IPI says value of Saipan assets down US$574 million on suspension of casino license

In a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Imperial Pacific International Holdings informed shareholders and potential investors that, based on the latest draft valuation on property, plant and equipment of the Group, the revised value of property, plant and equipment under non-current assets of the Group is expected to be impaired by not less than HK$4.46 billion compared with the value at 31 December 2020.

The impairment represents a significant drop in value from HK$7.11 billion to just HK$2.65 billion, “mainly attributable to a change of major assumptions on the valuation mainly in relation to the Order issued by the Commonwealth Casino Commission.”

That order, issued in April, was for the indefinite suspension of the casino license held by IPI’s local subsidiary, Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC following a series of complaints for failure to comply with certain requirements under its license agreement.
The complaints related to IPI’s failure to pay its annual US$15.5 million license fee last August, failure to pay its annual US$3.1 million regulatory fee in October, failure to contribute US$20 million to the community benefit fund in both 2018 and 2019, failure to comply with its minimum US$2 billion capital requirement and failure to comply with a CCC order to pay all money owing to its vendors.

IPI was also given six months from April to repay both the US$15.5 million casino license fee and US$3.1 million regulatory fee, as well as a US$6.6 million fine, or risk having its license revoked.

The company has since filed an administrative request for the Superior Court in Saipan to conduct a judicial review into its license suspension. IPI confirmed overnight that the judicial review is ongoing.

Imperial Palace‧Saipan has been shuttered since March 2020, initially due to COVID-19 but more recently because of its license suspension.