A three-member advisory committee has been established by Hong Kong-listed Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd (1076:HKG) to provide the firm’s management with “sound strategic and tactical advice,” reports GGRAsia.
The first members named by the committee include Pennsylvania’s former governor Edward Rendell; the former Governor of New York, David Paterson; and the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Louis Freeh, all former high-profile individuals in the U.S.’ political scene.
Imperial Pacific stated that the appointment of the three men to the company’s advisory committee was in effect beginning Wednesday, April 20. The firm said in a filing, “The main function of the advisory committee is to provide the management of the company with sound strategic and tactical advice on issues that the group may face from time to time, including but not limited to business strategies and government relations.” The company added, “The board has determined that the establishment of the advisory committee with members who have considerable experience of governmental and regulatory policies will strengthen the company’s corporate governance.”
An investigative group headed by Freeh was responsible for producing a report that was used in 2012 by Wynn Resorts Ltd to justify the ousting of former director Kazuo Okada, who was the company’s largest single shareholder at the time. The matter, which involved a breach of U.S. anti-corruption laws, is still being disputed in the U.S. court system. In 2008, Okada was awarded a license to operate his Manila Bay Resorts in the Philippine capital Manila in what is now known as Entertainment City. The casino is slated to open in December.
Currently, Imperial Pacific operates a temporary casino on Saipan, the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a United States commonwealth in the western Pacific Ocean. As of December 31, 2015, the US$25-million gaming venue had a total of 34 mass tables and 12 VIP tables.
In mid-2015, Imperial Pacific began construction of the Grand Mariana, a US$500 million casino resort. According to the company, the venue will include 15 villas, 350 hotel rooms, more than 200 gaming tables, over 400 slot machines, several restaurants, and a beach club, as well as a night club. It is anticipated that the Grand Mariana will open in the first quarter of 2017.
Earlier this month, the company announced that due to the continued downward spiral of its food processing and trading segment and in order to prioritize the resources to develop the integrated resort business on Saipan, it was dropping the remaining portion of those segments to reduce further loss.
This article has been updated to correct the date the advisory committee went into effect from the coming Wednesday to April 20.