China's CDB Aviation head says ready to help HNA

The head of the aviation leasing arm of China Development Bank said Tuesday that HNA Group has solid airline operations and it would serve nobody’s interest to see the group collapse. “CDB has the highest exposure of anyone in this case, so we are involved in discussing with them,” CEO Peter Chang told the Airline Economics conference in Dublin. “I haven’t been called into the room yet since aviation is a smaller piece of it, but it is a very important piece. I anticipate that we will at some point. We would like to help. It doesn’t serve our purpose to see HNA collapse,” he said. Last week, China’s aviation-to-financial services conglomerate HNA Group acknowledged liquidity problems after a merger spree and a slowdown in Chinese growth. HNA’s airline operations are as good as any, Chang said. “On that basis I presume that from a risk point of view, that would be preserved by all parties involved, government or otherwise,” he also said. “We are watching and reading the paper like everyone else. We are trying to engage and getting ourselves ready. The sooner HNA leadership realise they have a real problem, the sooner we can get to start working on it,” added Chang.<br/>