The largest shareholder in Deutsche Bank has again reduced its holding in the German lender, with China’s HNA revealing in a filing over the weekend that it has cut its stake by nearly a fifth to 6.3 per cent.

The move is the latest in a recent series of retreats made by the financially stretched Chinese group. Hainan-based HNA started out as a regional airline but went on to take large stakes in companies such as Hilton Worldwide and Deutsche Bank, part of a $40bn acquisition binge that made it one of China’s largest owners of overseas assets.

HNA has put this buying spree into reverse over the past year, however, making a series of divestments that include parts of its core aviation business, in a bid to tackle the nearly $100bn debt pile it amassed.