IH Group chairman visits IPI site in Garapan

IH Group is to take over IPI’s casino and luxury villas. Construction of the hotel tower will continue as planned.

Northern Mariana Islands.- IH Group chairman Kyunam Kim and other company officials toured Imperial Pacific International‘s casino, 15 luxury mansions and the unfinished hotel complex in Garapan yesterday (Sunday). He promised that work will continue and that the project will contribute to the Northern Mariana Islands’ economy.

In May, IPI reported it had signed a memorandum of agreement with South Korea’s IH Group to secure funding to help it reopen its casino in Garapan and pay some of its obligations, including payroll and outstanding payables to vendors. IH will take over operations of IPI’s casino and luxury villas and has pledged to continue building the hotel complex.

According to Mariana’s Variety, Kim said: “This project…will soon proceed smoothly and will contribute greatly to the economic recovery of the CNMI.”

CCC wants to resume proceedings to revoke IPI’s licence

Due to continuous delays, last week the CCC filed an opposition to IPI’s motion for a preliminary injunction that prevented it from revoking IPI’s casino licence.

According to CCC attorneys, the basis of IPI’s initial motion is that Section 30 of the Casino Licence Agreement (CLA) requires arbitration, or an alternate resolution outside court, for its force majeure defence.

IPI claims that it was unable to meet its financial obligations under the CLA as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and Super Typhoon Yutu, which negatively impacted its business. However, attorneys for the CCC have argued that IPI’s motion should be dismissed because the plaintiff has failed to demonstrate the four factors required for this special relief: the likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable damages, hardship damages and advancement of the public interest.