HNA’s status was unclear Monday, three days after it said creditors want the company declared bankrupt by a court in Hainan, the southern island province where the company is headquartered, to declare HNA bankrupt because it couldn’t pay its debts. A spokeswoman for the Higher People’s Court of Hainan who would give only her surname, Wu, said she could release no information.
HNA, founded in 1993 as Hainan Airlines with one plane, was among companies including Anbang Insurance, Wanda Group and Fosun Group that went on a buying spree starting in 2014, acquiring hotels, sports teams and other assets. They were supported by low-cost loans from state banks and borrowing from the public.
HNA Group was struggling under $75 billion in debt…