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KEY INFORMATION
For a detailed description of the risks associated with our corporate structure, please see Summary of Risk Factors beginning on page 2 and Risk Factors Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure on page 9 of this Annual Report for more information.
B. Capitalization and Indebtedness
Not applicable.
C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds
Not applicable.
An investment in our Ordinary Shares involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information included in this annual report, before making an investment decision.
In addition to the other information included in this annual report, including the matters addressed in the section of the annual report entitled Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and in our financial statements and the related notes, you should consider carefully the risks described below. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only risks and uncertainties we may face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or that we currently consider immaterial could also negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects, profits and stock prices. If any of the risks described below actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects, profits and stock prices could be materially adversely affected.
1
If we encounter any of the risks described above or if we are otherwise unable to establish or successfully operate online shops or additional production capacity, we may be unable to grow our business and revenues, reduce our operating costs, maintain our competitiveness or improve our profitability and, consequently, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects will be adversely affected.
Summary of Risk Factors
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties.
The following is a summary of select risks and uncertainties that could materially adversely affect us and our business, financial condition and results of operations. Before you invest in our Ordinary Shares, you should carefully consider all the information in this Annual Report, including matters set forth under the heading Risk Factors, immediately following this summary. These risks include the following, among others:
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
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Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure
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Risks Related to Doing Business in HongKong and being impacted from the PRC
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Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares
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Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Our independent registered public accounting firms auditors report includes an explanatory paragraph stating that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
The accompanying consolidated financial statements were preparedassuming the Company will continue as a going concern, which contemplates continuity of operations, realization of assets, and liquidation of liabilities in the normal course of business. The Company has incurred significant losses from operations of approximately HK$ 26.8 million for the year end March 31, 2025 and has accumulated deficit of HK$ 24.2 million. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
On January 27, 2025, the Company completed the IPO and the exercise of the over-allotment option with gross proceeds totaling US$9,200,000 of 2,300,000 Ordinary Shares on Nasdaq Capital Market, at a public offering price of US$4.00 per share, and give rise to total gross proceeds of US$9.2 million. We believe the completion of the IPO alleviates the substantial doubt about the Companys ability to continue as a going concern.
The ability of the Company to continue as a going concern depends upon the Companys ability to further implement its business plan and generate sufficient revenue and its ability to raise additional funds. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to obtain funds on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. There is also no assurance that the amount of funds the Company might raise will enable the Company to complete its initiatives or attain profitable operations. If the Company is unable to raise additional funding to meet its working capital needs in the future, it may be forced to delay, reduce or cease its operations.
The mobile gaming industry ecosystem is subject to rapid technological change, and if we do not adapt to and appropriately allocate our resources amongst the emerging technologies and business models, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We generate revenue from essentially only one business segment that pertains to the marketing and advertising of mobile games for the local market, and our business is vulnerable to changes and development in the mobile gaming ecosystem.
Technology changes rapidly in the mobile gaming ecosystem. In addition, our business also currently depends in part on the growth and evolution of the Internet, especially mobile internet-enableddevices, which the gamers use to download and run the mobile game apps. As the technological infrastructure evolves, advertisers will be presented with more options in the market for meeting their marketing requirements. We must continually anticipate and adapt to these changes to stay competitive. Our future success depends in part on our ability to adapt our business model to the emerging trends, while anticipating the impact of these emerging technologies and business models is inherently volatile and uncertain, and the mobile gaming ecosystem may not develop in the way we anticipate.
On the other hand, if we decide to support a new technology or expand our offerings in the future, we must deploy significant management and financial resources to attend to the correspondent demands. It may also require partnering with new media platforms on less favorable terms than those applicable to our existing business models. The enhancements of our existing technology and new offerings may not be introduced in a timely or cost-effectivemanner, and our competitors may adopt an emerging technology or business model swiftly or more effectively than we do and undermine our competitive advantage. If we are unable to successfully adapt to and appropriately allocate our resources amongst the current and new technologies, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We operate in the highly competitive online marketing and advertising service industry requiring few capital investments that could exert an entry barrier, and we may not be able to compete successfully against existing or new competitors, which could reduce our market share and adversely affect our competitive position and financial performance.
The online marketing and advertising service industry in which we operate is highly competitive. Our direct competitors are other advertising agencies, and while few advertising agencies in the local market specialize in advertising for mobile games, there are many conventional marketing channels in the marketplace such as direct marketing, printed advertising and traditional media of television, radio and cable companies, etc., that could potentially replace us, as our clients are at their liberty to allocate part of their overall marketing budget to these marketing channels. There are also many advertising agents catering to clients from diverse industries that, while not specializing in advertising for mobile games, have established relationships with various media publishers and could potentially diversify into our niche market and provide services comparable to those offered by ourselves at competitive pricing.
Our ability to compete depends on many factors, including the price, the effectiveness of our marketing and advertising solutions and the quality of our customer services. If these factors are unfavorable to us, we may not be able to compete effectively or maintain our market position. The online advertising service industry requires relatively few capital investments in infrastructure that could erect barriers to new entrants to the industry. We may also face competition from new service offerings from existing competitors. Further, we cannot predict whether future changes in market landscape concerning new developments in regulatory framework and technologies that could be applied in the advertising industry will result in further competition.
5
Existing and potential competitors in the advertising service industry may attempt to mimic and adapt our business model. While our prominent market position and extensive experience have equipped us with industry know-howand competitive advantage that new entrants cannot readily replicate, some of these competitors may be able to realize competitive edge over us, such as better financial, technical and marketing resources. Intensified competition could result in price reductions which could reduce our operating margins and profitability and result in a loss of market share. Moreover, increased competition will provide our existing and potential clients with a broader range of advertising service alternatives, which could lead to loss of business, lower prices and decreased revenue, gross margins and profits. We cannot assure you that our strategies will remain competitive or that they will continue to be successful in the future. If we fail to compete against our competitors, our market share will diminish, and our financial performance may be adversely affected.
Our business revenue is substantiallyproject-basedandnon-recurringin nature, and our future business depends on our continuous ability to secure upcoming advertising projects from our clients.
Our business model is generally project-based, where we charge our clients a fee for marketing services rendered for a specific marketing campaign. Our quotations offered to clients generally do not include a contractual tenure of service or long-termobligations requiring them to continue to use our services. As such, our revenue is usually non-recurringin nature. As a result, we may have limited visibility regarding our future revenue streams.
Our success depends on our ability to maintain relationships with our recurring clients, which includes any current clients and clients with which we have done business within the past three years, and to attract new clients, while our existing competitors and new entrants into the market may be able to offer advertising packages at better terms than ourselves. While many of our clients have engaged us for recurring advertising projects, our clients are not bound by contractual agreement to continue a business relationship with us and are at their discretion to choose these competitors over us. We cannot assure you that our clients will continue to solicit our services, or that we will be able to replace, in a timely or effective manner, departing clients with potential clients that attribute a comparable level of revenue.
There is no guarantee that our existing clients will invite us to tender when they have new advertising projects, and there is no assurance that we will be awarded enough advertising projects in the future commensurate with our current revenue level. Our operations and financial results would be adversely affected if we are unable to retain our existing clients, or secure further advertising projects from them, or fail to provide competitive advertising packages to attract new clients, all of which may lead to a decrease in the number of advertising projects we cater for and the corresponding business revenue.
New developments in PRC laws and regulations regarding the use of mobile games and their export and marketing in HongKong, and the potential breach of such rules and regulations may adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
A very high proportion of the mobile games launched in our local market in HongKong are originally developed in the PRC.As advertisers specializing in mobile games in the HongKong market and deriving substantially all of our revenue therefrom, our business is vulnerable to adverse changes in the PRC regulations concerning mobile games. In particular, any potential changes in the rules and regulations imposing restrain over the export and dissemination of mobile games outside of the PRC, including our local market in HongKong, could adversely affect our revenue to a significant extent.
There are existing PRC regulations with the pre-authorizationof the public release of mobile games, as well as the permissible age and amount of time for engaging in mobile game entertainment with a view to, amongst other things, deterring teenagers infatuation. There are also regulatory developments concerning the contents of mobile games potentially involving explicit sexual exposure and violence. Currently, the PRC legislation applies only to regulating the publics use of mobile games and the broadcasting of the related advertising materials within the country.
There are few regulations restraining the export, use and dissemination of mobile games outside of the country, including our local market in HongKong. Nevertheless, the PRC has not developed a fully integrated legal system and the relevant regulatory framework with mobile game is a relatively new development, and there are inherent uncertainties surrounding the new legislative enactment that could potentially affect the general publics use of mobile games, their permissible content and export outside of the country.
Also, advertisers and marketing agencies like ourselves that are exposed to any new legislation with respect to advertising content may have to ensure that the advertising materials and activities are in full compliance with the latest applicable laws and regulations. However, we may not have access to the relevant expertise to adequately interpret the rules and regulations and ascertain whether the advertising content is in full legal compliance and up to the required standard.
If our advertising materials are adjudicated to be in breach of the relevant provisions, enforcement actions and penalties may be imposed on the advertiser, including fines, confiscation of advertising fees, orders to cease dissemination of the advertisement, and orders to publish an advertisement correcting the misleading information. In turn, these could have negative repercussions on ourselves that adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
We cannot predict the effects of such legislative developments. We cannot assure you that we will be able to satisfy new developments with regulatory requirements, and we may be unable to respond promptly to the market changes resulting from these legislative developments. As a result, our business operations may be materially and adversely affected.
Our future growth may involve expansion into new and overseas business opportunities, and any efforts to do so that are unsuccessful or are notcost-effectivecould adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
In the past, we have grown our business by principally focusing on the local market. We expect that our future growth may involve expansion into overseas business opportunities by opening new offices abroad and entering into business relationships with new clients and media publishers in the foreign countries. Additionally, our future growth may involve strategic acquisitions of media publishers and operation rights with upcoming mobile games in the local market.
6
Our exposure to foreign operations is relatively limited, and our ability to successfully gain market acceptance in an overseas market is uncertain. Expanding our operations to a foreign country involves challenges caused by distance, language and cultural differences, and further subjects us to various operational risks associated with compliance with applicable foreign laws and regulations, recruiting and retaining talented overseas employees, etc.
We may encounter differences in consumer behavior and preferences from another culture, which may cause uncertainties in developing and customizing advertising materials that appeal to the tastes and preferences of users in an overseas market. Our competitors in the foreign country with established local market presence may have better marketing resources and competitive advantages over ourselves, such as longer operating histories, local market knowledge and media connection, and broader reach of clients. If we are unable to expand to an overseas market or successfully manage the complexity involved with foreign operations, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Further, our plans for business expansion are formulated based on assumptions of certain future events, which may or may not materialize. Our future growth depends in part on our ability to correctly identify suitable candidates for strategic acquisitions and execute our plans in a cost-effectivemanner. The deployment of significant resources towards a new opportunity may prove unsuccessful, and even if successful, the growth of new business opportunities could create substantial challenges for our management and operational resources and require considerable investment. As a result of our expanded business scope, our operating costs are expected to increase, while there is no assurance that our expansion plan will bring an increase in revenue sufficient to outweigh the additional costs and expenses.
Our expansion plan will also require us to maintain the consistency of our service offerings in the new business to ensure that our market reputation and market position are not impaired as a result of deviations, whether actual or perceived, in the quality of services we offer. If we are unable to successfully implement our strategy to extend our business coverage, or if such expansion does not yield the benefits we anticipate, our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
We are highly dependent on our foundersand senior management team. If we lose key members of our senior management team, our business could be disrupted, and our financial performance could suffer.
Our future success depends in significant part on the continued service of our key management, including ourco-founders, who are heavily involved in the daily operation of our business. We believe that our management teams extensive experience, industry knowledge and in-depthunderstanding of the mobile gaming market enable us to assess the competitive and fast-movingmarket environment with mobile game advertising and provide specialized services of high quality.
Our future success will depend on the continued involvement, efforts, performance and abilities of our key personnel as a whole. We believe that the skills and experience of our senior management team would be difficult to replace, and the loss of key members of our senior management team and talented employees could result in significant disruptions to our business, including impairing our ability to execute our business strategy and material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We believe that our future success will depend significantly on our continued ability to attract and retain highly skilled and talented personnel. The loss of crucial employees could result in significant disruptions to our business and the future integration of our expanding businesses.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to retain the services of our key personnel and to continually leverage their skills and abilities. If we are unable to retain our key personnel or attract and engage suitable personnel on a timely and commercially viable basis, it may result in the loss of strategic leadership and disruption or delay to our business operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations and financial conditions.
Unauthorized use of our trade secrets by third parties, and the expenses incurred in protecting our trade secrets, may adversely affect our business.
We regard our trade secrets as critical to our success. Since we have not applied for the trademark for our company, unauthorized use of our trade secrets used in our business, whether owned by us or licensed to us, may adversely affect our business and reputation.
We own video production authorized usage from our independent contractors under intellectual property law. We also rely on the trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements with our employees, customers, business partners and others to protect our other intellectual property rights. Despite our precautions, it may be possible for third parties to obtain and use the intellectual property used in our business without authorization.
The validity, enforceability and scope of protection of intellectual property in online industries is uncertain and still evolving. In particular, the laws and enforcement procedures of the PRC and certain other countries are uncertain or do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws and enforcement procedures of the UnitedStates. Moreover, litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights. Future litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources, and could disrupt our business, as well as have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
7
We have engaged in transactions with related parties, and such transactions present possible conflicts of interest that could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We have entered into a number of transactions with related parties, including our majority shareholder Mr.Shum Tsz Chueng. For example, we have entered into transactions with Act Media Co. Limited andI am Media Limited, controlled by shareholder, Mr.Shum Tsz Cheung, and Pump Studio Limited, controlled by our CEO, Mr.Lau Chi Fung, and directly pay the salary of Ms. Leung Shuk Hing, the spouse of our CEO, Mr.Lau Chi Fung. See Related Party Transactions. We may in the future enter additional transactions with entities in which our director and other related parties hold ownership interests, however, any such transaction would be on commercial terms comparable to those that would be obtained from a third-partyand, in addition, will be subject to approval of a majority of our independent directors.
Transactions with the entities in which related parties hold ownership interests present potential for conflicts of interest, as the interests of these entities and their shareholders may not align with the interests of the Company and our shareholders with respect to the negotiation of, and certain other matters related to, our lease and services to such entities. Conflicts of interest may also arise in connection with the exercise of contractual remedies under these transactions, such as the treatment of events of default.
The laws of the British Virgin Islands apply to us, which provide that our directors owe a duty to act honestly and in good faith and in what the directors believe to be in our best interests. Our directors also have a duty to exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonable director would exercise in the same circumstances when exercising powers or performing duties as a director. We have the right to seek damages if a duty owed by our directors is breached. Nevertheless, we may have achieved more favorable terms if such transactions had not been entered into with related parties and these transactions, individually or in the aggregate, may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations or may result in government enforcement actions or other litigation.
As a media company that relies on internet advertisements andthird-partyinternet products and services, we are inherently exposed to cybersecurity risks arising from our partnerships with vendors that provide these services. We have established risk management and internal control systems to prevent and minimize the cybersecurity risks affecting our reputation and customers satisfaction.
While our partnerships with internet service providers and independent contracts offer substantial business value in internet marketing, they also increase the complexity of our threat surface and expose us to potential third-partyrisk.
One of the risks we face is supply chain attacks, where attackers infiltrate or attack through a third-partyvendor. The challenge with these attacks is that the risk may not be apparent until there is malicious activity.
We are also vulnerable to cyber threats due to our increasing reliance on computers, networks, programs, social media and data globally. Data breaches, a common cyber-attack, can have a massive negative business impact and often arise from insufficiently protected data.
In order to mitigate these risks, we have established risk management and internal control systems consisting of policies and procedures that we believe are appropriate for using and managing our technology software. These measures include implementing an email notice for malicious emails, hiring professional IT personnel to manage and review our technology software implanting system, and establishing a risk management assessment when contracting new vendors and independent contractors. In our contracts, we also limit the liability of the company attributable to cybersecurity attacks. As of the date of this Annual Report, we have not had any cyber-attacksor breaches of our network security systems, nor have we suffered any cybersecurity incidents from our vendors. In addition to the implementation and maintenance of data security measures, we require our employees to maintain the confidentiality of the proprietary information that we hold.
If a cybersecurity incident occurs or is perceived to occur, we may have to spend significant capital and other resources to mitigate the impact of the event and to develop and implement protection to prevent future events of such nature from occurring. Furthermore, we may also be subject to negative publicity and the public perception of the ineffectiveness of our security measures, and our reputation may be harmed in the event of any of the foregoing cybersecurity breaches or attacks. This could damage our relationships with existing or potential customers and could materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.
8
We may not be successful in developing games by outsourcing.
We entered into a game development agreement, which is an outsourcing agreement of approximately HK$16.2 million (US$2.1 million) with a game development company to develop a complete social gaming platform. We hope to become a mobile game operator after the game is successfully developed; however, there is no guarantee that the company will develop a game which works and/or is successful.
Our new games will largely depend on the outsourcing companys ability to:
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Our new games may not be commercially successful and we may not be able to attract new players.
We cannot assure you that the new games we publish or develop will be commercially successful. You should not use the success of other companies existing games as an indication of the future commercial success of any of the games in our pipeline.
We may not be successful in holding exhibitions or marketing events.
On 1 A. FebruaryReserved 14, 2025, our wholly-owned subsidiary, CTRL Solutions, entered into four (4) cooperative agreements with B. theCapitalization and Indebtedness same exhibition service provider and one Exhibition Events Joint Investment Agreement with respect to holding the event (collectively, the Cooperative Agreements). The total value of the four (4) Cooperative Agreements is approximately HK$ 15.3 million (US$2.7 million),1 C. andReasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds the value of the event is approximately HK$6.3 million (US$0.8 million). The Cooperative Agreements provide that the exhibition partner shall coordinate and organize four (4) exhibitions and one event during the year ending March 31, 2026.
We cannot assure you that these or similar exhibitions1 D. or eventsRisk Factors pursuant to Cooperation Agreements or other agreements will be commercially successful. Following a review of previously held exhibitions, the Company anticipates incurring a net loss resulting from these exhibitions. As of the date of this Annual Report, the Company made an impairment of approximately HK$10.6 million (US$1.4 million), which represents 50% share of the Company of the net loss expected from these exhibitions.
You should not rely on the profits made from similar exhibitions or events held by other companies as an indication that we will be able in the future to achieve commercial success from any of the exhibitions or events in our pipeline.
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure
You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S.courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under BVI law.
We are a BVI business company limited by shares and incorporated under the laws of the BVI.Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association and the common law of the BVI.The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders, and the fiduciary duties of our directors to us under the BVI law are to a large extent governed by the BCA and the common law of the BVI.The common law of the BVI is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the BVI, as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the BVI.The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under BVI law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the UnitedStates.
Under the BCA, members of the general public, on payment of a nominal fee, can obtain copies of the public records of a company available at the office of the Registrar of Corporate Affairs, which will include the companys certificate of incorporation, its memorandum and articles of association (with any amendments), and records of license fees paid to date and will also disclose any articles of dissolution, articles of merger and a register of charges if the company has elected to file such a register.
9
A shareholder of the company is also entitled, upon giving written notice to us, to inspect (i)our memorandum and articles of association, (ii)the register of members, (iii)the register of directors, and (iv)minutes of meetings and resolutions of members and of those classes of members of which that member is a member, and to make copies and take extracts from the documents and records referred to in (i)to (iv)above. However, our directors may, if they are satisfied that it would be contrary to the companys interests to allow a member to inspect any document, or part of a document specified in (ii)to (iv)above, refuse to permit the member to inspect the document or limit the inspection of the document, including limiting the making of copies or the taking of extracts or records. Where a company fails or refuses to permit a member to inspect a document or permits a member to inspect a document subject to limitations, that member may apply to the BVI court for an order that he should be permitted to inspect the document or to inspect the document without limitation. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.
Certain corporate governance practices in the BVI differ significantly from requirements for companies incorporated in other jurisdictions such as the UnitedStates. To the extent we choose to follow home country practice with respect to corporate governance matters, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would under rules and regulations applicable to U.S.domestic issuers.
As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the UnitedStates.
You may be unable to present proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings not called by shareholders.
BVI law provides shareholders with only limited rights to convene a general meeting and does not provide shareholders with any right to put any proposal before a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in a companys articles of association. Our articles of association allow our shareholders holding shares representing in aggregate not less than 30% of our voting share capital in issue, to convene a general meeting of our shareholders, in which case our directors are obliged to call such meeting. Advance notice of at least 7days is required for the convening of our general meetings. A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of at least one shareholder present or by proxy, representing a majority of the votes of the shares entitled to vote on resolutions to be considered at the meeting.
Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.
We are a BVI business company limited by shares and substantially all of our assets are located outside of the UnitedStates. Substantially all of our current operations are conducted in HongKong. In addition, our current officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the UnitedStates. Substantially all of the assets of these persons are located outside the UnitedStates. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the UnitedStates in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the U.S.federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the BVI, Hong Kong and the PRC may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers. For more information regarding the relevant laws of the BVI, Hong Kong and the PRC, see Enforceability of Civil Liabilities.
The Chinese regulatory authorities could also disallow our organizational structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and/or a material change in the value of the securities we are registering for sale, including that it could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless.
We are exposed to various risks and uncertainties stemming from the interpretations and implementations of laws and regulations in the PRC. These include, but are not limited to, the regulatory scrutiny of PRC companies overseas listings. Furthermore, we are susceptible to potential risks and uncertainties associated with future actions undertaken by the PRC government, which could potentially result in the disallowance of the Companys organizational structure. Such an outcome would likely lead to a substantial transformation in our operational activities, and as a consequence, the value of our Ordinary Shares may experience a significant depreciation or even become worthless.
10
Risks Related to Doing Business in HongKong and being impacted from the PRC.
We are subject to risks arising from the legal system in HongKong and China, including risks and uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws and that rules and regulations in HongKong and China can change quickly with little or no advance notice. There is also a risk that the Chinese government may intervene or influence our operations at any time or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in HongKong or PRC-based issuers, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our securities.
There may be prominent risks associated with our operations being in HongKong. In light of Chinas expansion of authority into HongKong, we are subject to risks arising from the legal system in China, including risks and uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws and that rules and regulations in HongKong and China can change quickly with little to no advanced notice. In addition, the PRC government may intervene or influence our operations at any time with little to no advanced notice, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our Ordinary Shares. For example, the PRC government has recently published new policies that significantly affected certain industries such as the education and internet industries, and we cannot rule out the possibility that it will in the future release regulations or policies regarding any industry that could adversely affect the business, financial condition and results of operations of our company. Any such action, once taken by the PRC government, could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or in extreme cases, become worthless.
Currently, these statements and regulatory actions have had no impact on our daily business operation, the ability to accept foreign investments and list our securities on an U.S.or other foreign exchange. Since these statements and regulatory actions are new, it is highly uncertain how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operation, the ability to accept foreign investments and list our securities on an U.S.or other foreign exchange.
Our operations are based in HongKong. Accordingly, our business operation and financial conditions will be affected by the political and legal developments in HongKong.
HongKong is a special administrative region of the PRC and the basic policies of the PRC regarding HongKong are reflected in the Basic Law (the Basic Law), namely, HongKongs constitutional document, which provides HongKong with a high degree of autonomy and executive, legislative and independent judicial powers, including that of final adjudication under the principle of one country, two systems. However, there is no assurance that there will not be any changes in the economic, political and legal environment in HongKong in the future. Since our operation is based in HongKong, any change of such political arrangements may pose immediate threat to the stability of the economy in HongKong, thereby directly and adversely affecting our results of operations and financial positions.
Under the Basic Law, HongKong is exclusively in charge of its internal affairs and external relations, while the government of the PRC is responsible for its foreign affairs and defense. As a separate customs territory, HongKong maintains and develops relations with foreign states and regions. Based on certain recent development including the Law of the Peoples Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the HongKong Special Administrative Region issued by the Standing Committee of the PRC National Peoples Congress in June2020, the U.S.State Department has indicated that the UnitedStates no longer considers HongKong to have significant autonomy from China and President Trump signed an executive order and HongKong Autonomy Act (HKAA) to remove HongKongs preferential trade status and to authorize the U.S.administration to impose blocking sanctions against individuals and entities who are determined to have materially contributed to the erosion of HongKongs autonomy. The UnitedStates may impose the same tariffs and other trade restrictions on exports from HongKong that it places on goods from mainland China. These and other recent actions may represent an escalation in political and trade tensions involving the U.S., China and HongKong, which could potentially harm our business.
Given the relatively small geographical size of HongKong, any of such incidents may have a widespread effect on our business operations, which could in turn adversely and materially affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. It is difficult to predict the full impact of the HKAA on HongKong and companies with operations in HongKong like us. Furthermore, legislative or administrative actions in respect of China-U.S.relations could cause investor uncertainty for affected issuers, including us, and the market price of our Ordinary Shares could be adversely affected.
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Substantial uncertainties and restrictions with respect to the political, legal and economic policies of the PRC government and PRC laws and regulations could have a significant impact upon the business that we may be able to conduct in HongKong and accordingly on the results of our operations and financial condition. There is a risk that the PRC government will intervene or influence our operations at any time, including exerting more oversight and control over companies operating in HongKong, offerings conducted overseas and or foreign investment in HongKong and PRC-basedissuers, which could result in a material change in our operations and or the value of our Ordinary Shares. As an example, Chinese regulatory authorities could disallow our organizational structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and/or a material change in the value of the securities we are registering for sale, including that it could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless.
Our business operations and service sales, if we expand distribution of our services into China, may be adversely affected by the current and future political environment in the PRC.The PRC government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. We expect the HongKong and PRC legal systems to rapidly evolve in the near future with the HongKong legal system becoming closer aligned with legal system in China. There is a risk that the PRC government will intervene or influence our operations at any time, including exerting more oversight and control over companies operating in HongKong, offerings conducted overseas and or foreign investment in HongKong based issuers, which could result in a material change in our operations and or the value of our Ordinary Shares. For instance, if the Chinese regulatory authorities could disallow our organizational structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and/or a material change in the value of our securities, including that it could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless. These actions may be reflected in the changing interpretations and enforcement of many laws, regulations and rules in HongKong and the PRC that may not always be uniform and with little to no advance notice. Our business operations and our ability to operate in HongKong, offer or continue to offer securities to investors and continue to invest in HongKong based issuers may be harmed by these changes in laws and regulations, including those relating to taxation, import and export tariffs, healthcare regulations, and other matters. Accordingly, government actions in the future, including any decision not to continue to support recent economic reforms and to return to a more centrally planned economy or regional or local variations in the implementation of economic policies, could have a significant effect on economic conditions in HongKong or particular regions thereof, and could limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors or require us to divest ourselves of any interest we then hold in HongKong properties or joint ventures. Any such actions (including divesture or similar actions) could result in a material adverse effect on us and on your investment in us and could cause the value of our securities and your investment in our securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of PRC laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the laws and regulations governing our business, or the enforcement and performance of our contractual arrangements with borrowers in the event of the imposition of statutory liens, death, bankruptcy or criminal proceedings. China has not developed a fully integrated legal system and recently enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China. Also, because these laws and regulations are relatively new, and because of the limited volume of published cases and their lack of force as precedents, interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve significant uncertainties. New laws and regulations that affect existing and proposed future businesses may also be applied retroactively. In addition, there have been constant changes and amendments of laws and regulations over the past 40years in order to keep up with the rapidly changing society and economy in China. Because government agencies and courts that provide interpretations of laws and regulations and decide contractual disputes and issues may change their interpretation or enforcement very rapidly with little advance notice at any time, we cannot predict the future direction of Chinese legislative activities with respect to either businesses with foreign investment or the effectiveness on enforcement of laws and regulations in China. The uncertainties, including new laws and regulations and changes of existing laws, as well as may cause possible problems to foreign investors.
We cannot assure you that the PRC government will continue to pursue policies favoring a market-orientedeconomy or that existing policies will not be significantly altered, especially in the event of a change in leadership, social or political disruption, or other circumstances affecting political, economic and social life in the PRC.
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Because substantially all our operations are in HongKong, a special administrative region of China, our business is subject to the complex and rapidly evolving laws and regulations there. The Chinese government may exercise significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our business and may intervene in or influence our operations at any time, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our Ordinary Shares.
As a business operating in HongKong, a special administrative region ofChina, we are subject to the laws and regulations of the PRC, which can be complex and evolve rapidly. The PRC government has the power to exercise significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our business, and the regulations to which we are subject may change rapidly and with little notice to us or our shareholders. As a result, the application, interpretation, and enforcement of new and existing laws and regulations in the PRC are often uncertain. In addition, these laws and regulations may be interpreted and applied inconsistently by different agencies or authorities, and inconsistently with our current policies and practices. New laws, regulations, and other government directives in the PRC may also be costly to comply with, and such compliance or any associated inquiries or investigations or any other government actions may:
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The promulgation of new laws or regulations, or the new interpretation of existing laws and regulations, in each case that restrict or otherwise unfavorably impact the ability or manner in which we conduct our business and could require us to change certain aspects of our business to ensure compliance, which could decrease demand for our products, reduce revenues, increase costs, require us to obtain more licenses, permits, approvals or certificates, or subject us to additional liabilities. To the extent any new or more stringent measures are required to be implemented, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected as well as materially decrease the value of our ordinary shares.
Due to the long arm provisions under the current PRC laws and regulations, the PRC government may exercise significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our business and may intervene in or influence our operations at any time, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our Ordinary Shares. The PRC government may also intervene or impose restrictions on our ability to move money out of HongKong to distribute earnings and pay dividends or to reinvest in our business outside of HongKong. Changes in the policies, regulations, rules, and the enforcement of laws of the PRC government may also be quick with little advance notice and our assertions and beliefs of the risk imposed by the PRC legal and regulatory system cannot be certain.
As of the date of this annual report, the Company does not expect to be materially affected by recent statements by the PRC government indicating an intent to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-basedissuers. However, due to long arm provisions under the current PRC laws and regulations, there remains regulatory uncertainty with respect to the implementation and interpretation of laws in China. The promulgation of new laws or regulations, or the new interpretation of existing laws and regulations, in each case, that restrict or otherwise unfavorably impact the ability or way the Company conducts its business, could require the Company to change certain aspects of its business to ensure compliance, which could decrease demand for our services, reduce revenues, increase costs, require us to obtain more licenses, permits, approvals or certificates, or subject us to additional liabilities. To the extent any new or more stringent measures are required to be implemented, the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected and such measured could materially decrease the value of its Ordinary Shares, potentially rendering it worthless. If any such action should occur, it could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our Ordinary Shares to investors.
Policies of the PRC government can have significant effects on economic conditions in HongKong. While we believe that the PRC will continue to strengthen its economic and trading relationships with foreign countries and that business development in the PRC will continue to follow market forces, we cannot assure you that this will be the case. Our interests may be adversely affected by changes in policies by the PRC government, including:
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We are aware that recently, the PRC government initiated a series of regulatory actions and statements to regulate business operations in certain areas in PRC with little advance notice, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, enhancing supervision over companies based in the PRC and listed overseas, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopolyenforcement. Since these statements and regulatory actions are new, it is highly uncertain how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operation, the ability to accept foreign investments and list on an U.S.or other foreign exchange.
The PRC government may intervene or influence our operations at any time or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas by, and foreign investment in, China-basedissuers, which may result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our Shares. The promulgation of new laws or regulations, or the new interpretation of existing laws and regulations, in each case that restrict or otherwise unfavorably impact the ability or way we conduct our business and could require us to change certain aspects of our business to ensure compliance, which could decrease demand for our services, reduce revenues, increase costs, require us to obtain more licenses, permits, approvals or certificates, or subject us to additional liabilities. To the extent any new or more stringent measures are required to be implemented, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected, and the value of our Shares could be materially decreased, potentially rendering it worthless. If any such action should occur, it could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our Ordinary Shares to investors.
ChinaCovidpolicies may impact on the HongKong local Covid-19 social distancing restrictions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business operation and marketing.
Our offline advertising income is dependable on our events operations and outdoor marketing campaign. Since January 2023, the Hong Kong government relaxed local Covid-19social distancing restrictions, such as patients tested Covid-positiveare no longer required to undergo mandatory quarantine. On 1 ITEMarch1, 2023, the Hong Kong government lifted the mask-wearingrequirement in public venues. Notwithstanding, there may still be concerns about the future recurrence of the Covid-19pandemic. If the Covid-19variations outbreak again in HongKong, it will cause many high traffic advertising spots to temporarily close or lock-downso we will not be able to promote our marketing in such areas. We will also not be able to organize any events offline. Some of our customers, such as events hosts, may cancel or delay their order during the Covid lock-downperiod, which will adversely impact our business. It will also take some time before Hong Kongs economy could recover to its pre-pandemicperiod.
Further, the Covid-19pandemics potential negative impact on our clients business performance, economic uncertainty, and travel restrictions that may impede our ability to contact existing and new clients could result in a decrease in our clients advertising spending and a demand for our services. There is no assurance that the Covid-19pandemic has been eliminated or will be eliminated in the near future. Neither can we guarantee that there will be no recurrence of the pandemic. In the case that there is any impediment to the recovery of Hong Kong economy or there is future outbreak of the pandemic, our business and operation may still be adversely affected.
Changes in Chinas economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
Although all of our assets and operations are located in Hong Kong, a large amount of the mobile games launched in Hong Kong market are developed and/or operated by PRC publishers. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be influenced to a significant degree by political, economic and social conditions in the PRC generally. The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the level of government involvement, development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Although the Chinese government has implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets, and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in the PRC is still owned by the government. In addition, the Chinese government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The Chinese government also exercises significant control over the PRCs economic growth through allocating resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominatedobligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.
While the Chinese economy has experienced significant growth over past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. Any adverse changes in economic conditions in the PRC, in the policies of the Chinese government or in the laws and regulations in the PRC could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of the PRC.Such developments could adversely affect our business and operating results, lead to a reduction in demand for our services and adversely affect our competitive position. The Chinese government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall Chinese economy, but may have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by PRC government control over capital investments in mobile gaming industry, pre-authorizationof mobile game publication or changes in tax regulations.
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You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing actions in HongKong against us or our management named in the Annual Report based on foreign laws.
We conduct substantially all of our operations in HongKong and substantially all of our assets are located in HongKong. In addition, our current officers reside within HongKong and are permanent Hong Kong residents. As a result, it may be difficult for our shareholders to effect service of process upon those persons in Hong Kong.In addition, the PRC does not have treaties providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments of courts with the BVI and many other countries and regions. Therefore, recognition and enforcement in the PRC of judgments of a court in any of these foreign jurisdictions in relation to any matter not subject to a binding arbitration provision may be difficult or impossible.
Fluctuations in exchange rates could have a material and adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.
Our business is conducted in HongKong, our books and records are maintained in HongKong dollars, which is the currency of HongKong, and the financial statements that we file with the SEC and provide to our shareholders are presented in UnitedStates dollars.The value of the HongKong dollar against the U.S.dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions and the foreign exchange policy adopted by the HongKong government. All of our revenues and substantially all of our costs are denominated in HK$. Any significant revaluation of HK$ may materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial position reported HK$ when translated into U.S.dollars, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, the capital stock in U.S.dollars. To the extent that we need to convert U.S.dollars into HK$ for our operations, appreciation of the HK$ against the U.S.dollar would have an adverse effect on the HK$ amount we would receive.
U.S.regulatory bodies may be limited in their ability to conduct investigations or inspections of our operations in HongKong.
Any disclosure of documents or information located in HongKong or China by foreign agencies may be subject to jurisdiction constraints and must comply with Chinas state secrecy laws, which broadly define the scope of state secrets to include matters involving economic interests and technologies. There is no guarantee that requests from U.S.federal or state regulators or agencies to investigate or inspect our operations will be honored by us, by entities who provide services to us or with whom we associate, without violating PRC legal requirements, especially as those entities are located in HongKong or China. Furthermore, under the current PRC laws, an on-siteinspection of our facilities by any of these regulators may be limited or prohibited.
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The Companys proposed expansion into the Taiwan market may pose heightened risks due to the unstable political and business tension between China, Taiwan, and other countries such as the U.S.
The Company intends to expand its service offerings to the Taiwan market to provide one-stopgame advertising services for local markets. The Company may face heightened regulatory compliance, payroll, and tax compliance risks that cannot be fully anticipated. To date, Taiwan has not implemented or changed any regulations affecting HongKong businesses and the proposed branch office formed to operate the Taiwan expansion is expected to generate a relatively small percentage of the Companys consolidated revenue. Potential major risks relating to establishing a branch office and operating in the Taiwan market include market risk and competitive risk that fluctuations in the Taiwanese market conditions, customer preferences, or demand for the Companys services could affect revenue, cost and growth prospects.
Although the audit report included in this Annual Report is prepared by U.S.auditors who are currently inspected by the PCAOB, there is no guarantee that future audit reports will be prepared by auditors inspected by the PCAOB and, as such, in the future investors may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection. Furthermore, trading in our Shares may be prohibited under the HFCAA if the SEC subsequently determines our audit work is performed by auditors that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely, and as a result, U.S.national securities exchanges, such as the Nasdaq, may determine to delist our securities. Furthermore, on June22, 2021, the U.S.Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which became law on December29, 2022 and amends the HFCAA and requires the SEC to prohibit an issuers securities from trading on any U.S.stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutiveyears instead of three, and thus, reduces the time before our Shares may be prohibited from trading or delisted.
The HFCAA was enacted on December18, 2020. The HFCAA states if the SEC determines that a company has filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for three consecutiveyears beginning in 2021, the SEC shall prohibit the companys shares from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-countertrading market in the UnitedStates.
On March24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCAA.A company will be required to comply with these rules if the SEC identifies it as having a non-inspection year under a process to be subsequently established by the SEC.The SEC is assessing how to implement other requirements of the HFCAA, including the listing and trading prohibition requirements described above.
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On June22, 2021, the U.S.Senate passed a bill which, if passed by the U.S.House of Representatives and signed into law, would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspectionyears required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from threeyears to twoyears.
On September22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a final rule implementing the HFCAA, which provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCAA, whether the Board is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.
On November5, 2021, the SEC approved the PCAOBs Rule6100, Board Determinations Under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. Rule6100 provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCAA, whether it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.
On December2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCAA, which took effect on January10, 2022. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions.
On December16, 2021, PCAOB announced the PCAOB HFCAA determinations (the PCAOB determinations) relating to the PCAOBs inability to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in the PRC and dependency of the PRC, because of a position taken by one or more authorities in the PRC.The PCAOB made its determinations pursuant to PCAOB Rule6100, which provides a framework for how the PCAOB fulfills its responsibilities under the HFCAA.The report further listed in its Appendix A and Appendix B, Registered Public Accounting Firms Subject to Mainland China Determination and Registered Public Accounting Firms Subject to the HongKong Determination, respectively. Our auditor, Kreit& Chiu CPA LLP is headquartered in NewYork, NewYork, and is not subject to the PCAOB determination.
On August26, 2022, the PCAOB announced that it had signed a Statement of Protocol (the SOP) with the CSRC and the Ministry of Finance of China. The SOP, together with two protocol agreements governing inspections and investigations (together, the SOP Agreement), establishes a specific, accountable framework to make possible complete inspections and investigations by the PCAOB of audit firms based in the PRC, as required under U.S.law. The Agreement remains unpublished and is subject to further explanation and implementation. Pursuant to the fact sheet with respect to the SOP Agreement disclosed by the SEC, the PCAOB shall have sole discretion to select any audit firms for inspection or investigation and the PCAOB inspectors and investigators shall have a right to see all audit documentation without redaction. According to the PCAOB, its December2021 determinations under the HFCAA remain in effect. The PCAOB is required to reassess these determinations by the end of 2022. Under the PCAOBs rules, a reassessment of a determination under the HFCAA may result in the PCAOB reaffirming, modifying or vacating the determination.
On December15, 2022, PCAOB announced that it was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate audit firms in the PRC for the first time in history, and released the 2022 HFCAA Determination Report (the Report). The Report states that PCAOB (1)is able to select engagements, audit areas, and potential violations to be reviewed or investigated; (2)has timely access to, and the ability to retain and use, any document or information that PCAOB considers relevant to an inspection or investigation; and (3)is able to conduct inspections and investigations in a manner consistent with the provisions of HFCAA and the rules of PCAOB, as interpreted and applied by PCAOB.The Report concludes that, consistent with the HFCAA, PCAOB is able to inspect and investigate completely firms headquartered in the PRC and Hong Kong.However, the PCAOB didnt exclude the possibility of losing complete access again and made clear that, if in the future it determines it no longer can inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by any PRC authorities, it will act expeditiously according to the HFCAA.
Our auditor, Kreit& Chiu CPA LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included in this Annual Report, as a firm headquartered in NewYork, NewYork, and registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the UnitedStates pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards. Kreit& Chiu CPA LLPs first triannual inspection by the PCAOB was completed in May 2023. Therefore, we believe that, as of the date of this Annual Report, our auditor is not subject to the PCAOB determinations. However, the recent developments would add uncertainties to our offering, and we cannot assure you whether Nasdaq or regulatory authorities would not apply additional and\or more stringent criteria to us after considering the effectiveness of our auditors audit procedures and quality control procedures, the adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of resources, geographic reach or experience as it relates to the audit of our financial statements.
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The SEC may propose additional rules or guidance that could impact us if our auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspection. For example, on August6, 2020, the Presidents Working Group on Financial Markets, or the PWG, issued the Report on Protecting UnitedStates Investors from Significant Risks from Chinese Companies to the then President of the UnitedStates. This report recommended the SEC implement five recommendations to address companies from jurisdictions that do not provide the PCAOB with sufficient access to fulfil its statutory mandate. Some of the concepts of these recommendations were implemented with the enactment of the HFCAA.However, some of the recommendations were more stringent than the HFCAA.For example, if a companys auditor was not subject to PCAOB inspection, the report recommended that the transition period before a company would be delisted would end on January1, 2022.
The SEC has announced that the SEC staff is also actively assessing how best to implement other requirements of the HFCAA, including the identification process and the trading prohibition requirements, and is preparing a consolidated proposal for the rules regarding the implementation of the HFCAA and to address the recommendations in the PWG report. It is unclear when the SEC will complete its rulemaking and when such rules will become effective and what, if any, of the PWG recommendations will be adopted. The implications of this possible regulation, in addition to the requirements of the HFCAA, are uncertain. Such uncertainty could cause the market price of our Shares to be materially and adversely affected, and our securities could be delisted or prohibited from being traded on the U.S.national securities exchange earlier than would be required by the HFCAA.If it were determined that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate our auditor completely, the trading in our Shares would be prohibited, and as a result, Nasdaq might determine to delist our Shares. If our Shares are unable to be listed on another securities exchange by then, such a delisting would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our Shares when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with a potential delisting would have a negative impact on the price of our Shares.
Ifwebecomedirectlysubjecttotherecent scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity involving U.S.-listed Chinese companies, we may have to expend significant resources to investigate and resolve the matter which could harm our business operations, stock price and reputation and could result in a loss of your investment in our stock, especially if such matter cannot be addressed and resolved favorably.
Recently, U.S.public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China, including HongKong, have been the subject of intense scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity by investors, financial commentators and regulatory agencies, such as the SEC.Much of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity has centered around financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, a lack of effective internal controls over financial accounting, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud. As a result of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity, the publicly traded stock of many U.S.listed Chinese companies has sharply decreased in value and, in some cases, has become virtually worthless. Many of these companies are now subject to shareholder lawsuits and SEC enforcement actions and are conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations. It is not clear what effect this sector-widescrutiny, criticism and negative publicity will have on our company, our business and our stock price. If we become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, we will have to expend significant resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend our company. This situation will be costly and time consuming and distract our management from growing our company.
We could be subject to the Trial Administrative Measures, and, if required, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the Trial Administrative Measures procedures on time or at all.
On February17, 2023, the CSRC promulgated the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (the Trial Administrative Measures), which became effective on March31, 2023. Compared to the Draft Rules, the Trial Administrative Measures further clarified and emphasized several aspects, including: (i)comprehensive determination of the indirect overseas offering and listing by PRC domestic companies in compliance with the principle of substance over form and particularly, an issuer will be required to go through the filing procedures under the Trial Administrative Measures if the following criteria are met at the same time: (a) 50% or more of the issuers operating revenue, total profit, total assets or net assets as documented in its audited consolidated financial statements for the most recent accounting year is accounted for by PRC domestic companies, and (b) the main parts of the issuers business activities are conducted in mainland China, or its main places of business are located in mainland China, or the senior managers in charge of its business operation and management are mostly Chinese citizens or domiciled in mainland China; (ii)exemptions from immediate filing requirements for issuers that (a) have already been listed or registered but not yet listed in foreign securities markets, including U.S.markets, prior to the effective date of the Trial Administrative Measures, (b) are not required to re-performthe regulatory procedures with the relevant overseas regulatory authority or the overseas stock exchange, or (c) whose such overseas securities offering or listing shall be completed before March31, 2024. However, such issuers shall carry out filing procedures as required if they conduct refinancing or are involved in other circumstances that require filing with the CSRC; (iii)a negative list of types of issuers banned from listing overseas, such as issuers under investigation for bribery and corruption; (iv)regulation of issuers in specific industries; (v)issuers compliance with national security measures and the personal data protection laws; and (vi)certain other matters such as: an issuer must file with the CSRC within threebusiness days after it submits an application for initial public offering to competent overseas regulators; and subsequent reports shall be filed with the CSRC on material events, including change of control or voluntary or forced delisting of the issuer(s)who have completed overseas offerings and listings.
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As the Trial Administrative Measures are newly issued, there remains uncertainty as to how it will be interpreted or implemented. Therefore, we cannot assure you that if the Company becomes subject to such filing requirements that we will be able to obtain clearance from the CSRC in a timely fashion or at all.
Because the Basic Law, which is a national law of the PRC and constitutional document for HongKong, provides HongKong with a high degree of autonomy and executive, legislative and independent judicial powers, including that of final adjudication under the principle of one country, two systems, we do not believe we or our Operating Subsidiaries are subject to most PRC laws or regulations relating to overseas securities offerings, including the Trial Administrative Measures. Further, the Company does not believe it will be subject to the Trial Administrative Measures because the Company does not have: (i)50% or more of its operating revenue, total profit, total assets or net assets as documented in its audited consolidated financial statements for the most recent accounting year accounted for by PRC domestic companies; (ii)any main parts of its business activities conducted in mainland China; (iii)its main places of business located in mainland China; or (iv)senior managers in charge of its business operation and management constituting Chinese citizens or domiciled in mainland China.
However, there may be prominent risks associated with our operations being in HongKong. There are also risks that the Chinese government may intervene or influence our operations at any time or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas, which could result in a material change in our operations or the value of our securities. If there is a significant change to current political arrangements between mainland China and HongKong resulting in HongKong companies being subject to the Trial Administrative Measures, companies operated in HongKong may face similar regulatory risks as those operated in the PRC, which may affect our ability to offer securities to investors, list securities on a U.S.or other foreign exchange, conduct our business or accept foreign investment.
There remain some uncertainties as to whether we will be required to obtain approval from Chinese authorities to list on U.S.exchanges in the future, and if required, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such approval.
On July7, 2022, the Cyberspace Administration of China(CAC) promulgated the Security Assessment Measures for Cross-borderData Transfers (the SAMCDT) with effect from September1, 2022. These measures require the data processor providing data overseas and falling under any of the following circumstances apply for the security assessment of cross-borderdata transfer by the national cybersecurity authority through its local counterpart: (i)where the data processor intends to provide important data overseas; (ii)where the critical information infrastructure operator and any data processor who has processed personal information of more than 1,000,000 people intend to provide personal information overseas; (iii)where any data processor who has provided personal information of 100,000 people or sensitive personal information of 10,000 people to overseas recipients accumulatively since January1 of the last year intends to provide personal information overseas; and (iv)other circumstances where the security assessment of data cross-bordertransfer is required as prescribed by the CAC.
We believe the SAMCDT does not currently have, and is not likely in the future to have, any material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations because the Basic Law, which is a national law of the PRC and constitutional document for Hong Kong, provides Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy and executive, legislative and independent judicial powers, including that of regulating cybersecurity under the principle of one country, two systems. Accordingly, we believe we or our Operating Subsidiaries are not subject to most PRC laws or regulations relating to cybersecurity, including the SAMCDT.
Further, we also believe the SAMCDT does not and will not have a material impact on the Company because: (i)we are a holding company incorporated in the BVI with all of our operations conducted by the operating entity in HongKong; (ii)we conduct substantially all of our operations in HongKong and substantially all of our assets are located in HongKong; (iii)we have not established any subsidiary or VIE structure in mainland China; (iv)as of date of this Annual Report, we have neither collected nor stored personal information of PRC individual clients; and (v)as of the date of this Annual Report, we have not been informed by any PRC governmental authority of any requirement of review for overseas listing.
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However, there may be prominent risks associated with our operations being in HongKong. There are also risks that the Chinese government may intervene or influence our operations at any time or may exert more control over HongKong operating companies, which could result in a material change in our operations or the value of our securities. If there is a significant change to current political arrangements between mainland China and HongKong, companies operated in HongKong may face similar regulatory risks as those operated in the PRC, including its ability to offer securities to investors, list its securities on a U.S.or other foreign exchange, conduct its business or accept foreign investment being subject to the SAMCDT.
Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares
Prior to the completion of our IPO in January 2025 and the initial listing on Nasdaq Capital Market, there has been no public market for our Ordinary Shares. You may not be able to resell the Ordinary Shares at or above the price you paid, or atall.
Prior to the completion of our IPO in January 2025, there has been no public market for our Ordinary Shares. Although our Ordinary Shares are on the Nasdaq Capital Market, if an active trading market for the Ordinary Shares does not develop, the market price and liquidity of the Ordinary Shares will be materially and adversely affected.
We cannot assure you that an active trading market for the Ordinary Shares will develop or that the market price of the Ordinary Shares will not decline below the initial public offeringprice.
The global economic andgeo-politicalconditions have been, and continue to be, challenging, and have had, and may continue to have, an adverse effect on the financial markets and the economy in general, which has had, and may continue to have, a material adverse effect on our business, financial performance and results of operations and the prices of our Ordinary Shares.
The global outbreak and spread of COVID-19caused a slowdown in growth of the global economy in 2022. The global spread of COVID-19created and is likely to continue to create significant volatility and uncertainty and economic disruption. Global prospects remain highly uncertain as the COVID-19pandemic resurgence and economic recoveries diverge across countries and sectors, reflecting variations in pandemic-induceddisruptions and the extent of policy support. In addition, volatility in the domestic politics of major markets may lead to changes in the institutional framework of the international economy.
In February2022, a military conflict arose between Russia and Ukraine, with the latter being supported by countries in the NATO alliance as well as others around the globe, including imposition of financial and trade sanctions against Russia. Although the length, impact and outcome of the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine is highly unpredictable, this conflict could lead to significant market and other disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, supply of energy resources, instability in financial markets, supply chain interruptions, political and social instability, changes in consumer or purchaser preferences as well as increase in cyberattacks and espionage. In the event the conflict continues or extends beyond Ukraine, together with reduction or stoppage of energy exports from Russia, the global economy could face a recessionary downturn.
The withdrawal of the UK from the EU in January2020, commonly referred to as Brexit, has also created significant political and economic uncertainty regarding the future trading relationship between the UK and the EU as well as other countries, such as the UnitedStates, Australia, and New Zealand. In particular, the UK and the EU have ratified a trade and cooperation agreement governing their future relationship and the UK continues to negotiate agreements on specific areas of trade and economic arrangements with other countries. The UK-EUtrade and cooperation agreement addresses trade, economic arrangements, law enforcement, judicial cooperation and a governance framework including procedures for dispute resolution, among other things. Because the agreement merely sets forth a framework in many respects and will require complex additional bilateral negotiations between the UK and the EU as both parties continue to work on the rules for implementation, significant political and economic uncertainty remains about how the precise terms of the relationship between the parties will differ from the terms before withdrawal. These developments, or the perception that any of them could occur, have had and may continue to have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and financial markets, and may significantly reduce global market liquidity, restrict the ability of key market participants to operate in certain financial markets or restrict our access to capital. Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
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In many countries globally, there are concerns over rising inflation and potential economic recessions, including due to the impacts of the COVID-19pandemic. In particular, any worsening of the ongoing labor shortage and ongoing rise in inflation could significantly weaken global economies. Globally, countries have required and may continue to require additional financial support, sovereign credit ratings have declined and may continue to decline, and there may be default on sovereign debt obligations of certain countries. In addition, the U.S.Federal Reserve System and other regulatory bodies around the world may raise, or may announce intentions to raise, interest rates. Any of these global economic conditions may increase the cost of borrowing and cause credit to become more limited, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The global economic slowdown may be further prolonged by subsequent outbreaks of COVID-19in countries which are taking, or which have taken, steps to ease lockdown measures; such outbreaks may require those countries to extend their lockdown measures or roll-backprevious measures taken to facilitate the re-openingof their economies.
These economic and geo-politicalconditions have affected, and may continue to affect, our business in several ways. The cost and availability of credit has been and may continue to be adversely affected by illiquid credit markets and wider credit spreads. If these market conditions continue or worsen, they may further limit our ability to access financing or increase our cost of financing to meet liquidity needs, resulting in adverse effects on our financial condition and results of operations. The current global economic slowdown and uncertainty about the future global economic conditions could also continue to increase the volatility of the prices of our Ordinary Shares. We cannot predict the timing or duration of an economic slowdown or the timing or strength of a subsequent economic recovery generally or in our industry. If macroeconomic conditions worsen or the current global economic conditions continue for a prolonged period of time, we are not able to predict the impact that such conditions will have on our industry in general, and our results of operations specifically.
The market price for the Ordinary Shares may be volatile and may be affected by economic conditions beyond our control.
The trading prices of the Ordinary Shares are likely to be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations. In addition, the trading volume of our Ordinary Shares may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. If the market price of our Ordinary Shares declines, you may be unable to resell your Ordinary Shares at a competitive price. We cannot assure you that the market price of our Ordinary Shares will not fluctuate or significantly decline in the future. In addition, we cannot assure you that a trading market for our Ordinary Shares will be maintained.
Some specific factors that could negatively affect the price of our Ordinary Shares or result in fluctuations in their price and trading volume include:
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In recent years, the stock markets generally have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of constituent companies. Broad market and industry factors may significantly affect the market price of our Ordinary Shares, regardless of our actual operating performance. These fluctuations may be even more pronounced in the trading market in the immediate future as we recently concluded our IPO.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding the Ordinary Shares, the market price for the Ordinary Shares and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our Ordinary Shares will be influenced by research or reports that industry or securities analysts publish about our business. If industry or securities analysts decide to cover us and in the future downgrade our Ordinary Shares, the market price for our Ordinary Shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause the market price or trading volume for our Ordinary Shares to decline.
If research analysts do not establish and maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade the Ordinary Shares or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for our Ordinary Shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume for the Ordinary Shares todecline.
Certain recent IPOs of companies with relatively small public floats comparable to our public float have experienced extreme volatility that was seemingly unrelated to the actual or expected operating performance and financial condition or prospects of the respective company. Our Ordinary Shares may potentially experience rapid and substantial price volatility, which may make it difficult for prospective investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our Ordinary Shares.
In addition to the risks addressed above, the market price and trading volume of our Ordinary Shares may be affected by economic conditions beyond our control and thus may be subject to rapid and substantial price volatility. Recently, companies with comparably small public floats and IPO sizes have experienced instances of extreme stock price run-ups followed by rapid price declines, and such stock price volatility was seemingly unrelated to the respective companies actual or expected operating performance and financial condition or prospects. Although the specific cause of such volatility is unclear, our public float may amplify the impact the actions taken by a few shareholders have on the price of our shares, which may cause our share price to deviate, potentially significantly, from a price that better reflects the underlying performance of our business. Our Ordinary Shares may experience run-ups and declines that are seemingly unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance and financial condition or prospects, making it difficult for prospective investors to assess the rapidly changing value of our Ordinary Shares. In addition, investors in our Ordinary Shares may experience losses, which may be material, if the price of our Ordinary Shares declines or if such investors purchase our Ordinary Shares prior to any price decline.
We may be classified as a passive foreign investment company, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. Holders of our Ordinary Shares.
We would be classified as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for any taxable year if, after the application of certain look-through rules, either: (i) 75% or more of our gross income for such year is passive income (as defined in the relevant provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended) (the income test), or (ii) 50% or more of the value of our assets (generally determined on the basis of a quarterly average) during such year is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income (the asset test). Based on the market price of our Ordinary Shares and the composition of our income and assets, including goodwill, although not clear, we do not expect to be treated as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for the current taxable year or in the foreseeable future. However, this is a factual determination that must be made annually after the close of each taxable year, and the application of the PFIC rules is subject to uncertainty in several respects. Moreover, the value of our assets for purposes of the PFIC determination will generally be determined by reference to the market price of our Ordinary Shares, which could fluctuate significantly. Therefore, there can be no assurance that we are not a PFIC for the current taxable year or will not be classified as a PFIC in the future. Certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could apply to a U.S. Holder if we are treated as a PFIC for any taxable year during which such U.S. Holder holds our Ordinary Shares.
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We do not intend to rely on these exemptions and instead intend to comply with all of the applicable corporate governance requirements imposed by state and federal law, the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Nasdaq.
Our board of directors has discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to certain restrictions under BVI law, namely that immediately after the dividend, the value of our assets must exceed our liabilities, and we must be able to pay our debts as they fall due. Even if our board of directors decides to declare and pay dividends, the timing, amount and form of future dividends, if any, will depend on, among other things, our future results of operations and cash flow, our capital requirements and surplus, the amount of distributions, if any, received by us from our subsidiaries, our financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Accordingly, the return on your investment in our Ordinary Shares will likely depend entirely upon any future price appreciation of our Ordinary Shares. There is no guarantee that our Ordinary Shares will appreciate in value after the IPO, or even maintain the price at which you purchased the Ordinary Shares.
To the extent cash or assets in the business is in HongKong or a HongKong entity, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of HongKong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on the ability of you or your subsidiaries by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets.
We are a holding company incorporated in the BVI with no material operations of our own. We conduct substantially all of our operations in HongKong through our Operating Subsidiaries. HongKong is a special administrative region of the PRC and the basic policies of the PRC regarding HongKong are reflected in the Basic Law of the HongKong Special Administrative Region, which is a national law of the PRC and constitutional document for HongKong, which provides HongKong with a high degree of autonomy and executive, legislative and independent judicial powers, including that of final adjudication under the principle of one country, two systems. To the extent cash or assets in the business is located in HongKong, the funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of HongKong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations by the PRC government on the Companys ability to transfer cash or assets.
We may need additional capital and may sell Ordinary Shares or other equity securities or incur indebtedness, which could result in additional dilution to our shareholders or increase our debt service obligations.
We may require additional cash resources due to changed business conditions or other future developments, including any investments or acquisitions we may decide to pursue. If our cash resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain a credit facility. The sale of additional equity securities or equity-linkeddebt securities could result in additional dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. We cannot assure you that financing will be available in amounts or terms acceptable to us, if atall.
Certain existing shareholders have substantial influence over our Company and their interests may not be aligned with the interests of our other shareholders.
Our directors, officers and beneficial holders of more than 5% of our outstanding Shares collectively own an aggregate of approximately 75.0 % of the total voting power of our outstanding Shares. As a result, they have substantial influence over our business, including significant corporate actions such as mergers, consolidations, election of directors and other significant corporate actions.
They may take actions that are not in the best interest of us or our other shareholders. This concentration of ownership may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale by our company and may reduce the price of the Ordinary Shares. In addition, the significant concentration of share ownership may adversely affect the trading price of the Ordinary Shares due to investors perception that conflicts of interest may exist or arise. For more information regarding our principal shareholders and their affiliated entities, see Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management.
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We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act and may take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, most significantly, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section404 of the Sarbanes-OxleyActof2002 so long as we are an emerging growth company. As a result, if we elect not to comply with such auditor attestation requirements, our investors may not have access to certain information they may deemimportant.
In addition, under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can also delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of an exemption that allows us to delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. As a result, we will not be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that comply with the public company effective dates. We have also in the past elected to take advantage of certain of the reduced disclosure obligations and may elect to take advantage of other reduced reporting requirements in future filings. As a result of these elections, the information that we provide to our shareholders may be different than you might receive from other public reporting companies.
We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the ExchangeAct, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S.domestic public companies.
Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the ExchangeAct, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the UnitedStates that are applicable to U.S.domestic issuers, including:
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We will be required to file an annual report on Form20-Fwithin fourmonths of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, we intend to publish our results on a semi-annualbasis as press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Capital Market. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form6-K.However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S.domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S.domestic issuer.
As a company incorporated in the BVI, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the Nasdaq Capital Market corporate governance requirements; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with the Nasdaq Capital Market corporate governance requirements. We do not have any immediate plans to rely on home country practice with respect to our corporate governance.
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We may lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, which could result in significant additional costs andexpenses.
As discussed above, we are a foreign private issuer, and therefore, we are not required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the ExchangeAct. The determination of foreign private issuer status is made annually on the last businessday of an issuers most recently completed second fiscal quarter. We would lose our foreign private issuer status if, for example, more than 50% of our ordinary shares are directly or indirectly held by residents of the U.S.and we fail to meet additional requirements necessary to maintain our foreign private issuer status. In the future, if we lose our foreign private issuer status as of the last date of our second fiscal quarter, we would be required to file with the SEC periodic reports and registration statements on U.S.domestic issuer forms beginning on the following January1, which are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. We would also have to mandatorily comply with U.S.federal proxy requirements, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders would become subject to the short-swingprofit disclosure and recovery provisions of Section16 of the ExchangeAct. In addition, we would lose our ability to rely upon exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements under the Nasdaq Capital Market listing rules. As a U.S.listed public company that is not a foreign private issuer, we would incur significant additional legal, accounting and other expenses that we will not incur as a foreign private issuer, and accounting, reporting and other expenses in order to maintain a listing on a U.S.securities exchange.
If we cannot continue to satisfy the listing requirements and other rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market, our securities may be delisted, which could negatively impact the price of our securities and your ability to sell them.
Our Ordinary Shares have been approved to list on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol MCTR. However, we cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq Capital Market.
In order to maintain our listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we will be required to comply with certain rules the Nasdaq Capital Market, including those regarding minimum stockholders equity, minimum share price, minimum market value of publicly held shares, and various additional requirements. Even though we initially satisfied the listing requirements and other applicable rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market, we may not be able to continue to satisfy these requirements and applicable rules. If we are unable to satisfy the Nasdaq Capital Market criteria for maintaining our listing, our securities could be subject to delisting.
If the Nasdaq Capital Market delists our securities from trading, we could face significant consequences, including:
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We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company.
As a public company, we expect to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-OxleyActof2002, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the Nasdaq Capital Market, impose various requirements on the corporate governance practices of public companies. As a company with less than US$1.235billion in net revenues for our last fiscal year, we qualify as an emerging growth company pursuant to the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section404 of the Sarbanes-OxleyActof2002 in the assessment of the emerging growth companys internal control over financial reporting.
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We expect these rules and regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and to make some corporate activities more time-consumingand costly. We expect to incur significant expenses and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section404 of the Sarbanes-OxleyActof2002 and the other rules and regulations of the SEC.For example, as a result of becoming a public company, we will need to increase the number of independent directors and adopt policies regarding internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. We also expect that operating as a public company will make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. In addition, we will incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. It may also be more difficult for us to find qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules and regulations, and we cannot predict or estimate with any degree of certainty the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of suchcosts.
In the past, shareholders of a public company often brought securities class action suits against the company following periods of instability in the market price of that companys securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our managements attention and other resources from our business and operations, which could harm our results of operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results ofoperations.
If we fail to establish and maintain proper internal financial reporting controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired.
We have limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal controls and procedures. We will be in a continuing process of developing, establishing, and maintaining internal controls and procedures that will allow our management to report on, and our independent registered public accounting firm to attest to, our internal controls over financial reporting if and when required to do so under Section404 of the Sarbanes-OxleyActof2002. Although our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section404(b)of the Sarbanes-OxleyAct until the date we are no longer an emerging growth company, our management will be required to report on our internal controls over financial reporting under Section404.
Our Ordinary Shares may be prohibited from being traded on a national exchange under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our auditors for two consecutiveyears beginning in 2021. The delisting of our Ordinary Shares, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.
The HFCAA was enacted on December18, 2020. The HFCAA states if the SEC determines that a company has filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for three consecutiveyears beginning in 2021, the SEC shall prohibit such companys securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-countertrading market in the U.S.
On March24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCAA.A company will be required to comply with these rules if the SEC identifies it as having a non-inspection year under a process to be subsequently established by the SEC.The SEC is assessing how to implement other requirements of the HFCAA, including the listing and trading prohibition requirements described above.
On June22, 2021, the U.S.Senate passed a bill which, if passed by the U.S.House of Representatives and signed into law, would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspectionyears required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from threeyears to twoyears.
On September22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a final rule implementing the HFCAA, which provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCAA, whether the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.
On December2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCAA which took effect on January10, 2022. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions.
On December16, 2021, PCAOB announced the PCAOB HFCAA determinations (the PCAOB determinations) relating to the PCAOBs inability to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China of the PRC or HongKong, a Special Administrative Region and dependency of the PRC.
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On August26, 2022, the PCAOB announced that it had signed an SOP with the CSRC and the Ministry of Finance of China. The SOP Agreements establish a specific, accountable framework to make possible complete inspections and investigations by the PCAOB of audit firms based in PRC and HongKong, as required under U.S.law. The Agreement remains unpublished and is subject to further explanation and implementation. Pursuant to the fact sheet with respect to the SOP Agreement disclosed by the SEC, the PCAOB shall have sole discretion to select any audit firms for inspection or investigation and the PCAOB inspectors and investigators shall have a right to see all audit documentation without redaction. According to the PCAOB, its December2021 determinations under the HFCA Act remain in effect. The PCAOB is required to reassess these determinations by the end of 2022. Under the PCAOBs rules, a reassessment of a determination under the HFCA Act may result in the PCAOB reaffirming, modifying or vacating the determination.
On December15, 2022, the PCAOB issued a new Determination Report which: (1)vacated the PCAOB determinations; and (2)concluded that the PCAOB has been able to conduct inspections and investigations completely in the PRC in 2022. The December15, 2022 Determination Report cautions, however, that authorities in the PRC might take positions at any time that would prevent the PCAOB from continuing to inspect or investigate completely. As required by the HFCA Act, if in the future the PCAOB determines it no longer can inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in the PRC, the PCAOB will act expeditiously to consider whether it should issue a new determination.
Our auditor, Kreit& Chiu CPA LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included in this Annual Report, as a firm headquartered in NewYork and registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the UnitedStates pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards.
However, we cannot assure you whether Nasdaq or other regulatory authorities would apply additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the effectiveness of our auditors audit procedures and quality control procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of resources, geographic reach or experience as it relates to the audit of our financial statements. It remains unclear what the SECs implementation process related to the above rules and regulations will entail or what further actions the SEC, the PCAOB or Nasdaq will take to address these issues and what impact those actions will have on companies that have significant operations in the PRC and/or HongKong and have securities listed on a U.S.stock exchange. In addition, any additional actions, proceedings, or new rules resulting from these efforts to increase U.S.regulatory access to audit information could create some uncertainty for investors, the market price of our Ordinary Shares could be adversely affected, and we could be delisted if we and our auditor are unable to meet the PCAOB inspection requirement or being required to engage a new audit firm, which would require significant expense and management time.