Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) will have its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) officially canceled on June 17th at 9am. The decision was made public through an announcement on Tuesday after trading hours.
In a letter from the Stock Exchange dated June 3rd, IPI was informed that ‘the last day of listing of the company’s shares will be June 14, 2024, and the listing of the shares will be cancelled with effect from 9:00am on June 17, 2024.’
In a previous filing, the company mentioned it was seeking legal advice on viable grounds for the company regarding the leave application under the JR (judicial review) Proceedings. However, its latest filing shows that by an order of the High Court dated May 30th, the JR Proceedings ‘were discontinued.’
In the document signed by the Official Receiver and Provisional Liquidator of IPI, Phyllis McKenna, noted that after June 14th, 2024, being the last day of listing of the shares on the Stock Exchange, while the share certificates ‘shall remain valid,’ ‘the shares will not be listed on, and will not be tradable on, the Stock Exchange. Thereafter, the company will no longer be subject to the Listing Rules.’
Trading of shares by IPI has been suspended since April 2022, with multiple winding-up procedures leveled against it, involving millions of dollars in claims by investors in courts from the United States to Hong Kong.
IPI is also facing claims of approximately $62 million, which 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.
