Addentax Group (ATXG) Risk Analysis
Risk Overview Q1, 2025
Source: the company's latest filing for the period ended Mar 31, 2025, filed Jun 30, 2025
Risk Change Over Time
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1Our independent registered public accounting firm's audit documentation related to their audit reports included in this Form 10-K include audit documentation located in the PRC. Our Common Stocks may be delisted or prohibited from being traded over-the-counter under the HFCAA if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our audit documentation located in mainland China and, as such, you may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection which could result in limitations or restrictions to our access to the U.S. capital markets. The delisting or the cessation of trading of our Common Stocks, or the threat of their being delisted or prohibited from being traded, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.
Our independent registered public accounting firm issued an audit opinion on the financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. As an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, our auditor is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB. Our auditor is headquartered in Singapore and there are no limitations in Singapore on PCAOB inspections. However, recent developments with respect to audits of PRC and Hong Kong based companies, such as us, create uncertainty about the ability of our auditor to fully cooperate with the PCAOB's request for audit workpapers without the approval of the Chinese authorities. As a result, our investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB's oversight of our auditors through such inspections. Inspections of certain other firms that the PCAOB has conducted outside of China have identified deficiencies in those firms' audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. The PCAOB is currently able to conduct inspections of audit firms located in mainland China and Hong Kong and conduct inspections of U.S. audit firms where audit work papers are located in mainland China. The audit workpapers for our PRC operations are located in the PRC. In addition, as part of a continued regulatory focus in the United States on access to audit and other information currently protected by national law, in particular China's, in June 2019, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced bills in both houses of Congress that would require the SEC to maintain a list of issuers for which the PCAOB is not able to inspect or investigate an auditor report issued by a foreign public accounting firm. The Ensuring Quality Information and Transparency for Abroad-Based Listings on our Exchanges (EQUITABLE) Act prescribes increased disclosure requirements for such issuers and, beginning in 2025, the delisting from national securities exchanges such as Nasdaq of issuers included for three consecutive years on the SEC's list. On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed S. 945, the HFCAA. The HFCAA was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 2, 2020. On December 18, 2020, the former U.S. president signed into law the HFCAA. In essence, the HFCAA requires the SEC to prohibit foreign companies from listing securities on U.S. securities exchanges if a company retains a foreign accounting firm that cannot be inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years, beginning in 2021. The enactment of the HFCAA and any additional rulemaking efforts to increase U.S. regulatory access to audit information could cause investor uncertainty for affected issuers, including us, and the market price of our securities could be adversely affected, and we could be delisted if it is unable to cure the situation to meet the PCAOB inspection requirement in time. On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCAA. We 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. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the AHFCAA and on December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law by President Biden, which contained, among other things, an identical provision to AHFCAA and amended the HFCAA by requiring the SEC to prohibit an issuer's securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three, thus reducing the time before your securities may be prohibited from trading or delisted. On September 22, 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 December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCAA. 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 the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions. On December 2, 2021, the SEC adopted amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCAA. 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 the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in a foreign jurisdiction. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report on its determinations that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and in Hong Kong because of positions taken by mainland China and Hong Kong authorities in those jurisdictions, and identifies the registered public accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong that are subject to such determinations. The PCAOB has made such designations as mandated under the HFCAA. Pursuant to each annual determination by the PCAOB, the SEC will, on an annual basis, identify issuers that have used non-inspected audit firms and thus are at risk of such suspensions in the future. The auditor of the Company, Pan-China Singapore PAC, is not among the auditor firms listed on the determination list issued by the PCAOB, which notes all of the auditor firms that the PCAOB is not able to inspect. On August 26, 2022, the CSRC, the Ministry of Finance of the PRC, and the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol, or the Protocol, governing inspections and investigations of audit firms based in China and Hong Kong. The Protocol remains unpublished and is subject to further explanation and implementation. Pursuant to the fact sheet with respect to the Protocol disclosed by the SEC, the PCAOB shall have independent discretion to select any issuer audits for inspection or investigation and has the unfettered ability to transfer information to the SEC. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB announced that it has completed a test inspection of two selected auditing firms in mainland China and Hong Kong and has voted to vacate its previous Determination Report, which concluded in December 2021 that the PCAOB could not inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms based in mainland China or Hong Kong. On December 23, 2022, the AHFCAA was enacted, which amended the HFCAA by requiring the SEC to prohibit an issuer's securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three and such act was signed into law on December 29, 2022. On December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law by President Biden, which contained, among other things, an identical provision to AHFCAA and amended the HFCAA by requiring the SEC to prohibit an issuer's securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three. The PCAOB continues to demand complete access in mainland China and Hong Kong moving forward and has resumed regular inspections since March 2023. Should the PCAOB be unable to fully conduct inspections of our auditors' work papers in the PRC, it will make it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor's audit procedures or quality control procedures and you may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection, which could result in limitation or restriction to our access to the U.S. capital markets, and our securities may be delisted or prohibited from trading if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or investigate completely our auditor under the HFCAA. Investors may consequently lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements, which would adversely affect us.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2The market price of our Common Stock may be subject to fluctuation and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Our Common Stock was first offered publicly in our IPO in August 2022 at a price of $5.00 per share, and our Common Stock has subsequently traded as high as $656.54 per share and as low as $0.78 per share as of the date of this Form 10-K. The market price of our Common Stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market may fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to: - variations in our actual and perceived operating results; - news regarding gains or losses of customers or partners by us or our competitors; - news regarding gains or losses of key personnel by us or our competitors; - announcements of competitive developments, acquisitions or strategic alliances in our industry by us or our competitors; - changes in earnings estimates or buy/sell recommendations by financial analysts; - potential litigation; - the imposition of fines or penalties related to our activities in the PRC and failure to comply with applicable rules and regulations; - general market conditions or other developments affecting us or our industry; and - the operating and stock price performance of other companies, other industries and other events or factors beyond our control. These factors and any corresponding price fluctuations may materially and adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock and result in substantial losses being incurred by our investors. In the past, following periods of market volatility, public company stockholders have often instituted securities class action litigation. If we were involved in securities litigation, it could impose a substantial cost upon us and divert the resources and attention of our management from our business.
Risk Highlights Q1, 2025
Risk Word Cloud
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 58
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1ChangedOur independent registered public accounting firm's audit documentation related to their audit reports included in this Form 10-K include audit documentation located in the PRC. Our Common Stocks may be delisted or prohibited from being traded over-the-counter under the HFCAA if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our audit documentation located in mainland China and, as such, you may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection which could result in limitations or restrictions to our access to the U.S. capital markets. The delisting or the cessation of trading of our Common Stocks, or the threat of their being delisted or prohibited from being traded, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.
Our independent registered public accounting firm issued an audit opinion on the financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. As an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, our auditor is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB. Our auditor is headquartered in Singapore and there are no limitations in Singapore on PCAOB inspections. However, recent developments with respect to audits of PRC and Hong Kong based companies, such as us, create uncertainty about the ability of our auditor to fully cooperate with the PCAOB's request for audit workpapers without the approval of the Chinese authorities. As a result, our investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB's oversight of our auditors through such inspections. Inspections of certain other firms that the PCAOB has conducted outside of China have identified deficiencies in those firms' audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. The PCAOB is currently able to conduct inspections of audit firms located in mainland China and Hong Kong and conduct inspections of U.S. audit firms where audit work papers are located in mainland China. The audit workpapers for our PRC operations are located in the PRC. In addition, as part of a continued regulatory focus in the United States on access to audit and other information currently protected by national law, in particular China's, in June 2019, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced bills in both houses of Congress that would require the SEC to maintain a list of issuers for which the PCAOB is not able to inspect or investigate an auditor report issued by a foreign public accounting firm. The Ensuring Quality Information and Transparency for Abroad-Based Listings on our Exchanges (EQUITABLE) Act prescribes increased disclosure requirements for such issuers and, beginning in 2025, the delisting from national securities exchanges such as Nasdaq of issuers included for three consecutive years on the SEC's list. On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed S. 945, the HFCAA. The HFCAA was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 2, 2020. On December 18, 2020, the former U.S. president signed into law the HFCAA. In essence, the HFCAA requires the SEC to prohibit foreign companies from listing securities on U.S. securities exchanges if a company retains a foreign accounting firm that cannot be inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years, beginning in 2021. The enactment of the HFCAA and any additional rulemaking efforts to increase U.S. regulatory access to audit information could cause investor uncertainty for affected issuers, including us, and the market price of our securities could be adversely affected, and we could be delisted if it is unable to cure the situation to meet the PCAOB inspection requirement in time. On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCAA. We 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. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the AHFCAA and on December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law by President Biden, which contained, among other things, an identical provision to AHFCAA and amended the HFCAA by requiring the SEC to prohibit an issuer's securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three, thus reducing the time before your securities may be prohibited from trading or delisted. On September 22, 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 December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCAA. 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 the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions. On December 2, 2021, the SEC adopted amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCAA. 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 the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in a foreign jurisdiction. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report on its determinations that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and in Hong Kong because of positions taken by mainland China and Hong Kong authorities in those jurisdictions, and identifies the registered public accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong that are subject to such determinations. The PCAOB has made such designations as mandated under the HFCAA. Pursuant to each annual determination by the PCAOB, the SEC will, on an annual basis, identify issuers that have used non-inspected audit firms and thus are at risk of such suspensions in the future. The auditor of the Company, Pan-China Singapore PAC, is not among the auditor firms listed on the determination list issued by the PCAOB, which notes all of the auditor firms that the PCAOB is not able to inspect. On August 26, 2022, the CSRC, the Ministry of Finance of the PRC, and the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol, or the Protocol, governing inspections and investigations of audit firms based in China and Hong Kong. The Protocol remains unpublished and is subject to further explanation and implementation. Pursuant to the fact sheet with respect to the Protocol disclosed by the SEC, the PCAOB shall have independent discretion to select any issuer audits for inspection or investigation and has the unfettered ability to transfer information to the SEC. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB announced that it has completed a test inspection of two selected auditing firms in mainland China and Hong Kong and has voted to vacate its previous Determination Report, which concluded in December 2021 that the PCAOB could not inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms based in mainland China or Hong Kong. On December 23, 2022, the AHFCAA was enacted, which amended the HFCAA by requiring the SEC to prohibit an issuer's securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three and such act was signed into law on December 29, 2022. On December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law by President Biden, which contained, among other things, an identical provision to AHFCAA and amended the HFCAA by requiring the SEC to prohibit an issuer's securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three. The PCAOB continues to demand complete access in mainland China and Hong Kong moving forward and has resumed regular inspections since March 2023. Should the PCAOB be unable to fully conduct inspections of our auditors' work papers in the PRC, it will make it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor's audit procedures or quality control procedures and you may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection, which could result in limitation or restriction to our access to the U.S. capital markets, and our securities may be delisted or prohibited from trading if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or investigate completely our auditor under the HFCAA. Investors may consequently lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements, which would adversely affect us.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2ChangedThe market price of our Common Stock may be subject to fluctuation and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Our Common Stock was first offered publicly in our IPO in August 2022 at a price of $5.00 per share, and our Common Stock has subsequently traded as high as $656.54 per share and as low as $0.78 per share as of the date of this Form 10-K. The market price of our Common Stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market may fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to: - variations in our actual and perceived operating results; - news regarding gains or losses of customers or partners by us or our competitors; - news regarding gains or losses of key personnel by us or our competitors; - announcements of competitive developments, acquisitions or strategic alliances in our industry by us or our competitors; - changes in earnings estimates or buy/sell recommendations by financial analysts; - potential litigation; - the imposition of fines or penalties related to our activities in the PRC and failure to comply with applicable rules and regulations; - general market conditions or other developments affecting us or our industry; and - the operating and stock price performance of other companies, other industries and other events or factors beyond our control. These factors and any corresponding price fluctuations may materially and adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock and result in substantial losses being incurred by our investors. In the past, following periods of market volatility, public company stockholders have often instituted securities class action litigation. If we were involved in securities litigation, it could impose a substantial cost upon us and divert the resources and attention of our management from our business.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3A recent joint statement by the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or the "PCAOB," proposed rule changes submitted by Nasdaq, and the newly enacted "Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act" all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the PCAOB. These developments could add uncertainties to investing in us.
On April 21, 2020, the SEC and the PCAOB released a joint statement highlighting the risks associated with investing in companies based in or having substantial operations in emerging markets including China. The joint statement emphasized the risks associated with lack of access for the PCAOB to inspect auditors and audit work papers in China and higher risks of fraud in emerging markets. On May 18, 2020, Nasdaq filed three proposals with the SEC to (i) apply a minimum offering size requirement for companies primarily operating in a "Restrictive Market," (ii) adopt a new requirement relating to the qualification of management or the board of directors for Restrictive Market companies, and (iii) apply additional and more stringent criteria to an applicant or listed company based on the qualifications of the company's auditor. On December 18, 2020, the "Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act" was signed by previous President of the United States and became law. This legislation requires certain issuers of securities to establish that they are not owned or controlled by a foreign government. Specifically, an issuer must make this certification if the PCAOB is unable to audit specified reports because the issuer has retained a foreign public accounting firm not subject to inspection by the PCAOB. Furthermore, if the PCAOB is unable to inspect the issuer's public accounting firm for three consecutive years, the issuer's securities are banned from trading on a national exchange or through other methods. On March 24, 2021, the SEC announced that it had adopted interim final amendments to implement congressionally mandated submission and disclosure requirements of the HFCAA. The interim final amendments will apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report on Forms 10-K, 20-F, 40-F or N-CSR with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that the PCAOB has determined it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in that jurisdiction. The SEC will implement a process for identifying such a registrant and any such identified registrant will be required to submit documentation to the SEC establishing that it is not owned or controlled by a governmental entity in that foreign jurisdiction, and will also require disclosure in the registrant's annual report regarding the audit arrangements of, and governmental influence on, such a registrant. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act ("AHFCAA"), which, if enacted, would amend the HFCAA and require the SEC to prohibit an issuer's securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three. If the AHFCAA is enacted, and if we are subject to it, it would decrease the number of "non-inspection years" from three years to two years, and thus, would reduce the time before our securities may be prohibited from trading or delisted. On September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted rules to create 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 December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize the interim final rules previously adopted in March 2021 to implement the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCAA. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an Form 10-K with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in a foreign jurisdiction. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a Determination Report which found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in: (1) mainland China of the People's Republic of China, because of a position taken by one or more authorities in mainland China; and (2) Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region and dependency of the PRC, because of a position taken by one or more authorities in Hong Kong. The PCAOB has made such designations as mandated under the HFCAA. Pursuant to each annual determination by the PCAOB, the SEC will, on an annual basis, identify issuers that have used non-inspected audit firms and thus are at risk of such suspensions in the future. The PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections in China without the approval of Chinese government authorities. If it is later determined that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate our auditor completely, investors may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection. Any audit reports not issued by auditors that are completely inspected by the PCAOB, or a lack of PCAOB inspections of audit work undertaken in China that prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating our auditors' audits and their quality control procedures, could result in a lack of assurance that our financial statements and disclosures are adequate and accurate. Our auditor, Pan-China Singapore PAC, the independent registered public accounting firm that issued the audit report included in this Form 10-K, is subject to PCAOB inspections. Pan-China Singapore PAC is headquartered in Singapore and there are no limitations in Singapore on PCAOB inspections. Therefore, we believe that, as of the date of this Annual Report, our auditor is not subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021 relating to the PCAOB's inability to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in the PRC or Hong Kong because of a position taken by one or more authorities in the PRC or Hong Kong. However, to the extent that our auditor's work papers may, in the future, become located in China, such work papers will not be subject to inspection by the PCAOB because the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities. Inspections of certain other firms that the PCAOB has conducted outside of China have identified deficiencies in those firms' audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of our auditors' work papers in China would make it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor's audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to PCAOB inspections. As a result, our investors may be deprived of the benefits of the PCAOB's oversight of our auditor through such inspections and they may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements. We cannot assure you whether Nasdaq or other regulatory authorities will apply additional or more stringent criteria to us. Such uncertainty could cause the market price of our Common Stock to be materially and adversely affected.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4We are an "emerging growth company" and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We are an "emerging growth company," as defined in the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not "emerging growth companies" including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5You may have difficulty enforcing judgments against us.
We are a Nevada corporation and most of our assets are and will be located outside of the United States. Almost all of our operations will be conducted in China. In addition, our officers and directors are nationals and residents of a country other than the United States. All of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process within the United States upon them. It may also be difficult for you to enforce in U.S. courts judgments on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our officer and director, since he is not a resident in the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of China would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6The disclosures in our reports and other filings with the SEC and our other public pronouncements are not subject to the scrutiny of any regulatory bodies in the PRC.
We are regulated by the SEC and our reports and other filings with the SEC are subject to SEC review in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Our SEC reports and other disclosure and public pronouncements are not subject to the review or scrutiny of any PRC regulatory authority. For example, the disclosure in our SEC reports and other filings are not subject to the review by China Securities Regulatory Commission, a PRC regulator that is responsible for oversight of the capital markets in China. Accordingly, you should review our SEC reports, filings and our other public pronouncements with the understanding that no local regulator has done any review of us, our SEC reports, other filings or any of our other public pronouncements.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7Shareholders may be diluted significantly through our efforts to obtain financing and satisfy obligations through the issuance of securities.
Wherever possible, our board of directors will attempt to use non-cash consideration to satisfy obligations. In many instances, we believe that the non-cash consideration will consist of shares of our common stock, warrants to purchase shares of our common stock or other securities. Our board of directors has authority, without action or vote of the shareholders, to issue all or part of the authorized but unissued shares of common stock or warrants to purchase such shares of common stock. In addition, we may attempt to raise capital by selling shares of our common stock, possibly at a discount to market in the future. These actions will result in dilution of the ownership interests of existing shareholders and may further dilute common stock book value, and that dilution may be material. Such issuances may also serve to enhance existing management's ability to maintain control of us, because the shares may be issued to parties or entities committed to supporting existing management.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 8In the event that our shares are traded, they may trade under $5.00 per share and thus will be a penny stock. Trading in penny stocks has many restrictions and these restrictions could severely affect the price and liquidity of our shares.
In the event that our stock trades below $5.00 per share, our stock would be known as a "penny stock", which is subject to various regulations involving disclosures to be given to you prior to the purchase of any penny stock. The SEC has adopted regulations which generally define a "penny stock" to be any equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. Depending on market fluctuations, our common stock could be considered to be a "penny stock". A penny stock is subject to rules that impose additional sales practice requirements on broker/dealers who sell these securities to persons other than accredited investors. For transactions covered by these rules, the broker/dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchase of these securities. In addition, the broker/dealer must receive the purchaser's written consent to the transaction prior to the purchase. He must also provide certain written disclosures to the purchaser. Consequently, the "penny stock" rules may restrict the ability of broker/dealers to sell our securities, and may negatively affect the ability of holders of shares of our common stock to resell them. These disclosures require you to acknowledge that you understand the risks associated with buying penny stocks and that you can absorb the loss of your entire investment. Penny stocks are low priced securities that do not have a very high trading volume. Consequently, the price of the stock is often volatile and you may not be able to buy or sell the stock when you want to.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 9The issuances of our Common Stock to the Selling Stockholders or the Placement Agent upon conversion of Warrants or exercise of the Notes, as the case may be, will cause dilution to our existing stockholders, and the sale of the shares of Common Stock acquired by the Selling Stockholders or the Placement Agent, or the perception that such sales may occur, could cause the price of our Common Stock to fall.
Depending on market liquidity at the time, issuances and any subsequent sales of our common stock may cause the trading price of our common stock to fall. We previously registered 197,227,433 shares of our common stock for their resale by selling stockholders which consisted of: - Up to 164,373,089 shares of common stock (the "PIPE Stocks"), consisting of (i) 82,186,544 shares of common stock issuable upon the conversion of our senior secured convertible notes (the "Notes") issued to the selling stockholders pursuant to the securities purchase agreement, dated as of January 4, 2023, by and between us and the selling stockholders (the "PIPE Securities Purchase Agreement"), and (ii) 82,186,544 additional shares of common stock that we are required to register pursuant to a registration rights agreement between us and certain selling stockholders obligating us to register 200% of the maximum number of shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Notes; - Up to 32,154,344 shares of common stock (the "PIPE Warrant Stocks"), consisting of (i) 16,077,172 shares of our common stock issued or issuable upon the exercise of warrants (the "PIPE Warrants") that were issued pursuant to the PIPE Securities Purchase Agreement, and (ii) 16,077,172 additional shares of common stock that we are required to register pursuant to a registration rights agreement between us and certain selling stockholders obligating us to register 200% of the maximum number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the PIPE Warrant Stocks; and - Up to 700,000 shares of common stock (the "Placement Agent Warrant Stocks") issued or issuable upon the exercise of placement agent warrants (the "Placement Agent Warrants") that were issued to the placement agent pursuant to the PIPE placement agency agreement (the "PIPE Placement Agency Agreement"), dated as of January 4, 2023. If and when the selling stockholders or placement agent convert and/or exercise their warrants or Notes, as the case may be, after the selling stockholders or the placement agents has acquired the shares, the selling stockholders or the placement agent may resell all, some, or none of those shares at any time or from time to time in its discretion. Therefore, issuances to the selling stockholders or the placement agent upon exercise of their warrants or conversion of the Notes could result in substantial dilution to the interests of other holders of our common stock. Even though the current trading price is significantly below our IPO price, the selling shareholders or the placement agent may have an incentive to sell because they will still profit because of the lower price that they acquired their shares than the retail investors. Additionally, the issuance of a substantial number of shares of our common stock to the selling stockholders or the placement agent, or the anticipation of such issuances, could make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and at a price that we might otherwise wish to effect sales.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 10You may experience future dilution as a result of future equity offerings and other issuances of our securities.
In order to raise additional capital, we may in the future offer additional common stocks or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stocks at prices that may not be the same as the price per share paid by the investors in this offering. We may not be able to sell shares or other securities in any other offering at a price per share that is equal to or greater than the price per share paid by the investors in this offering, and investors purchasing shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing stockholders. The price per share at which we sell additional common stocks or securities convertible into common stocks in future transactions may be higher or lower than the price per share paid to the selling stockholders. Our stockholders will incur dilution upon exercise of any outstanding stock options, warrants or other convertible securities or upon the issuance of common stocks under our share incentive programs. We expect to require additional capital in the future in order to develop our business operations. If we do not obtain any such additional financing, it may be difficult to effectively realize our long-term strategic goals and objectives. Any additional capital raised through the sale of equity or equity-backed securities may dilute our stockholders' ownership percentages and could also result in a decrease in the market value of our equity securities. The terms of any securities issued by us in future capital transactions may be more favorable to new investors, and may include preferences, superior voting rights and the issuance of warrants or other derivative securities, which may have a further dilutive effect on the holders of any of our securities then outstanding. In addition, we may incur substantial costs in pursuing future capital financing, including investment banking fees, legal fees, accounting fees, securities law compliance fees, printing and distribution expenses and other costs. We may also be required to recognize non-cash expenses in connection with certain securities we issue, such as convertible notes and warrants, which may adversely impact our financial condition.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 11Future sales of substantial amounts of the shares of common stock by existing stockholders could adversely affect the price of our common stock.
If we or our existing stockholders, our directors or their affiliates or certain of our executive officers, sell a substantial number of our common stocks in the public market, including the Resale Shares once issuable upon exercise of the PIPE Warrants and the Placement Agent Warrants, the market price of our common stocks could decrease significantly. The perception in the public market that we or our stockholders might sell our common stocks could also depress the market price of our common stocks and could impair our future ability to obtain capital, especially through an offering of equity securities.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 12The market price of our shares is likely to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to factors such as:
- variations in our actual and perceived operating results; - news regarding gains or losses of customers or partners by us or our competitors; - news regarding gains or losses of key personnel by us or our competitors; - announcements of competitive developments, acquisitions or strategic alliances in our industry by us or our competitors; - changes in earnings estimates or buy/sell recommendations by financial analysts; - potential litigation; - the imposition of fines or penalties related to our activities in the PRC and failure to comply with applicable rules and regulations; - general market conditions or other developments affecting us or our industry; and - the operating and stock price performance of other companies, other industries and other events or factors beyond our control. In addition, the securities markets have from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of the shares.
See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.