Melco Resorts delisted by PSE

FILE: “Tonight, the Universe celebrates with us!” (Photo: City of Dreams Manila/Facebook)

Melco Resorts and Entertainment, known for being in charge of the operation of City of Dreams Manila casino in Parañaque City, was officially removed from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) last Tuesday, June 11 due to a failure to reach the minimum public holding threshold for six months.

Last month, the PSE warned Melco Resorts of their delisting, the public float minimum required to be at least 10%. Last Monday, June 10, Melco Resorts struggled with a little over 2%. Last year, it was as high as 27 percent. Trading of shares was suspended last December 2018.

In 2018, the casino firm had a net income of P2.7 million and a gross revenue of P32.4 billion, but in the beginning of this year, it had losses of over P16.2 billion and total liabilities of P25.7 billion.

The document from the PSE declared, “The corporation hereby informs the public that per Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Memorandum CN No. 2019-0023 dated May 14, 2019, the corporation will be automatically delisted from the official registry of the PSE effective on June 11, 2019, by reason of its public ownership remaining below the minimum threshold prescribed under the PSE Rule on Minimum Public Ownership for a period of more than six months.”

Melco Resorts Philippines is head by Melco International Development Ltd., which is a Hong Kong investor with casinos in Asia, Europe, and Australia that is headed by Lawrence Ho Yau Lung. Yet, despite the delisting, the international firm previously stated that Melco Resorts Philippines in the PSE had actually led to “considerable efforts and expenses being incurred to maintain its listed status.”

Overall, if a company has involuntarily delisted from the PSE, they may not be qualified again for the next five years.