Some airlines affiliated with China's HNA Group Co are delaying aircraft lease payments to lessors, and Export-Import Bank of China, which is a long-term financier of the group, has formed a team to handle the conglomerate's liquidity issues, several banking and leasing sources said.
Executives from leasing units of Chinese lenders including Bank of China, China Minsheng Banking Corp and Bank of Communications have held talks with some HNA-linked airlines to recover payments, the sources said.
"Some payments have been delayed by over two months," said one senior executive at a Chinese lessor. Some of the sources said HNA's flagship Hainan Airlines and smaller carriers including Lucky Air and Capital Airlines had missed payments, while Tianjin Airlines was seeking to extend the term for payments due this year.