SAIPAN — A Singapore-based company with a 30-year operating history has submitted a qualifying certificate application to establish the first pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth Economic Development Authority announced Wednesday.
CEDA Board Chairman Frank Rabauliman and Executive Director Derek T. Sasamoto confirmed that CNMI Investment LLC, incorporated in the CNMI earlier this year and connected to the Singapore entity Pacific Group, plans to build a brick-and-mortar manufacturing facility on Saipan with an initial investment estimated between $35 million and $55 million. Subsequent phases could push the total investment above $100 million.
The company was first connected to the CNMI through SelectUSA, the U.S. Department of Commerce investment promotion program, at an event last May. CEDA officials said the company conducted multiple due diligence visits to Saipan and also traveled to other territories and locations in Europe before choosing the CNMI.
Sasamoto said one of the deciding factors cited by the company’s representatives in a meeting with Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds was the responsiveness of the local government.
“One of the biggest reasons they chose us was how responsive the government is,” Sasamoto said. “That just made all the hard work and the effort and the seven-day-a-week schedule worth it.”
The facility is intended to position Saipan as a manufacturing, distribution and trading hub for pharmaceutical products across the Pacific and into Asian markets. The company’s initial focus will be non-prescription products, with plans to eventually move into prescription and lifesaving medications.
Sasamoto said the company has committed to sourcing materials and services locally from qualified vendors as a priority and to support skills transfer, workforce development and educational programs in areas such as hygiene standards, health and wellness and good manufacturing practices.
Initial hiring is estimated at around 50 positions in the first phase, growing to more than 150 across all phases. Some specialized pharmaceutical roles may require outside workers, but the company has committed to training and hiring local residents.
CEDA officials noted the company went through the SelectUSA vetting process and is considered federally vetted. The qualifying certificate application is now under review. Once certified as complete, a public hearing must be held before the governor can act on a recommendation from CEDA. The agency has a 90-day window to complete its review after the application is certified complete.
CEDA also outlined recent international promotion efforts led by Sasamoto and Economic Development Manager Richard Villagomez, including participation in Interbattery Korea, Semicon Korea, a four-country roadshow through Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, and Semicon Taiwan, where CEDA’s presentation led to a feature on Taiwan’s national broadcasting system reaching an audience of more than 23 million people.
Sasamoto said those efforts have generated active discussions with manufacturers in sectors including electric vehicles, smart film, renewable energy, high-tech electronics and aerospace.
CEDA is seeking legislative support for two bills currently before the Senate. Senate Bill 2552 would authorize CEDA to use its preferred dividend funds to cover the costs of economic development operations mandated under Public Law 22-1, which created the economic development mandate but did not provide a funding source. Senate Bill 2425 would increase the executive director’s lending limit to $100,000.
CEDA also announced it is pursuing a name change to the Marianas Economic Development Authority and the hiring of an economist to support its mandate.
