Hainan's tight chain in the process of high-speed growth, which broke out the difficult liquidity of Hainan Airlines at the end of 2017.

The most difficult degree, such as Chen Feng mentioned in his new year's speech at the end of 2018, is: "100 billion debt concentration expires, liquidity is difficult, and sword is overhanging. P2P platform is paying off the mountain peak, and the stock market value of the company has shrunk. The commercial giant of HNA is in the tide of the times.

"Desire drives us to the fast lane and brings problems. After all, the carrying capacity of an enterprise is limited, including the establishment and control of teams." Chen Feng said frankly that HNA itself is short of the external environment for rapid growth, and experience is not enough. "I deeply feel that domestic enterprises may not be fully prepared yet, and it takes time to go to the world."

Talk about the future: seize the opportunity of Hainan free trade zone (HK)

In Chen Feng's view, as a local enterprise in Hainan, Hainan Airlines is born in Hainan and Hainan, and the Hainan free trade area (port) policy will be the opportunity for the next round of rising.

In addition to actively helping to build Hainan into the Pan South China Sea International aviation hub, HNA also hopes to play a role in infrastructure construction and industrial restructuring in Hainan free trade area (port), relying on the airport industrial park to foster Hainan's aircraft maintenance and aircraft leasing industry.

Chen Feng disclosed that at present, Hainan Airlines is pushing ahead with the two phase expansion project of Meilan Airport. It is expected to be put into operation in Spring Festival in 2020. In 2025, the annual passenger throughput will reach 35 million passengers and the annual cargo throughput will reach 400 thousand tons, which will greatly enhance Hainan's air transport support capability.

In addition, HNA plans to improve the aircraft maintenance industry chain in Hainan, promote aviation manufacturing, aviation training, aviation exhibition and other upstream and downstream business development, and create a one-stop aircraft maintenance base with international competitive advantages.

Chen Feng said that at present, Hainan Airlines is actively exploring the geopolitical advantage and policy support of the free trade port of Hainan, launching the aircraft leasing business in Hainan, and is committed to building Hainan into an aircraft leasing industry highland along the "one belt and one road".

Turning to the proposal for the construction of the Hainan free trade area (HKSAR), Chen Feng said that Hainan should further study the "sky opening" on the basis of opening the three or four and five shipping rights, and allow all airline flights to cross the border in Hainan, which is also the usual practice of internationally renowned free-trade ports. At the same time, we should actively coordinate overseas busy airports such as Tokyo, Jakarta, Manila and Kuala Lumpur, and give Hainan base airways more resources to stop and stop.

"Aircraft leasing and aircraft maintenance industry enjoy preferential tax policies in the global free trade port. Hainan should also lower tax rates and attract global excellent enterprises to enter." For example, in terms of aircraft leasing industry, the enterprise income tax of Irish aircraft leasing enterprises is 12.5%. However, the Hainan aircraft leasing enterprise applies 25% of the national enterprise income tax rate. Hainan can explore the reduction of the Hainan corporate income tax rate from 25% to 10%~15%, and the free trade port from overseas to Hainan and Hainan is exempt from VAT.