HNA Wants to Make Gategroup Undisputed Market Leader
Chinese aviation and shipping conglomerate HNA Group wants to make Gategroup into the "undisputed leader in airline catering" after making an offer for the Swiss business, HNA's chief executive said on Monday. HNA's 53 Swiss franc per share cash offer was unanimously supported by the Swiss caterer's board. While a rival bid was still possible, Gategroup Chairman Andreas Schmid said on a media conference call, the company was not actively seeking other offers. HNA Chief Executive Adam Tan did not respond directly when asked whether the Chinese conglomerate would be willing to up its bid if another suitor made a bid. "We've already made a very attractive offer to the shareholders," Tan said. (Reporting by Paul Arnold, Writing by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi)
Cruise Lines Spend Big, Get Quirky to Lure Chinese Travellers
Looking to convince Chinese tourists that a ship can be a holiday destination and not just a way to get there, the world's leading cruise lines are spending billions of dollars on flashy new vessels and quirky on-board services. Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd are trying to pique interest with China-centric attractions such as a menu inspired by an ex-president. They are also tapping a national penchant for education with classes ranging from foreign languages to silver service. Drawing cruise lines to China is the prospect of $11.5 billion in sales come 2018 compared with $6.8 billion last year, according to researcher Euromonitor. The market will soon be the second-biggest and could eventually surpass the United States, industry executives said.
Second HNA Vessel Arrested Within a Fortnight
Hong Kong company Shagang Shipping informs it has successfully obtained an order for the arrest of the HNA Group controlled 1999 built, 163,346 gt crude oil tanker M/V ‘GC Guangzhou’ at the Port of Gwangyang (Yeocheon) in South Korea. According to Shagang Shipping this second arrest of an HNA controlled vessel in two weeks is part of a long-running legal campaign in which they seek USD$66.4m plus interest from HNA Group, which they maintain has failed to honour its guarantee and comply with its contractual obligations surrounding the 2008 hire of the vessel M/V ‘Dong-A-Astrea’.
HK Firm Gets Ship Arrested, Shines Light on Debtor's Operations
Hong Kong company Shagang Shipping has successfully obtained an order for the arrest of the HNA Group controlled vessel 'MV Bulk Peace' from the Western Australia District Registry. The move is part of a long-running legal campaign seeking payment of USD 66.4m from HNA Group. The claims arise from 2008 when Shagang Shipping chartered a capesize bulk carrier MV Dong-A Astrea, owned by Dong-A Tankers, to a HNA Group company, Grand China Shipping Company Limited, for a period of seven years.
