Agm Group Holdings, Inc F-3/A, filed Mar 4, 2022
Agm Group Holdings, Inc. (AGMH)
As filed with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission on March 4, 2022
Registration No. 333-262107
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
AMENDMENT NO. 3 TO
FORM F-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
AGM Group Holdings Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| N/A |
| (Translation of Registrant’s Name into English) |
| British Virgin Islands | Not Applicable | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
c/o Creative Consultants (Hong Kong) Limited
Room 1502-3 15/F., Connaught Commercial Building, 185 Wanchai Road
Wanchai, Hong Kong
+86-010-65020507 – telephone
(Address and telephone number of Registrant’s principal executive offices)
COGENCY GLOBAL INC.
122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10168
(212) 947-7200
(Name, address, and telephone number of agent for service)
Copies to:
William S. Rosenstadt, Esq.
Mengyi “Jason” Ye, Esq.
Yarona L. Yieh, Esq.
Ortoli Rosenstadt LLP
366 Madison Avenue, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10017
+1-212-588-0022 – telephone
+1-212-826-9307 – facsimile
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.
If only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. ☐
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☒
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.C. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.C. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to completion, dated March 4, 2022
AGM Group Holdings Inc.
Up to 1,652,175 Class A Ordinary Shares Underlying Warrants
This prospectus relates to the offer and resale of up to 1,652,175 Class A ordinary shares of AGM Group Holdings Inc., a British Virgin Islands company, which include up to 1,449,276 Class A ordinary shares (the “Investor Warrant Shares”) issuable upon the exercise of certain ordinary share purchase warrants (the “Investor Warrants”) issued in a private placement to certain institutional investors (the “Investors”) and up to 202,899 Class A ordinary shares (the “Placement Warrant Shares” and together with the Investor Warrant Shares, the “Warrant Shares”) issuable upon the exercise of that certain ordinary share purchase warrants (the “Placement Agent Warrants” and together with the Investor Warrants, the “Warrants”)) issued to the placement agent in such private placement (the “Placement Agent”). The Investors and the Placement Agent are identified as selling shareholders in this registration statement (the “Selling Shareholders”). The Investor Warrants were issued to the Investors in connection with a certain securities purchase agreement between the Company and the Investors, dated as of December 10, 2021 (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”). The Investor Warrants are exercisable immediately from the date of issuance and have a term of three and one-half years from the date of issuance. The Investor Warrants have an exercise price of $8.30 per share, subject to adjustments thereunder. The Placement Agent Warrants were issued to the Placement Agent and/or its assignees in connection with that certain placement agency agreement between the Company and the Placement Agent dated December 10, 2021 (the “Placement Agency Agreement”). The Placement Agent Warrants have a term of three and a half years from the date of issuance. The Placement Agent Warrants have an exercise price of $8.30 per share, subject to adjustments thereunder. See section titled “December 2021 Offering” beginning on page 21.
This prospectus also covers any additional ordinary shares that may become issuable upon any anti-dilution adjustment pursuant to the terms of the Investor Warrants and the Placement Agent Warrants issued to the Selling Shareholders by reason of stock splits, stock dividends, and other events described therein.
The Warrant Shares will be resold from time to time by the Selling Shareholders listed in the section titled “Selling Shareholders” beginning on page 23.
The Selling Shareholders, or their respective transferees, pledgees, donees or other successors-in-interest, may sell the Warrant Shares through public or private transactions at prevailing market prices, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at privately negotiated prices. The Selling Shareholders may sell any, all or none of the securities offered by this prospectus, and we do not know when or in what amount the Selling Shareholders may sell their Warrant Shares hereunder following the effective date of this registration statement. We provide more information about how a Selling Shareholder may sell its Warrant Shares in the section titled “Plan of Distribution” on page 27.
We are registering the Warrant Shares on behalf of the Selling Shareholders, to be offered and sold by them from time to time. While we will not receive any proceeds from the sale of our Class A ordinary shares by the Selling Shareholders in the offering described in this prospectus, we will receive proceeds upon the cash exercise of each of the Warrants. Upon exercise of the Investor Warrants for all 1,449,276 Investor Warrant Shares by payment of cash, we will receive aggregate gross proceeds of $12,028,990.80, if the exercise price is $8.30 per share and upon exercise of the Placement Agent Warrants for all 202,899 Placement Agent Warrant Shares, we will receive aggregate gross proceeds of $1,684,061.70, at the exercise price of $8.30 per share. However, we cannot predict when and in what amounts or if the Warrants will be exercised, and it is possible that the Warrants may expire and never be exercised, in which case we would not receive any cash proceeds. We have agreed to bear all of the expenses incurred in connection with the registration of the Warrant Shares. The Selling Shareholders will pay or assume discounts, commissions, fees of underwriters, selling brokers or dealer managers and similar expenses, if any, incurred for the sale of the Warrant Shares.
Our Class A ordinary shares are traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “AGMH”. On March 1, 2022, the last reported sales price of our shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market was $1.66 per share and we had 24,254,842 shares of Class A ordinary share outstanding as of the date of this prospectus. Our stock price is volatile. During the 12 months prior to the date of this prospectus, our ordinary share has traded at a low of $1.49 and a high of $26.50. There has been no change recently in our financial condition or results of operations that is consistent with the recent change in our stock price.
Investors are cautioned that you are not buying shares of a China-based operating company but instead are buying shares of a BVI holding company with operations conducted by its subsidiaries.
AGM Group Holdings Inc., or AGM, is a holding company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, or the BVI. As a holding company with no material operations, AGM conducts a substantial majority of its operations through its subsidiaries established in the People’s Republic of China, or the PRC or China. However, neither the holding company nor any of the Company’s Chinese subsidiaries conduct any operations through contractual arrangements with a variable interest entity based in China. Investors in our ordinary shares should be aware that they may never directly hold equity interests in the PRC operating entities, but rather purchasing equity solely in AGM Group Holdings Inc., our BVI holding company.
Our equity structure is a direct holding structure. Within our direct holding structure, the cross-border transfer of funds within our corporate entities is legal and compliant with the laws and regulations of the PRC. After the foreign investors’ funds enter AGM, the funds can be directly transferred to the PRC operating companies through its subsidiaries. Specifically, AGM is permitted under the BVI laws to provide funding to our subsidiaries in the PRC, Hong Kong and Singapore through loans or capital contributions without restrictions on the amount of the funds, subject to satisfaction of applicable government registration, approval and filing requirements. Each of our subsidiaries in the Hong Kong and Singapore is also permitted under the laws of Hong Kong and Singapore to provide funding to AGM through dividend distribution without restrictions on the amount of the funds. Current PRC regulations permit our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to the Company only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. As of the date of this prospectus, there have not been any transfers, dividends or distributions made between the holding company, its subsidiaries, and to investors. For the foreseeable future, we intend to use the earnings for our business operations and as a result, we do not intend to distribute earnings or pay any cash dividends. See “Prospectus Summary - Transfers of Cash to and from Our Subsidiaries” on page 6 of this prospectus.
Investing in our securities being offered pursuant to this prospectus involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully read and consider the “Risk Factors’’ beginning on page 10 before you make your investment decision.
Because our operations are primarily located in the PRC and Hong Kong through our subsidiaries, we are subject to certain legal and operational risks associated with our operations in China, including that changes in the legal, political and economic policies of the Chinese government, the relations between China and the United States, or Chinese or United States regulations may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. PRC laws and regulations governing our current business operations are sometimes vague and uncertain, and therefore, these risks may result in a material change in our operations and the value of our ordinary shares, or could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. Recently, the PRC government initiated a series of regulatory actions and statements to regulate business operations in China with little advance notice, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, enhancing supervision over China-based companies listed overseas using a variable interest entity structure, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. We do not believe that our subsidiaries are directly subject to these regulatory actions or statements, as we have not implemented any monopolistic behavior and our business does not involve the collection of user data or implicate cybersecurity. As of the date of this prospectus, no relevant laws or regulations in the PRC explicitly require us to seek approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, or any other PRC governmental authorities for our offering, nor has our BVI holding company or any of our subsidiaries received any inquiry, notice, warning or sanctions regarding our offering from the CSRC or any other PRC governmental authorities. However, since these statements and regulatory actions by the PRC government are newly published and official guidance and related implementation rules have not been issued, it is highly uncertain how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operation, the ability to accept foreign investments and list on an U.S. or other foreign exchange. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, or the SCNPC, or other PRC regulatory authorities may in the future promulgate laws, regulations or implementing rules that requires our company or any of our subsidiaries to obtain regulatory approval from Chinese authorities before offering in the U.S.
As of the date of the prospectus, JLKZ CPA LLP, our auditor, is not subject to the determinations as to inability to inspect or investigate registered firms completely announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021. While the Company’s auditor is based in the U.S. and is registered with PCAOB and subject to PCAOB inspection, in the event it is later determined that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely the Company’s auditor because of a position taken by an authority in a foreign jurisdiction, then such lack of inspection could cause trading in the Company’s securities to be prohibited under the Holding Foreign Company Accountable Act, and ultimately result in a determination by a securities exchange to delist the Company’s securities. A termination in the trading our of securities or any restriction on the trading in our securities would be expected to have a negative impact on the Company as well as on the value of our securities. See “Risk Factors” on page 10 relating to the statements issued by the SEC and the PCAOB.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is __________, 2022
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
This prospectus describes the general manner in which the Selling Shareholders may offer from time to time up to 1,652,175 Warrant Shares, including up to 1,449,276 Investor Warrant Shares issuable upon the exercise of the Investor Warrants and up to 202,899 Placement Agent Warrant Shares issuable upon the exercise of the Placement Agent Warrants. You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus and the related exhibits, any prospectus supplement or amendment thereto and the documents incorporated by reference, or to which we have referred you, before making your investment decision. Neither we nor the Selling Shareholders have authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus, any prospectus supplement or amendments thereto do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, the Class A ordinary shares offered by this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or amendments thereto in any jurisdiction to or from any person to whom or from whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation of an offer in such jurisdiction. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or amendments thereto, as well as information we have previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of the applicable document.
If necessary, the specific manner in which the ordinary shares may be offered and sold will be described in a supplement to this prospectus, which supplement may also add, update or change any of the information contained in this prospectus. To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in such prospectus supplement, provided that if any statement in one of these documents is inconsistent with a statement in another document having a later date—for example, a document incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement—the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement.
Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any distribution of Class A ordinary shares pursuant to this prospectus shall, under any circumstances, create any implication that there has been no change in the information set forth or incorporated by reference into this prospectus or in our affairs since the date of this prospectus. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since such date.
ii
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or amendment and the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus contain various forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which represent our expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, which depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and/or which include words such as “believes,” “plans,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “may,” “will” or similar expressions. In addition, any statements concerning future financial performance, ongoing strategies or prospects, and possible future actions, which may be provided by our management, are also forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions about our company, economic and market factors, and the industry in which we do business, among other things. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors. Factors that could cause our actual performance, future results and actions to differ materially from any forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in any of our filings with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. The forward-looking statements in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement or any amendments thereto and the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus represent our views as of the date such statements are made. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date such statements are made.
iii
Unless otherwise indicated, information contained in this prospectus concerning our industry and the market in which we operate, including our market position, market opportunity and market size, is based on information from various sources, on assumptions that we have made based on such data and other similar sources and on our knowledge of the markets for our products. These data sources involve a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates.
We have not independently verified any third-party information. While we believe the market position, market opportunity and market size information included in this prospectus is generally reliable, such information is inherently imprecise. In addition, projections, assumptions and estimates of our future performance and the future performance of the industry in which we operate is necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates made by the independent parties and by us.
iv
This summary highlights information contained in the documents incorporated herein by reference. Before making an investment decision, you should read the entire prospectus, and our other filings with the SEC, including those filings incorporated herein by reference, carefully, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Overview
We are a technology company. Our products and services include: 1) a futures trading solution catering to clients using MetaTrader 5; 2) FXSC, a retail-orientated online trading education website; 3) a foreign exchange (“Forex”) trading system that provides services to financial institutions outside of China; and 4) technology hardware research and development, manufacture, and sales. Our mission is to become one of the key participants and contributors in the global technology hardware supply chain and fintech blockchain ecosystem.
Futures trading system
In September 2019, we, through AGM Defi Lab, completed our development of a futures trading software which integrates future trading API with MetaTrader 5, a well-known and advanced trading software. However, during the third quarter of 2020, most futures brokers started to accept a new third-party software API connection method in order to comply with newly enacted futures regulations and policies in China about the trading terminal API pass-through regulation, which requires “pass through monitoring”. Brokers will need to know exactly who to use API from what third-party software since, traditionally, brokers did not need to collect such information. All other software products on the market are required to comply with the new rule. Accordingly, we were obligated to upgrade and transform the system to enable this new API connection method. We completed the upgrading and transformation of the system at the end of first quarter of 2021. We plan to conduct new trials and improve the solutions based on feedbacks.
FXSC, a retail-orientated online trading education website
In July 2020, we launched FXSC through AGM Defi Lab, a subscription-based online trading education and social trading network platform for Forex traders. FXSC provides trading education to users through interactive trading simulation and trading contests, which enable users to choose and participate in available contests and compete for prizes in a real-time streamed, interactive demo trading environment. FXSC also provides demo trading, also referred to as virtual trading, paper trading, or trading simulation, which is designed to give users, especially the ones with limited knowledge and skills, a risk-free trading environment to get familiar with the markets and trading tools. We plan to charge subscription fees directly to end-users for using the social and educational features of the platform. In addition, through partnership with brokers that integrate its accounts management system with FXSC, we plan to charge brokers a per client monthly service fee for their clients using FXSC. The launch of FXSC is expected to build our brand. We plan to use some of the proceeds from this offering to invest in mass marketing of FXSC.
Forex trading system
Prior to September 2018, through AGM Defi Lab, we provided Forex trading services, including computer program technical support and solution services and trading platform application services, through a combination of in-house developed systems and applications, and the licensed trading platform MetaTrader. In addition, we were engaged in Forex trading brokerage business and generated revenue from gains and losses from trades and Forex brokerage fees and commissions. At the time, our clients were retail clients and brokerage firms located in China. We voluntarily discontinued the Forex trading system due to a policy position by the PRC government that would no longer support the Forex trading related business and would restrain certain accounts holding the deposits payable. In December 2021, we commenced the sale of our trading system software to our brokerage clients and partners.
1
Technology hardware research and development, manufacture, and sales
In third quarter of 2021, we formed the company’s new growth strategy and the decision to enter into the ASIC chip research and development to be conducted through AGM HK. In August 2021, we announced the launch of our first ASIC crypto Miner - KOI MINER C16 (“C16”). C16 is equipped with the C3012 chip made by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.’s N+1 process. C16 has a hash rate up to 113 TH/s and a power efficiency ratio of 30 J/T, supporting the mining of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and other cryptocurrencies.
The competition of cryptocurrencies mining equipment has grown intense in recent years. Our main competitors are Bitmain, a multinational semiconductor company, Canaan, a supercomputing solutions provider, and MicroBT, a technology company based on block chain and artificial intelligence, all of which are located in China and have both ASIC research and development capacities and deep supply chain connections in China.
C16’s parameters have surpassed our competitors’ models, including: Antminer S19 pro of Bitmain, which has a power consumption of 3250W and hash rate of 104TH/S, and AvalonMiner1246 of Canaan, which has an A1246 hash rate of 90TH/S, power consumption of 3420W and power efficiency of 38J/T, and Whatminer M30S ++ of MicroBT, which has a hash rate of 112TH/S, power consumption of 3472 W and power efficiency of 31 J/T. Since the launch of C16, we have received orders from buyers in the United States, Canada and Europe.
We plan to use some of the proceeds from this offering to develop the technology hardware business.
The COVID-19 Pandemic update
We are monitoring the global outbreak and spread of the novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) and taking steps in an effort to identify and mitigate the adverse impacts on, and risks to, our business (including but not limited to our employees, customers, other business partners, our manufacturing capabilities and capacity and our distribution channels) posed by its spread and the governmental and community reactions thereto. We continue to assess and update our business continuity plans in the context of this pandemic, including taking steps in an effort to help keep our workforces healthy and safe. The spread of COVID-19 has caused us to modify our business practices (including employee travel, employee work locations in certain cases, and cancellation of physical participation in certain meetings, events and conferences), and we expect to take further actions as may be required or recommended by government authorities or as we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers and other business partners. We are also working with our suppliers to understand the existing and future negative impacts to our supply chain and take actions in an effort to mitigate such impacts. Due to the speed with which the COVID-19 situation is developing, the global breadth of its spread and the range of governmental and community reactions thereto, there is uncertainty around its duration and ultimate impact; therefore, any negative impact on our overall financial and operating results (including without limitation our liquidity) cannot be reasonably estimated at this time, but the pandemic could lead to extended disruption of economic activity and the impact on our financial and operating results could be material. See “Risk Factors—The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted, and poses risks to, our business, the nature and extent of which are highly uncertain and unpredictable” contained in the 2020 Annual Report incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
Recent Development
Strategic Partnership with HighSharp (Shenzhen Gaorui) Electronic Technology Co., Ltd
As part of our plan to expand into the hardware production business, in September 2021, we entered into a strategic partnership agreement with HighSharp (Shenzhen Gaorui) Electronic Technology Co., Ltd (“HighSharp”), a fabless integrated circuit designer that provides advanced semiconductor solutions for supercomputing hardware, pursuant to which, for a six-month period until March 25, 2022, HighSharp will provide the latest ASIC chip technology and manufacturing services to us and we will be responsible for client development on a global basis, with a target to generate orders of at least US$100 million during the six-month term until March 25, 2022. If we and HighSharp achieve the respective targets, we and HighSharp plan to form a joint venture, joined by HighSharp’s key R&D team members, with the goal to integrate next generation product research and development into fabless integrated circuit design capabilities that provide advanced semiconductor solutions for supercomputing hardware. AGM Group Holdings, Inc. will own 60% of the equity and HighSharp will own 40% of the equity in the joint venture.
2
Termination of Equity Transfer Agreement with Yushu Kingo City Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.
On January 16, 2020, AGM Tianjin entered into an equity transfer agreement (the “Equity Transfer Agreement”) with all the shareholders of Yushu Kingo City Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. (“Yushu Kingo”), who collectively owns 100% of the equity interest in Yushu Kingo, pursuant to which agreement, in exchange for 100% of the equity interest in Yushu Kingo, AGM Tianjin agreed to pay $20,000,000 in cash and cause AGM Holdings to issue 2,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, valued at $15 per share, subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement. AGM Tianjin made advance payments in the amount of $4,937,663.72 (the “Advance Payment”).
On April 6, 2021, AGM Tianjin, Yushu Kingo and its shareholders entered into a supplement agreement (“Supplement Agreement”) to the Equity Transfer Agreement. Pursuant to the Supplement Agreement, if AGM Tianjin decided not to proceed with the acquisition contemplated by the Equity Transfer Agreement and terminate such agreement on or before October 31, 2021, Yushu Kingo’s shareholders shall return the Advance Payment and pay an additional 10% interest to AGM Tianjin. If Yushu Kingo’s shareholders are unable to make such payment, Yushu Kingo’s shareholders agreed to transfer the titles of real properties of Yushu Kingo to AGM Tianjin, valued with a 20% discount to market price. The parties further agreed to conduct a new evaluation of Yushu Kingo’s assets and to enter into supplement agreement based on such evaluation.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the quarantine and travel restrictions in China, and the massive economic disruption as a result, Yushu Kingo was not able to complete its construction projects and the audit and due diligence of Yushu Kingo was not completed on time. On October 4, 2021, AGM Tianjin terminated the Equity Transfer Agreement and Supplement Agreement with the Yushu Kingo and its shareholders. On October 20, 2021, AGM Tianjin entered into an agreement on transfer of creditor rights with a non-affiliated third party (the “Buyer”). Pursuant to the Transfer Agreement, AGM Tianjin agrees to sell to the Buyer all of its rights and obligations under the Equity Transfer Agreement and the Supplement Agreement, namely, the right to receive the Advance Payment plus interest, for a total purchase price of $5,000,000 (the “Purchase Price”), $2,500,000 of which will be payable on or before December 31, 2021 and the remaining $2,500,000 will be payable on or before June 30, 2022. The Buyer agrees, in the event it fails to pay the Purchase Price on time, to pay as damages for breach of contract an amount equal to four times China’s loan prime rate (LPR) of the Purchase Price due.
Change of Board of Directors
On April 30, 2021, Tingfu Xie tendered his resignation as director, the chairman of the Nominating Committee, and a member of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee of the Company, effective April 30, 2021. On the same day, at the recommendation of the Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee, the Board of Directors approved and confirmed the appointment of Jing Shi as the succeeding director, the chairwoman of the Nominating Committee and a member of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee of the Company, effective April 30, 2021.
On May 7, 2021, the Company appointed Dr. Bo Zhu as the Chief Strategy Officer.
On July 12, 2021, the Board of Directors and the Compensation Committee of approved and confirmed the appointment of Junchen Li as the Co-Chief Executive Officer, effective July 12, 2021. On September 15, 2021, the Board also approved the appointment of Chenjun Li as the director and the Chairman of the Board to replace Bin Cao, whose employment agreement with the Company expired on May 19, 2021.
Registered Direct Offering and Concurrent Private Placement
On December 14, 2021, pursuant to a securities purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with certain institutional investors (the “Purchasers”) dated December 10, 2021, the Company closed (a) a registered direct offering for the sale of 2,898,552 of its Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.001 per share, and (b) a concurrent private placement, for the sale of unregistered warrants to purchase up to 1,449,276 Class A ordinary shares (the “Investor Warrants”), for gross proceeds of approximately US$20 million. The purchase price for each Share and the corresponding half Warrant is US$6.90. The Investor Warrants will be exercisable immediately from the date of issuance and have an exercise price of US$8.30 per share. The Investor Warrants will expire 3.5 years from the date of issuance. Each Investor Warrant contains anti-dilution provisions to reflect share dividends and splits or other similar transactions, as described in the Investor Warrants.
3
Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Class A ordinary shares were issued to the Purchasers in a registered direct offering and registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), pursuant to a prospectus supplement to the Company’s currently effective registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-236897), which was initially filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020 and declared effective by the SEC on May 28, 2020. The Company filed the prospectus supplement for the Registered Direct Offering on December 13, 2021.
The Company issued the Investor Warrants to the Purchasers in a concurrent private placement pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act contained in Section 4(a)(2) thereof and/or Regulation D thereunder (the “Private Placement,” and together with the Registered Direct Offering, the “Offering”).
FT Global Capital, Inc. (the “Placement Agent”) acted as the exclusive placement agent in connection with the Offering under the terms of the Placement Agency Agreement, dated December 10, 2021 between it and the Company (the “Placement Agency Agreement”) and, at closing of the Offering, received a cash fee equal to 7.5% of the aggregate gross proceeds raised in the Offering as well as reimbursement of certain costs and expenses of up to US$80,000. Additionally, the Company issued to the Placement Agent or its designees warrants (the “Placement Agent Warrants,” and together with the Investor Warrants, the “Warrants”) for the purchase of 202,899 Class A ordinary shares with an exercise price of US$8.30 per share, and with a term expiring 3.5 years from the date of issuance. The Placement Agent Warrants shall have the same registration rights as the Warrants issued to the Purchasers in the Offering. The Placement Agent is also entitled to additional tail compensation for any financings consummated by the Company within the 12-month period following the termination of the Placement Agency Agreement, to the extent such financing is provided to the Company by investors that the Placement Agent had “wall-crossed” on behalf of the Company in connection with the Offering.
The Company has agreed to file and maintain with the SEC a registration statement (the “Registration Statement”) to register the Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares underlying the Warrants (the “Warrant Shares”) within 30 calendar days from the closing of the Offering and to use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective within 60 calendar days following the closing of the Offering (or, in the event of a review by the SEC, within 120 calendar days).
The Company agreed in the Purchase Agreement that it would not issue any ordinary shares or ordinary share equivalents for sixty (60) days following the closing of the Offering subject to certain exceptions. The Company agreed in the Placement Agency Agreement that it would not issue any ordinary shares or ordinary share equivalents for one hundred twenty (120) days following the closing of the Offering without the consent of the Placement Agent, subject to certain exceptions.
The Company agreed in the Purchase Agreement that it will not issue any ordinary shares or ordinary share equivalents involve in a Variable Rate Transaction (as defined in the Purchase Agreement) until the earlier of (x) the date the initial Registration Statement is declared effective by the SEC and (y) the date as of which all of the holders of Investor Warrants may sell all of the Investor Warrant Shares without restriction pursuant to Rule 144 (including, without limitation, volume restrictions) and without the need for current public information required by Rule 144(c)(1) (or Rule 144(i)(2), if applicable). The Company further agreed that until the first anniversary of the earlier of (x) or (y) above, it would not issue or enter into any agreement to issue any ordinary shares or ordinary share equivalents unless the Purchasers are offered a participation right, subject to certain terms and conditions as set forth in the Purchase Agreement, to subscribe, on a pro rata basis, for up to 50% of the securities offered in such offering.
Concurrently with the execution of the Purchase Agreement, the officers and directors of the Company and shareholders of the Company holding 5% or more of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares entered into lock-up agreements (the “Lock-Up Agreements”) pursuant to which they have agreed, among other things, not to sell or dispose of any ordinary shares which are or will be beneficially owned by them for one hundred twenty (120) days following the closing of the Offering, as well as similar lock-up agreements pursuant to the Placement Agency Agreement restricting sales of ordinary shares for ninety (90) days after the closing of the Offering.
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Summary of Risk Factors
Investing in our ordinary shares involves significant risks. You should carefully consider all of the information in this prospectus before making an investment in our Ordinary Shares. Below please find a summary of the principal risks we face, organized under relevant headings. These risks are discussed more fully under “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” in the 2020 Annual Report, Exhibit 99.3 “Risk Factors” in the half-year Report filed on Form 6-K on September 29, 2021 (the “Half-Year Report”) and in the section titled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 10 of this prospectus.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry (for a more detailed discussion, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry” in the 2020 Annual Report, Exhibit 99.3 “Risk Factors” in the Half-Year Report, and “Risk Factors” beginning on page 10 of this prospectus)
| ● | Our business could be materially harmed by the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (see page 4 of the 2020 Annual Report); |
| ● | We might require additional capital to support business growth, and this capital might not be available on acceptable terms, if at all (see page 3 of the 2020 Annual Report); |
| ● | Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential customer information or our failure or the perception by our customers that we failed to comply with privacy laws or properly address privacy concerns could harm our business and standing with our customers (see page 5 of the 2020 Annual Report); |
| ● | Our bitcoin mining machine business faces a number of uncertainties in technology, regulations and operations (see page 10 – “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Business and Industry” of this prospectus). |
Risks Related to Doing Business China (for a more detailed discussion, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China” in the 2020 Annual Report, Exhibit 99.3 “Risk Factors” in the Half-Year Report and “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Doing Business in China” beginning on page 15 of this prospectus)
| ● | China’s legal system is evolving and has inherent uncertainties that could limit the legal protection available to you (see page 12 of the 2020 Annual Report); |
| ● | We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Chinese anti-corruption law (see page 12 of the 2020 Annual Report); |
| ● | The regulation of Internet website operators in China is subject to interpretation, and our operation of online trading platform and education programs could be harmed if we are deemed to have violated applicable laws and regulations (see page 13 of the 2020 Annual Report); |
| ● | The Chinese government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business activities and may intervene or influence our operations at any time with little advance notice, which could result in a material change in our operations and the value of our Class A Ordinary Shares (see page 2 of the Exhibit 99.3 of the Half-Year Report); |
| ● | We may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal information provided by our customers (see page 2 of the Exhibit 99.3 of the Half-Year Report); |
| ● | Any actions by Chinese government, including any decision to intervene or influence our operations or to exert control over any offering of securities conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, may cause us to make material changes to our operations, may limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, and may cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless (see page 17 of this prospectus); |
| ● | The M&A Rules and certain other PRC regulations establish complex procedures for some acquisitions of Chinese companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in China (see page 4 of the Exhibit 99.3 of the Half-Year Report); |
| ● | We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our PRC subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business (see page 6 of the Exhibit 99.3 of the Half-Year Report); |
| ● | The 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 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 offering (see page 18 of this prospectus); |
| ● | The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission may be required in connection with this offering, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval (see page 17 of this prospectus); |
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Risks Related to Our Capital Structure and Class A Ordinary Shares China (for a more detailed discussion, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China” in the 2020 Annual Report and “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares” beginning on page – 20 of this prospectus)
| ● | The dual-class structure of our ordinary shares has the effect of concentrating voting control with certain shareholders, including our executive officers, employees and directors and their affiliates, which will limit your ability to influence the outcome of important transactions, including a change in control (see page 16 of the 2020 Annual Report); |
| ● | The laws of the British Virgin Islands provide little protection for minority shareholders, so minority shareholders will have little or no recourse if they are dissatisfied with the conduct of our affairs (see page 39 of the 2020 Annual Report); |
| ● | The market price of our ordinary shares may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance (see page 16 of the 2020 Annual Report); |
| ● | We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future (see page 18 of the 2020 Annual Report); |
| ● | The exercise of the Warrants may further dilute the ordinary shares and adversely impact the price of our ordinary shares (see page 20 of this prospectus). |
Legal and Operational Risks of Operating in the PRC
Because our operations are primarily located in the PRC and Hong Kong through our subsidiaries, we are subject to certain legal and operational risks associated with our operations in China, including that changes in the legal, political and economic policies of the Chinese government, the relations between China and the United States, or Chinese or United States regulations may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. PRC laws and regulations governing our current business operations are sometimes vague and uncertain, and therefore, these risks may result in a material change in our operations and the value of our ordinary shares, or could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. Recently, the PRC government initiated a series of regulatory actions and statements to regulate business operations in China with little advance notice, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, enhancing supervision over China-based companies listed overseas using a variable interest entity structure, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. We do not believe that our subsidiaries are directly subject to these regulatory actions or statements, as we have not implemented any monopolistic behavior and our business does not involve the collection of user data or implicate cybersecurity. As of the date of this prospectus, no relevant laws or regulations in the PRC explicitly require us to seek approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, or any other PRC governmental authorities for our offering, nor has our BVI holding company or any of our subsidiaries received any inquiry, notice, warning or sanctions regarding our offering from the CSRC or any other PRC governmental authorities. However, since these statements and regulatory actions by the PRC government are newly published and official guidance and related implementation rules have not been issued, it is highly uncertain how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operation, the ability to accept foreign investments and list on an U.S. or other foreign exchange. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, or the SCNPC, or other PRC regulatory authorities may in the future promulgate laws, regulations or implementing rules that requires our company or any of our subsidiaries to obtain regulatory approval from Chinese authorities before offering in the U.S.
For a more detailed discussion, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China” in the 2020 Annual Report, Exhibit 99.3 “Risk Factors” in the Half-Year Report and “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Doing Business in China” beginning on page 15 of this prospectus.
Transfers of Cash to and from Our Subsidiaries
AGM Group Holdings Inc. is a holding company with no operations of its own. We conduct our operations in China and Hong Kong primarily through our subsidiaries in China, Hong Kong SAR and Singapore. We may rely on dividends to be paid by our subsidiaries in Singapore, China and Hong Kong SAR to fund our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders, to service any debt we may incur and to pay our operating expenses. If our subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us.
Our equity structure is a direct holding structure. Within our direct holding structure, the cross-border transfer of funds within our corporate entities is legal and compliant with the laws and regulations of the PRC. After the foreign investors’ funds enter AGM, the funds can be directly transferred to the PRC operating companies through its subsidiaries. Specifically, AGM Group Holdings Inc. is permitted under the BVI laws to provide funding to our subsidiaries in Singapore, China and Hong Kong SAR through loans or capital contributions without restrictions on the amount of the funds, subject to satisfaction of applicable government registration, approval and filing requirements. AGM Defi Tech Limited and AGM Technology Limited are also permitted under the laws of Hong Kong to provide funding to AGM Group Holdings Inc. through dividend distribution without restrictions on the amount of the funds. As of the date of this prospectus, there have not been any transfers, dividends or distributions made between the holding company, its subsidiaries, and to investors.
We currently intend to retain all available funds and future earnings, if any, for the operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination related to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors after considering our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, contractual requirements, business prospects and other factors the board of directors deems relevant, and subject to the restrictions contained in any future financing instruments.
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Subject to the BVI Business Companies Act and our bylaws, our board of directors may authorize and declare a dividend to shareholders at such time and of such an amount as they think fit if they are satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that immediately following the dividend the value of our assets will exceed our liabilities and we will be able to pay our debts as they become due.
Under the current practice of the Inland Revenue Department of Hong Kong, no tax is payable in Hong Kong in respect of dividends paid by us. The laws and regulations of the PRC do not currently have any material impact on transfer of cash from AGM Group Holdings Inc. to AGM Defi Tech Limited and AGM Technology Limited, or from AGM Defi Tech Limited and AGM Technology Limited to AGM Group Holdings Inc. There are no restrictions or limitation under the laws of Hong Kong imposed on the conversion of HK dollar into foreign currencies and the remittance of currencies out of Hong Kong or across borders and to U.S investors.
Current PRC regulations permit our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to AGM Defi Tech Limited and AGM Technology Limited only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our subsidiaries in China is 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. Each of such entity in China is also required to further set aside a portion of its after-tax profits to fund the employee welfare fund, although the amount to be set aside, if any, is determined at the discretion of its board of directors. Although the statutory reserves can be used, among other ways, to increase the registered capital and eliminate future losses in excess of retained earnings of the respective companies, the reserve funds are not distributable as cash dividends except in the event of liquidation.
The PRC government also imposes controls on the conversion of RMB into foreign currencies and the remittance of currencies out of the PRC. Therefore, we may experience difficulties in completing the administrative procedures necessary to obtain and remit foreign currency for the payment of dividends from our profits, if any. Furthermore, if our subsidiaries in the PRC incur debt on their own in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments. If we or our subsidiaries are unable to receive all of the revenues from our operations, we may be unable to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares.
Cash dividends, if any, on our Class A ordinary shares will be paid in U.S. dollars. If we are considered a PRC tax resident enterprise for tax purposes, any dividends we pay to our overseas shareholders may be regarded as China-sourced income and as a result may be subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of up to 10.0%.
In order for us to pay dividends to our shareholders, we will rely on payments made from our PRC subsidiaries, i.e., Beijing Keen Sense Technology Service Co., Ltd. to AGM Defi Tech Limited, AGM Tianjing Construction Development Co., Ltd. and Nanjing Lucun Semiconductor Co., Ltd. to AGM Technology Limited, and from AGM Defi Tech Limited and AGM Technology Limited to AGM Group Holdings Inc. Certain payments from our PRC subsidiaries in Hong Kong are subject to PRC taxes, including business taxes and VAT. As of the date of this prospectus, our PRC subsidiaries have not made any transfers or distributions.
Implications of Holding Foreign Company Accountable Act
On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCAA. An identified issuer 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. In June 2021, the Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which, if signed into law, would reduce the time period for the delisting of foreign companies under the HFCAA to two consecutive years instead of three years. If our auditor cannot be inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, for two consecutive years, the trading of our securities on any U.S. national securities exchanges, as well as any over-the-counter trading in the U.S., will be prohibited. 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 PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction. On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCA Act. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions. On 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.
Our auditor, JLKZ CPA LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm of the Company, is headquartered in Flushing, New York, with no branches or offices outside of the United States. JLKZ CPA LLP is currently subject to Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) inspections under a regular basis. Therefore, we believe our auditor is not subject to the determinations as to the inability to inspect or investigate registered firms completely announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021. However, as more stringent criteria have been imposed by the SEC and the PCAOB, recently, which would add uncertainties to our offering, and we cannot assure you whether Nasdaq 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 the audit of our financial statements. See “The recent joint statement by the SEC and PCAOB, proposed rule changes submitted 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 offering.” on page 18.
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PRC Regulatory Permissions
We and our subsidiaries are not currently required to obtain permission from any of the PRC authorities to operate and issue our ordinary shares to foreign investors. We and our subsidiaries are not required to obtain permission or approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) or Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) or any other governmental agency. Recently, however, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the “Opinions on Severely Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities According to Law,” or the “Opinions,” which were made available to the public on July 6, 2021. The Opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities and the need to strengthen the supervision over overseas listings by Chinese companies. Effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems, will be taken to deal with the risks and incidents of China-concept overseas listed companies, cybersecurity, data privacy protection requirements, and similar matters. The Opinions and any related implementing rules to be enacted may subject us to compliance requirements in the future. Given the current regulatory environment in the PRC, we are still subject to the uncertainty of different interpretation and enforcement of the rules and regulations in the PRC adverse to us, which may take place quickly with little advance notice. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in the PRC—The Opinions recently issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council may subject us to additional compliance requirement in the future” on page 20 of this prospectus.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company
We qualify as and elect to be an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other burdens that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include, but not limited to:
| ● | Reduced disclosure about the emerging growth company’s executive compensation arrangements in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements; and |
| ● | an exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
We may take advantage of these provisions for up to five years or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company if we have more than $1.0 billion in annual revenue, 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. Except for our consolidated balance sheets, which we include for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2017, 2018 and 2019, we have decided to include three years of audited financial statements and three years of related management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations disclosure.
Implication of Being a Foreign Private Issuer
We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). As such, we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to United States domestic public companies. For example:
| ● | we are not required to provide as many Exchange Act reports or provide periodic and current reports as frequently, as a domestic public company; |
| ● | for interim reporting, we are permitted to comply solely with our home country requirements, which are less rigorous than the rules that apply to domestic public companies; |
| ● | we are not required to provide the same level of disclosure on certain issues, such as executive compensation; |
| ● | we are exempt from provisions of Regulation FD aimed at preventing issuers from making selective disclosures of material information; |
| ● | we are not required to comply with the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act; and |
| ● | we are not required to comply with Section 16 of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their share ownership and trading activities and establishing insider liability for profits realized from any “short-swing” trading transaction. |
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This prospectus relates to the offer and resale by the Selling Shareholders of up to 1,652,175 ordinary shares. All of Warrant Shares, when sold, will be sold by the Selling Shareholders. The Selling Shareholders may sell the Warrant Shares from time to time at prevailing market prices or at privately negotiated prices.
| Warrant Shares Offered by Selling Shareholders | Up to 1,652,175 Class A ordinary shares | |
| Shares Outstanding After the Offering | 24,254,842(1) | |
| Use of Proceeds | We will not receive any of the proceeds from any sale of the Warrant Shares by the Selling Shareholders. We may receive proceeds in the event that any of the Warrants are exercised at their respective exercise prices per share, for cash, which may result in gross proceeds of up to $13,713,052.50. Any proceeds that we receive from the exercise of the Warrants will be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes. See “Use of Proceeds” of page 26. | |
| Risk Factors | An investment in the ordinary shares offered under this prospectus is highly speculative and involves substantial risk. Please carefully consider the “Risk Factors” section on page 10 and other information in this prospectus for a discussion of risks. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also impair our business and operations. | |
| Nasdaq symbol: | AGMH |
| (1) | The number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding prior to and that will be outstanding after this offering is based on 24,254,842 Class A ordinary shares outstanding and excludes (a) ordinary shares to be issued upon exercise of warrants to purchase an aggregate of up to 1,652,175 Class A ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus. Additionally, the number of ordinary shares that will be outstanding after this offering also assumes the issuance of 1,652,175 Warrant Shares being registered for resale in this offering upon exercise of all of the Warrants issued to the Selling Shareholders. |
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You should carefully consider the risks incorporated by reference in this prospectus before making an investment decision. You should also consider the matters described below and in “Risk Factors” in “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk factors” in the 2020 Annual Report, “Exhibit 99.3 Risk Factors” in the Half-Year Report filed on Form 6-K on September 29, 2021, and all of the information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus before deciding whether to purchase our ordinary shares. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected by any of these risks or uncertainties. In that case, the trading price of our ordinary shares could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. The risks also include forward-looking statements and our actual results may differ substantially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Risks Relate to Our Business and Industry
Significant contributors to the bitcoin network could propose amendments to its protocols and software which, if accepted and authorized, could negatively impact our business and operations.
A small group of individuals contribute to the Bitcoin Core Project on GitHub.com, which is a leading source of quasi-governance that works to ensure that the bitcoin blockchain remains decentralized and governed by consensus. According to its website, “Bitcoin Core is an open source project which maintains and releases Bitcoin client software called ‘Bitcoin Core.’ It is a direct descendant of the original Bitcoin software client released by Satoshi Nakamoto after he published the famous Bitcoin whitepaper.” Bitcoin Core is powered by an open-source development community, but it is maintained by a small group of maintainers and leading contributors.
This group of contributors is currently headed by Wladimir J. van der Laan, the current lead maintainer. These individuals can propose refinements or improvements to the bitcoin network’s source code through one or more software upgrades that alter the protocols and software that govern the bitcoin network and the properties of bitcoin, including the irreversibility of transactions and limitations on the mining of new bitcoin. Proposals for upgrades and discussions relating thereto take place on online forums. For example, there is an ongoing debate regarding altering the blockchain by increasing the size of blocks to accommodate a larger volume of transactions.
The open-source structure of the bitcoin network protocol may result in inconsistent and perhaps even ineffective changes to the bitcoin protocol. Failed upgrades or maintenance to the protocol could damage the bitcoin network, which could adversely affect our business and the results of our operations.
The bitcoin network operates based on an open-source protocol maintained by contributors, largely on the Bitcoin Core project on GitHub. As an open source project, bitcoin is not represented by an official organization or authority. As the bitcoin network protocol is not sold and its use does not generate revenues for contributors, contributors are generally not compensated for maintaining and updating the bitcoin network protocol. Although the MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative funds the current maintainer Wladimir J. van der Laan, among others, this type of financial incentive is not typical. The lack of guaranteed financial incentive for contributors to maintain or develop the bitcoin network and the lack of guaranteed resources to adequately address emerging issues with the bitcoin network may reduce incentives to address the issues adequately or in a timely manner. Changes to a digital asset network which we sell mining machine on may adversely affect an investment in us.
If demand for bitcoin declines, or if another cryptocurrency replaces bitcoin as the most prominent cryptocurrency, our business and the results of our operations could suffer materially.
Although bitcoin is presently the most prominent cryptocurrency, it is possible that another cryptocurrency could supplant it as the most prominent cryptocurrency, which could have a materially negative effect of the demand for bitcoin and, therefore, on its conversion spot price. Alternatively, the demand for bitcoin may fall for other reasons unknown to the Company.
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Our ability to adopt technology in response to changing security needs or trends poses a challenge to the safekeeping of our digital assets.
The history of digital asset exchanges has shown that exchanges and large holders of digital assets must adapt to technological change in order to secure and safeguard their digital assets. We rely on third party storage solutions and “cold storage” of our digital wallets to safeguard our digital assets from theft, loss, destruction or other issues relating to hackers and technological attack; however, malicious actors may be able to intercept our digital assets in the process of selling them. Further, we may move our digital assets to various exchanges to exchange them for fiat currency, which will require us to rely on the security protocols of these exchanges to safeguard our digital assets. While these exchanges purport to be secure, and while we believe them to be so, no security system is perfect and malicious actors may be able to intercept our digital assets while we are in the process of selling them via such exchanges. Given the growth in their size and their relatively unregulated nature, we believe these exchanges will become a more appealing target for malicious actors. To the extent we are unable to identify and mitigate or stop new security threats, our machines may be subject to theft, loss, destruction or other attack, which could adversely affect an investment in us.
We have an evolving business model which is subject to various uncertainties.
As bitcoin assets may become more widely available, we expect the services and products associated with them to evolve. In order to stay current with the industry, our business model may need to evolve as well. From time to time, we may modify aspects of our business model relating to our strategy. We cannot offer any assurance that these or any other modifications will be successful or will not result in harm to our business. We may not be able to manage growth effectively, which could damage our reputation, limit our growth and negatively affect our operating results. Further, we cannot provide any assurance that we will successfully identify all emerging trends and growth opportunities in this business sector, and we may lose out on those opportunities. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations.
The development and acceptance of cryptographic and algorithmic protocols governing the issuance of and transactions in cryptocurrencies is subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate.
The use of cryptocurrencies to, among other things, buy and sell goods and services and complete transactions, is part of a new and rapidly evolving industry that employs bitcoin assets based upon a computer-generated mathematical and/or cryptographic protocol. Large-scale acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment has not, and may never, occur. The growth of this industry in general, and the use of bitcoin, in particular, is subject to a high degree of uncertainty, and the slowing or stopping of the development or acceptance of developing protocols may occur unpredictably. The factors include, but are not limited to:
| ● | continued worldwide growth in the adoption and use of cryptocurrencies as a medium to exchange; | |
| ● | governmental and quasi-governmental regulation of cryptocurrencies and their use, or restrictions on or regulation of access to and operation of the network or similar bitcoin systems; | |
| ● | changes in consumer demographics and public tastes and preferences; |
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| ● | the maintenance and development of the open-source software protocol of the network; | |
| ● | the increased consolidation of contributors to the bitcoin blockchain through mining pools; | |
| ● | the availability and popularity of other forms or methods of buying and selling goods and services, including new means of using fiat currencies; | |
| ● | the use of the networks supporting cryptocurrencies for developing smart contracts and distributed applications; | |
| ● | general economic conditions and the regulatory environment relating to cryptocurrencies; and | |
| ● | negative consumer sentiment and perception of bitcoin specifically and cryptocurrencies generally. |
The outcome of these factors could have negative effects on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our business strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations as well as potentially negative effect on the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, which would harm investors in our securities.
Banks and financial institutions may not provide banking services, or may cut off services, to businesses that engage in bitcoin-related activities or that accept cryptocurrencies as payment, including financial institutions of investors in our securities.
A number of companies that engage in bitcoin and/or other bitcoin-related activities have been unable to find banks or financial institutions that are willing to provide them with bank accounts and other services. Similarly, a number of companies and individuals or businesses associated with cryptocurrencies may have had and may continue to have their existing bank accounts closed or services discontinued with financial institutions in response to government action, particularly in China, where regulatory response to cryptocurrencies has been to exclude their use for ordinary consumer transactions within its jurisdiction.
Subject to such restrictions, we also may be unable to obtain or maintain these services for our business. The difficulty that many businesses that provide bitcoin and/or derivatives on other bitcoin-related activities have and may continue to have in finding banks and financial institutions willing to provide them services may be decreasing the usefulness of cryptocurrencies as a payment system and harming public perception of cryptocurrencies and could decrease their usefulness and harm their public perception in the future.
If any person, institution or a pool of them acting in concert obtains control of more than 50% of the processing power active on the Bitcoin network, such person, institution or a pool of them could prevent new transactions from gaining confirmations, halt payments between users, and reverse previously completed transactions, which would erode user confidence in Bitcoin.
If the award of Bitcoins for solving blocks and transaction fees for recording transactions are not sufficiently high to incentivize miners, miners may cease expending processing power to solve blocks. Miners ceasing operations would reduce the collective processing power on the Bitcoin network, which would adversely affect the confirmation process for transactions and make the Bitcoin network more vulnerable to any person, institution or a pool of them which has obtained over 50% control over the computing power on the Bitcoin network. In such event, such person, institution or a pool of them could prevent new transactions from gaining confirmation, halt payments between users, and reverse previously completed transactions. Such changes or any reduction in confidence in the confirmation process or processing power of the Bitcoin network may erode user confidence in Bitcoin, which would decrease the demand for our mining machines.
The administrators of the Bitcoin network’s source code could propose amendments to the Bitcoin network’s protocols and software that, if accepted and authorized by the Bitcoin network’s community, could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The Bitcoin network is based on a cryptographic, algorithmic protocol that governs the end-user-to-end-user interactions between computers connected to the Bitcoin network. A loosely organized group can propose amendments to the Bitcoin network’s source code through one or more software upgrades that alter the protocols and software that govern the Bitcoin network and the properties of Bitcoins, including the irreversibility of transactions and limitations on the mining of new Bitcoins. To the extent that a significant majority of the users and miners on the Bitcoin network install such software upgrade(s), the Bitcoin network would be subject to new protocols and software that may render our products less desirable, which in turn may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. If less than a significant majority of the users and miners on the Bitcoin network install such software upgrade(s), the Bitcoin network could “fork.”
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The acceptance of Bitcoin network software patches or upgrades by a significant, but not overwhelming, percentage of the users and miners in the Bitcoin network could result in a “fork” in the blockchain, resulting in the operation of two separate networks that cannot be merged. The existence of forked blockchains could erode user confidence in Bitcoin and could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Bitcoin is based on open-source software and has no official developer or group of developers that formally controls the Bitcoin network. Any individual can download the Bitcoin network software and make any desired modifications, which are proposed to users and miners on the Bitcoin network through software downloads and upgrades. However, miners and users must consent to those software modifications by downloading the altered software or upgrade implementing the changes; otherwise, the changes do not become part of the Bitcoin network. Since the Bitcoin network’s inception, changes to the Bitcoin network have been accepted by the vast majority of users and miners, ensuring that the Bitcoin network remains a coherent economic system. However, a developer or group of developers could potentially propose a modification to the Bitcoin network that is not accepted by a vast majority of miners and users, but that is nonetheless accepted by a substantial population of participants in the Bitcoin network. In such a case, a fork in the blockchain could develop and two separate Bitcoin networks could result, one running the pre-modification software program and the other running the modified version. An example is the introduction of a cryptocurrency known as “Bitcoin cash” in mid-2017. This kind of split in the Bitcoin network could erode user confidence in the stability of the Bitcoin network, which could negatively affect the demand for our products. Our marketing efforts to help grow our business may not be effective.
If our marketing efforts are not successful in promoting awareness of our clients, or if we are not able to cost-effectively manage our marketing expenses, our results of operations could be adversely affected. If our marketing efforts are successful in increasing awareness of our offerings, this could also lead to increased public scrutiny of our business and increase the likelihood of third parties bringing legal proceedings against us. Any of the foregoing risks could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Acceptance and/or widespread use of bitcoin is uncertain.
Currently, there is a relatively limited use of any bitcoin in the retail and commercial marketplace, thus contributing to price volatility that could adversely affect an investment in our securities. Banks and other established financial institutions may refuse to process funds for bitcoin transactions, process wire transfers to or from bitcoin exchanges, bitcoin-related companies or service providers, or maintain accounts for persons or entities transacting in bitcoin. Conversely, a significant portion of bitcoin demand is generated by investors seeking a long-term store of value or speculators seeking to profit from the short- or long-term holding of the asset. Price volatility undermines any bitcoin’s role as a medium of exchange, as retailers are much less likely to accept it as a form of payment. Market capitalization for a bitcoin as a medium of exchange and payment method may always be low.
The relative lack of acceptance of bitcoins in the retail and commercial marketplace, or a reduction of such use, limits the ability of end users to use them to pay for goods and services. Such lack of acceptance or decline in acceptances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our business strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations.
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The development and acceptance of competing blockchain platforms or technologies may cause consumers to use alternative distributed ledgers or other alternatives.
The development and acceptance of competing blockchain platforms or technologies may cause consumers to use alternative distributed ledgers or an alternative to distributed ledgers altogether. Our business utilizes presently existent digital ledgers and blockchains and we could face difficulty adapting to emergent digital ledgers, blockchains, or alternatives thereto. This may adversely affect us and our exposure to various blockchain technologies and prevent us from realizing the anticipated profits from our investments. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our business strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations.
We may not adequately respond to price fluctuations and rapidly changing technology, which may negatively affect our business.
Competitive conditions within the bitcoin industry require that we use sophisticated technology in the operation of our business. The industry for blockchain technology is characterized by rapid technological changes, new product introductions, enhancements and evolving industry standards. New technologies, techniques or products could emerge that might offer better performance than the software and other technologies we currently utilize, and we may have to manage transitions to these new technologies to remain competitive. We may not be successful, generally or relative to our competitors in the bitcoin industry, in timely implementing new technology into our systems, or doing so in a cost-effective manner. During the course of implementing any such new technology into our operations, we may experience system interruptions and failures during such implementation. Furthermore, there can be no assurances that we will recognize, in a timely manner or at all, the benefits that we may expect as a result of our implementing new technology into our operations. As a result, our business and operations may suffer, and there may be adverse effects on the price of our common stock.
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Risks Related to Doing Business in China
We are a holding company, and will rely on dividends paid by our subsidiaries for our cash needs. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to make dividend payments to us, or any tax implications of making dividend payments to us, could limit our ability to pay our parent company expenses or pay dividends to holders of our Class A ordinary shares.
We are a BVI holding company and conduct substantially all of our business through our subsidiaries in China. Although neither the holding company nor any of the Company’s Chinese subsidiaries conduct any operations through contractual arrangements with a variable interest entity based in China, we may rely on dividends to be paid by our PRC subsidiaries to fund our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders, to service any debt we may incur and to pay our operating expenses. If our PRC subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us.
Under PRC laws and regulations, our PRC subsidiaries may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, wholly foreign-owned enterprises are required to set aside at least 10% of their accumulated after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a certain statutory reserve fund, until the aggregate amount of such fund reaches 50% of its registered capital.
Our PRC subsidiaries generate primarily all of their revenue in Renminbi, which is not freely convertible into other currencies. As a result, any restriction on currency exchange may limit the ability of any one of our PRC subsidiaries to use its Renminbi revenues to pay dividends to us. The PRC government may continue to strengthen its capital controls, and more restrictions and substantial vetting process may be put forward by SAFE for cross-border transactions falling under both the current account and the capital account. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends or make other kinds of payments to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.
In addition, the Enterprise Income Tax Law, or EIT, and its implementation rules provide that a withholding tax rate of up to 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to non-PRC-resident enterprises unless otherwise exempted or reduced according to treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and governments of other countries or regions where the non-PRC resident enterprises are incorporated. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.
Pursuant to the Arrangement between Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Tax Evasion on Income, or the Double Tax Avoidance Arrangement, the 10% withholding tax rate may be lowered to 5% if a Hong Kong resident enterprise owns no less than 25% of a PRC entity. However, the 5% withholding tax rate does not automatically apply and certain requirements must be satisfied, including, without limitation, that (a) the Hong Kong entity must be the beneficial owner of the relevant dividends; and (b) the Hong Kong entity must directly hold no less than 25% share ownership in the PRC entity during the 12 consecutive months preceding its receipt of the dividends. In current practice, a Hong Kong entity must obtain a tax resident certificate from the Hong Kong tax authority to apply for the 5% lower PRC withholding tax rate. As the Hong Kong tax authority will issue such a tax resident certificate on a case-by-case basis, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain the tax resident certificate from the relevant Hong Kong tax authority and enjoy the preferential withholding tax rate of 5% under the Double Taxation Arrangement with respect to dividends to be paid by our PRC subsidiaries to their immediate holding companies, AGM Defi Tech Limited and AGM Technology Limited. As of the date of this prospectus, Beijing Keen Sense Technology Service Co., Ltd., AGM Tianjing Construction Development Co., Ltd. and Nanjing Lucun Semiconductor Co. Ltd. currently do not have plans to declare and pay dividends to AGM Defi Tech Limited and AGM Technology Limited and we have not applied for the tax resident certificate from the relevant Hong Kong tax authority. AGM Defi Tech Limited and AGM Technology Limited intend to apply for the tax resident certificate when Beijing Keen Sense Technology Service Co., Ltd., AGM Tianjing Construction Development Co., Ltd. and Nanjing Lucun Semiconductor Co. Ltd. plan to declare and pay dividends to them. When Beijing Keen Sense Technology Service Co., Ltd., AGM Tianjing Construction Development Co., Ltd. and Nanjing Lucun Semiconductor Co. Ltd. plan to declare and pay dividends to AGM Defi Tech Limited and AGM Technology Limited and when we intend to apply for the tax resident certificate from the relevant Hong Kong tax authority, we plan to inform the investors through SEC filings, such as a current report on Form 6-K, prior to such actions.
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The Chinese government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business activities. We are currently not required to obtain approval from Chinese authorities to list on U.S exchanges, however, if our holding company or subsidiaries were required to obtain approval in the future and were denied permission from Chinese authorities to list on U.S. exchanges, we will not be able to continue listing on U.S. exchange, which would materially affect the interest of the investors.
The Chinese government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. Our ability to operate in China may be harmed by changes in its laws and regulations, including those relating to taxation, environmental regulations, land use rights, property and other matters. The central or local governments of these jurisdictions may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations. Accordingly, government actions in the future, including any decision not to continue to support recent economic reforms and to return to a more centrally planned economy or regional or local variations in the implementation of economic policies, could have a significant effect on economic conditions in China or particular regions thereof, and could require us to divest ourselves of any interest we then hold in Chinese properties.
For example, the Chinese cybersecurity regulator announced on July 2 that it had begun an investigation of Didi Global Inc. (NYSE: DIDI) and two days later ordered that the company’s app be removed from smartphone app stores.
As such, the Company’s business segments may be subject to various government and regulatory interference in the provinces in which they operate. The Company could be subject to regulation by various political and regulatory entities, including various local and municipal agencies and government sub-divisions. The Company may incur increased costs necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply.
Furthermore, it is uncertain when and whether the Company will be required to obtain permission from the PRC government to list on U.S. exchanges in the future, and even when such permission is obtained, whether it will be denied or rescinded. Although the Company is currently not required to obtain permission from any of the PRC federal or local government to obtain such permission and has not received any denial to list on the U.S. exchange, our operations could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by existing or future laws and regulations relating to its business or industry. As a result, our ordinary shares may decline in value dramatically or even become worthless should we become subject to new requirement to obtain permission from the PRC government to list on U.S. exchange in the future.
Recently, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the Opinions on Severe and Lawful Crackdown on Illegal Securities Activities, which were available to the public on July 6, 2021. These opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities and the supervision on overseas listings by China-based companies. These opinions proposed to take effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems, to deal with the risks and incidents facing China-based overseas-listed companies and the demand for cybersecurity and data privacy protection. Moreover, the State Internet Information Office issued the Measures of Cybersecurity Review (Revised Draft for Comments, not yet effective) on July 10, 2021, which require operators with personal information of more than 1 million users who want to list abroad to file a cybersecurity review with the Office of Cybersecurity Review. The aforementioned policies and any related implementation rules to be enacted may subject us to additional compliance requirement in the future. While we believe that our operations are not affected by this, as these opinions were recently issued, official guidance and interpretation of the opinions remain unclear in several respects at this time. Therefore, we cannot assure you that we will remain fully compliant with all new regulatory requirements of these opinions or any future implementation rules on a timely basis, or at all.
The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission may be required in connection with this offering, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval.
The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies requires an overseas special purpose vehicle formed for listing purposes through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies and controlled by PRC companies or individuals to obtain the approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on an overseas stock exchange.
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Our PRC counsel has advised us based on their understanding of the current PRC laws, rules and regulations that the CSRC’s approval is not required for the listing and trading of our ordinary shares on Nasdaq in the context of this offering, given that: (i) our PRC subsidiary was incorporated as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise by means of direct investment rather than by merger or acquisition of equity interest or assets of a PRC domestic company owned by PRC companies or individuals as defined under the M&A Rules that are our beneficial owners; (ii) the CSRC currently has not issued any definitive rule or interpretation concerning whether offerings like ours under this prospectus are subject to the M&A Rules; and (iii) no provision in the M&A Rules clearly classifies contractual arrangements as a type of transaction subject to the M&A Rules.
However, our PRC counsel has further advised us that there remain some uncertainties as to how the M&A Rules will be interpreted or implemented in the context of an overseas offering and its opinions summarized above are subject to any new laws, rules and regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations in any form relating to the M&A Rules. We cannot assure you that relevant PRC government agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as we do. If it is determined that CSRC approval is required for this offering, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies for failure to seek CSRC approval for this offering. These sanctions may include fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, limitations on our operating privileges in the PRC, delays in or restrictions on the repatriation of the proceeds from this offering into the PRC, restrictions on or prohibition of the payments or remittance of dividends by our PRC subsidiary, or other actions that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. Furthermore, the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies may also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt this offering before the settlement and delivery of the Class A ordinary shares that we are offering. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to the settlement and delivery of the Class A ordinary shares we are offering, you would be doing so at the risk that the settlement and delivery may not occur.
We may become subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the PRC regarding privacy, data security, cybersecurity, and data protection. We may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal information provided by our customers.
We may become subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the PRC where we operate regarding privacy, data security, cybersecurity, and data protection. These laws and regulations are continuously evolving and developing. The scope and interpretation of the laws that are or may be applicable to us are often uncertain and may be conflicting, particularly with respect to foreign laws. In particular, there are numerous laws and regulations regarding privacy and the collection, sharing, use, processing, disclosure, and protection of personal information and other user data. Such laws and regulations often vary in scope, may be subject to differing interpretations, and may be inconsistent among different jurisdictions.
We expect to obtain information about various aspects of our operations as well as regarding our employees and third parties. We also maintain information about various aspects of our operations as well as regarding our employees. The integrity and protection of our customer, employee and company data is critical to our business. Our customers and employees expect that we will adequately protect their personal information. We are required by applicable laws to keep strictly confidential the personal information that we collect, and to take adequate security measures to safeguard such information.
The PRC Criminal Law, as amended by its Amendment 7 (effective on February 28, 2009) and Amendment 9 (effective on November 1, 2015), prohibits institutions, companies and their employees from selling or otherwise illegally disclosing a citizen’s personal information obtained during the course of performing duties or providing services or obtaining such information through theft or other illegal ways. On November 7, 2016, the Standing Committee of the PRC National People’s Congress issued the Cyber Security Law of the PRC, or Cyber Security Law, which became effective on June 1, 2017.
Pursuant to the Cyber Security Law, network operators must not, without users’ consent, collect their personal information, and may only collect users’ personal information necessary to provide their services. Providers are also obliged to provide security maintenance for their products and services and shall comply with provisions regarding the protection of personal information as stipulated under the relevant laws and regulations.
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The Civil Code of the PRC (issued by the PRC National People’s Congress on May 28, 2020 and effective from January 1, 2021) provides main legal basis for privacy and personal information infringement claims under the Chinese civil laws. PRC regulators, including the Cyberspace Administration of China, MIIT, and the Ministry of Public Security have been increasingly focused on regulation in the areas of data security and data protection.
The PRC regulatory requirements regarding cybersecurity are constantly evolving. For instance, various regulatory bodies in China, including the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Public Security and the SAMR, have enforced data privacy and protection laws and regulations with varying and evolving standards and interpretations. In April 2020, the Chinese government promulgated Cybersecurity Review Measures, which came into effect on June 1, 2020. According to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, operators of critical information infrastructure must pass a cybersecurity review when purchasing network products and services which do or may affect national security.
In November 2016, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress passed China’s first Cybersecurity Law (“CSL”), which became effective in June 2017. The CSL is the first PRC law that systematically lays out the regulatory requirements on cybersecurity and data protection, subjecting many previously under-regulated or unregulated activities in cyberspace to government scrutiny. The legal consequences of violation of the CSL include penalties of warning, confiscation of illegal income, suspension of related business, winding up for rectification, shutting down the websites, and revocation of business license or relevant permits. In April 2020, the Cyberspace Administration of China and certain other PRC regulatory authorities promulgated the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which became effective in June 2020. Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, operators of critical information infrastructure must pass a cybersecurity review when purchasing network products and services which do or may affect national security.
On June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the NPC promulgated the PRC Data Security Law, which took effect on September 1, 2021. The Data Security Law also sets forth the data security protection obligations for entities and individuals handling personal data, including that no entity or individual may acquire such data by stealing or other illegal means, and the collection and use of such data should not exceed the necessary limits The costs of compliance with, and other burdens imposed by, CSL and any other cybersecurity and related laws may limit the use and adoption of our products and services and could have an adverse impact on our business. Further, if the enacted version of the Measures for Cybersecurity Review mandates clearance of cybersecurity review and other specific actions to be completed by companies like us, we face uncertainties as to whether such clearance can be timely obtained, or at all.
On July 10, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued a revised draft of the Measures for Cybersecurity Review for public comments (the “Review Measures”), and on December 28, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China jointly with the relevant authorities published Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021) which took effect on February 15, 2022 and replace the Review Measures, which required that, operators of critical information infrastructure purchasing network products and services, and data processors (together with the operators of critical information infrastructure, the “Operators”) carrying out data processing activities that affect or may affect national security, shall conduct a cybersecurity review, any operator who controls more than one million users’ personal information must go through a cybersecurity review by the cybersecurity review office if it seeks to be listed in a foreign country.
Under the Data Security Law enacted on September 1, 2021 and the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021) implemented on February 15, 2022, since we are not an Operator, nor do we control more than one million users’ personal information, we would not be required to apply for a cybersecurity review by the CAC. However, if the CSRC, CAC or other regulatory agencies later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain their approvals for this offering and any follow-on offering, we may be unable to obtain such approvals and we may face sanctions by the CSRC, CAC or other PRC regulatory agencies for failure to seek their approval which could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to our investors and the securities currently being offered may substantially decline in value and be worthless.
The recent joint statement by the SEC and PCAOB, proposed rule changes submitted 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 offering.
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 minimum offering size requirement for companies primarily operating in “Restrictive Market”, (ii) adopt a new requirement relating to the qualification of management or board of director 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 auditors.
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On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable 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 U.S. stock exchange. On December 2, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. On December 18, 2020, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act was signed into law.
On March 24, 2021, the SEC announced that it had adopted interim final amendments to implement congressionally mandated submission and disclosure requirements of the Act. 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.
On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a bill which, if passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into law, would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act from three years to two.
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 PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.
On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCA Act. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions.
On December 16, 2021, SEC announced that the PCAOB designated China and Hong Kong as the jurisdictions where the PCAOB is not allowed to conduct full and complete audit inspections as mandated under the HFCAA. The Company’s auditor, JLKZ CPA LLP, is based in Flushing, New York, and therefore is not affected by this mandate by the PCAOB.
The lack of access to the PCAOB inspection in China prevents the PCAOB from fully evaluating audits and quality control procedures of the auditors based in China. As a result, the investors may be deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of these accounting firms’ audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to the PCAOB inspections, which could cause existing and potential investors in our stock to lose confidence in our audit procedures and reported financial information and the quality of our financial statements.
Our auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this prospectus, 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 our auditor’s compliance with the applicable professional standards. Our auditor is headquartered in Flushing, New York, and is subject to inspection by the PCAOB on a regular basis.
However, the recent developments would add uncertainties to our offering and we cannot assure you whether Nasdaq 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 the audit of our financial statements. It remains unclear what the SEC’s implementation process related to the above rules will entail or what further actions the SEC, the PCAOB or Nasdaq will take to address these issues and what impact those actions will have on U.S. companies that have significant operations in the PRC and have securities listed on a U.S. stock exchange. In addition, the above amendments and any additional actions, proceedings, or new rules resulting from these efforts to increase U.S. regulatory access to audit information could create some uncertainty for investors, the market price of our ordinary shares could be adversely affected, and we could be delisted if we and our auditor are unable to meet the PCAOB inspection requirement or being required to engage a new audit firm, which would require significant expense and management time.
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The Opinions recently issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council may subject us to additional compliance requirement in the future.
Recently, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the Opinions, which were made available to the public on July 6, 2021. The Opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities and the supervision on overseas listings by China-based companies. These opinions proposed to take effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems, to deal with the risks and incidents facing China-based overseas-listed companies and the demand for cybersecurity and data privacy protection. The aforementioned policies and any related implementation rules to be enacted may subject us to additional compliance requirement in the future. As the Opinions were recently issued, official guidance and interpretation of the Opinions remain unclear in several respects at this time. Therefore, we cannot assure you that we will remain fully compliant with all new regulatory requirements of the Opinions or any future implementation rules on a timely basis, or at all.
The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission may be required in connection with this offering, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval.
The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies requires an overseas special purpose vehicle formed for listing purposes through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies and controlled by PRC companies or individuals to obtain the approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on an overseas stock exchange.
Our PRC counsel has advised us based on their understanding of the current PRC laws, rules and regulations that the CSRC’s approval is not required for the listing and trading of our ordinary shares on Nasdaq in the context of this offering, given that: (i) our PRC subsidiary was incorporated as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise by means of direct investment rather than by merger or acquisition of equity interest or assets of a PRC domestic company owned by PRC companies or individuals as defined under the M&A Rules that are our beneficial owners; (ii) the CSRC currently has not issued any definitive rule or interpretation concerning whether offerings like ours under this prospectus are subject to the M&A Rules; and (iii) no provision in the M&A Rules clearly classifies contractual arrangements as a type of transaction subject to the M&A Rules.
However, our PRC counsel has further advised us that there remains some uncertainties as to how the M&A Rules will be interpreted or implemented in the context of an overseas offering and its opinions summarized above are subject to any new laws, rules and regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations in any form relating to the M&A Rules. We cannot assure you that relevant PRC government agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as we do. If it is determined that CSRC approval is required for this offering, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies for failure to seek CSRC approval for this offering. These sanctions may include fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, limitations on our operating privileges in the PRC, delays in or restrictions on the repatriation of the proceeds from this offering into the PRC, restrictions on or prohibition of the payments or remittance of dividends by our PRC subsidiary, or other actions that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ordinary shares. Furthermore, the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies may also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt this offering before the settlement and delivery of the ordinary shares that we are offering. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to the settlement and delivery of the ordinary shares we are offering, you would be doing so at the risk that the settlement and delivery may not occur.
Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares
The exercise of the Warrants may further dilute the ordinary shares and adversely impact the price of our ordinary shares.
As of the date of this prospectus, we had 24,254,842 Class A ordinary shares outstanding. Up to an additional 1,652,175 ordinary shares (approximately 6.81% of our issued and outstanding shares) may be issued pursuant to the exercise of the Warrants. Such issuance will cause a reduction in the proportionate ownership and voting power of all other shareholders. Additionally, we cannot assure you that the Selling Shareholders will be able to sell the ordinary shares at a price per shares that is equal to or greater than the exercise price paid by the Selling Shareholders.
Securities analysts may not cover our ordinary shares and this may have a negative impact on the market price of our ordinary shares.
The trading market for our ordinary shares will depend, in part, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over independent analysts (provided that we have engaged various non-independent analysts). We do not currently have and may never obtain research coverage by independent securities and industry analysts. If no independent securities or industry analysts commence coverage of us, the trading price for our ordinary shares would be negatively impacted. If we obtain independent securities or industry analyst coverage and if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our ordinary shares, changes their opinion of our ordinary shares or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our ordinary shares could decrease and we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause the price and trading volume of our ordinary shares to decline.
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Summary of Terms of the Investor Warrants
On December 10, 2021, we entered into a Purchase Agreement with certain purchasers, pursuant to which, on December 14, 2021, we sold 2,898,552 Class A ordinary shares in a Registered Direct Offering and also sold the Investor Warrants to purchase up to 1,449,276 Investor Warrant shares in a concurrent private placement (the “Private Placement,” and together with the Registered Direct Offering, the “Offering”).
The gross proceeds of the Offering of $20,000,000, before deducting placement agent fees and other expenses, are being used for working capital and general business purposes.
The Investor Warrants and Placement Agent Warrants have a term of three and one-half years immediately exercisable on the date of issuance to purchase an aggregate of up to 1,449,276 Class A ordinary shares at an exercise price of $8.30 per share.
The Offering was conducted pursuant to a placement agency agreement, dated December 10, 2021 (the “Placement Agency Agreement”), between the Company and the Placement Agent, on a “reasonable best efforts” basis. The Company paid the Placement Agent a cash fee of $1,500,000, or seven point five percent (7.5%) of the aggregate gross proceeds raised in this Offering, $80,000 as accountable expense in legal fee reimbursement of the aggregate gross proceeds raised in the Offering. Additionally, the Company issued the Placement Agent the Placement Agent Warrants to purchase up to 202,899 Placement Agent Warrant Shares.
Summary of Terms of the Investor Warrants
Exercisability. The Investor Warrants are immediately exercisable on the date of issuance to purchase an aggregate of up to 1,449,276 Class A ordinary shares at an exercise price of $8.30 per share. The Investor Warrants will be exercisable, at the option of each holder, in whole or in part by delivering to us a duly executed exercise notice and, at any time a registration statement registering the issuance of our Class A ordinary shares underlying the Investor Warrants under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) is effective and available for the issuance of such shares, or an exemption from registration under the Securities Act is available for the issuance of such shares, by payment in full in immediately available funds for the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchased upon such exercise. If a registration statement or current prospectus is not effective or available for the registration of the Investor Warrants or the resale of the our Class A ordinary shares underlying the Investor Warrants under the Securities Act, at any time after the six-month anniversary of the closing date of the offering, the holder may, in its sole discretion, elect to exercise the Investor Warrants through a cashless exercise, in which case the holder would receive upon such exercise the net number of our Class A ordinary shares determined according to the formula set forth in the Investor Warrants.
Exercise Limitation. A holder will not have the right to exercise any portion of the Investor Warrants if the holder (together with its affiliates) would beneficially own in excess of 4.99% (or, upon election of the holder, 9.99%) of the number of our ordinary shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to the exercise, as such percentage ownership is determined in accordance with the terms of the Investor Warrants. Any holder may increase or decrease such percentage, but in no event may such percentage be increased to more than 9.99%, provided that any increase will not be effective until the 61st day after such election.
Exercise Price Adjustment. The exercise price of the Investor Warrants is subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of certain stock dividends and distributions, stock splits, stock combinations, reclassifications or similar events affecting our ordinary shares and also upon any distributions of assets, including cash, stock or other property to our shareholders. The exercise price of the Investor Warrants will also be reduced, in the event that the Company subsequently sells ordinary shares or common stock equivalents at a price which is less than the then current exercise price of the Investor Warrants, to a price equal to the per share price of the common stock in such subsequent sale.
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Participation Rights. If at any time we grant, issue or sell any our ordinary shares or Common Stock Equivalents (as defined in the Purchase Agreement) or rights to purchase stock, warrants, securities or other property pro rata to the record holders of any our Class A ordinary shares (the “Purchase Rights”), the holder of the Investor Warrants will be entitled to acquire, upon the terms applicable to such Purchase Rights, subject to the beneficial ownership limitations, the aggregate Purchase Rights which the holder of the Investor Warrants could have acquired if the holder had held the number of our Class A ordinary shares acquirable upon complete exercise of the Investor Warrants.
Fundamental Transactions. If, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding, (i) the Company (or any subsidiary), directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions effects any merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another person, (ii) the Company (or any subsidiary), directly or indirectly, effects any sale, lease, license, assignment, transfer, conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all of its assets in one or a series of related transactions, (iii) any, direct or indirect, purchase offer, tender offer or exchange offer (whether by the Company or another Person) is completed pursuant to which holders of ordinary shares are permitted to sell, tender or exchange their shares for other securities, cash or property and has been accepted by the holders of 50% or more of the outstanding ordinary shares, (iv) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions effects any reclassification, reorganization or recapitalization of the ordinary shares or any compulsory share exchange pursuant to which the ordinary shares are effectively converted into or exchanged for other securities, cash or property, or (v) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions consummates a stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination (including, without limitation, a reorganization, recapitalization, spin-off, merger or scheme of arrangement) with another Person or group of Persons whereby such other Person or group acquires more than 50% of the outstanding ordinary shares (not including any ordinary shares held by the other Person or other Persons making or party to, or associated or affiliated with the other Persons making or party to, such stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination), then, upon any subsequent exercise of this Warrant, the holder shall have the right to receive, for each Warrant Share that would have been issuable upon such exercise immediately prior to the occurrence of such fundamental transaction, at the option of the holder, the number of ordinary shares of the successor or acquiring corporation or of the Company, if it is the surviving corporation, and any additional consideration receivable as a result of such fundamental transaction by a holder of the number of ordinary shares for which this Warrant is exercisable immediately prior to such fundamental transaction.
Summary of Terms of the Placement Agent Warrants
Exercisability. The Placement Agent Warrants are immediately exercisable on the date of issuance to purchase an aggregate of up to 202,899 Class A ordinary shares at an exercise price of $8.30 per share. The Placement Agent Warrants will be exercisable, at the option of each holder, in whole or in part by delivering to us a duly executed exercise notice and, at any time a registration statement registering the issuance of our Class A ordinary shares underlying the Placement Agent Warrants under the Securities Act is effective and available for the issuance of such shares, or an exemption from registration under the Securities Act is available for the issuance of such shares, by payment in full in immediately available funds for the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchased upon such exercise. The Placement Agent Warrants will not be exercisable on a cashless basis.
Exercise Limitation. A holder will not have the right to exercise any portion of the Placement Agent Warrants if the holder (together with its affiliates) would beneficially own in excess of 4.99% (or, upon election of the holder, 9.99%) of the number of our ordinary shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to the exercise, as such percentage ownership is determined in accordance with the terms of the Placement Agent Warrants. Any holder may increase or decrease such percentage, but in no event may such percentage be increased to more than 9.99%, provided that any increase will not be effective until the 61st day after such election.
Exercise Price Adjustment. The exercise price of the Placement Agent Warrants is subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of certain stock dividends and distributions, stock splits, stock combinations, reclassifications or similar events affecting our ordinary shares and also upon any distributions of assets, including cash, stock or other property to our shareholders.
Fundamental Transactions. If, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding, (i) the Company (or any subsidiary), directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions effects any merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another person, (ii) the Company (or any subsidiary), directly or indirectly, effects any sale, lease, license, assignment, transfer, conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all of its assets in one or a series of related transactions, (iii) any, direct or indirect, purchase offer, tender offer or exchange offer (whether by the Company or another Person) is completed pursuant to which holders of ordinary shares are permitted to sell, tender or exchange their shares for other securities, cash or property and has been accepted by the holders of 50% or more of the outstanding ordinary shares, (iv) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions effects any reclassification, reorganization or recapitalization of the ordinary shares or any compulsory share exchange pursuant to which the ordinary shares are effectively converted into or exchanged for other securities, cash or property, or (v) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions consummates a stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination (including, without limitation, a reorganization, recapitalization, spin-off, merger or scheme of arrangement) with another Person or group of Persons whereby such other Person or group acquires more than 50% of the outstanding ordinary shares (not including any ordinary shares held by the other Person or other Persons making or party to, or associated or affiliated with the other Persons making or party to, such stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination), then, upon any subsequent exercise of this Warrant, the holder shall have the right to receive, for each Warrant Share that would have been issuable upon such exercise immediately prior to the occurrence of such fundamental transaction, at the option of the holder, the number of ordinary shares of the successor or acquiring corporation or of the Company, if it is the surviving corporation, and any additional consideration receivable as a result of such fundamental transaction by a holder of the number of ordinary shares for which this Warrant is exercisable immediately prior to such fundamental transaction.
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The Class A ordinary shares being offered by the Selling Shareholders are the Warrant Shares issuable upon exercise of all of the Warrants. We are registering Warrant Shares in order to permit the Selling Shareholders to offer such shares for resale from time to time.
The following table sets forth certain information with respect to each Selling Shareholder, including (i) the ordinary shares beneficially owned by the Selling Shareholder prior to this offering, (ii) the number of Warrant Shares being offered by the Selling Shareholder pursuant to this prospectus and (iii) the Selling Shareholder’s beneficial ownership after completion of this offering. The registration of the Warrant Shares does not necessarily mean that the Selling Shareholders will sell all or any of such ordinary shares, but the number of ordinary shares and percentages set forth in the final two columns below assume that all ordinary shares being offered by the Selling Shareholders are sold. The final two columns also assume the exercise of all of the Warrants held by the Selling Shareholders as of the date of this prospectus, without regard to any limitations on exercise described in this prospectus or in the Warrants. See “Plan of Distribution.”
The table is based on information supplied to us by the Selling Shareholders, with beneficial ownership and percentage ownership determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC, and includes voting or investment power with respect to ordinary shares. This information does not necessarily indicate beneficial ownership for any other purpose. In computing the number of ordinary shares beneficially owned by a Selling Shareholder and the percentage ownership of that Selling Shareholder, ordinary shares subject to warrants held by that Selling Shareholder that are exercisable immediately, are deemed outstanding. Such ordinary shares, however, are not deemed outstanding for the purposes of computing the percentage ownership of any other shareholder.
This prospectus covers the resale of up to an aggregate of 1,652,175 ordinary shares that are issuable to the Selling Shareholders upon the exercise of the Warrants and that may be sold or otherwise disposed of by the Selling Shareholders. The Investor Warrants and Placement Agent Warrants are immediately exercisable for a term of three and one-half years after the date of issuance at an exercise price of $8.30 per share. See section titled “December 2021 Offering” on page 21 of this prospectus for further details relating to the Warrant Shares and the Warrants.
| Number
of Class A Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned Prior to Offering(1) | Maximum Number of Class A Ordinary Shares to be Sold Pursuant to this Prospectus(2) | Number
of Class A Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned After Offering(3) | Percentage Beneficially Owned After Offering(3) | |||||||||||||
| Anson East Master Fund LP(4) | 120,773 | 120,773 | 0 | - | % | |||||||||||
| Anson Investments Master Fund LP(5) | 362,319 | 362,319 | 0 | - | % | |||||||||||
| Hudson Bay Master Fund Ltd.(6) | 483,092 | 483,092 | 0 | - | % | |||||||||||
| Sabby Volatility Warrant Master Fund, Ltd.(7) | 1,449,906 | 483,092 | 966,814 | 3.99 | % | |||||||||||
| F. Alec Orudjev(8) | 35,000 | 35,000 | 0 | - | % | |||||||||||
| Jian Ke(9) | 167,899 | 167,899 | 0 | - | % | |||||||||||
| TOTAL | 3,118,989 | 1,652,175 | 1,466,814 | 6.05 | % | |||||||||||
| (1) | All of the Warrants that are exercisable for the Warrant Shares offered hereby contain certain beneficial ownership limitations, which provide that a holder of the Warrants will not have the right to exercise any portion of its Warrants if such holder, together with its affiliates, would beneficially own in excess of 4.99% of the number of our Class A ordinary shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise, provided that upon at least 61 days’ prior notice to us, a holder may increase or decrease such limitation up to a maximum of 9.99% of the number of ordinary shares outstanding (such limitation, a “Beneficial Ownership Limitation”). As a result, the number of ordinary shares reflected in this column as beneficially owned by each Selling Shareholder includes (a) any outstanding ordinary shares held by such Selling Shareholder, and (b) if any, the number of ordinary shares subject to the Warrants exercisable for the Warrant Shares and any other warrants that may be held by such Selling Shareholder, in each case which such Selling Shareholder has the right to acquire immediately and without it or any of its affiliates beneficially owning more than 4.99% of the number of outstanding ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus. |
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| (2) | Represents the total number of Warrant Shares owned by each of the Selling Shareholders, assuming full exercise of the Warrants.
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| (3) | The number of shares owned and the percentage of beneficial ownership after this offering set forth in these columns are based on 24,254,842 ordinary shares outstanding as of the date of this prospectus and assumes full exercise of the Warrants that are exercisable for the 1,652,175 Warrant Shares. The calculation of beneficial ownership reported in such columns takes into account the effect of the Beneficial Ownership Limitations in any warrants held by the Selling Shareholders after this offering. In computing the number of ordinary shares beneficially owned by a Selling Shareholder and the percentage ownership of that Selling Shareholder, ordinary shares subject to warrants held by that Selling Shareholder that are exercisable immediately, are deemed outstanding. Such ordinary shares, however, are not deemed outstanding for the purposes of computing the percentage ownership of any other shareholder.
|
| (4) | Includes (i) 241,546 Class A ordinary shares issued to such Selling Shareholder in the Registered Direct Offering, and (ii) Investor Warrants to purchase up to 120,773 Investor Warrant Shares issued the Private Placement. Anson Advisors Inc and Anson Funds Management LP, the Co-Investment Advisers of Anson East Master Fund LP, hold voting and dispositive power over the Common Shares held by Anson. Bruce Winson is the managing member of Anson Management GP LLC, which is the general partner of Anson Funds Management LP. Moez Kassam and Amin Nathoo are directors of Anson Advisors Inc. Mr. Winson, Mr. Kassam and Mr. Nathoo each disclaim beneficial ownership of these Common Shares except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. The principal business address of Anson is Walkers Corporate Limited, Cayman Corporate Centre, 27 Hospital Road, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-9008, Cayman Islands.
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| (5) | Includes (i) 724,638 Class A ordinary shares issued to such Selling Shareholder in the Registered Direct Offering, and (ii) Investor Warrants to purchase up to 362,319 Investor Warrant Shares issued in the Private Placement. Anson Advisors Inc and Anson Funds Management LP, the Co-Investment Advisers of Anson Investments Master Fund LP, hold voting and dispositive power over the Common Shares held by Anson. Bruce Winson is the managing member of Anson Management GP LLC, which is the general partner of Anson Funds Management LP. Moez Kassam and Amin Nathoo are directors of Anson Advisors Inc. Mr. Winson, Mr. Kassam and Mr. Nathoo each disclaim beneficial ownership of these Common Shares except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. The principal business address of Anson is Walkers Corporate Limited, Cayman Corporate Centre, 27 Hospital Road, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-9008, Cayman Islands.
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| (6) | Includes Investor Warrants to purchase up to 483,092 Investor Warrant Shares issued in the Private Placement. Hudson Bay’s Investor Warrants currently specify a Beneficial Ownership Limitation of 9.99%. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP, the investment manager of Hudson Bay Master Fund Ltd., has voting and investment power over these securities. Sander Gerber is the managing member of Hudson Bay Capital GP LLC, which is the general partner of Hudson Bay Capital Management LP. Each of Hudson Bay Master Fund Ltd. and Sander Gerber disclaims beneficial ownership over these securities. |
| (7) | Includes (i) 966,814 Class A ordinary shares issued to such Selling Shareholder in the Registered Direct Offering, and (iii) Investor Warrants to purchase up to 483,092 Investor Warrant Shares issued in the Private Placement. Sabby Management, LLC, the investment manager of Sabby Volatility Warrant Master Fund, Ltd. (“Sabby”), and Hal Mintz, manager of Sabby Management, LLC, share voting and investment power with respect to these securities. Each of Sabby Management, LLC and Hal Mintz disclaims beneficial ownership over the securities listed except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. The address of Sabby is 10 Mountainview Road, Suite 205, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. |
| (8) | Includes 35,000 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the placement agent warrants issued in connection with the Private Placement. Mr. Orudjev is the General Counsel of FT Global Capital, Inc. (Member FINRA/SIPC), 1688 Meridian Avenue, Suite 700 Miami Beach, FL 33139. |
| (9) | Includes 167,899 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the placement agent warrants issued in connection with the Private Placement. Mr. Ke is the President of FT Global Capital, Inc. (Member FINRA/SIPC), 1688 Meridian Avenue, Suite 700 Miami Beach, FL 33139. |
Material Relationships with Selling Shareholders
FT Global Capital Inc. acted as the Placement Agent in the Offering pursuant to the Placement Agency Agreement, on a “reasonable best efforts” basis. The Company paid the Placement Agent a cash fee of $1,500,000, which was equal to eight percent (7.5%) of the aggregate gross proceeds raised in this Offering, and $80,000 in accountable expenses. The Company also issued the Placement Agent the Placement Agent Warrants to purchase up to 202,899 Placement Agent Warrant Shares.
Except for the foregoing and the ownership of the ordinary shares of our Company and certain ordinary shares purchase warrants (including the Warrants), the transactions contemplated by the Securities Purchase Agreement and the Placement Agency Agreement, and as disclosed in the section titled “December 2021 Offering” on page 21 of this prospectus, none of the Selling Shareholders have had any material relationship with us within the past three years.
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ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES
We are incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands with limited liability. We are incorporated in the British Virgin Islands because of certain benefits associated with being a British Virgin Islands corporation, such as political and economic stability, an effective judicial system, a favorable tax system, the absence of exchange control or currency restrictions and the availability of professional and support services. However, the British Virgin Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides protections for investors to a lesser extent. In addition, British Virgin Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States.
Substantially all of our assets are located outside the United States. In addition, a majority of our directors and officers are nationals and/or residents of countries other than the United States, and all or a substantial portion of such persons’ assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon us or such persons or to enforce against them or against us, judgments obtained in United States courts, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof.
We have appointed Vcorp Agent Services, Inc. as our agent to receive service of process with respect to any action brought against us in the United States District Court for districts in the State of New York under the federal securities laws of the United States or of any State of the United States or any action brought against us in the Supreme Court of the State of New York under the securities laws of the State of New York.
There is uncertainty as to whether the courts of China would (1) recognize or enforce judgments of United States courts obtained against us or such persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof, or (2) be competent to hear original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction, against us or such persons predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof.
The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the Chinese Civil Procedure Law. Chinese courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the Chinese Civil Procedure Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or in reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other agreements with the British Virgin Islands or the United States that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. As a result, it is uncertain whether a Chinese court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in either of these two jurisdictions.
The United States and the British Virgin Islands do not have a treaty providing for reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments of courts of the United States in civil and commercial matters and that a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any general or state court in the United States based on civil liability, whether or not predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws, may not be enforceable in the British Virgin Islands. A final and conclusive judgment obtained in U.S. federal or state courts under which a sum of money is payable as compensatory damages (i.e., not being a sum claimed by a revenue authority for taxes or other charges of a similar nature by a governmental authority, or in respect of a fine or penalty or multiple or punitive damages) may be the subject of an action on a debt in the court of the British Virgin Islands.
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We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the Warrant Shares by the Selling Shareholders pursuant to this prospectus. We may receive up to $13,713,052.5 in aggregate gross proceeds from cash exercises of the Investor and Placement Agent Warrants, assuming the exercise price is $8.30 per share. Any proceeds we receive from the exercise of the Warrants will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. The Selling Shareholders will pay any agent’s commissions and expenses they incur for brokerage, accounting, tax or legal services or any other expenses that they incur in disposing of the ordinary shares. We will bear all other costs, fees and expenses incurred in effecting the registration of the ordinary shares covered by this prospectus and any prospectus supplement. These may include, without limitation, all registration and filing fees, SEC filing fees and expenses of compliance with state securities or “blue sky” laws.
We cannot predict when or if the Warrants will be exercised, and it is possible that the Warrants may expire and never be exercised. As a result, we may never receive meaningful, or any, cash proceeds from the exercise of the Warrants, and we cannot plan on any specific uses of any proceeds we may receive beyond the purposes described herein.
See “Plan of Distribution” elsewhere in this prospectus for more information.
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The Selling Shareholders and any of their respective pledgees, assignees and successors-in-interest may, from time to time, sell any or all of their securities covered hereby on any trading market, stock exchange or other trading facility on which the securities are traded or in private transactions. These sales may be at fixed or negotiated prices. The Selling Shareholders may use any one or more of the following methods when selling securities:
| ● | ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits purchasers; |
| ● | block trades in which the broker-dealer will attempt to sell the securities as agent but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction; |
| ● | purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its account; |
| ● | an exchange distribution in accordance with the rules of the applicable exchange; |
| ● | privately negotiated transactions; |
| ● | settlement of short sales; |
| ● | in transactions through broker-dealers that agree with the Selling Shareholders to sell a specified number of such securities at a stipulated price per security; |
| ● | through the writing or settlement of options or other hedging transactions, whether through an options exchange or otherwise; |
| ● | a combination of any such methods of sale; or |
| ● | any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law. |
The Selling Shareholders may also sell securities under Rule 144 under the Securities Act, if available, rather than under this prospectus.
Broker-dealers engaged by the Selling Shareholders may arrange for other brokers-dealers to participate in sales. Broker-dealers may receive commissions or discounts from the Selling Shareholders (or, if any broker-dealer acts as agent for the purchaser of securities, from the purchaser) in amounts to be negotiated, but, except as set forth in a supplement to this prospectus, in the case of an agency transaction not in excess of a customary brokerage commission in compliance with FINRA Rule 2440; and in the case of a principal transaction a markup or markdown in compliance with FINRA IM-2440.
In connection with the sale of the securities covered hereby, the Selling Shareholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions, which may in turn engage in short sales of the securities in the course of hedging the positions they assume. The Selling Shareholders may also sell securities short and deliver these securities to close out their short positions, or loan or pledge the securities to broker-dealers that in turn may sell these securities. The Selling Shareholders may also enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions or create one or more derivative securities which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of securities offered by this prospectus, which securities such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell pursuant to this prospectus (as supplemented or amended to reflect such transaction).
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The Selling Shareholders and any broker-dealers or agents that are involved in selling the securities may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act in connection with such sales. In such event, any commissions received by such broker-dealers or agents and any profit on the resale of the securities purchased by them may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the Securities Act. We are requesting that each Selling Shareholder inform us that it does not have any written or oral agreement or understanding, directly or indirectly, with any person to distribute the securities. We will pay certain fees and expenses incurred by us incident to the registration of the securities.
Because the Selling Shareholders may be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act, they will be subject to the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act, including Rule 172 thereunder. In addition, any securities covered by this prospectus which qualify for sale pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act may be sold under Rule 144 rather than under this prospectus. We are requesting that each Selling Shareholder confirm that there is no underwriter or coordinating broker acting in connection with the proposed sale of the resale securities by the Selling Shareholder.
We intend to keep this prospectus effective until the earlier of (i) the date on which the securities may be resold by the Selling Shareholders without registration and without regard to any volume or manner-of-sale limitations by reason of Rule 144, without the requirement for us to be in compliance with the current public information requirement under Rule 144 under the Securities Act or any other rule of similar effect or (ii) all of the securities have been sold pursuant to this prospectus or Rule 144 under the Securities Act or any other rule of similar effect. The resale securities will be sold only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers if required under applicable state securities laws. In addition, in certain states, the resale securities covered hereby may not be sold unless they have been registered or qualified for sale in the applicable state or an exemption from the registration or qualification requirement is available and is complied with.
Under applicable rules and regulations under the Exchange Act, any person engaged in the distribution of the resale securities may not simultaneously engage in market making activities with respect to the ordinary shares for the applicable restricted period, as defined in Regulation M, prior to the commencement of the distribution. In addition, the Selling Shareholders will be subject to applicable provisions of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, including Regulation M, which may limit the timing of purchases and sales of the ordinary shares by the Selling Shareholders or any other person. We will make copies of this prospectus available to the Selling Shareholders and are informing the Selling Shareholders of the need to deliver a copy of this prospectus to each purchaser at or prior to the time of the sale (including by compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act).
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DISCLOSURE OF COMMISSION POSITION ON INDEMNIFICATION FOR
SECURITIES ACT LIABILITIES
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Company has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Company of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Company in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the our Class A ordinary shares being registered, the Company will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
The validity of the Class A ordinary shares offering in this offering and certain other legal matters as to British Virgin Islands will be passed upon for us by Mourant Ozannes. Certain legal matters as to United States Federal and New York State law in connection with this offering will be passed upon for us by Ortoli Rosenstadt LLP.
Our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 and for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2020 incorporated by reference in this prospectus and have been so included in reliance on the report of JLKZ CPA LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing. The current address of JLKZ CPA LLP is 39-01 Main Street Suite 501, Flushing, NY 11354.
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The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” into this prospectus the documents we file with, or furnish to, it, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to these documents. The information that we incorporate by reference in this prospectus forms a part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC automatically updates and supersedes any information in this prospectus. We incorporate by reference in this prospectus the following document:
| ● | Our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on April 22, 2021 (the “2020 Annual Report”). | |
| ● | Our current reports on Form 6-K , furnished to the SEC on January 5, 2022, December 28, 2021, December 23, 2021, December 15, 2021, December 13, 2021, December 8, 2021, December 3, 2021, November 17, 2021, November 12, 2021, November 4, 2021, October 27, 2021, October 26, 2021, October 22, 2021, October 13, 2021, September 29, 2021, September 29, 2021, September 28, 2021, September 27, 2021, September 16, 2021, August 12, 2021, July 16, 2021, May 10, 2021, May 6, 2021. |
All documents filed by us pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the initial filing date of this prospectus, through the date declared effective, until the termination of the offering of securities contemplated by this prospectus shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus. These documents that we file later with the Securities and Exchange Commission and that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus will automatically update information contained in this prospectus or that was previously incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You will be deemed to have notice of all information incorporated by reference in this prospectus as if that information was included in this prospectus.
We will provide to any person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this prospectus is delivered, a copy of any or all of the information that has been incorporated by reference in this prospectus but not delivered with this prospectus, at no cost to the requesting party, upon request to us in writing or by telephone using the following information:
AGM Group Holdings Inc.
c/o Creative Consultants (Hong Kong) Limited
Room 1502-3 15/F., Connuaght Commercial Building
185 Wanchai Road Wanchai
Hong Kong, SAR China
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy and information statements along with other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Our corporate website is www.ccnctech.com. The information on our corporate website is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any other prospectus supplement that we file, and you should not consider it a part of this prospectus or any other such prospectus.
This prospectus constitutes a part of a registration statement on Form S-3 filed under the Securities Act. As permitted by the SEC’s rules, this prospectus, which form a part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement, including certain exhibits and schedules. You will find additional information about us in the registration statement and its exhibits. Any statements made in this prospectus concerning legal documents are not necessarily complete and you should read the documents that are filed as exhibits to the registration statement or otherwise filed by us with the SEC for a more complete understanding of the document or matter. You may obtain the registration statement and exhibits to the registration statement from the SEC at the address listed above or from the SEC’s internet site.
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Up to 1,652,175 class A ordinary shares underlying warrants
AGM GROUP HOLDINGS INC.
PROSPECTUS
The date of this prospectus is , 2022
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 8. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Under British Virgin Islands law, each of our directors and officers, in performing his or her functions, is required to act honestly and in good faith with a view to our best interests and exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances. British Virgin Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such indemnification may be held by the British Virgin Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, for example, a provision for indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime.
Under our memorandum and articles of association, we may indemnify our directors against all expenses, including legal fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement and reasonably incurred in connection with civil, criminal, administrative or investigative proceedings to which they are party or are threatened to be made a party by reason of their acting as our directors. To be entitled to indemnification, these persons must have acted honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interest of the company and, in the case of criminal proceedings, they must have had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful. The decision of our board of directors as to whether such a person acted honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the company and as to whether the person had no reasonable to cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful is, in the absence of fraud, sufficient for the purposes of the indemnification, unless a question of law is involved. The termination of any proceedings by any judgment, order, settlement, conviction or the entry of no plea does not, by itself, create a presumption that a director did not act honestly and in good faith and with a view to our best interests or that the director had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful. Such limitation of liability does not affect the availability of equitable remedies such as injunctive relief or rescission. These provisions will not limit the liability of directors under United States federal securities laws.
We may indemnify anyone serving at our request as a director of another entity against all expenses, including legal fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement and reasonably incurred in connection with legal, administrative or investigative proceedings. To be entitled to indemnification, such a person must have acted honestly and in good faith with the view to our best interests and, in the case of criminal proceedings, must have had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful. The decision of our board of directors as to whether the person acted honestly and in good faith with a view to our best interests and as to whether the person had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful, is in the absence of fraud sufficient for the purposes of indemnification, unless a question of law is involved. The termination of any proceedings by any judgment, order, settlement, conviction or the entry of no plea does not, by itself, create a presumption that a person did not act honestly and in good faith and with a view to our best interests or that the person had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.
We may purchase and maintain insurance in relation to any of our directors or officers against any liability asserted against the directors or officers and incurred by the directors or officers in that capacity, whether or not we have or would have had the power to indemnify the directors or officers against the liability as provided in our memorandum and articles of association.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the Registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
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Item 9. Exhibits
The following exhibits are attached hereto:
| * | Filed herewith |
Item 10. Undertakings
The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:
| (1) | To file, during any period in which offers or sales of securities are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement: |
| (i) | To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933; |
| (ii) | To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and |
| (iii) | To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement. |
| (2) | That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
| (3) | To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering. |
| (4) | To file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to include any financial statements required by Item 8.A. of Form 20-F at the start of any delayed offering or throughout a continuous offering. Financial statements and information otherwise required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Act need not be furnished, provided that the Registrant includes in the prospectus, by means of a post-effective amendment, financial statements required pursuant to this paragraph (4) and other information necessary to ensure that all other information in the prospectus is at least as current as the date of those financial statements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to registration statements on Form F-3, a post-effective amendment need not be filed to include financial statements and information required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Act or Rule 3-19 of Regulation S-X if such financial statements and information are contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the Form F-3. |
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| (5) | That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser: |
| (i) | If the registrant is relying on Rule 430B: |
| (a) | Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and |
| (b) | Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or |
(x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date; or
| (ii) | If the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use. |
| (6) | That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities: The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser: |
| (i) | Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424; |
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| (ii) | Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant; |
| (iii) | The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and |
| (iv) | Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser. |
| (b) | The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
| (c) | The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to supplement the prospectus, after the expiration of the subscription period, to set forth the results of the subscription offer, the transactions by the underwriters during the subscription period, the amount of unsubscribed securities to be purchased by the underwriters, and the terms of any subsequent reoffering thereof. If any public offering by the underwriters is to be made on terms differing from those set forth on the cover page of the prospectus, a post-effective amendment will be filed to set forth the terms of such offering. |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China, on March 4, 2022.
| AGM GROUP HOLDINGS INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Wenjie Tang | |
| Wenjie Tang | ||
| Co-Chief Executive Officer | ||
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
| By: | /s/ Steven Sim | |
| Steven Sim | ||
| Chief Financial Officer | ||
| (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Signature | Capacity | Date | ||
| /s/ Chenjun Li | Chairman of the Board | March 4, 2022 | ||
| Chenjun Li | ||||
| /s/ Wenjie Tang | Chief Executive Officer and Director | March 4, 2022 | ||
| Wenjie Tang | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
| /s/ Steven Sim | Chief Financial Officer | March 4, 2022 | ||
| Steven Sim | (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | |||
| /s/ Yufeng Mi | Chief Technology Officer | March 4, 2022 | ||
| Yufeng Mi | ||||
| /s/ Bo Zhu | Chief Strategy Officer | March 4, 2022 | ||
| Bo Zhu | ||||
| /s/ Jialin Liu | Director | March 4, 2022 | ||
| Jialin Liu | ||||
| /s/ Jing Shi | Director | March 4, 2022 | ||
| Jing Shi | ||||
| /s/ Fangjie Wang | Director | March 4, 2022 | ||
| Fangjie Wang |
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SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES
Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 as amended, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of America, has signed this registration statement thereto in New York, NY on March 4, 2022.
| COGENCY GLOBAL INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Colleen A. De Vries | |
| Colleen A. De Vries | ||
| Senior Vice-President on behalf of Cogency Global Inc. | ||
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