Imperial Pacific meets with ratings agencies on Saipan

Tuesday 3rd of May 2016

Hong Kong-listed Imperial Pacific reportedly met with officials from ratings agencies Fitch Group, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s last week, local media reports.

The agencies also met with regulators in private to discuss financial matters, the report in the Saipan Tribune said.

The agencies aim to rate Imperial Pacific’s credit worthiness as the casino company looks to finance its $7 billion casino project on the island. Representatives from Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and SC Laurie also visited last week, it said.

A positive rating from the credit agencies may help the company if it seeks to raise financing through capital markets.

The report added that regulators are also concerned about whether the casino is on schedule to complete the Grand Mariana Casino Resort’s gaming operations in Garapan as scheduled by December this year. The first stage of the development is estimated to cost about $550 million.

The casino has shown regulators preliminarily how its finances are secured and has raised $300 million so far, which has been used for operations, the report said.

Bricks & Mortar Regulation & Legal IR Financing Regulators Ratings agencies