PTI endorses CNMI, lauds Fitial administration
[B]HONOLULU, Hawaii[/B]—Pacific Telecom Inc. endorsed the CNMI as an investment destination at the Department of the Interior’s Business Opportunities Conference on Tuesday.
Speaking before a business roundtable discussion, PTI chief officer Ricky Delgado Jr. urged investors and businesspeople to seriously consider investing in the CNMI market because of the change in administration brought about by last year’s general elections.
“One should look at the CNMI now because the new administration is supportive, not just with words but also with deeds,” said Delgado.
As an example of the Fitial administration’s willingness to work with investors, Delgado highlighted the hospitality Gov. Benigno R. Fitial had extended to a Sumitomo executive who visited Saipan.
“The governor personally picked him up at the airport,” said Delgado.
The Sumitomo Group, a major Japanese conglomerate, is a partner of Pacific Telecom Inc. The group recently invested $25 million for a 25-percent stake in the CNMI’s primary telephone company.
In his presentation, Delgado recounted the enormous difficulty his company encountered in trying to close PTI’s purchase of Verizon under the former Babauta-Benavente administration. According to Delgado, the transaction took about four years to complete under the previous administration, despite the approval of the Federal Communications Commission.
In his speech, Delgado also cited the recently enacted Public Utilities Commission law, which removed many of the anti-business burdens imposed by the previous CNMI administration.
In a letter to David B. Cohen, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs, NTT DoCoMo, a rival telecom firm, also expressed similar confidence in the CNMI market.
“We are bullish on the future economic development of the islands,” wrote Toshinari Kunieda, NTT DoCoMo Inc.’s managing director for Business Development.
In his letter to Interior, Kunieda praised the local government representatives of both Guam and the CNMI. “These pro-business leaders understand how to attract and encourage new investment for the benefit of the islands’ industries and residents,” wrote Kunieda.
The Fedeal Communications Commission recently approved NTT DoCoMo’s purchase of NMI telecom firms.
The Fitial administration expects the CNMI to greatly benefit from the presence of PTI, Inc. and NTT DoCoMo’s telecom operations in the region. Both companies are backed by substantial Japanese assets and proven management expertise, and telecom consumers are expected to greatly benefit from reduced pricing and improved service as a result of the fierce competition between the two rival telecom firms. [B][I](PR)
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