SINGAPORE and SHANGHAI, China, July 23, 2024 — H World Group Limited (NASDAQ: HTHT and HKEX: 1179) (“H World” or the “Company”), a leading and fast-growing hotel group, announced today a three-year shareholder return plan to enhance shareholder value. The plan, effective from July 23, 2024, includes a maximum of US$2,000,000,000 in distributions to shareholders. The Board of Directors retains sole discretion to implement the plan, which entails: (i) declaring and distributing ordinary dividends semi-annually, with an aggregate amount for each financial year no less than 60% of the Company’s net income for that year (the “Amended Dividend Policy”), and (ii) declaring and distributing, periodically, special dividends and/or repurchasing American depositary shares (“ADS”) under the Share Repurchase Program, taking into account the Company’s financial position and complying with its articles of association and Cayman Islands law. The Company has also replaced its existing ordinary dividend policy with the Amended Dividend Policy.

As part of the Shareholder Return Plan, the Board declared a cash dividend (the “Cash Dividend”) for the first half of 2024, totaling approximately US$200 million. This translates to US$0.063 per ordinary share, or US$0.63 per ADS. Holders of the Company’s ordinary shares or ADSs as of the close of business on August 14, 2024, will be eligible to receive the Cash Dividend. Dividends to ordinary share holders are expected to be distributed on or around August 27, 2024. Citibank, N.A. (“Citi”), the depositary bank for the Company’s ADS program, anticipates paying out dividends to ADS holders on or about September 3, 2024. Dividend payouts to ADS holders through Citi are subject to the terms of the deposit agreement between the Company, Citi, and the holders and beneficial owners of ADS issued under the agreement, including applicable fees and expenses.

The Board also approved a five-year share repurchase program for its ADSs, effective from August 21, 2024. The program, with a total aggregate amount of up to US$1,000,000,000, is subject to applicable laws and the Company’s securities trading policy. This new program supersedes the share repurchase program previously approved and adopted on August 21, 2019, with an aggregate amount of up to US$750,000,000. Funds for repurchases under the program will be sourced from the Company’s profits, cash, or share premium account. The Company intends to execute these repurchases through open market transactions at prevailing market prices or privately negotiated transactions as market conditions warrant, adhering to applicable requirements of Rule 10b5-1 and Rule 10b-18 under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Board will periodically review the Share Repurchase Program and may adjust its terms and size or suspend or discontinue it.

H World remains dedicated to delivering sustainable shareholder value and will continue to enhance long-term value creation.

About H World Group Limited

H World Group Limited, with origins in China, is a key player in the global hotel industry. As of March 31, 2024, H World operated 9,817 hotels with 955,657 rooms across 18 countries. H World’s portfolio encompasses brands such as Hi Inn, Elan Hotel, HanTing Hotel, JI Hotel, Starway Hotel, Orange Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, Manxin Hotel, Madison Hotel, Joya Hotel, Blossom House, Ni Hao Hotel, CitiGO Hotel, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, MAXX, Jaz in the City, IntercityHotel, Zleep Hotels, Steigenberger Icon and Song Hotels. Additionally, H World holds master franchisee rights for Mercure, Ibis and Ibis Styles, and co-development rights for Grand Mercure and Novotel in the pan-China region.

H World’s business model incorporates leased and owned, manachised and franchised operations. Under the lease and ownership model, H World directly manages hotels located on leased or owned properties. The manachise model involves H World managing hotels through appointed on-site hotel managers, generating fees from franchisees. The franchise model involves H World providing training, reservations, and support services to franchisees, collecting fees while not appointing on-site hotel managers. H World applies consistent standards and a unified platform across all its hotels. As of March 31, 2024, H World operated 11 percent of its hotel rooms under the lease and ownership model and 89 percent under the manachise and franchise model.

For more information, please visit H World’s website: https://ir.hworld.com.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The information in this release contains forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. Such factors and risks include our anticipated growth strategies; our future results of operations and financial condition; economic conditions; the regulatory environment; our ability to attract and retain customers and leverage our brands; trends and competition in the lodging industry; the expected growth of demand for lodging; and other factors and risks detailed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, which may be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “will,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “forecast,” “project” or “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Readers should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events or results.

H World undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law.

Contact Information
Investor Relations
Tel: +86 (21) 6195 9561
Email: ir@hworld.com
https://ir.hworld.com