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HNA's opaque ownership stops sale of New Zealand finance company

CHINA's aviation conglomerate HNA Group's bid for Australia & New Zealand Banking Group's asset-finance business in New Zealand has been rejected by regulators because of its opaque ownership.

This represents another setback for the troubled debt-heavy Chinese conglomerate that has come under worldwide scrutiny, reports Bloomberg.

New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office didn't determine who the relevant overseas person was from the information provided, it said in a statement.

HNA in July said it was controlled by two charities based in New York and Hainan, while 12 company officials including founders Chen Feng and Wang Jian hold stakes.

While the sale agreement remains in place, the deal won't proceed unless HNA successfully appeals the regulator's decision.

HNA said it was disappointed by the decision, and that the "current political environment in New Zealand" over foreign investment will play "a significant role" in its response.

The recently elected government led by Jacinda Ardern is banning the sale of residential homes to foreigners, and has tightened rules around purchases of rural land. While the new rules don't affect the sale of business assets, the nationalist New Zealand First Party, which is in coalition with Ms Ardern's Labour Party, has voiced its opposition to the UDC deal.

HNA, founded in 1993 as a regional airline, has come under scrutiny after a debt-fuelled US$40 billion acquisition spree across six continents, putting it at the centre of China's crackdown on the country's most prolific overseas dealmakers.