CCC chair DeLeon Guerrero says he’s tired of IPI’s runaround

Tao Xing, Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC senior vice president for marketing and public affairs, talks about, among other things, IPI’s request for a five-year extension to complete their Imperial Pacific Resort project in western Garapan, during the Commonwealth Casino Commission board’s monthly meeting Wednesday at the Springs Plaza in Gualo Rai. (FERDIE DE LA TORRE)

Commonwealth Casino Commission board chair Edward C. DeLeon Guerrero does not understand why Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC is asking for five more years to complete its Imperial Pacific Resort in western Garapan, yet it has not provided information on how much more it would cost to finish the project and where they will get the money for it.

He pointed out during the CCC board’s monthly meeting Wednesday last week that IPI has already failed to finish the project by February 2021—as required under amendment No. 6 of the casino license agreement. DeLeon Guerrero said IPI has already violated the CLA and is asking the CNMI government to grant them another extension. Yet IPI does not know how much money really would cost them to finish the project and does not know where they are going to get the money from, he added.

DeLeon Guerrero made the comments after listening to Tao Xing, IPI’s senior vice president for marketing and public affairs, who discussed during the meeting about his follow-up last March 24 with the Commonwealth Lottery Commission about their request for an extension. Xing disclosed that he inquired from the Lottery Commission on the timetable to review and the approval process for their request.

At that point, But DeLeon Guerrero interrupted.

“I’m sorry sir, maybe it’s me. I don’t understand anything what you’re just saying,” the chairman said, adding that he just does not understand what process Xing was talking about.

DeLeon Guerrero said they’re going in circles every monthly meeting so he advised Xing to let IPI’s parent company know that CCC is tired of this runaround. The chairman said he does not understand what the Lottery Commission is going to act on when IPI is already past due with the deadline.

“We should be talking about punitive damages,” he said.

Even if the Lottery Commission will deny or approve the request, what will IPI do next since they have no construction team, DeLeon Guerrero asked. “I have a hard time understanding how a multi-billion dollar company will be thinking that way. Is it just me or am I missing something in here?” he asked.

Xing said he will convey DeLeon Guerrero’s concerns but, based on his understanding, they initially requested for the extension at the beginning of last year.

“Had we done an estimate and put together a package, it [would be] already outdated by now. So right now we’re really looking for a schedule, our review schedule and approval schedule so that we can quickly put together a team,” he said.

DeLeon Guerrero said Xing appears not to know anything about any new revenue source or revenue stream to help IPI finish the project. When asked about the $250-million loan from a Japanese institution that IPI was supposed to secure, Xing said he has no news about that loan.

At the start of the CCC board meeting, DeLeon Guerrero asked if IPI has identified a funding source for its extension request. Xing said they don’t have the details yet because all they have right now is a skeleton team just keep the operations going. He said once they have the detailed information if requested by the Lottery Commission, they will probably have to put together a construction team and get some experts.

DeLeon Guerrero said Xing is requesting to extend a construction deadline that is already gone and has passed. “You, IPI, should have an idea as to how much it costs to finish the project,” he said.

DeLeon Guerrero said the last information they received from Xing was that there is an individual coming in from Macau, China, or Hong Kong that will conduct valuation and update valuation of property. The chairman asked if that has occurred.

Xing replied they’re trying to do it virtually, but that’s really tied to the audit process.

Xing said they really need to have some kind of experts to validate as “the range is pretty wide.”

He said the estimate partially depends on when the Lottery Commission start the approval process.

Xing said the lower end estimate to complete the project is about $50 million and the higher end is $250 million.

“It really tied to our marketing strategy going forward. Given the whole…market dynamic changes, we’ll probably have to reevaluate what’s the target market for us, that will come down to how we’re going to finish the interior,” he said.

DeLeon Guerrero asked how the Lottery Commission could make a decision when Xing or IPI has no idea how much it would cost and where to get the money.

Xing said that, based on his experience, it takes about six months to pull all the information together to validate and revalidate, then present it to the Lottery Commission. Xing said they are waiting for exactly what kind of information or material the Lottery Commission needs.

He said once the approval process starts for the extension of the deadline, they probably have to pull some people from off island from U.S. or China to finalize the estimation.