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Zhengye Biotechnology Holding Ltd. (ZYBT) Risk Analysis
Risk Overview Q4, 2025
Source: the company's latest filing for the period ended Dec 31, 2025, filed Apr 28, 2026
Risk Change Over Time
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1Our dual class share structure with different voting rights may adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Class A Ordinary Shares.
We cannot predict whether our dual class share structure with different voting rights will result in a lower or more volatile market price of the Class A Ordinary Shares, in adverse publicity, or other adverse consequences. Certain index providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multiple class share structures in certain of their indices. Because of our dual class structure, we will likely be excluded from these indices and other stock indices that take similar actions. Given the sustained flow of investment funds into passive strategies that seek to track certain indices, exclusion from certain stock indices would likely preclude investment by many of these funds and could make the Class A Ordinary Shares less attractive to investors. In addition, several shareholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of a multiple class structure and our dual class structure may cause shareholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance, in which case, the market price and liquidity of the Class A Ordinary Shares could be adversely affected.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2Our dual class share structure with different voting rights will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares may view as beneficial.
We have adopted a dual class share structure such that our Ordinary Shares consist of Class A Ordinary Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares. In respect of matters requiring the votes of shareholders, each Class A Ordinary Share is entitled to one vote and each Class B Ordinary Share is entitled 20 votes. Each Class B Ordinary Share is convertible into one Class A Ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof. In addition, upon any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of any Class B Ordinary Share by a shareholder to any person who is not the Designated Person (as defined in our articles of association) or an affiliate of the Designated Person, or upon a change of ultimate beneficial ownership of any Class B Ordinary Share to any person who is not the Designated Person or an affiliate of the Designated Person, such Class B Ordinary Share shall be automatically and immediately converted into the same number of Class A Ordinary Shares. Our Class A Ordinary Shares are not convertible into our Class B Ordinary Shares under any circumstances. Only our Class A Ordinary Shares are listed on Nasdaq. This voting structure may discourage investors from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares may view as beneficial.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3Future issuances of Class B Ordinary Shares may be dilutive to holders of Class A Ordinary Shares.
We may issue additional Class B Ordinary Shares in the future in connection with future financings, strategic transactions, equity incentive plans, or otherwise. Any such issuance could result in dilution to existing holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares. In addition, since Class B Ordinary Shares carry greater voting rights than Class A Ordinary Shares, any future issuances of Class B Ordinary Shares could have the effect of further concentrating voting power in certain shareholders. This may reduce the influence of Class A Ordinary Shareholders over matters requiring shareholder approval. There can be no assurance as to when or if we will issue additional Class B Ordinary Shares, or the terms of any such issuance. However, any such future issuances could materially and adversely affect the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares and dilute the interests of existing Class A Ordinary Shareholders.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4Nasdaq may apply additional and more stringent criteria for our continued listing, since our insiders hold a large portion of our listed securities.
Nasdaq Listing Rule 5101 provides Nasdaq with broad discretionary authority over the initial and continued listing of securities on Nasdaq and Nasdaq may use such discretion to deny initial listing, apply additional or more stringent criteria for the initial or continued listing of particular securities, or suspend or delist particular securities based on any event, condition, or circumstance that exists or occurs that makes initial or continued listing of the securities on Nasdaq inadvisable or unwarranted in the opinion of Nasdaq, even though the securities meet all enumerated criteria for initial or continued listing on Nasdaq. In addition, Nasdaq has used its discretion to deny initial or continued listing or to apply additional and more stringent criteria in the instances, including: (i) where the company engaged an auditor that has not been subject to an inspection by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the "PCAOB"), an auditor that PCAOB cannot inspect, or an auditor that has not demonstrated sufficient resources, geographic reach, or experience to adequately perform the company's audit; (ii) where the company planned a small public offering, which would result in insiders holding a large portion of the company's listed securities (in which instance, Nasdaq was concerned that the offering size was insufficient to establish the company's initial valuation, and there would not be sufficient liquidity to support a public market for the company); and (iii) where the company did not demonstrate sufficient nexus to the U.S. capital market, including having no U.S. shareholders, operations, or members of the board of directors or management. Since our insiders hold a large portion of our listed securities, Nasdaq may apply additional and more stringent criteria for our continued listing. If we fail to satisfy Nasdaq's enhanced listing requirements, or even if we satisfy such requirements but Nasdaq nevertheless determines that the continued listing of our securities is inadvisable or unwarranted, Nasdaq may delist our Class A Ordinary Shares. Any such delisting could materially and adversely affect the trading market for our Class A Ordinary Shares and could cause their value to decline significantly or become worthless.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5Nasdaq has proposed a new $5 million minimum market value continued listing requirement that, if approved, could result in immediate suspension and delisting of our Class A Ordinary Shares without any cure period or opportunity to regain compliance.
On January 13, 2026, Nasdaq proposed new listing rules requiring companies on the Nasdaq Global and Capital Markets to maintain a minimum market value of listed securities of at least $5 million. Under this proposal, if our market value falls below $5 million for 30 consecutive business days, our Class A Ordinary Shares would be immediately suspended from trading and delisted from Nasdaq, with no cure period, no compliance period, and no stay of suspension during any appeal. This proposed rule represents a fundamental departure from Nasdaq's traditional approach to listing deficiencies. Unlike other continued listing requirements that provide companies with 180 days or more to regain compliance, the proposed market value requirement would result in immediate and irreversible consequences. While we could request a hearing before a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Hearings Panel to appeal a delisting determination, such a request would not prevent the immediate suspension of our Class A Ordinary Shares from trading. Furthermore, the panel would have extremely limited discretion and could only reverse the delisting decision if it determines that the initial determination was in error, and the panel could not consider evidence that we had subsequently regained compliance or grant us additional time to do so. Nasdaq's proposal reflects its belief that once a company's market value falls below $5 million, the challenges facing that company are generally not temporary and are so severe that the company is unlikely to regain and sustain compliance for the long term. Nasdaq further believes it is difficult to maintain fair and orderly markets for such low-value companies. The SEC must decide on the proposal within 45 days of publication in the Federal Register, unless it extends the review period, creating uncertainty regarding whether and when this rule may become effective. Our market value is calculated as our consolidated closing bid price multiplied by our total listed securities. Factors that could cause our market value to fall below the proposed threshold include continued stock price decline, lack of investor interest, adverse market conditions, negative developments in our business operations, dilutive financing transactions, or broader market volatility affecting microcap companies. This proposal is part of a broader trend of Nasdaq tightening listing standards for smaller issuers, including recent rules granting Nasdaq discretion to deny initial listings based on susceptibility to manipulative trading and other market value-based requirements. This increasingly stringent regulatory environment creates greater challenges for microcap companies such as us to maintain public listings. If the proposed $5 million market value continued listing requirement is approved and we subsequently fail to maintain the required market value for 30 consecutive business days, our Class A Ordinary Shares would be immediately suspended from trading and delisted from Nasdaq without any opportunity to cure the deficiency. Such suspension and delisting would have severe adverse consequences for our business, our ability to raise capital, and the liquidity and value of our shareholders' investments. Moreover, even if we remain in compliance with quantitative criteria, Nasdaq retains discretionary authority under Rule IM-5101-1 to suspend or terminate a company's listing if necessary to protect investors or ensure the orderly operation of the market, which could result in similar adverse consequences even absent a failure to meet specific quantitative thresholds. Because we are a small company, the requirements of being a public company, including compliance with the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and certain requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2022 (the "Sarbanes-Oxley Act") and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"), may strain our resources, increase our costs and distract management, and we may be unable to comply with these requirements in a timely or cost-effective manner. As a public company with listed equity securities, we must comply with the federal securities laws, rules, and regulations, including certain corporate governance provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, related rules and regulations of the SEC and the Nasdaq, with which a private company is not required to comply. Complying with these laws, rules and regulations occupies a significant amount of the time of our board of directors and management and significantly increases our costs and expenses. Among other things, we must: - maintain a system of internal control over financial reporting in compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the related rules and regulations of the SEC;- comply with rules and regulations promulgated by the Nasdaq;- prepare and distribute periodic public reports in compliance with our obligations under the federal securities laws;- maintain various internal compliance and disclosures policies, such as those relating to disclosure controls and procedures and insider trading in our Class A Ordinary Shares; and - involve and retain to a greater degree outside counsel and accountants in the above activities.
Risk Highlights Q4, 2025
Risk Word Cloud
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 71
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1AddedOur dual class share structure with different voting rights may adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Class A Ordinary Shares.
We cannot predict whether our dual class share structure with different voting rights will result in a lower or more volatile market price of the Class A Ordinary Shares, in adverse publicity, or other adverse consequences. Certain index providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multiple class share structures in certain of their indices. Because of our dual class structure, we will likely be excluded from these indices and other stock indices that take similar actions. Given the sustained flow of investment funds into passive strategies that seek to track certain indices, exclusion from certain stock indices would likely preclude investment by many of these funds and could make the Class A Ordinary Shares less attractive to investors. In addition, several shareholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of a multiple class structure and our dual class structure may cause shareholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance, in which case, the market price and liquidity of the Class A Ordinary Shares could be adversely affected.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2AddedOur dual class share structure with different voting rights will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares may view as beneficial.
We have adopted a dual class share structure such that our Ordinary Shares consist of Class A Ordinary Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares. In respect of matters requiring the votes of shareholders, each Class A Ordinary Share is entitled to one vote and each Class B Ordinary Share is entitled 20 votes. Each Class B Ordinary Share is convertible into one Class A Ordinary share at any time by the holder thereof. In addition, upon any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of any Class B Ordinary Share by a shareholder to any person who is not the Designated Person (as defined in our articles of association) or an affiliate of the Designated Person, or upon a change of ultimate beneficial ownership of any Class B Ordinary Share to any person who is not the Designated Person or an affiliate of the Designated Person, such Class B Ordinary Share shall be automatically and immediately converted into the same number of Class A Ordinary Shares. Our Class A Ordinary Shares are not convertible into our Class B Ordinary Shares under any circumstances. Only our Class A Ordinary Shares are listed on Nasdaq. This voting structure may discourage investors from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares may view as beneficial.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3AddedFuture issuances of Class B Ordinary Shares may be dilutive to holders of Class A Ordinary Shares.
We may issue additional Class B Ordinary Shares in the future in connection with future financings, strategic transactions, equity incentive plans, or otherwise. Any such issuance could result in dilution to existing holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares. In addition, since Class B Ordinary Shares carry greater voting rights than Class A Ordinary Shares, any future issuances of Class B Ordinary Shares could have the effect of further concentrating voting power in certain shareholders. This may reduce the influence of Class A Ordinary Shareholders over matters requiring shareholder approval. There can be no assurance as to when or if we will issue additional Class B Ordinary Shares, or the terms of any such issuance. However, any such future issuances could materially and adversely affect the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares and dilute the interests of existing Class A Ordinary Shareholders.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4AddedNasdaq may apply additional and more stringent criteria for our continued listing, since our insiders hold a large portion of our listed securities.
Nasdaq Listing Rule 5101 provides Nasdaq with broad discretionary authority over the initial and continued listing of securities on Nasdaq and Nasdaq may use such discretion to deny initial listing, apply additional or more stringent criteria for the initial or continued listing of particular securities, or suspend or delist particular securities based on any event, condition, or circumstance that exists or occurs that makes initial or continued listing of the securities on Nasdaq inadvisable or unwarranted in the opinion of Nasdaq, even though the securities meet all enumerated criteria for initial or continued listing on Nasdaq. In addition, Nasdaq has used its discretion to deny initial or continued listing or to apply additional and more stringent criteria in the instances, including: (i) where the company engaged an auditor that has not been subject to an inspection by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the "PCAOB"), an auditor that PCAOB cannot inspect, or an auditor that has not demonstrated sufficient resources, geographic reach, or experience to adequately perform the company's audit; (ii) where the company planned a small public offering, which would result in insiders holding a large portion of the company's listed securities (in which instance, Nasdaq was concerned that the offering size was insufficient to establish the company's initial valuation, and there would not be sufficient liquidity to support a public market for the company); and (iii) where the company did not demonstrate sufficient nexus to the U.S. capital market, including having no U.S. shareholders, operations, or members of the board of directors or management. Since our insiders hold a large portion of our listed securities, Nasdaq may apply additional and more stringent criteria for our continued listing. If we fail to satisfy Nasdaq's enhanced listing requirements, or even if we satisfy such requirements but Nasdaq nevertheless determines that the continued listing of our securities is inadvisable or unwarranted, Nasdaq may delist our Class A Ordinary Shares. Any such delisting could materially and adversely affect the trading market for our Class A Ordinary Shares and could cause their value to decline significantly or become worthless.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5AddedNasdaq has proposed a new $5 million minimum market value continued listing requirement that, if approved, could result in immediate suspension and delisting of our Class A Ordinary Shares without any cure period or opportunity to regain compliance.
On January 13, 2026, Nasdaq proposed new listing rules requiring companies on the Nasdaq Global and Capital Markets to maintain a minimum market value of listed securities of at least $5 million. Under this proposal, if our market value falls below $5 million for 30 consecutive business days, our Class A Ordinary Shares would be immediately suspended from trading and delisted from Nasdaq, with no cure period, no compliance period, and no stay of suspension during any appeal. This proposed rule represents a fundamental departure from Nasdaq's traditional approach to listing deficiencies. Unlike other continued listing requirements that provide companies with 180 days or more to regain compliance, the proposed market value requirement would result in immediate and irreversible consequences. While we could request a hearing before a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Hearings Panel to appeal a delisting determination, such a request would not prevent the immediate suspension of our Class A Ordinary Shares from trading. Furthermore, the panel would have extremely limited discretion and could only reverse the delisting decision if it determines that the initial determination was in error, and the panel could not consider evidence that we had subsequently regained compliance or grant us additional time to do so. Nasdaq's proposal reflects its belief that once a company's market value falls below $5 million, the challenges facing that company are generally not temporary and are so severe that the company is unlikely to regain and sustain compliance for the long term. Nasdaq further believes it is difficult to maintain fair and orderly markets for such low-value companies. The SEC must decide on the proposal within 45 days of publication in the Federal Register, unless it extends the review period, creating uncertainty regarding whether and when this rule may become effective. Our market value is calculated as our consolidated closing bid price multiplied by our total listed securities. Factors that could cause our market value to fall below the proposed threshold include continued stock price decline, lack of investor interest, adverse market conditions, negative developments in our business operations, dilutive financing transactions, or broader market volatility affecting microcap companies. This proposal is part of a broader trend of Nasdaq tightening listing standards for smaller issuers, including recent rules granting Nasdaq discretion to deny initial listings based on susceptibility to manipulative trading and other market value-based requirements. This increasingly stringent regulatory environment creates greater challenges for microcap companies such as us to maintain public listings. If the proposed $5 million market value continued listing requirement is approved and we subsequently fail to maintain the required market value for 30 consecutive business days, our Class A Ordinary Shares would be immediately suspended from trading and delisted from Nasdaq without any opportunity to cure the deficiency. Such suspension and delisting would have severe adverse consequences for our business, our ability to raise capital, and the liquidity and value of our shareholders' investments. Moreover, even if we remain in compliance with quantitative criteria, Nasdaq retains discretionary authority under Rule IM-5101-1 to suspend or terminate a company's listing if necessary to protect investors or ensure the orderly operation of the market, which could result in similar adverse consequences even absent a failure to meet specific quantitative thresholds. Because we are a small company, the requirements of being a public company, including compliance with the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and certain requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2022 (the "Sarbanes-Oxley Act") and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"), may strain our resources, increase our costs and distract management, and we may be unable to comply with these requirements in a timely or cost-effective manner. As a public company with listed equity securities, we must comply with the federal securities laws, rules, and regulations, including certain corporate governance provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, related rules and regulations of the SEC and the Nasdaq, with which a private company is not required to comply. Complying with these laws, rules and regulations occupies a significant amount of the time of our board of directors and management and significantly increases our costs and expenses. Among other things, we must: - maintain a system of internal control over financial reporting in compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the related rules and regulations of the SEC;- comply with rules and regulations promulgated by the Nasdaq;- prepare and distribute periodic public reports in compliance with our obligations under the federal securities laws;- maintain various internal compliance and disclosures policies, such as those relating to disclosure controls and procedures and insider trading in our Class A Ordinary Shares; and - involve and retain to a greater degree outside counsel and accountants in the above activities.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6ChangedAn active trading market for our Class A Ordinary Shares may not develop or sustain, and the trading price for our Class A Ordinary Shares may fluctuate significantly.
No assurance can be given that an active market in our Class A Ordinary Shares will develop or be sustained. If an active market does not develop, the market price and liquidity of our Class A Ordinary Shares may be materially and adversely affected, and holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares may be unable to readily sell the shares they hold or may not be able to sell their shares at all. There can be no guarantee that we will continue to satisfy the continued listing standards of Nasdaq. If we fail to satisfy the continued listing standards, we could be de-listed, which would have a negative effect on the price of our Class A Ordinary Shares and impair your ability to sell your shares. As a result, investors in our securities may experience a significant decrease in the value of their Class A Ordinary Shares.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7ChangedIf securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they publish a negative report regarding our Class A Ordinary Shares, the price of our Class A Ordinary Shares and trading volume could decline.
Any trading market for our Class A Ordinary Shares may depend in part on the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade us, the price of our Class A Ordinary Shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our Company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause the price of our Class A Ordinary Shares and the trading volume to decline.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 8ChangedThe market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance, and you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the initial public offering price.
The initial public offering price for our Class A Ordinary Shares was determined through negotiations between the Underwriter and us and may vary from the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares following our initial public offering. If you purchase our Class A Ordinary Shares in our initial public offering, you may not be able to resell those shares at or above the initial public offering price. We cannot assure you that the initial public offering price of our Class A Ordinary Shares, or the market price following our initial public offering, will equal or exceed prices in privately negotiated transactions of our shares that have occurred from time to time prior to our initial public offering. The market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares may fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including: - actual or anticipated fluctuations in our revenue and other operating results;- the financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in these projections or our failure to meet these projections;- actions of securities analysts who initiate or maintain coverage of us, changes in financial estimates by any securities analysts who follow our Company, or our failure to meet these estimates or the expectations of investors;- announcements by us or our competitors of significant products or features, technical innovations, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, or capital commitments;- price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market, including as a result of trends in the economy as a whole;- lawsuits threatened or filed against us; and - other events or factors, including those resulting from war or incidents of terrorism, or responses to these events. In addition, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. Stock prices of many companies have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In the past, stockholders have filed securities class litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were to become involved in securities litigation, it could subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our business, and adversely affect our business.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 9ChangedThe price of our Class A Ordinary Shares could be subject to rapid and substantial volatility. Such volatility, including any stock run-ups, may be 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 Class A Ordinary Shares.
There have been instances of extreme stock price run-ups followed by rapid price declines and strong stock price volatility with recent initial public offerings, especially among those with relatively smaller public floats. As a relatively small-capitalization company with a relatively small public float, we may experience greater stock price volatility, extreme price run-ups, lower trading volume, and less liquidity than large-capitalization companies. In particular, our Class A Ordinary Shares may be subject to rapid and substantial price volatility, low volumes of trades, and large spreads in bid and ask prices. Such volatility, including any stock run-ups, may be 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 Class A Ordinary Shares. In addition, if the trading volumes of our Class A Ordinary Shares are low, persons buying or selling in relatively small quantities may easily influence the price of our Class A Ordinary Shares. This low volume of trades could also cause the price of our Class A Ordinary Shares to fluctuate greatly, with large percentage changes in price occurring in any trading day session. Holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares may also not be able to readily liquidate their investment or may be forced to sell at depressed prices due to low volume trading. Broad market fluctuations and general economic and political conditions may also adversely affect the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares. As a result of this volatility, investors may experience losses on their investment in our Class A Ordinary Shares. A decline in the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional Class A Ordinary Shares or other of our securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future. No assurance can be given that an active market in our Class A Ordinary Shares will develop or be sustained. If an active market does not develop, holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares may be unable to readily sell the shares they hold or may not be able to sell their shares at all.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 10If we cease to qualify as a foreign private issuer, we would be required to comply fully with the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, and we would incur significant additional legal, accounting and other expenses that we would not incur as a foreign private issuer.
We qualify as a foreign private issuer upon the completion of the initial public offering. As a foreign private issuer, we will be exempt from the short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. On December 18, 2025, the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act was enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, mandating directors and officers of foreign private issuers to file Section 16(a) reports (Forms 3, 4, and 5) with the SEC to report beneficial ownership interests in companies, effective on March 18, 2026. As of the date of this annual report, the Company's directors and officers are subject to the Section 16(a) reporting requirements pursuant to the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act. All of our directors and officers have filed their initial statements of beneficial ownership on Form 3 as the date of this annual report. In addition, we are not required under the Exchange Act to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as United States domestic issuers, and we are not required to disclose in our periodic reports all of the information that United States domestic issuers are required to disclose. While we currently expect to continue qualify as a foreign private issuer, we may cease to qualify as a foreign private issuer in the future.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 11Because we are a foreign private issuer and are exempt from certain Nasdaq corporate governance standards applicable to U.S. issuers, you will have less protection than you would have if we were a domestic issuer.
Nasdaq listing rules require listed companies to have, among other things, a majority of its board members be independent. As a foreign private issuer, however, we are permitted to, and we may follow home country practice in lieu of the above requirements, or we may choose to comply with the above requirement within one year of listing. The corporate governance practice in our home country, the Cayman Islands, does not require a majority of our board to consist of independent directors. Thus, although a director must act in the best interests of our Company, it is possible that fewer board members will be exercising independent judgment and the level of board oversight on the management of our Company may decrease as a result. In addition, Nasdaq listing rules also require U.S. domestic issuers to have a compensation committee, a nominating/corporate governance committee composed entirely of independent directors, and an audit committee with a minimum of three members. We, as a foreign private issuer, are not subject to these requirements. Nasdaq listing rules may require shareholder approval for certain corporate matters, such as requiring that shareholders be given the opportunity to vote on all equity compensation plans and material revisions to those plans, certain Class A Ordinary Share issuances. We intend to comply with the requirements of Nasdaq listing rules in determining whether shareholder approval is required on such matters and to appoint a nominating and corporate governance committee. We may, however, consider following home country practice in lieu of the requirements under Nasdaq listing rules with respect to certain corporate governance standards which may afford less protection to investors.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 12If 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.
We list our Class A Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market. In order to maintain our listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we are required to comply with certain rules of 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 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 Nasdaq Capital Market criteria for maintaining our listing, our securities could be subject to delisting. If the Nasdaq Capital Market subsequently delists our securities 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 Class A Ordinary Shares are a "penny stock," which will require brokers trading in our Class A 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 Class A 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 13Anti-takeover provisions in our articles of association may discourage, delay, or prevent a change in control.
Some provisions of our articles of association may discourage, delay, or prevent a change in control of our Company or management that shareholders may consider favorable, including, among other things, provisions that authorize our board of directors to issue shares with preferred, deferred, or other special rights or restrictions without any further vote or action by our shareholders.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 14The 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.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with limited liability. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time, the Cayman Companies Act 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 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 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. Therefore, our public shareholders may have more difficulty protecting their interests in the face of actions by our management, directors or controlling shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction in the United States. Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records or to obtain copies of the register of members of these companies. Our articles of association have provisions that provide our shareholders the right to inspect our register of members without charge, and to receive our annual audited financial statements. Subject to the foregoing, 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. As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by our 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 15You may be unable to present proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings not called by shareholders.
Cayman Islands law does not provide shareholders with any right to requisition a general meeting or put any proposal before a general meeting. These rights, however, may be provided in a company's articles of association. Our articles of association allow any one or more of our shareholders holding shares representing in aggregate not less than one-tenth of our voting share capital in issue, to requisition a general meeting of our shareholders, in which case our directors are obliged to call such meeting. Advance notice of at least ten clear days is required for the convening of our annual general shareholders' meeting and any other general meeting of our shareholders. A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of one or more shareholders holding shares which carry in aggregate (or representing by proxy) not less than a majority of all votes attaching to all shares in issue and entitled to vote at such general meeting. For these purposes, "clear days" means that period excluding (a) the day when the notice is given or deemed to be given and (b) the day for which it is given or on which it is to take effect.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 16Recent joint statement by the SEC and the PCAOB, rule changes by Nasdaq, and the 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 our offerings.
On April 21, 2020, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and PCAOB Chairman William D. Duhnke III, along with other senior SEC staff, released a joint statement highlighting the risks associated with investing in companies based in or have 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 October 4, 2021, the SEC approved Nasdaq's revised proposal for the rule changes. On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the HFCA Act requiring a foreign company to certify it is not owned or controlled by a foreign government if the PCAOB is unable to audit specified reports because the company uses a foreign auditor not subject to PCAOB inspection. If the PCAOB is unable to inspect the company's auditors for three consecutive years, the issuer's securities are prohibited to trade on a national exchange. On December 2, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the HFCA Act. On December 18, 2020, the HFCA Act was signed into law. On March 24, 2021, the SEC announced the adoption of interim final amendments to implement the submission and disclosure requirements of the HFCA Act. In the announcement, the SEC clarifies that before any issuer will have to comply with the interim final amendments, the SEC must implement a process for identifying covered issuers. The announcement also states that the SEC staff is actively assessing how best to implement the other requirements of the HFCA Act, including the identification process and the trading prohibition requirements. On September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a final rule implementing the HFCA Act, which provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCA Act, whether the board of directors of a company 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 adopted amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which became effective on January 10, 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 the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions. For example, 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 PRC authorities in those jurisdictions. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report on its determinations that the Board 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 PRC authorities in those jurisdictions. The Board made these determinations pursuant to PCAOB Rule 6100, which provides a framework for how the PCAOB fulfills its responsibilities under the HFCA Act. Our auditor, WWC, P.C., 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. Our auditor, WWC, P.C., has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis, with the last inspection completed in 2025, and it is not subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021. However, whether the PCAOB will continue to conduct inspections and investigations completely to its satisfaction of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong is subject to uncertainty and depends on a number of factors out of our, and our auditor's, control, including positions taken by authorities of the PRC and the PCAOB. The PCAOB is expected to continue to demand complete access to inspections and investigations against accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong in the future. However, the recent developments would add uncertainties to our Class A Ordinary Shares and we cannot assure you whether the national securities exchange we apply to for Class A Ordinary Shares or 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 our audit. In addition, the HFCA Act, which requires that the PCAOB be permitted to inspect an issuer's public accounting firm within three years, may result in the delisting of our Company or prohibition of trading in our Class A Ordinary Shares in the future if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our accounting firm at such future time. On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the AHFCAA, and on December 29, 2022, legislation entitled the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law by President Biden, which contained, among other things, an identical provision to the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act and amended the HFCA Act 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 period for triggering the prohibition on trading. On August 26, 2022, the CSRC, the MOF, and the PCAOB signed the Protocol governing inspections and investigations of accounting firms based in mainland China and Hong Kong, taking the first step toward opening access for the PCAOB to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. 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 Board determined that the PCAOB was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong and voted to vacate its previous determinations to the contrary. However, should PRC authorities obstruct or otherwise fail to facilitate the PCAOB's access in the future, the PCAOB Board will consider the need to issue a new determination.
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