First Natural Foods Holdings Ltd., a former dormant Hong Kong-listed company that completed a HK$400 million ($51.6 million) investment in Macau junket room investor Heng Sheng Group Ltd in March, said on Wednesday it did not yet know if it would win a bid to build a $2 billion casino resort in Saipan, a Pacific island (pictured).
Shares of the company fell nearly 28% to close at 57 Hong Kong cents, or 0.73 U.S. cents, on Wednesday. Bloomberg’s data shows its current market cap is at HK$5.28 billion.
Wednesday’s price correction came after the company responded on Tuesday to reports of unusual moves in the price and trading of the stock, adding that it did not know any reason for that.
Saipan Tribune reported on June 12 that it was one of two people who applied for a license to exclusively develop a minimum $2 billion integrated casino resort in Saipan.
Citing the newspaper again, First Natural said regional lottery committee chairman Sixto Igisomar indicated the licensing issue would be discussed at Thursday’s meeting, but that the meeting was “not likely” to make a final decision on the matter.
“In this regard, the applicant has requested guidance and confirmation from relevant authorities to confirm the date of publication of the results of the application, but has not received an official reply as of this publication date,” First Natural said in a recent filing
Saipan is the largest island in the North Mariana Islands, a federation of the U.S. in the Western Pacific Ocean, covering 115.4 square kilometers. The local government is trying to develop its economy through gambling tourism.
First Natural’s shareholders approved the company’s name change to Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd. on May 20. 카지노사이트 모음
In November last year, First Natural announced it wanted to acquire a 5% stake in Macau casino VIP room investor Hung Sheng for HK$400 million in the form of a convertible note. The note was confirmed to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on March 19 with a zero coupon.
According to a filing on Nov. 14, 2013, Wiming Investment Management Inc. acquired a controlling stake in First Natural for about HK$100 million on behalf of Innovation Star Inc. The latter company director was listed as Cui Lujie, a 32-year-old businesswoman. According to the filing on Nov. 27, the sole owner of shares in the Macau junket corporation, which is officially listed as Hang Seng Sociedade Unipesoal Limitada, was Cui Limei, Cui’s brother