China’s HNA Group says will keep investing in the United States

Representational photo

HNA Group Co, one of the most acquisitive Chinese buyers of overseas assets, will keep investing in the United States, one of its key overseas markets, the conglomerate’s Chief Executive Officer Adam Tan said on Tuesday. HNA has been in the spotlight together with other Chinese conglomerates for the billions of dollars splashed on marquee real estate properties and global brands, as Beijing cracks down on what it deems excessive deals.

His comments also come at a time when Washington has sought to limit Chinese investment in key sectors, with President Donald Trump this month blocking a Chinese-backed private equity firm from buying chipmaker Lattice Semiconductor Corp.

“We still have a strong belief U.S. and China will have a very good relationship, we will keep on investing (in) related business,” Tan said at a Hong Kong conference organised by Forbes magazine.

HNA owns a range of U.S. assets including technology distributor Ingram Micro Inc and a stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings.

It still needs approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to buy hedge fund SkyBridge Capital LLC from Anthony Scaramucci, the Trump administration’s former communications director, and a 25 percent stake in Old Mutual’s U.S. fund management arm. CFIUS scrutinises deals for potential national security threats.

Tan added that Belt and Road-related outbound investments still get a lot of attention and are “doable” under Beijing’s current policies and that HNA was the healthiest it had ever been in the history of its growth.