Fitch not yet rating IPI unsecured notes

Thursday 9th of February 2017

Fitch Ratings says it has not assigned a rating to Imperial Pacific International Holdings Limited's issuance of its US$70 million 8.5 percent per annum unsecured notes which was announced Wednesday.

The ratings agency said the new unsecured notes are different from the US dollar senior secured notes that the company first announced on January 11.

“Fitch awaits the finalization of the proposed senior secured notes issuance, which is still not completed and therefore there is no final documentation for the notes available yet,” the agency said.

Fitch went on to say that the $70 million unsecured notes issuance does not immediately affect the company’s Issuer Default Rating of 'CCC' “as the company's ratings are constrained by the higher VIP customer-receivable risks it faces due to the lack of junkets being licensed.”

Last month, Fitch downgraded its rating for the Saipan casino operator, after concerns it has still not yet secured sufficient long-term funding for the construction of its casino and resort.

“Fitch believes IPI is on target to meet its construction deadline, but longer-term capex funding for the casino and hotel resort is not yet in place…. Failure to secure funding for the completion of both construction phases may further pressure IPI's liquidity,” noted the ratings agency at the time.

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