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Operator of Vancouver’s Trump Tower files for bankruptcy

TA Hotel Management Ltd Partnership (TAHMLP), is the operator of the Vancouver Trump International hotel, and is a unit of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based TA Global Berhad. Vancouver-based developer Holborn Group, which owns the 69-storey tower, licensed the Trump name for the project under a 2013 agreement.

TAHMLP filed for bankruptcy on Thursday – according to documents from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada. TAHMLP said the hotel has been temporarily closed since March, due to the coronavirus pandemic and this has impacted the hotel’s business, according to CBC Canada.

“Its ongoing expenses since the outbreak of COVID-19 and lack of revenue has placed TAHMLP into a position of insolvency,” a statement on the company website said, reports Reuters. TAHMLP’s liabilities are listed at $4.8 million, with assets of $1 million.

CEO Tiah Joo Kim has been at the helm of TA Global Berhad as CEO since 2016, and just so happens to be the CEO of the Vancouver-based developer Holborn Group. It was he who opened the Vancouver Trump Tower in February 2017, and he has since expressed concerns about the deal, especially amid the opening protests.

Protesters demonstrate in front of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Vancouver on its openi...

Protesters demonstrate in front of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Vancouver on its opening day
Stephanie Lamy, AFP


Digital Journal reported on the opening of the Trump-branded hotel and Tower on February 28, 2017. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were the family representatives that were present for the grand opening, but the whole shindig was marred by protests.

At that time, Vancouver had already been in the midst of a real estate boom with several residential towers being opened over the past six years. But with Donald Trump’s racist rhetoric on the campaign trail before he took office, his name did not conjure up nice feelings with Vancouverites. They didn’t like Trump’s position on immigration, especially from Muslim-majority nations.

Even in Chicago, the 20-foot high Trump sign the company plastered on the side of its tower in 2009 was labeled as “tasteless” by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, prompting an examination of the city’s building code.

The resentment against Trump was so bad in Vancouver that City Council member Kerry Jang was not on hand to greet the Trump brothers when they came to town, nor were his children.

The children were among the protesters and Jang said he and the other city leaders would be staying far away from the property. “None of us will be there,” Jang told The Washington Post during an interview Monday at City Hall. “It’s got bad karma, that place.”

So, perhaps that is what the CEO of Holborn Group is talking about.

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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