Chen Feng (; born 1953) is a Chinese businessman and founder of business conglomerate
HNA Group
HNA Group Co., Ltd., is a Chinese conglomerate headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, China. Founded in 2000, it was involved in numerous industries including aviation, real estate, financial services, tourism, logistics, and more. It is a part owner ...
and
Hainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd. (HNA, ) is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, People's Republic of China. The airline is rated as a 5-star airline by Skytrax. It is the largest civilian-run and majority state-owned air transport company, ma ...
.
[South China Morning Post: "Buddhist tycoon Chen Feng built Hainan Airlines into global empire"]
12 April 2014
May 23, 2014[ ttp://www.whartonbeijing09.com/bio-cf.html Wharton Business School Alumni: "Chen Feng: Chairman Hainan Airlines"retrieved June 4, 2016]
Early life and education
Chen Feng was born in June 1953 in
Huozhou
Huozhou (), formerly Huo County or Huoxian, is a county-level city in Linfen, in southern Shanxi Province, China. The city spans an area or 765 square kilometers, and has a population of 155,000 as of 2017.
Administrative divisions
Huozhou has ...
,
Shanxi province
Shanxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is ...
and raised in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, the son of middle-rank
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
officials.
During the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
, Chen worked for the
People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...
in
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
; after the revolution was over in 1979, Feng worked for the
Civil Aviation Administration of China
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible f ...
and the National Air Regulations Bureau in China.
In 1984, he won a scholarship to study at the
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
College of Air Transportation Management in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
In 1989, he took a job at the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
's loan office in
Haikou
Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the Ha ...
and in 1990,
he went to work for the Aviation Business Assistant to Provincial Governor in Hainan province
which had seen a surge in development as a tourist destination.
Chen would get further education during his career including a M.B.A. from the
Maastricht School of Management
The Maastricht School of Management (MSM) is a management school in Maastricht, the Netherlands. From 1 September 2022 MSM is part of the School of Business and Economics (SBE) of Maastricht University. MSM's activities in the fields of education ...
in the Netherlands in 1995 and studied at
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
in 2002.
Career
After efforts by
Hainan Province
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
to establish a regional airline (Hainan Provincial Airlines) were not successful, Chen was tasked with bringing in private expertise and investment.
[Caijing.com: "Hainan Airlines to form aviation conglomerate" By Ji Minhua and Liu Gong]
July 10, 2006 Chen was able to raise 250 million yuan (US$31.25 million) in new capital, 75% from 24 institutional investors, 20% from existing corporate staff, and 5% from the Hainan government.
In 1993, Chen launched the Hainan Airlines Company Limited
China's first joint-stock air-transport enterprise. Due to the
1997 Asian financial crisis
The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...
- which caused the collapse of several local financial and real estate companies - the airline was recapitalized by the Hainan government and restructured and its name changed to Hainan Airlines (HNA) Company, Ltd.
Hainan province was particularly affected by the crisis due to it being both a tourist and retirement destination that had seen a high amount of speculative development and lending. In 1995,
George Soros
George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
invested $25 million in the airline for a 14.8% stake, becoming its largest shareholder.
[China Daily News: "Soros injects another US$25m into Hainan Airlines" By Zeng Qingkai]
October 17, 2005
Hainan Airlines
In 2000, the Chinese national government forced the creation of three major domestic aviation companies:
Air China Ltd.,
China Eastern Airlines Corp
China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (), also known as China Eastern, is an airline headquartered in the China Eastern Airlines Building, on the grounds of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Changning District, Shanghai. It is ...
, and
China Southern Airlines
China Southern Airlines Company Limited is an airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Baiyun District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and is the largest airline in China. Established on 1 July 1988 following the restructuring of ...
, which accelerated Chen's plans for expansion.
In 2000, Chen co-founded a holding company, the
HNA Group
HNA Group Co., Ltd., is a Chinese conglomerate headquartered in Haikou, Hainan, China. Founded in 2000, it was involved in numerous industries including aviation, real estate, financial services, tourism, logistics, and more. It is a part owner ...
, together with partner
Wang Jian,
and used it as a vehicle to purchase Xi'an-based
Chang'an Airlines
Air Changan () is a Chinese domestic airline. Its main operating base is Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, serving several cities in Shaanxi Province. Initially an independent carrier, Air Changan merged with Hainan Airlines in 2000 and was la ...
in August 2000 and
China Xinhua Airlines
China Xinhua Airlines () was an airline based in Chaoyang District, Beijing, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China. It operated scheduled trunk services and charter flights. Its main bases were Beijing Capital International Airport and Tianjin Binhai ...
and
Shanxi Airlines
Shanxi Airlines was an airline based in Taiyuan in the People's Republic of China. It operated scheduled domestic passenger services. In Nov 29, 2007, it merged with China Xinhua Airlines and Chang An Airlines to form Grand China Air, a subsid ...
, both in 2001.
In August 2001, Hainan Airlines merged with Haikou-based
Meilan International Airport
Haikou Meilan International Airport is the airport serving Haikou, the capital of Hainan Province, China. It is located southeast of the city center and was opened in 1999, replacing the old Dayingshan Airport located along what is now the cit ...
in Hainan province.
Despite the mergers and acquisitions, Hainan Airlines remains the 4th player in China
with 15% market share in 2012.
In June 2006, Chen created another holding company, Grand China Airlines Holdings, to hold the airline assets of the HNA Group - then consisting of 100 planes and 30 billion yuan (US$3.75 billion) in assets,
freeing the HNA Group to expand into other business lines. At the time, Chen owned 32.75% of Grand China Airline Holdings shares.
In 2012, the HNA Group had sales of US$17.5 billion and pre-tax profits of US$837 million. The group structure of the HNA Group is known to be extremely complicated.
HNA Group
Chen was able to go on an acquisition spree - using his holding company, the HNA Group, as the primary purchasing vehicle - and expanded its operations into logistics, retail, property, tourism, and financial services. Commenting on future growth, Chen stated in 2014: "By 2020, we can become one of the top 100 companies, and by 2030, we want to be one of the top 50...Assets are still cheap in the U.S. and Europe, and we will continue to acquire them. We need a batch of world-class companies to emerge from China to help the country’s growth, and HNA will be one of those. We want to be everywhere."
At one time, the group had the largest stake in Deutsche Bank.
According to the HNA Group website, in 2015, the HNA Group included controlling stakes in 11 listed companies, revenues of RMB 190 billion ($25.6 billion USD), group assets of RMB 600 billion, and over 180,000 employees worldwide.
[HNA Group website: "Profile"]
retrieved July 2, 2016
In May 2017, HNA Group's stocks fell by 16.7%, its biggest intraday drop since November 18, 2015, following allegations by Guo Wengui of infighting and wrongdoing of Chinese leaders, although the direct causation could not be established.
According to WSJ on September 24, 2021, embattled Chinese conglomerate HNA Group said on Friday that its chairman Chen Feng and Chief Executive
Adam Tan are suspected of committing crimes and have been detained.
HNA said on its official social media account that the pair were “placed under compulsory measures,” citing a notice from the Hainan police. It added that the company’s operations remain orderly.
As of September 24, 2021, HNA Group was broken into 4 components due to a bankruptcy court order.
Liaoning Fangda Group Industrial Company Ltd, a conglomerate with business in the carbon, steel, and pharmaceuticals, will invest in the airline component.
Personal life
Chen is a
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and does not drink or smoke.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Feng
Chinese company founders
1953 births
Living people
Businesspeople from Shanxi
People from Linfen
Hainan Airlines
HNA Group people
Chinese billionaires
Chinese Buddhists
Chinese aviation businesspeople
Airline founders