Melco Crown delisting set for July 3

Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. has announced that its delisting from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will take place on July 3.
In a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the gaming operator also said that an extraordinary general meeting is scheduled for March 25, while March 23 is the deadline for shareholders wishing to lodge proxy forms as well as all transfer forms and attending the extraordinary general meeting.
The meeting seeks to pass two resolutions: that the withdrawal from the stock exchange be approved by shareholders, and that the memorandum and articles of the company be amended and restated.
While Melco Crown will fully de-list from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 3, the last dealing date is June 29, according to a separate filing by the company.
The company was first listed on the NASDAQ Global Market in December 2006, and in December 2011 completed a dual primary listing in Hong Kong. In January this year, however, the company announced that it had submitted an application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for the voluntary withdrawal of the listing of its shares.
‘We intend to retain the primary listing of [American Depositary Shares] ADSs on NASDAQ following the proposed delisting [in Hong Kong],’ a company filing reads.
The reasons for delisting are that ‘appropriate opportunities to raise additional equity in Hong Kong have not arisen,’ and Melco Crown did ‘not have the appropriate opportunity to take advantage of the stock exchange platform for any equity fund raising activities,’ according to the filing.
On January 12, company co-chairman Lawrence Ho Yau Lung said the reason for the delisting was purely made for administrative reasons and had no connection to the Chinese government’s crackdown on corruption.
“I always thought the Hong Kong delisting plan would be a non-event. I honestly do not know why it has been this big deal… The delisting has nothing to do with the anti-corruption campaign in China and it is not connected at all to the slump in Macau gaming revenue”, he said at the time.
“This change will not have an impact on our ongoing projects as they have already been fully financed”, Mr. Ho added.