A HNA Group logo is seen on the building of HNA Plaza in Beijing, China February 9, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's HNA Group [HNAIRC.UL] will remain a "major investor" in Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE, the aviation-to-financial services conglomerate said in a statement on Monday, citing a company spokesman.

HNA, which has been selling equity investments and property as part of a group-wide restructuring, reduced its stake in the German lender to 7.9 percent, from about 8.8 percent, according to a U.S. regulatory filing on Friday.

The group, in its statement, said that the share sell-down was prompted by “the current market environment”, which led to a decision “not to renew a part of the financing structure for our stake”.

“Our commitment to remain a major investor in Deutsche Bank remains unchanged,” the statement said, citing the spokesman.

In February, HNA had reduced its initial stake in Deutsche Bank from roughly 10 percent to about 8.8 percent.