CHEN FENG was in fine spirits as his Parisian guests, midway through a banquet of lobster and candied duck, toasted his success. The chairman of HNA, a Chinese conglomerate that began as a small airline just over two decades ago, was in France for the firm’s “international week”, featuring glitzy events ranging from a golf tournament to a fashion show. The gala on June 26th coincided with Mr Chen’s turning 64. Wearing a Chinese suit, he stood on stage at the Petit Palais (pictured), as enormous sparklers blazed on a display beside him. The revellers, aided by opera singers, offered a chorus of “Happy Birthday”.
In normal times the evening would have been notable for what it revealed about a new kind of ambitious Chinese company, eager to make a global name for itself. But the circumstances were abnormal. A few days earlier word had leaked that China’s regulators wanted banks to check their loans to HNA and three other fast-growing companies. This had caused panic among...Continue reading
Source: China http://ift.tt/2u2SLM2
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