Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines announced this week it had agreed to invest 30 million euros (US$33 million) in the convertible bonds of Portuguese airline TAP. The bonds will be acquired from Brazilian airline Azul, the newspaper China Aviation Daily reported.

The Chinese airline said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange – quoted by the newspaper – that, if the conversion rights of the convertible bonds were exercised, it would allow Hainan Airlines’ share of the economic benefits generated by TAP to increase by more than two times, to approximately 23 percent.

Azul had bought earlier this year TAP bonds worth 120-million euros. The deal had been financed by a US$150-million short-term loan from Hainan Airlines, the newspaper said. HNA Group, parent firm of the Chinese airline, holds a 23.7-percent stake in the Brazilian carrier.