China’s HNA to invest $200 mn in Indian aviation sector

Chinese aviation firm HNA Group is planning to invest around $200 million in Indian aviation industry. HNA is also planning to enter travel agency business in India with an investment $50 million.

“We are looking forward to an investment of between $150 to 200 million in the Indian aviation sector only if we get a viable domestic partner,” said its president Tan Xiangdong.

With troubles hitting the Indian aviation industries and companies like Kingfisher and SpiceJet facing crisis, Xiangdong said the group is very cautious about making investments in this sector of the country.

“On the other side, we are taking note of the progress made by recently setup Vistara and Air Asia India,” he said. HNA is also planning to enter travel agency business in India with an investment $50 million. “We have huge plans for investments in India. We are planning to invest a sum of $50 million in travel agency business and is looking for some good domestic partners,” he added. He added, “We are in preliminary talks with some companies about this but nothing concrete has happened till now.” Apart from aviation and travel agency, the group is also mulling options to invest in mid-size hotel business in India. “We are planning to put our money into developing three star and four star hotels in India. We see a lot of opportunities in this segment here,” he said.