Casino contruction extension

Imperial Pacific requested yet another extension. No wait, actually IPI didn’t even have to request the extension. The Casino Commission that’s supposed to regulate them already requested if for them, pre-emptively.

It’s kind of like a sports referee who yells out “that wasn’t a foul!” before the play even happens. I really don’t like how it smells.

I am a big supporter of IPI and the casino. I’m grateful for the money they pour into our tax coffers and into our economy, but we have to treat them as a business we regulate and evaluate, and not as a favorite child who can get away with anything and everything.

Imperial Pacific (at that time called Best Sunshine) promised to complete the casino by early 2017. They signed and agreed, as a professional company that supposedly knows what it’s doing. They agreed to spend an initial amount (just the initial amount) of two billion dollars or maybe it was seven billion dollars, and build a hotel, or maybe two hotels, or even three hotels or maybe two hotels and some villas. The hotel was supposed to be a “six star,” whatever that means, or an “integrated resort” or maybe an “eco-resort” after another week. They figured that changing their name from Best Sunshine to Imperial Pacific would make us forget those promises, but those of us paying attention haven’t forgotten.

Remember the extension request the first time around? Their excuse was the typhoon.

Why did we grant them that extension? Even the barbecue shack down the street knows that this part of the world has typhoons. How could IPI not know that?

We shouldn’t have let them use the “dog ate our homework” excuse, but we did.

And now, they’re using the lack of labor as an excuse. Guys, we need to have a chat and it’s nothing personal, but the U.S. Immigration regulations have been around longer than your company has! Weren’t you aware of these rules when you signed the agreement? Weren’t you aware that your contractors can’t use “tourist” labor? Weren’t you aware that the CW cap will decline? Did you ever hear about that? It’s the most often discussed thing on Saipan. For all the experts you claim to have on staff, how can you not know something that even my dog knows?

IPI was unable to raise cash in the credit markets. They shopped their bonds around, Nobody wanted to lend them money. Cui Lijie ended up having to lend the company her own personal money. The credit markets didn’t believe that IPI could finish the project. But somehow, our own Commonwealth Casino Commission thinks they know more than professional investors?

So where’s the seven billion dollar “initial investment”? Does IPI even have that kind of money? Let’s look at their balance sheet:

https://quotes.wsj.com/HK/XHDG/1076/financials/annual/balance-sheet

IPI has 286 million HDK in cash and short-term investments. That’s the money it has to spend; 286 million HDK is 36 million USD. That’s it. There are no billions here. Can they really finish the hotel with just $36 million, when they claimed that they’ll be investing $7 billion (that’s $7 thousand million)? My dear Casino Commissioners, this is not hard math!

Maybe IPI has a rabbit it can pull out of its hat. Great! Let’s make them prove it. Let’s make them post a performance bond. That’s insurance that quarantees they will meet a deadline with the project. Better yet, let’s open up the casino license to an additional operator. One with enough money to actually do the job. A company that has only $36 million is not exactly in the big leagues.

Oh, but we already agreed to the deal in the original license agreement? Twice now, IPI has wanted the agreement changed, to their own benefit. Because the dog ate their homework. If they can demand a modification to the agreement, why can’t we?

It’s time for us to start looking out for the interests of the CNMI and its people. It’s time to change the casino license agreement for our benefit. This is not a one-way street.

Let’s make IPI stand up to its promises. Let’s make them post a bond, and let’s show them the possibility of their exclusive license becoming no longer exclusive. It’s only fair. They asked for favors, and we can get some favors too!

In the real world, any concession is a tit-for-tat. You get something and you give something. I don’t know what the CNMI has been “getting” from IPI, although I have some ideas.

Let’s change things around. Let’s make those benefits go to our economy and our tax coffers instead of to those among our elite who are in IPI’s pocket. Because while the dog ate IPI’s homework, another kind of dog might be eating our lunch.

Jack Muna
Koblerville, Saipan

Imperial Pacific requested yet another extension. No wait, actually IPI didn’t even have to request the extension. The Casino Commission that’s supposed to regulate them already requested if for them, pre-emptively.

It’s kind of like a sports referee who yells out “that wasn’t a foul!” before the play even happens. I really don’t like how it smells.

I am a big supporter of IPI and the casino. I’m grateful for the money they pour into our tax coffers and into our economy, but we have to treat them as a business we regulate and evaluate, and not as a favorite child who can get away with anything and everything.

Imperial Pacific (at that time called Best Sunshine) promised to complete the casino by early 2017. They signed and agreed, as a professional company that supposedly knows what it’s doing. They agreed to spend an initial amount (just the initial amount) of two billion dollars or maybe it was seven billion dollars, and build a hotel, or maybe two hotels, or even three hotels or maybe two hotels and some villas. The hotel was supposed to be a “six star,” whatever that means, or an “integrated resort” or maybe an “eco-resort” after another week. They figured that changing their name from Best Sunshine to Imperial Pacific would make us forget those promises, but those of us paying attention haven’t forgotten.

Remember the extension request the first time around? Their excuse was the typhoon.

Why did we grant them that extension? Even the barbecue shack down the street knows that this part of the world has typhoons. How could IPI not know that?

We shouldn’t have let them use the “dog ate our homework” excuse, but we did.

And now, they’re using the lack of labor as an excuse. Guys, we need to have a chat and it’s nothing personal, but the U.S. Immigration regulations have been around longer than your company has! Weren’t you aware of these rules when you signed the agreement? Weren’t you aware that your contractors can’t use “tourist” labor? Weren’t you aware that the CW cap will decline? Did you ever hear about that? It’s the most often discussed thing on Saipan. For all the experts you claim to have on staff, how can you not know something that even my dog knows?

IPI was unable to raise cash in the credit markets. They shopped their bonds around, Nobody wanted to lend them money. Cui Lijie ended up having to lend the company her own personal money. The credit markets didn’t believe that IPI could finish the project. But somehow, our own Commonwealth Casino Commission thinks they know more than professional investors?

So where’s the seven billion dollar “initial investment”? Does IPI even have that kind of money? Let’s look at their balance sheet:

https://quotes.wsj.com/HK/XHDG/1076/financials/annual/balance-sheet

IPI has 286 million HDK in cash and short-term investments. That’s the money it has to spend; 286 million HDK is 36 million USD. That’s it. There are no billions here. Can they really finish the hotel with just $36 million, when they claimed that they’ll be investing $7 billion (that’s $7 thousand million)? My dear Casino Commissioners, this is not hard math!

Maybe IPI has a rabbit it can pull out of its hat. Great! Let’s make them prove it. Let’s make them post a performance bond. That’s insurance that quarantees they will meet a deadline with the project. Better yet, let’s open up the casino license to an additional operator. One with enough money to actually do the job. A company that has only $36 million is not exactly in the big leagues.

Oh, but we already agreed to the deal in the original license agreement? Twice now, IPI has wanted the agreement changed, to their own benefit. Because the dog ate their homework. If they can demand a modification to the agreement, why can’t we?

It’s time for us to start looking out for the interests of the CNMI and its people. It’s time to change the casino license agreement for our benefit. This is not a one-way street.

Let’s make IPI stand up to its promises. Let’s make them post a bond, and let’s show them the possibility of their exclusive license becoming no longer exclusive. It’s only fair. They asked for favors, and we can get some favors too!

In the real world, any concession is a tit-for-tat. You get something and you give something. I don’t know what the CNMI has been “getting” from IPI, although I have some ideas.

Let’s change things around. Let’s make those benefits go to our economy and our tax coffers instead of to those among our elite who are in IPI’s pocket. Because while the dog ate IPI’s homework, another kind of dog might be eating our lunch.

Jack Muna
Koblerville, Saipan