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UMDA distributes $250,000 in corporate earnings
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Posted on Dec 19 2013
United Micronesia Development Association board chair Jose “Joe” R. Lifoifoi took the opportunity at the recently concluded 19th Micronesian Chief Executives Summit on Saipan to distribute $250,000 in corporate earnings to the leaders whose governments have stocks in the company.
“It is both a pleasure and an honor to provide a return to our long-time friends and partners in this unique long term venture that spans the Micronesian region and blends both public and private sector interests,” Lifoifoi said.
The board chair told the chief executives that UMDA is once again in the process of refocusing its development efforts, and is counting on the considerable experience of two new board members to assist in that process: former senator Alan Seid of the Republic of Palau and business leader Juan S. Tenorio of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Lifoifoi pointed out that both men have decades of experience in private business and strong community involvement in their respective island states. Seid also has long service in the Olbiil Era Kelulau, Palau’s congress, and Tenorio was the chair of the CNMI’s Commonwealth Development Authority for many years, demonstrating their ability to serve effectively in the public sector, the UMDA leader said.
“As a private and public venture, UMDA will benefit from their experience in both sectors and across the Micronesian region, complimenting the current board members we are fortunate to have on the UMDA board,” Lifoifoi said.
UMDA was founded in 1966 in the then capital of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Saipan, as the joint venture between individual shareholders and regional governments. It has been involved in a host of economic development activities since then, from retail stores to airlines, cable television, communications, and property acquisition and real estate development. The company is perhaps best known for its historic participation in Air Micronesia and Marianas Cablevision, but more recently, UMDA has played a major role in large Saipan properties such as the former Hotel Nikko Saipan in the village of San Roque and Laulau Development, the scenic golf course set above LauLau Bay. [B][I](UMDA)[/I][/B]
