CHINA. Further details have emerged about the second major duty free operation to be permitted on Hainan Island, following the introduction of domestic duty free shopping there last year for Chinese citizens.
As reported, Hainan Duty Free Goods Co Ltd is the fifth entity in the country to be granted a duty free license – after China Duty Free Group, Sunrise Duty Free, Shenzhen Duty Free and Zhuhai Duty Free.
Hainan Duty Free Goods Co is a subsidiary of and solely funded by the province’s state-owned enterprise Hainan International Tourism Island Development & Construction Co Ltd.
The company is allowed to import duty free goods and operate duty free shops in Hainan province, under a joint venture with the influential HNA Group. It is set to open the first duty free shop at Haikou Meilan International Airport, where HNA Group is also one of the major shareholders.
As The Moodie Report revealed in May, HNA has appointed Singapore-based Heinemann Asia Pacific as its strategic business partner. The company is a 100% subsidiary of German travel retailer and distributor Gebr Heinemann.
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The first store will be located at Haikou Meilan International Airport |
Future plans for further duty free operations within the province are “not excluded” if the Haikou Meilan International Airport duty free operation proves to be a success as expected after the shop opening, which is imminent, an insider told The Moodie Report.
To date, China Duty Free Group has been the sole duty free retailer in Hainan, and has been recording incredible demand at its main Sanya Downtown Duty Free Store on the island’s south coast.
China’s government has designated Hainan as a special economic zone and is encouraging increased investment and competition to advance the province’s development.
ABOUT HNA GROUP
As a large multi-industry enterprise group, HNA Group’s business scope covers air transportation, airport management, hotel, logistics, real estate, retail, tourism and other related industries. By the end of December 2010, the total assets of HNA Group stood at RMB2,158 billion with staff of 80,000 employed.
Since its operation began, HNA Group has been nominated within the Fortune 500 Enterprise of China for six consecutive years.
The Air Transportation business of HNA Group operates six airline companies including the Hainan Airlines Company Ltd and operates over 144 aircrafts and 3,000 flights per week.
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The Air Transportation business of HNA Group operates six airline companies, including Hainan Airlines |
The HNA Airport Group is the airport business section of HNA Group. It has 12 member airports with total assets of around RMB13 billion and over 4,300 staff.
The HNA Tourism Holding (Group) was established for the integration of internal and external aviation, hotel and tourism resources, a tourism business section of HNA Group. The business scope of HNA Tourism covers Tourism Charter flights, business jets, public transportation, Hotels, domestic and overseas tourism, convention & Exhibition, Car Renting, media development and other areas.
