HNA bankruptcy reaches turning point, putting $170bn size on debt

China's embattled HNA Group revealed Thursday that it owes $170b to creditors, marking a turning point in the government-led restructuring of one of China's highest-profile bankruptcy cases. Gu Gang, head of HNA's court-appointed working group and secretary of the debt-laden conglomerate's most important Communist Party cell, reported to almost 2,000 party cadres and employees of subsidiaries in an internal meeting, according to HNA Group's official WeChat account. He said the group had received a total of 2t yuan ($310b) worth of claims from creditors since the bankruptcy process officially started in February. Of that amount, the group has acknowledged 1.1t yuan, or about $170b, as liabilities, Gu said, without providing further details. The announcement means HNA Group -- a web of subsidiaries spun around a core airline business -- has finally recognized the overall size of its liabilities. The news comes after a series of official meetings with creditors and investors this week, in the run-up to China's seven-day National Day holiday. When the bankruptcy filing was made at the end of January, how much the group actually owed could not be nailed down.<br/>