March 13, 2023
VIA EDGAR
Division of Corporation Finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re: | Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. |
Form 20-F for the Year Ended December 31, 2021 Filed on March 31, 2022
Correspondence from the SEC on February 28, 2023
File No. 001-33178
Attn: | Division of Corporation Finance |
Office of Real Estate & Construction
Dear Messrs. Melandez and Link:
This letter sets forth the responses of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. (the Company) to the comments (the Comments) that the Company received from the staff (the Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission in a letter dated February 28, 2023 in relation to the Companys Form 20-F for Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2021 (the 2021 Annual Report). Reference is made to a previous letter dated September 23, 2022 that the Company received from the Staff on the same matter (the Prior Comment Letter), to which the Company responded on October 7, 2022 (the Prior Response Letter).
We have included herein the Comments in bold, and the Companys responses are set forth immediately below the Comments.
Form 20-F for Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021
General
1. | We note your response to prior Comment 1 and the proposed revision to your disclosure. Please revise to identify each officer and/or director located in China, Hong Kong or Macau. |
Response
To address the Staffs Comment, the Company intends to further revise (i) the section titled Enforceability of Civil Liabilities under Item 10. Additional Information B. Memorandum and Articles of Association in its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the 2022 Annual Report) and (ii) the risk factor disclosure titled You may have difficulty enforcing judgments obtained against us. from page 77 of the 2021 Annual Report in its 2022 Annual Report. Set forth in Annex A is the relevant portion of the revised disclosure, redlined against the Companys proposed disclosure that was submitted to the Staff in the Prior Response Letter.
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Item 3. Key Information, page 12
2. We reviewed your response to Comment 4 and the proposed revisions to your disclosure. Please specifically quantify the dividends or distributions made to U.S. investors along with the source.
Response
To address the Staffs Comment, the Company intends to further revise the section titled Cash Flows Through Our Organization on page 13 of the 2021 Annual Report in the 2022 Annual Report. Set forth in Annex A is the relevant portion of the revised disclosure, redlined against the Companys proposed disclosure that was submitted to the Staff in the Prior Response Letter.
* * *
Should any member of the Staff have any questions or additional comments regarding the Companys responses to the Staffs Comments set forth above, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone in Hong Kong at (+852) 2598-3601 / (+853) 8868-7887 or by facsimile at (+853) 8867-7887, or you may contact our outside legal counsel, David C. Lee, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, in the United States at +1 (949) 451-3842.
Very truly yours, |
/s/ Geoffrey Davis |
Geoffrey Davis Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer) |
cc: | Stephanie Cheung, Chief Legal Officer |
Tim Y. Sung, Group General Corporate Counsel
David C. Lee, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
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Annex A
The changes shown below are marked against the Companys prior proposed disclosure that was submitted to the Staff in the Prior Response Letter.
To be added under Item 10. Additional Information B. Memorandum and Articles of Association in the 2022 Annual Report:
Enforceability of Civil Liabilities
Virtually all of our assets are located outside of the United States. All of our current operations, and administrative and
corporate functions are conducted in Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Cyprus and Japan. In addition, substantially all of our directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. A very
significant portion of the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. Due to the lack of reciprocity and treaties between the United States and some of these foreign jurisdictions, together with cost and time constraints, it may
be difficult for you to effect services of process within the United States upon these persons. In particular, several of our officers and directors are
generallywhile none of our directors or officers spend a significant amount of time physically located
in mainland China, all of our directors and officers, other than Ms. Galante, spend a significant amount of time physically located in Hong Kong and/or Macau, and it could be more difficult to enforce liabilities and
judgments on those individuals. For the same reasons, it may also be difficult for you to enforce in the Cayman Islands, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Cyprus or Japan courts judgments obtained in U.S. courts based on the civil liability
provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against our Company and our officers and directors, most of whom are not residents in the United States and the substantial
majorityportion
of whose assets are located outside of the United States.
To be added on page 77 of the 2021 Annual Report in the 2022 Annual Report:
You may have difficulty enforcing judgments obtained against us.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company and substantially all of our assets are located outside of the United States. All of
our current operations, and administrative and corporate functions are conducted in Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Cyprus and Japan. In addition, substantially all of our directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries
other than the United States. A substantial portion of the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. Due to the lack of reciprocity and treaties between the United States and some of these foreign jurisdictions, together with
cost and time constraints, it may be difficult for you to effect services of process within the United States upon these persons. In particular, several of our
officers and directors are generallywhile none of our directors or officers spend a significant amount
of time physically located in mainland China, all of our directors and officers, other than Ms. Galante, spend a significant amount of time physically located in Hong Kong and/or Macau, and it will be more difficult to enforce liabilities and
enforce judgments on those individuals.
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To be added to page 13 of the 2021 Annual Report in the 2022 Annual Report:
Cash Flows Through Our Organization
On May 14, 2020, we announced the suspension of the Companys quarterly dividend program to preserve liquidity in
light of the COVID-19 outbreak and to continue investing in our business. Our board will continue to review from time to time our dividend policy as part of our commitment to maximizing shareholder value, taking into consideration our financial
performance and market conditions. Prior to such date, we had declared various quarterly dividends in 2018, 2019 and
2020, as well as a special dividend in 2017. For each of the years ended December 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022, we paid dividends in the amounts of $35.4 million, $0, and
$0, respectively, to holders of our ordinary shares with an address of record known to us to be in the United States (which includes all holders of our ADRs which are traded on Nasdaq in the United States). These dividends were paid out of cash on
hand. We cannot assure you that we will make any dividend payments on our shares in the future. Except as permitted under the Companies LawAct, as amended, of the Cayman Islands, or the Companies LawAct, and the common law of the Cayman Islands, we are not permitted to
distribute dividends unless we have a profit, realized or unrealized, or a reserve set aside from profits which our directors determine is no longer needed. Our ability, or the ability of our subsidiaries, to pay dividends is further subject to
restrictive covenants contained in the 2015 Credit Facilities, Studio City Notes, 2021 Studio City Senior Secured Credit Facility and other agreements governing indebtedness we and our subsidiaries may incur. For more details, see Item 3. Key
Information3.D. Risk FactorsRisks Relating to Our Shares and ADSsWe cannot assure you that we will make dividend payments in the future. and Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects B. Liquidity
and Capital ResourcesIndebtedness.
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