Imperial Pacific International Holdings Limited () is a Chinese investment

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

. It was founded with headquarters in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and originally named First Natural Foods Holdings until it was renamed in May 2014. It is majority owned by

Cui Lijie Cui Lijie (; born c. 1959) is a Chinese billionaire businesswoman, Hong Kong citizen, and majority owner of Imperial Pacific. Background Originally from Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, she is a former barefoot doctor who worked in the countrysid ...

through her investment vehicle Inventive Star Limited.

History

First Natural Foods was first listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 11 February 2002. It was principally involved most aspects of the food business, including frozen and

functional Functional may refer to: * Movements in architecture: ** Functionalism (architecture) ** Form follows function * Functional group, combination of atoms within molecules * Medical conditions without currently visible organic basis: ** Functional s ...

food products. Trading for the group was suspended on 15 December 2008 and

provisional liquidator Provisional liquidation is a process which exists as part of the corporate insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions whereby after the lodging of a petition for the winding-up of a company by the court, but before the court hears a ...

s were appointed on 7 January 2009 for restructuring. The liquidators were discharged on 4 September 2012 and trade sharing resumed the following day. In 2013, the

Securities and Futures Commission The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong is the independent statutory body charged with regulating the securities and futures markets in Hong Kong. The SFC is responsible for fostering an orderly securities and futures markets ...

(SFC) took the company's founder and former chairman Yeung Chung-lung to court for alleged embezzlement. The SFC accused him of withdrawing HK$84 million from its account in December 2008. In December 2013, First Natural Foods announced that it would buy the

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

-based junket operator Hengsheng for HK$400 million. In 2013, First Natural Foods reported a profit of only 1.25 million. In March 2016, Imperial Pacific announced that it would sell its non-gaming subsidiaries to focus on its gaming businesses. In August 2016, Imperial Pacific reported that it had a half-year net profit of HK$837.3 million (US$108 million). Imperial Pacific was Trump 2017 inaugural Gala sponsor. In 2017, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

(FBI) raided the construction site of Imperial Pacific's casino in Saipan over a "federal violation of the workplace visa system" following the death of a construction worker in March 2017. Construction workers from a subsidiary of state-owned

China Metallurgical Group Corporation China Metallurgical Group Corporation (CMGC, ) is a Chinese state-owned enterprise headquartered in Beijing. It is primarily involved in engineering contracting, metallurgical construction, resource development, and mining. On December 8, 2015 ...

were unlawfully employed on the island to build the casino. In April 2017,

Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...

reported that the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

was investigating Imperial Pacific for money laundering. The FBI executed search warrants on Imperial Pacific's offices in Saipan again in March 2018. In April 2019, the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemp ...

secured a $3.3 million judgment against Imperial Pacific for wage and overtime violations. In September 2019, the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

filed a lawsuit against Imperial Pacific for sexual harassment and discrimination. In November 2019, the FBI raided the offices of Imperial Pacific for evidence of money laundering and wire fraud, and a federal

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

subpoenaed the company regarding a corruption probe involving links with Northern Mariana Islands governor

Ralph Torres Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres (born August 6, 1979) is a Northern Marianan politician, who served as the ninth governor of the Northern Mariana Islands, from December 29, 2015, to January 9, 2023. He is a Republican from Saipan, Commonwealth of th ...

. In March 2020, Imperial Pacific disclosed that the

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrori ...

was probing it for possible violations of the

Bank Secrecy Act The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (BSA), also known as the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, is a U.S. law requiring financial institutions in the United States to assist U.S. government agencies in detecting and preventing money laun ...

. In June 2020, the Commonwealth Casino Commission of the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States consistin ...

announced that it was seeking to suspend Imperial Pacific's casino license for non-payment of money owed to a community benefit fund. In April 2024, Imperial Pacific filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

, stating that it owes its creditors approximately $165.8 million.

Best Sunshine International

Best Sunshine, a subsidiary of Imperial Pacific International Holdings, develops and operates casinos, hotels, and restaurants in the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States consisting of 14 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.Lin, Tom C.W.Amer ...

(CNMI). , it is reportedly the largest taxpayer in the CNMI, paying US$27.8 million in business gross revenue tax. In August 2014, Imperial Pacific International was granted a 25-year license to build and operate a casino on Saipan with an option to extend the license for another 15 years. Best Sunshine originally planned to spend US$3.14 billion and operate 2,229 hotel room. but increased the budget to US$7.1 billion the following month to accommodate plans to operate more than 4,200 hotel rooms and 1,600 gaming tables. Imperial Pacific raised US$99.8 million in December 2014 to fund these projects. Best Sunshine had a soft opening for a temporary casino with six

Baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game. It is now mainly played at casinos, but formerly popular at house-parties and private gaming rooms. The game's origins are a mixture of precursors from China, Japan, and Korea, which then gained popularit ...

tables in July 2015. This casino, named Best Sunshine Live cost US$25 million to build. It is located in Saipan's DFS T-Galleria Mall. In May 2016, Best Sunshine started targeting residents and tourists of

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

by offering

charter flight Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

s between the two islands. The Best Sunshine Live casino opened on 31 March 2017, though construction for the attached resort continued. The main casino, named Grand Mariana Casino Hotel and Resort was constructed in

Garapan Garapan ( Old Japanese name: 柄帆町, ''Garapan-chō'') is the largest village and the center of the tourism industry on the island of Saipan, which is a part of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Garapan, ...

in 2016 and 2017. During this time, the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality (BECQ) gave Best Sunshine multiple fines for discharging wastewater into Garapan's lagoon and violating work hour constraints. Ancient human remains were discovered on the construction site, which will be re-interred some time after construction is finished. The main casino was originally scheduled to open in December 2016 and expected to cost US$550 million. The resort's casino had a

soft opening A soft launch, also known as a soft opening, is a preview release of a product or service to a limited audience prior to the general public. Soft-launching a product is sometimes used to gather data or customer feedback, prior to making it wid ...

on 6 July 2017. On 23 March 2017, one of Imperial Pacific's Chinese construction workers fell off a scaffold and died. This led the FBI to search one of Imperial Pacific's offices and make an arrest. On 15 February 2018, ''

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

'' published an investigative report on the circumstances surrounding the death of this construction worker. An attorney for the Torres Brothers law firm which represented this worker said the report omitted several facts about the case. Imperial Pacific disputed all allegations of wrongdoing and sued Bloomberg for defamation. The FBI and

U.S. Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions involv ...

investigated the case and charged five individuals with harboring undocumented workers. After

Typhoon Yutu Typhoon Yutu, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Rosita, was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone that caused catastrophic destruction on the islands of Tinian and Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, and later impacted the Philippines. ...

, Imperial Pacific opened its Saipan casino with limited operations from 2–15 November 2018. Citing damages from the typhoon, Imperial Pacific shut down this casino from 16 to 18 November, and then resumed operations.

References

External links

* {{Official website Conglomerate companies of Hong Kong Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024 Companies based in Fujian Food and drink companies of China Gambling companies of Macau Tourist attractions in the Northern Mariana Islands Chinese companies established in 2002 Food and drink companies established in 2002