Hong Kong-listed Imperial Pacific International (IPI) is facing several winding-up petitions in Hong Kong courts. The scheduled petition hearing for January 31st was postponed for five weeks due to the absence of an application for the registrar’s certificate.
According to Wednesday’s filing, the High Court of Hong Kong has directed the hearing for a winding-up petition to be heard before a Master on 6 March 2024.
In addition, the firm emphasized that as of the end of January, ‘no winding-up order has been granted by the High Court of Hong Kong.’
‘The Company is now actively seeking legal advice in respect of Petition I and will adopt all effective rescuing and releasing measures, including but not limited to proposing a debt restructuring plan to the creditors of the Company and seeking possible investment to raise funds for the Company.’
In the previous announcement, the Saipan-based IPI mentioned that the company received a winding-up petition filed by Mr. Guan Chubin with the High Court of Hong Kong on the basis of the alleged failure by the company to settle the judgment amount of HK$20.8 million ($2.7 million), together with interest and cost. The hearing for the petition was initially scheduled for November 22nd last year but experienced various adjournments.
IPI is also facing uncertainty over its future due to some $62 million it allegedly owes in casino license fees to the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), relating to almost four years of its annual casino license fees. The payment was due on December 30th, 2023, but no resolution has yet been indicated.
The Saipan casino operator is also facing claims exceeding $21 million from judgment creditors in both federal and local courts in the United States.
