09:55 AM EDT, 07/23/2024 (MT Newswires) -- H World ( HTHT ) said Tuesday that its board has authorized a three-year shareholder return plan of up to $2 billion.

Under the plan, the board has the discretion to declare ordinary dividends semi-annually as well as declare special dividends from time to time and/or repurchase American depositary shares, the company said.

As part of the plan, the board declared a cash dividend for H1 of $0.063 per ordinary share or $0.63 per ADS for a total of about $200 million, H World ( HTHT ) said. Holders of ordinary shares or ADS as of Aug. 14 are expected to get the dividend around Aug. 27 for ordinary shares and around Sept. 3 for ADS.

The company's board also approved a five-year share repurchase program of ADSs of up to $1 billion, effective from Aug. 21, the company said. The latest program replaces the $750 million buyback program approved in August 2019, the company added.

H World ( HTHT ) shares lost about 2% in recent trading.

Price: 30.47, Change: -0.61, Percent Change: -1.96