...- China's rapid shift away from its zero-COVID-19 policy stance in December 2022 should support Macao's gross gaming revenue (GGR) recovery in 2023. We have updated our estimate for mass GGR in 2023 to the higher end of our previously forecast 50%-70% range. - Our updated Macao GGR forecast implies that the leverage of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. (MLCO) could fall to below our 4.5x downgrade threshold by late 2023 to early 2024 on an EBITDA run-rate basis. - As a result, we affirmed our long-term issuer and issue ratings on MLCO's operating subsidiaries Melco Resorts (Macau) Ltd. (MRM) at '##-' and Studio City Co. Ltd. at 'B+', and all issue level ratings. We removed all ratings from CreditWatch, where we placed them with negative implications on July 8, 2022. - The negative outlooks on our ratings on both subsidiaries reflect continuing stress on MLCO's revenue and cash flow in Macao. We expect that Macao-derived free operating cash flow will remain negative in the first half of...
