(Yicai) Aug. 4 -- HNA Trust Management, a bankruptcy and restructuring special trust, is trying to revitalize the assets taken over from debt-ridden HNA Group so as to pay off the Chinese conglomerate’s more than CNY1 trillion (USD139.5 billion) debt. Its latest plan includes bringing in strategic investors for third-party payments platform New Pay.

Potential investors need to have sufficient capital and a stable income source, with their main businesses having a good synergy with New Pay, but they should not hold equity in other licensed payment firms in the Chinese mainland, HNA Trust said yesterday, without disclosing specific equity transfer ratios and prices.

Founded in 2008, New Pay has operating licenses for online and offline payments, prepaid card issuance, and cross-border Chinese yuan payments, HNA Trust noted, adding that it is the only payment institution in Hainan province with all business licenses.

HNA Trust also requires strategic investors to keep New Pay’s registered address in Haikou, the capital of Hainan province, and invest funds and resources to support the company’s development and employee placement.

Haikou-based HNA Trust is also promoting the introduction of strategic investors for several other companies, including broker HNA Futures and wholesaler and retailer Ccoop Group.

Established in 2021 during HNA’s bankruptcy restructuring, HNA Trust is a creditor trust that has taken over most of HNA’s assets except its main aviation business. HNA Trust has equity in nearly 100 companies, with assets exceeding CNY200 billion (USD27.9 billion).

HNA transferred its aviation business to Liaoning-based Fangda Group for CNY41 billion (USD5.7 billion) in late 2021, but its debt still exceeds CNY1 trillion (USD139.5 billion). Whether the debt can be repaid depends on the asset management of HNA Trust.

Editor: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev