HNA Group Co Ltd plans to buy a controlling stake worth around $1 billion in CWT Ltd, a listed Singapore logistics company, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The Chinese industrial conglomerate declined to comment, but an anonymous insider described the plan as "not yet at the substantial stage, and therefore no real news".

The WSJ report, published last week, said negotiations between HNA and CWT shareholders had been ongoing for several months and were now close to conclusion.