Introduction ’s stablished in 1908, of Communications ECo., Ltd. (BoCom) is one of the with the longest history in . It is also the first state-owned joint-stock commercial bank. The The Flow of People, bank ranked No. 17 among the top 1,000 banks in terms of Tier 1 Capital rated by in 2015 and is also ranked No. 217 among the “”. It was rated A2/A- by Goods, and Capital Moody’s and S&P respectively.

BoCom New York Branch was founded on November 18th, 1991. It is the second Growth and Development Chinese bank that entered the US market. An Interview with Daniel Chen, BoCom expanded its U.S. operations with the After over 20 years of operation, Bank of Communications Co., Ltd., New York Branch has President, HNA Group North America LLC establishment of BoCom San Francisco Branch on upgraded its services and found its own place in , the world’s financial center. November 16th, 2011 as a sub branch operating Before 2007, BoCom New York Branch mainly serviced small business clients, and at that time to North America and today we have fi ve destina- How did your purchase of Cassa Hotel on its own under the supervision of the New had not yet entered into the mainstream corporate market of the United States. However, by tions in North America – Seattle, San Jose, Toronto, come about? York Branch. Since its foundation, BoCom New the end of 2007, especially after the economic crisis, the problems caused by the mobility Boston, and Chicago. Cassa Hotel was purchased towards the end York Branch has made major contributions of the American banks created opportunities for Chinese banks to enter the mainstream We have expanded the airlift for travelers of 2008. The U.S. hospitality and hotel operations in the economic development of China and corporate market in America, and well known world-renowned enterprises began to show up coming here for both business and leisure, and we in general is a good sector to be in. US, expanded the local market for Chinese in BoCom New York Branch’s client list. At present, New York Branch has gradually realized the have a signifi cant number of businesses coming We bought it with the intention that we companies, and provided service for local transformation and upgrade of the client structure from small business clients to mainstream here looking into investments in the U.S. would have a Beijing-JFK route soon, but there enterprises and communities. The establishment medium and large corporations. HNA’s intention in the U.S. is to provide a have been some delays due to regulatory issues of the San Francisco Branch further expanded facility to support services, not only for the pas- in China. We are now looking at fl ying from other BoCom’s service to the West Coast of the United Daniel Chen sengers fl ying our routes – including best safety, cities in China to either JFK or Newark. States, and therefore our coast-to-coast service world-class service, and on-time fl ights – but ser- The next phase of our hotel focus is not to covering all time-zones in North America was vices beyond aviation. buy individual properties but to work with a hotel formed. Current Business Scope EDITORS’ NOTE Daniel Chen has held his cur- We’ve acquired a hotel and an offi ce building management group that has a portfolio of hotels. rent post as President of HNA Group North America in Midtown to establish our initial footprint. We also With 6 to 7 percent growth in China, how BoCom New York Branch and San Francisco Branch LLC since November 2012. Prior to this, he held the made investments in LPG fracking and transportation, do you see the economy today? has created dozens of job opportunities locally, and Both of Bank of Communications Co., Ltd., New York Branch and San Francisco Branch are roles of CEO – Pacifi c American Corp.; President – container leasing, and aviation leasing businesses. President Xi Jinping of China calls it the new made several millions of dollars tax contribution licensed U.S. federal wholesale branches providing comprehensive service to enterprises and Kingdom Investment Advisors Ltd.; and Associate The leasing business correlates closely with norm of the Chinese economy, which is a great way to local governments every year. BoCom New York medium and large corporations. Our services include: Deposits and Remittance, Treasury with Benedetto, Gartland & Company, Inc. He is a our aviation business. In general, we are looking to summarize what is happening in the country. It’s Branch does not only focus on providing quality Transactions, Wire Clearing (international and Domestic), Commercial Lending and Trade graduate of University of Washington. to expand our market share outside of China and an indicator of a transitional phase. While the 6 or 7 service with great efficiency to Chinese/American Settlement products. We also provide 24 hour global trade services on behalf of our Head the U.S. is an important strategic market of HNA’s percent growth is high by other country’s standards, enterprises, but also pays attention to taking Office located in , China. COMPANY BRIEF HNA Group (hnagroup.com) outbound investment focus. it’s a long-term number that China will maintain, an active role in promoting the growth within was founded in 1993 ad was developed from a local We went from aviation leasing to trailer leas- underneath which we see a big transition from old local communities. We have taken initiatives and We are dedicated to serving commercial and industrial businesses in the U.S.A. to promote and airline in Hainan Island to a Fortune 500 global ing to container leasing and, after two rounds of labor-intensive, pollution-intensive, and low-produc- participated in various activities hosted by the facilitate Sino-American trade. With our sophisticated institutional network and knowledge conglomerate encompassing core divisions in avia- roll-up acquisition, we bought an entity called GE tivity to a more consumer-oriented China General Chamber of Commerce – USA, and of both the United States and China, Bank of Communications New York Branch is sparing no tion, fi nancial services, real estate, tourism, and lo- SeaCo from GE. We then added Kronos, another and consumer spending-oriented society, with more helped construct the platform for local companies effort in providing professional, efficient and satisfactory services to all clients. gistics. Today, HNA Group’s assets is around RMB container leasing company. Now we’re the world’s innovative and high-tech industries. to learn and support the operations of the Chinese 500 billion, revenue of RMB 150 billion, with 11 largest container leasing company by volume. Would you talk about the talent you’ve as- companies in US. listed companies, and more than 110,000 em- The purpose of HNA Group North America sembled here? ployees worldwide. is to have a local presence in order to better facili- Our goal is to be here long term. For that to tate our parent company in local endeavors. This happen, we need strong local talent. The group What is the history of HNA Group and its op- way we establish and build relationships with local has a good policy for local recruitment. Our group erations in North America? banks and capital markets. We are also able to at- has a rigorous program where each recruit has HNA Group was founded in 1993. It’s an in- tract top quality local talent that suits our demand- the ability to rotate within different organizational vestment holding conglomerate covering a wide ing projects. functions and industry sectors, and sometimes range of industries. HNA is an integrated modern Our primary function is direct investments, spend signifi cant time at the headquarters so to service provider with primary business in aviation, asset management, investment management, and be exposed to decision-makers at home, and carry tourism, logistics, and fi nancial services. The airline project development – to further identify suitable that knowledge back to the function and location accounts for about 45 percent of our business. joint venture partners or acquisition targets for our where they began. Our investment rationale is based on the parent company in the industries that we’re heavily Do you enjoy the U.S. market with all of three value streams: the fl ow of people, the fl ow of involved in. the action in New York? goods, and the fl ow of capital. Will those opportunities in North America New York City is our group’s American head- Wherever our aviation airline routes and avia- be within the industries you touched on? quarters and we selected the city because of its tion expansion take us, tourism naturally follows. They will be in the existing industries, like good access to debt and equity capital markets, and Locally established hotel and hospitality acquisitions hotel tourism, logistics, and fi nancial services and in order to build strong relationships with global follow, as well as the logistics counterpart – the fl ow leasing. We look at targets that fall within the range and local players in fi nancial services, real estate, of goods. The fi nancial services follow and mainly of our existing industries. and various other industries. The pool of local tal- focus on the funding of our acquisition expansion When it comes to our investment in the frack- ent and being able to engage capable staff was also overseas, as well as the consumer spending. ing business, HNA had no prior exposure to this a reason to be in New York. Over the past fi ve years, HNA has been quite industry. We don’t engage in the daily operation of At the end, there is no place like New York active in the North American market, primarily in fracking or LPG production. Our shipyard builds City – its vitality, the ability to regenerate and re- the U.S., mostly due to the acquisition of various specialized LPG ships that transport the produced new, and the overall diverse industry and business target companies in key HNA industry sectors. fracked oils from here to China, and in China we base there, as well as the incomparable fi nancial HNA, however, has not lost focus on its core established refi nery facilities at the ports to help service industry, makes it the perfect platform for us business – our airline. We have increased routes refi ne these products to meet domestic demands. to get involved in any kind of investment.•