THE estimated 50-member delegation led by Gov. Juan N. Babauta in last week’s investment conference in Los Angeles has so far made at least 13 foreign investors to either commit or plan on putting up multi-million businesses in the CNMI.

These include business ventures in the areas of education, health, agriculture, film, fiber glass manufacturing, food productions for exports, transshipment and casino gaming, among other industries.

Pete Callaghan, the Governor’s press secretary, yesterday said there is a longer list of investors that showed interest in knowing the business opportunities in the CNMI.

"There’s a lot more investors we met and had one-to-one meetings (with them).... All these will have huge impact on CNMI," Callaghan told Variety.

He added, "Even if only 1/10th of these came through, it would pay for the trip over there (in California) 10 times over."

Finance Secretary Fermin Atalig confirmed that "about 50" CNMI government officials received travel advances to attend the Sept. 23 and 24 conference sponsored by the U.S. Department of Interior.

Over 900 people took part in the event, held at Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles, California.

Callaghan said Interior Secretary Gale Norton described the CNMI as "islands of opportunities," while deputy assistant secretary David Cohen "praised the CNMI for being the most organized and the best represented by a cross-section of experts among the island groups that attended."

From California, Babauta went to Hawaii for the meeting of the Pacific Basin Development Council which he presides.

Of the investors and institutions eyeing the CNMI for business opportunities, two were described as 95 percent "done deal," at least in principle.

Callaghan said the CNMI delegation "reached an agreement" with University of Guam president Harold Allen in setting up a U.S. accountancy board examination center in the CNMI.

The second firm is the California-based Pleasant Care, which supplies hundreds of health professionals to a number of nursing homes and other health-related facilities in the said state.

Callaghan said the firm will help Northern Marianas College provide an accelerated nursing credential course for individuals from off-island who already have background in health care.

This consists of bringing in at least 200 professionals to NMC for a semester and after completing the health care credential course using U.S. standards, will be sponsored by the company to work in the U.S. mainland.

"This deal is 95-percent done based on an agreement done in Los Angeles. It’s also like taking NCLEX for nurses here," said Callaghan.

During the two-day event, Commonwealth Development Authority officials met with a Hawaii-based firm that manufactures fiber glass tanks used for water filtration and wastewater systems.

"Because of the tax structure in the CNMI, the company is planning on setting up a plant here to manufacture fiber glass tanks," said Callaghan.

Another Hawaii-based firm is planning on planting cocoa plants in the CNMI, while other agricultural investors are interested in locally developing oil, hot pepper and Noni products for exports, he added.

"Philip Long of Tinian also met with U.S. investors, financiers interested in putting up casinos on Tinian," said Callaghan.

A representative of these investors who also represented Hilton Resorts International, among others, will be going to Tinian next week, and in November to further discuss the business plan.

"That’s how interested these investors are (and also because of) our proximity to Asia, which is the number one gaming market," he added.

Callaghan said another California-based company that does executive searches to fill up positions in major U.S. companies that do business in Asia, may relocate its office to Saipan.

"They are very serious about it because of the tax benefits, and because we’re closer to the Asian markets like Taiwan, China and Hong Kong," said Callaghan.

The University of California Davis and the University of Hawaii, according to Callaghan, separately expressed interest in offering "on-site" advanced degree programs in the CNMI through NMC.

He said the CNMI delegation also met with the scriptwriter, producer, director and attorney of one Hollywood company that already has the funds for a new movie.

The movie is based on a true World War II story set in Guam and Guadalcanal.

"But the film will be shot on Saipan because of the similarities in location, and the qualified people at NMC’s film department," said Callaghan, adding that the administration was given a copy of the script of the movie, titled, "Damn Young People."

The scriptwriter for this movie is also famous for his earlier work in the 1955 movie, "Bad Day at Black Rock," said Callaghan. He didn’t identify the scriptwriter.

"There’s a possibility that they will have local casting because the story is about a GI who met a local girl.... There’s some legal aspects that are still being worked on, and they may start shooting early next year," said Callaghan.

He said they also met with Kokaya Ampah, the location manager of Malpaso Productions owned by actor Clint Eastwood.

The firm is planning on doing a movie based on the book, "Flags of our Fathers," which is about the WWII Battle of Iwo Jima in the winter of 1945, popularized by the image of six soldiers raising an American flag on the flank of Mount Suribachi — the island’s commanding high point.

Callaghan said Japan may not let the company use Iwo Jima for the movie because the island is now a closed military installation.

"They are looking at locations with black beaches, and we showed them photographs of Pagan, Anatahan and other Northern Islands so the CNMI is a good candidate, along with Hawaii," said Callaghan.

Film representatives from Hawaii also encouraged the CNMI delegation to apply for a $5-million federal grant to build a production studio in the CNMI, said Callaghan, adding that this is going to be followed through.

He said Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Carlos Salas met with two U.S.-based companies planning on building transshipment and dry-docking facilities in Marpi because of the Commonwealth’s duty-free privileges, among others.

Salas was in Hawaii as of yesterday.

Kenneth Moore, president of Azmar International which plans on extracting pozzolan in Pagan, also took part in the conference, said Callaghan.

"He met with Marianas Public Lands Authority officials and the Senate delegation; they ironed out their differences (regarding Pagan mining)," Callaghan added.