Baosheng Media Group Holdings (BAOS) Risk Analysis
Risk Overview Q4, 2023
Risk Change Over Time
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1Our Ordinary Shares may be delisted and prohibited from being traded under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our auditors. The delisting and the cessation of trading of our Ordinary Shares, or the treat of their being delisted and prohibited from being traded, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. Additionally, any inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections deprives our investors with the benefits of such inspections.
Pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023, if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspections by the PCAOB for two consecutive years, the SEC will prohibit our Ordinary Shares from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States.? Our auditor, YCM CPA INC., the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this annual report, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards and was not identified in the Determination Report as a firm subject to the PCAOB's determination. YCM CPA INC. is headquartered in Irvine, California, and has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis. If the PCAOB determines in the future that it no longer has full access to inspect and investigate completely accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong and we use an accounting firm headquartered in one of these jurisdictions to issue an audit report on our financial statements filed with the SEC, we would be identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer following the filing of the annual report on Form 20-F for the relevant fiscal year. In accordance with the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, our securities would be prohibited from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States if we are identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer for two consecutive years in the future. A prohibition of being able to trade in the United States would substantially impair or completely hinder your ability to sell or purchase our Ordinary Shares when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with delisting would have a negative impact on the price of our Ordinary Shares or render them worthless. Also, such a prohibition would significantly affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all, which would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and prospects. Additionally, we cannot assure you whether the national securities exchange we are listed on or regulatory authorities would apply additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the effectiveness of our auditor's audit procedures and quality control procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of resources, geographic reach, or experience as it relates to our audit.
- Debt & Financing - Risk 2To the extent cash in the business is in the PRC/Hong Kong or a PRC/Hong Kong entity, the funds may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC/Hong Kong due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on the ability of our Company or our subsidiaries by the PRC government to transfer cash.
Relevant mainland PRC laws and regulations permit the companies in mainland China to pay dividends only out of their respective retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with mainland China accounting standards and regulations. Additionally, each of the companies in mainland China are required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a statutory reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of its registered capital. The companies in mainland China are also required to further set aside a portion of their after-tax profits to fund the employee welfare fund, although the amount to be set aside, if any, is determined at their discretion. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Furthermore, in order for us to pay dividends to our shareholders, we may rely on payments made from our mainland PRC subsidiaries to their respective shareholders and then to our Company. If these entities incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us. Our cash dividends, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars. If we are considered a tax resident enterprise of mainland China for tax purposes, any dividends we pay to our overseas shareholders may be regarded as mainland China-sourced income and as a result may be subject to mainland PRC withholding tax. See "Item 3. Key Information-D. Risk Factors - Risks Related to Doing Business in China - Under the Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a ‘Resident Enterprise' of China. Such classification will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders." The PRC government also imposes controls on the convertibility of Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of mainland China. Shortages in foreign currencies may restrict our ability to pay dividends or other payments, or otherwise satisfy our foreign currency denominated obligations, if any. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and expenditures from trade-related transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange as long as certain procedural requirements are met. Approval from appropriate government authorities is required if Renminbi is converted into foreign currency and remitted out of mainland China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. The PRC government may, at its discretion, impose restrictions on access to foreign currencies for current account transactions and if this occurs in the future, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders. As of the date of this annual report, there are no restrictions or limitations imposed by the Hong Kong government on the transfer of capital within, into, and out of Hong Kong (including funds from Hong Kong to mainland China), except for the transfer of funds involving money laundering and criminal activities. However, there is no guarantee that the Hong Kong government will not promulgate new laws or regulations that may impose such restrictions in the future. If there is a significant change to current political arrangements between mainland China and Hong Kong, or the applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change, our Hong Kong subsidiary may become subject to PRC laws or authorities. As a result, our Hong Kong subsidiary could be subject to similar government controls on the convertibility of foreign currency and the remittance of currency out of Hong Kong as described above. As a result of the above, to the extent cash in the business is in the PRC/Hong Kong or a PRC/Hong Kong entity, such funds or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC/Hong Kong, due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on the ability of us or our subsidiaries by the competent government to the transfer of cash.
Risk Highlights Q4, 2023
Risk Word Cloud
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 63
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1AddedOur Ordinary Shares may be delisted and prohibited from being traded under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our auditors. The delisting and the cessation of trading of our Ordinary Shares, or the treat of their being delisted and prohibited from being traded, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. Additionally, any inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections deprives our investors with the benefits of such inspections.
Pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023, if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspections by the PCAOB for two consecutive years, the SEC will prohibit our Ordinary Shares from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States.? Our auditor, YCM CPA INC., the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this annual report, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards and was not identified in the Determination Report as a firm subject to the PCAOB's determination. YCM CPA INC. is headquartered in Irvine, California, and has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis. If the PCAOB determines in the future that it no longer has full access to inspect and investigate completely accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong and we use an accounting firm headquartered in one of these jurisdictions to issue an audit report on our financial statements filed with the SEC, we would be identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer following the filing of the annual report on Form 20-F for the relevant fiscal year. In accordance with the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, our securities would be prohibited from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States if we are identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer for two consecutive years in the future. A prohibition of being able to trade in the United States would substantially impair or completely hinder your ability to sell or purchase our Ordinary Shares when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with delisting would have a negative impact on the price of our Ordinary Shares or render them worthless. Also, such a prohibition would significantly affect our ability to raise capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all, which would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and prospects. Additionally, we cannot assure you whether the national securities exchange we are listed on or regulatory authorities would apply additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the effectiveness of our auditor's audit procedures and quality control procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of resources, geographic reach, or experience as it relates to our audit.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2Because our business is conducted in RMB and the price of our Ordinary Shares is quoted in the U.S. dollar, changes in the exchange rate between RMB and the U.S. dollar may affect the value of your investments.
Our business is conducted in the PRC with our books and records maintained in RMB. However, the financial statements that we file with the SEC and provide to our shareholders are presented in the U.S. dollar. Changes in the exchange rate between RMB and the U.S. dollar affect the value of our assets and the results of our operations in the U.S. dollar. The exchange rate between RMB and the U.S. dollar is affected by, among other things, changes in the PRC's political and economic conditions and perceived changes in the economy of the PRC and the United States. Any significant revaluation of the RMB may materially and adversely affect our cash flows, revenue and financial condition.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3Our share price has recently declined substantially, and our Ordinary Shares could be delisted from the Nasdaq or trading could be suspended.
The continuous listing of our Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market is contingent on our compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market's conditions for continued listing. A decline in the closing price of our Ordinary Shares could result in a breach of the requirements for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. If we do not maintain compliance, Nasdaq could commence suspension or delisting procedures in respect of our Ordinary Shares. The commencement of suspension or delisting procedures by an exchange remains at the discretion of such exchange and would be publicly announced by the exchange. If a suspension or delisting were to occur, there would be significantly less liquidity in the suspended or delisted securities. In addition, our ability to raise additional necessary capital through equity or debt financing would be greatly impaired. Furthermore, with respect to any suspended or delisted Ordinary Shares, we would expect decreases in institutional and other investor demand, analyst coverage, market making activity and information available concerning trading prices and volume, and fewer broker-dealers would be willing to execute trades with respect to such Ordinary Shares. A suspension or delisting would likely decrease the attractiveness of our Ordinary Shares to investors and cause the trading volume of our Ordinary Shares to decline, which could result in a further decline in the market price of our Ordinary Shares.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4Shares eligible for future sale may adversely affect the market price of our Ordinary Shares, as the future sale of a substantial amount of outstanding Ordinary Shares in the public marketplace could reduce the price of our Ordinary Shares.
The market price of our shares could decline as a result of sales of substantial amounts of our shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur. In addition, these factors could make it more difficult for us to raise funds through future offerings of our Ordinary Shares. We cannot predict the effect, if any, market sales of shares held by our significant shareholders or any other shareholders or the availability of these shares for future sale will have on the market price of our Ordinary Shares.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5A sale or perceived sale of a substantial number of our Ordinary Shares may cause the price of our Ordinary Shares to decline.
If our shareholders sell substantial amounts of our Ordinary Shares in the public market, the market price of our Ordinary Shares could fall. Moreover, the perceived risk of this potential dilution could cause shareholders to attempt to sell their shares and investors to short our Ordinary Shares. These sales also make it more difficult for us to sell equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem reasonable or appropriate.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6For as long as we are an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with certain reporting requirements, including those relating to accounting standards and disclosure about our executive compensation, that apply to other public companies.
In April 2012, President Obama signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or the JOBS Act. We are classified as an "emerging growth company" under the JOBS Act. For as long as we are an emerging growth company, which may be up to five full fiscal years, unlike other public companies, we will not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor's attestation report on management's assessment of the effectiveness of our system of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (ii) comply with any new requirements adopted by the PCAOB requiring mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor's report in which the auditor would be required to provide additional information about the audit and the financial statements of the issuer, (iii) provide certain disclosure regarding executive compensation required of larger public companies or (iv) hold nonbinding advisory votes on executive compensation. We will remain an emerging growth company for up to five years, although we will lose that status sooner if we have more than $1.235 billion of revenues in a fiscal year, have more than $700 million in market value of our Ordinary Shares held by non-affiliates, or issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over a three-year period. To the extent that we rely on any of the exemptions available to emerging growth companies, you will receive less information about our executive compensation and internal control over financial reporting than issuers that are not emerging growth companies. If some investors find our Ordinary Shares to be less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Ordinary Shares and our stock price may be more volatile.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7The laws of the Cayman Islands may not provide our shareholders with benefits comparable to those provided to shareholders of corporations incorporated in the United States. For instance, 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 Cayman Islands law.
Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, as amended from time to time, by the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands and by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against our directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law in the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands and from English common law. Decisions of the Privy Council (which is the final Court of Appeal for British Overseas Territories such as the Cayman Islands) are binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. Decisions of the English courts, and particularly the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal are generally of persuasive authority but are not binding in the courts of the Cayman Islands. Decisions of courts in other Commonwealth jurisdictions are similarly of persuasive but not binding authority. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedents in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws relative to the United States. Some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States. Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records (other than copies of the memorandum and articles of association, the register of mortgages and charges, and any special resolutions passed by the shareholders) or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. Our directors have discretion under our articles of association to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. 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 Cayman Islands, which is our home country, differ significantly from requirements for companies incorporated in other jurisdictions such as the United States. If we choose to follow home country practice in the future, 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 United States.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 8If we cannot satisfy, or continue to satisfy, the continued 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 securities are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. In order to maintain our listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we are required to comply with certain rules, including those regarding minimum stockholders' equity, minimum share price, minimum market value of publicly held shares, and various additional requirements. Even if we initially meet 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 criteria for maintaining our listing, our securities could be subject to delisting. If our securities are subsequently delisted from trading, we could face significant consequences, including: - a limited availability for market quotations for our securities;- reduced liquidity with respect to our securities;- a determination that our Ordinary Shares is a "penny stock," which will require brokers trading in our Ordinary Shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our Ordinary Shares;- limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and - a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 9You may be unable to present proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings not called by shareholders.
Cayman Islands law provides shareholders with only limited rights to requisition a general meeting, and does not provide shareholders with any right to put any proposal before a general meeting. These rights, however, may be provided in a company's articles of association. Our amended and restated articles of association allow our shareholders holding shares representing in aggregate not less than one-third (1/3) of our voting share capital in issue, to requisition a general meeting of our shareholders. Advance notice of at least seven clear days is required for any general meeting of our shareholders. A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of at least one shareholder present or by proxy, representing not less than one-third (1/3) of all votes attaching to all issued and outstanding shares that carry the right to vote at a general meeting of the Company.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 10As a foreign private issuer, we are not subject to certain U.S. securities law disclosure requirements that apply to a domestic U.S. issuer, which may limit the information publicly available to our shareholders.
Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including: - the rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K;- the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act;- the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time;- the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD; and - certain audit committee independence requirements in Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act. We are required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. 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.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 11As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the Nasdaq Stock Market corporate governance listing standards. These practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with corporate governance listing standards.
As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to take advantage of certain provisions in the Nasdaq Stock Market listing rules that allow us to follow Cayman Islands law for certain governance matters. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands may differ significantly from corporate governance listing standards as, except for general fiduciary duties and duties of care, Cayman Islands law has no corporate governance regime which prescribes specific corporate governance standards. When our Ordinary Shares are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we intend to continue to follow Cayman Islands corporate governance practices in lieu of the corporate governance requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market in respect of the following: (i) the majority independent director requirement under Section 5605(b)(1) of the Nasdaq Stock Market listing rules, (ii) the requirement under Section 5605(d) of the Nasdaq Stock Market listing rules that a compensation committee comprised solely of independent directors governed by a compensation committee charter oversee executive compensation, (iii) the requirement under Section 5605(e) of the Nasdaq Stock Market listing rules that director nominees be selected or recommended for selection by either a majority of the independent directors or a nominations committee comprised solely of independent directors and (iv) the requirement under Section 5605(b)(2) of the Nasdaq Stock Market listing rules that our independent directors hold regularly scheduled executive sessions. Cayman Islands law does not impose a requirement that our board of directors consist of a majority of independent directors. Nor does Cayman Islands law impose specific requirements on the establishment of a compensation committee or nominating committee or nominating process. Therefore, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would have under corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.
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.