Imperial Pacific board to shuffle
Hong Kong-listed Imperial Pacific International Holdings, (HKEx:1076) the sole Saipan casino license holder, is expected to officially announce a reorganization of the board soon. CEO Mark Brown will become chairman of the board while Yiu Ling Kwong will become the new CEO.
In an email to Marianas Variety last week, Brown clarified some misinformation that had been circulating about the reorganization. The CEO who is currently not in Saipan told MV: “I did not resign. That’s incorrect. We are now structuring the company to be more efficient,” reports the local news outlet and “YL Kwong will be in charge of day-to-day operations in Saipan,” Brown said.
Brown noted that he had been traveling extensively lately promoting Saipan to investors.
Kwong was brought on as COO in November 2015 with over four decades of casino industry experience, most of that time spent in Macau. He began his casino career with STDM SA, a company controlled in the majority by Stanley Ho. Kwong has also held the chief operating officer position at Altira Macau, a Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd holding. Prior to his appointment with Imperial Pacific Kwong was VP of casino operations for MGM China Holdings Ltd in Macau.
In addition to overseeing the development of the most lucrative high roller tables on earth at IPI’s Best Sunshine Live temporary casino in Garapan, Brown was at the helm for the creation and successful ramp up of the world’s largest casino, the Venetian Macao. Previous positions include running the Trump casino empire in its profit days.
YL Kwong will lead Imperial Pacific as it opens the first phase of its permanent casino, Imperial Pacific Resort Hotel Saipan in Garapan, sometime in the first quarter of this year. In total, the company plans to invest $5-7 billion on the island with Phase II slated for deployment at the current Mariana Resort & Spa in Marpi, Saipan.