Biddance AI Systems, Inc F-3, filed May 16, 2024
Biddance AI Systems, Inc. (BDAI)
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 16, 2024
Registration No. 333-_________
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM F-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER THE
SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
| HITEK GLOBAL INC. | ||
| (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) |
| Cayman Islands | Not Applicable | |
| (State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
Unit 304, No. 30 Guanri Road, Siming District
Xiamen City, Fujian Province, People’s Republic of China
+86 592-5395967
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Puglisi & Associates
850 Library Avenue, Suite 204
Newark, Delaware 19711
+1- (302) 738-6680 — telephone
(Name, address including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
With a copy to:
Bradley A. Haneberg, Esq.
Haneberg Hurlbert PLC
1111 East Main Street, Suite 2010
Richmond, Virginia 23219
+1-804-814-2209 — telephone
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement as determined by the registrant.
If the 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, please 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 accounting standards provided to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission acting pursuant to said section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this 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 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 May 16, 2024
PROSPECTUS
$120,000,000
HITEK GLOBAL INC.
Class A Ordinary Shares
Hitek Global Inc. (the “Company,” “our company,” or “we”) may offer to sell, from time to time, our Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per share (“Class A Shares”). The aggregate offering price of the Class A Shares issued under this prospectus may not exceed $120,000,000. The prices of the Class A Shares that we will offer will be determined at the time of their offering and will be described in a supplement to this prospectus.
This prospectus provides a general description of the Class A Shares we may offer. We will provide the specific terms of the offering of the Class A Shares in one or more supplements to this prospectus. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you in connection with these offerings. You should carefully read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, as well as any documents incorporated by reference before you invest in any of our securities. This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell any Class A Shares unless accompanied by the applicable prospectus supplement.
The Class A Shares issued under this prospectus may be offered directly or through underwriters, agents or dealers. The names of any underwriters, agents or dealers will be included in a supplement to this prospectus. The Class A Shares are listed on The NASDAQ Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “HKIT.” On May 15, 2024, the closing price of a Class A Share on Nasdaq was $1.46.
The aggregate market value of our outstanding Class A Shares held by non-affiliates is $8,423,271 based on 6,200,364 Class A Shares outstanding, of which 5,769,364 shares are held by non-affiliates, and a per share price of $1.46 based on the closing sale price of our ordinary shares as reported by the Nasdaq Capital Market on May 15, 2024. We have not offered any securities pursuant to General Instruction I.B.5 of Form F-3 during the prior 12 calendar month period that ends on and includes the date of this prospectus.
The securities offered in this offering are of the offshore holding company Hitek Global Inc. (the “Company”), which owns equity interests, directly or indirectly, of the operating subsidiaries. Subsidiaries conduct operations in China and the holding company does not conduct operations in China. Unless otherwise stated, as used in this prospectus and in the context of describing our operations and consolidated financial information, “Hitek,” “we,” “us,” “Company,” or “our” refers to Hitek Global Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company.
We are an offshore holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. As a holding company with no material operations, our operations were conducted in China by our subsidiaries and through contractual arrangements (“VIE Agreements”) with a variable interest entity, Xiamen Hengda HiTek Computer Network Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries (the “VIE”). Neither we nor our subsidiaries own any equity interests in the VIE. The VIE Agreements enable us to consolidate the financial results of the VIE in our consolidated financial statements under generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”), and the structure involves unique risks to investors. The VIE structure provides contractual exposure to foreign investment in China-based companies.
This is an offering of Class A Shares of the offshore holding company in Cayman Islands, instead of shares of the VIE in China. Therefore, you are not investing in and may never hold equity interests in the VIE. The VIE Agreements by and among Tian Dahai (Xiamen) Information Technology Co. Ltd. (the “WFOE”), the VIE, and the VIE’s shareholders include (i) certain power of attorney agreements and equity interest pledge agreement, pursuant to which shareholders of the VIE pledged all of their equity interests in the VIE to WFOE guarantee the performance of the VIE’s obligations under the exclusive technical consulting and service agreement; (ii) an exclusive technical consulting and service agreement which allows WFOE to receive substantially all of the economic benefits from the VIE; and (iii) certain exclusive equity interest purchase agreements which provide WFOE with an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in and/or assets of the VIE when and to the extent permitted by the laws of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”). Through the VIE Agreements among WFOE, the VIE and the VIE’s shareholders, we are deemed to have a controlling financial interest in, and be the primary beneficiary of, the VIE for accounting purposes only and must consolidate the VIE because it met the conditions under U.S. GAAP to consolidate the VIE.
However, the VIE structure cannot completely replicate a foreign investment in China-based companies, as the investors will not and may never hold equity interests in the Chinese operating entities. Instead, the VIE structure provides contractual exposure to foreign investment in us. Because we do not hold equity interests in the VIE, we are subject to risks due to uncertainty of the interpretation and the application of the PRC laws and regulations, including but not limited to limitation on foreign ownership of internet technology companies, regulatory review of oversea listing of PRC companies through a special purpose vehicle, and the validity and enforcement of the VIE Agreements as they have not been tested in a court of law. We are also subject to the risks of uncertainty about any future actions of the PRC government in this regard that could disallow the VIE structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and the value of Class A Shares may depreciate significantly or become worthless.
The VIE Agreements may not be effective in providing control over the VIE. We may also subject to sanctions imposed by PRC regulatory agencies including the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) if we fail to comply with their rules and regulations.
We are subject to legal and operational risks associated with the VIE’s operations in China. 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 the VIE’s operations, significant depreciation of the value of our Class A Shares, or a complete hindrance of our ability to offer or continue to offer our securities to investors. 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 variable interest entity structure, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement.
Pursuant to the PRC Cybersecurity Law, promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on November 7, 2016 and took effect on June 1, 2017, personal information and important data collected and generated by a critical information infrastructure operator in the course of its operations in China must be stored in China, and if a critical information infrastructure operator purchases internet products and services that affects or may affect national security, it should be subject to cybersecurity review by the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”). Due to the lack of further interpretations, the exact scope of “critical information infrastructure operator” remains unclear. On December 28, 2021, the CAC and other relevant PRC governmental authorities jointly promulgated the Cybersecurity Review Measures (the “CAC Revised Measures”) to replace the original Cybersecurity Review Measures. The CAC Revised Measures took effect on February 15, 2022. Pursuant to the CAC Revised Measures, if critical information infrastructure operators purchase network products and services, or network platform operators conduct data processing activities that affect or may affect national security, they will be subject to cybersecurity review. On November 14, 2021, CAC published the Administration Measures for Cyber Data Security (Draft for Public Comments) (the “Cyber Data Security Measure (Draft),” which requires cyberspace 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 cybersecurity review will evaluate, among others, the risk of critical information infrastructure, core data, important data, or a large amount of personal information being influenced, controlled or maliciously used by foreign governments and risk of network data security after going public overseas. As confirmed by our PRC counsel, Jingtian & Gongcheng, we are not subject to cybersecurity review with the CAC in accordance with the CAC Revised Measures, because (i) we are not in possession of or otherwise holding personal information of over one million users and it is also very unlikely that it will reach such threshold in the near future; and (ii) as of the date of this prospectus, we have not received any notice or determination from applicable PRC governmental authorities identifying it as a critical information infrastructure operator. However, since these statements and regulatory actions are new, it is highly uncertain how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operation, the ability to accept foreign investments and list on an U.S. exchange. On February 17, 2023, the CSRC promulgated the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (the “Trial Measures”) and five supporting guidelines, which came into effect on March 31, 2023. Pursuant to the Trial Measures, domestic companies that seek to offer or list securities overseas, both directly and indirectly, shall complete filing procedures with the CSRC pursuant to the requirements of the Trial Measures within three working days following its submission of initial public offerings or listing application. If a PRC company fails to complete required filing procedures or conceals any material fact or falsifies any major content in its filing documents, such PRC company may be subject to administrative penalties, such as order to rectify, warnings, fines, and its controlling shareholders, actual controllers, the person directly in charge and other directly liable persons may also be subject to administrative penalties, such as warnings and fines. In addition, on February 24, 2023, the CSRC, together with the Ministry of Finance of the PRC, the National Administration of State Secrets Protection and the National Archives Administration of China, revised the Provisions on Strengthening Confidentiality and Archives Administration for Overseas Securities Offering and Listing which was issued by the CSRC, National Administration of State Secrets Protection and National Archives Administration of China in 2009 (the “Provisions”). The revised Provisions were issued under the title Provisions on Strengthening Confidentiality and Archives Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies and came into effect on March 31, 2023 together with the Trial Measures. One of the major revisions to the revised Provisions is expanding its application to cover indirect overseas offerings and listings, as is consistent with the Trial Measures. The revised Provisions require that, including but not limited to (a) a domestic company that plans to, either directly or indirectly through its overseas listed entity, publicly disclose or provide to relevant individuals or entities including securities companies, securities service providers and overseas regulators, any documents and materials that contain state secrets or working secrets of government agencies, shall first obtain approval from competent authorities according to law, and file with the secrecy administrative department at the same level; and (b) a domestic company that plans to, either directly or indirectly through its overseas listed entity, publicly disclose or provide to relevant individuals and entities including securities companies, securities service providers and overseas regulators, any other documents and materials that, if leaked, will be detrimental to national security or public interest, shall strictly fulfill relevant procedures stipulated by applicable national regulations. As of the date of this prospectus, as advised by Jingtian & Gongcheng, our PRC counsel, we have not received any formal inquiry, notice, warning, sanction, or objection from the CSRC with respect to this offering. However, there remains significant uncertainty as to the enactment, interpretation and implementation of regulatory requirements related to overseas securities offerings and other capital markets activities. If it is determined that we are subject to the Trial Measures for the listing of the Class A Shares on Nasdaq, we may fail to obtain required approval, complete required filing or meet such requirements in a timely manner or at all, or completion could be rescinded. Any failure or perceived failure of us to fully comply with such new regulatory requirements could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, cause significant disruption to our business operations, and severely damage our reputation, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and could cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
Furthermore, as an auditor of companies that are registered with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and publicly traded in the United States and a firm registered with the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”), our auditor, Wei, Wei & Co., LLP, is headquartered in the United States and is required under the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess their compliance with the laws of the United States and professional standards. Although we operate through the VIE in mainland China, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese government authorities, our auditor is currently inspected fully by the PCAOB. Inspections of other auditors conducted by the PCAOB outside mainland China have at times identified deficiencies in those auditors’ audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality.
Even though our auditor, Wei, Wei & Co., LLP, is based in the United States and under full inspection by the PCAOB and we believe it is not currently subject to the determinations by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021, if any PRC law relating to the access of the PCAOB to auditor files were to apply to a company such as the VIE or its auditor, the PCAOB may be unable to fully inspect our auditor, which may result in our securities being delisted or prohibited from being traded “over-the-counter” pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act and materially and adversely affect the value and/or liquidity of your investment. On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “AHFCAA”), and if it were enacted, would require foreign companies to comply with the PCAOB audits within two consecutive years instead of three consecutive years, which would reduce the time before our securities may be prohibited from trading or be delisted. On December 29, 2022, legislation entitled “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023” (the “Consolidated Appropriations Act”), was signed into law by President Biden. The Consolidated Appropriations Act contained, among other things, an identical provision to AHFCAA, which reduces the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCA Act from three years to two. Furthermore, Wei, Wei & Co., LLP is not among the auditor firms listed on a Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“HFCA Act”) Determination List, which includes all of the auditor firms that the PCAOB is not able to inspect. There are risks and uncertainties which we cannot foresee for the time being, and rules and regulations in the PRC can change quickly with little or no advance notice. The PRC government may intervene or influence the VIE’s future operations in the PRC at any time, or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in companies like us. The PRC government may intervene or influence the VIE’s future operations in the PRC at any time, or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in companies like us. In the event it is later determined that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely our auditor, then such lack of inspection could cause trading in our securities to be prohibited under the HFCA Act, and ultimately result in a determination by a securities exchange to delist our securities.
On August 26, 2022, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Finance of the PRC (the “MOF”), and the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol (the “Protocol”) governing inspections and investigations of audit firms based in mainland China and Hong Kong, taking the first step toward opening access for the PCAOB to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. Pursuant to the fact sheet with respect to the Protocol disclosed by the SEC, the PCAOB shall have independent discretion to select any issuer audits for inspection or investigation and has the unfettered ability to transfer information to the SEC. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB Board determined that the PCAOB was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong and voted to vacate its previous determinations to the contrary. However, should PRC authorities obstruct or otherwise fail to facilitate the PCAOB’s access in the future, the PCAOB Board will consider the need to issue a new determination.
Our management monitors the cash position of each entity within our organization regularly and prepare budgets on a monthly basis to ensure each entity has the necessary funds to fulfill its obligation for the foreseeable future and to ensure adequate liquidity. As a holding company, we may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our subsidiary in Hong Kong, Hitek HK, and the consolidated VIE in mainland China, for our cash and financing requirements. According to the Companies Ordinance of Hong Kong, a Hong Kong company may only make a distribution out of profits available for distribution. In order for us to pay dividends to our shareholders, we will rely on payments made from the VIE to WFOE, pursuant to VIE Agreements between them, and the distribution of such payments to HiTek HK as dividends from WFOE. Certain payments from the VIE to WFOE are subject to PRC taxes, including business taxes and VAT. We intend to keep any future earnings to re-invest in and finance the expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate that any cash dividends will be paid or any assets will be transferred in the foreseeable future. As of the date of this prospectus, there has been no distribution of dividends or assets among the holding company, the subsidiary or the consolidated VIE. In the future, cash proceeds raised from overseas financing activities, including this offering, may be transferred by us to the consolidated VIE via capital contribution or shareholder loans, as the case may be. Other than the above, we did not adopt or maintain any cash management policies and procedures as of the date of this prospectus.
In addition, we are an “emerging growth company” as defined under the Federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.
Furthermore, we are a “controlled company” as defined under the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules because Mr. Shenping Yin, our founder, the chairman of our board of directors and his wife, Ms. Xiaoyang Huang, our chief executive officer, will beneficially own all of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares and will be able to exercise more than 50% of our total voting power. Therefore, we may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq. Currently, we do not plan to utilize the “controlled company” exemptions with respect to our corporate governance practice after we complete this offering.
You should carefully read this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus before investment.
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 section contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and the documents we incorporate by reference into this prospectus to read about factors you should consider before investing in our securities.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission nor any other regulatory body 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 _______, 2024
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized any person to provide you with different or additional information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus is not an offer to sell securities, and it is not soliciting an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, as well as information we have previously filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference, is accurate as of the date on the front of those documents only. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
This prospectus is part of a shelf registration statement that we filed with the SEC. By using a shelf registration statement, we may, at any time and from time to time, offer and sell up to US$120,000,000 of the securities as described in this prospectus in one or more offerings. We may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus by means of a prospectus supplement or by incorporating by reference information that we file or furnish to the SEC. As allowed by the SEC rules, this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement do not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information, we refer you to the registration statement, including its exhibits. Statements contained in this prospectus or the prospectus supplement about the provisions or contents of any agreement or other document are not necessarily complete. If the SEC’s rules and regulations require that an agreement or document be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, please see that agreement or document for a complete description of these matters.
You should carefully read this document and any applicable prospectus supplement. You should also read the documents we have referred you to under “Where You Can Find More Information About Us” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” below for information on our company, the risks we face and our financial statements. The registration statement and exhibits can be read on the SEC’s website as described under “Where You Can Find More Information About Us.”
This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein contain statements of a forward-looking nature. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made under the “safe harbor” provision under Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements relate to, among others:
| ● | future financial and operating results, including revenues, income, expenditures, cash balances and other financial items; | |
| ● | impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows; | |
| ● | our ability to execute our growth, expansion and acquisition strategies, including our ability to meet our goals; |
ii
| ● | current and future economic and political conditions; | |
| ● | the response of participants using ACTCS (as such term is defined herein) tax device or its supporting services to any difficulties encountered by companies filing VAT (as such term is defined herein) through these systems; | |
| ● | changes in the regulations of PRC government bodies and agencies relating to VAT collection procedure and ACTCS business; | |
| ● | our ability to provide participants in projects using our services with a secure and acceptable payment method; | |
| ● | our ability to continue to operate through the VIE structure; | |
| ● | our capital requirements and our ability to raise any additional financing which we may require; | |
| ● | our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and secure the right to use other intellectual property that we deem to be essential or desirable to the conduct of our business; | |
| ● | our ability to hire and retain qualified management personnel and key employees in order to enable us to develop our business; | |
| ● | our ability to retain the services of Ms. Xiaoyang Huang, our Chief Executive Officer; | |
| ● | overall industry and market performance; and | |
| ● | other assumptions described in this prospectus underlying or relating to any forward-looking statements. |
We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs.
You should read these statements in conjunction with the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” included in the applicable prospectus supplement or under similar headings in other documents which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Moreover, we operate in an emerging and evolving environment. New risks may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of such risks on our business or the extent to which any risk, or combination of risks, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this prospectus and such incorporated documents. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and have filed as exhibits to this prospectus and the incorporated documents, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.
iii
We are an offshore holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. As a holding company with no material operations, our operations were conducted in China by (i) Haitian Weilai, our indirect subsidiary, (ii) the VIE, Hitek and the VIE’s subsidiaries, Huasheng and Huoerguosi. Neither we nor our subsidiaries own any equity interests in the VIE. WFOE, the VIE and the shareholders of the VIE entered into a series of contractual arrangements (the “VIE Agreements”) pursuant to which we are able to consolidate the financial results of the VIE in our consolidated financial statements because we are deemed as the primary beneficial of the VIE under generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”), and this structure involves unique risks to investors.
The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure as of the date of this annual report. All percentages in the following diagram reflect the voting ownership interests instead of the equity interests held by each of our shareholders given that each holder of Class B Ordinary Shares will be entitled to 15 votes per one Class B Ordinary Share, and each holder of Class A Shares will be entitled to one vote per one Class A Share:
The VIE Agreements included: Exclusive Technical Consulting and Service Agreement, Equity Interest Pledge Agreement, Exclusive Equity Interests Purchase Agreement, and Powers of Attorney. None of the agreements has been tested in a court of law. Through the VIE Agreements among WFOE, the VIE and the VIE’s shareholders, we are deemed to have a controlling financial interest in, and be the primary beneficiary of, the VIE for accounting purposes only and must consolidate the VIE because it met the conditions under U.S. GAAP to consolidate the VIE. However, the VIE structure cannot completely replicate a foreign investment in China-based companies, as the investors will not and may never hold equity interests in the Chinese operating entities. Instead, the VIE structure provides contractual exposure to foreign investment in us.
1
Because we do not hold equity interests in the VIE, we are subject to risks due to uncertainty of the interpretation and the application of the PRC laws and regulations, including but not limited to limitation on foreign ownership of internet technology companies, regulatory review of oversea listing of PRC companies through a special purpose vehicle, and the validity and enforcement of the VIE Agreements. We are also subject to the risks of uncertainty about any future actions of the PRC government in this regard that could disallow the VIE structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and the value of the Class A Shares may depreciate significantly or become worthless.
We are subject to certain legal and operational risks associated with the VIE’s operations in China. 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 the VIE’s operations, significant depreciation of the value of our Class A Shares, or a complete hindrance of our ability to offer or continue to offer our securities to investors. 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 variable interest entity structure, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. Since these statements and regulatory actions are new, it is highly uncertain how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operation, the ability to accept foreign investments and list on an U.S. exchange
We cannot assure you the PRC courts or regulatory authorities may not determine our corporate structure and VIE Agreements violate PRC laws, rules or regulations. If the PRC courts or regulatory authorities determine our contractual arrangements are in violation of applicable PRC laws, rules or regulations, the VIE Agreements will become invalid or unenforceable, and the VIE will not be treated as a VIE and we will not be entitled to treat the VIE’s assets, liabilities and results of operations as our assets, liabilities and results of operations, which could effectively eliminate the assets, revenue and net income of the VIE from our balance sheet, which would most likely require us to cease conducting our business and would result in the delisting of our Class A Shares from the Nasdaq Capital Market after this offering and a significant impairment in the market value of our Class A Shares. If the VIE structure is determined to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws, rules or regulations, or if our WFOE or the VIE fails to obtain or maintain any of the required governmental permits or approvals, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities would have broad discretion in dealing with such violations, including: imposing fines on the WFOE or the VIE, revoking the business and operating licenses of WFOE or the VIE, discontinuing or restricting the operations of WFOE or the VIE; imposing conditions or requirements with which we, WFOE, or the VIE may not be able to comply; requiring us, WFOE, or the VIE to restructure the relevant ownership structure or operations which may significantly impair the rights of the holders of our Class A Shares in the equity of the VIE; and restricting or prohibiting our use of the proceeds from our initial public offering to finance our business and operations in China.
Business Overview
We are an information technology (“IT”) consulting and solutions service provider focusing on delivering services to business in various industry sectors in China. As of the date of prospectus, we have two lines of businesses—1) services to small and medium businesses, which consists of Anti-Counterfeiting Tax Control System (“ACTCS”) tax devices, including Golden Tax Disk (“GTD”) and printers, ACTCS services, and IT services, and 2) services to large businesses, which consists of hardware sales and software sales. We expect to actively develop our system integration services and online service platform in the near future. Our vision is to become a one-stop consulting destination for holistic IT and other business consulting services in China.
The VIE is authorized to carry out the sales of GTD and a market leader in the Xiamen metropolitan area with respect to ACTCS tax devices and services since 1996. We provide our customers with the necessary ACTCS for their value added tax (“VAT”) reporting, collection and processing. VAT reporting is mandatory for all business enterprises in China. The ACTCS is one of the two major VAT control systems that a business entity may choose to comply with the VAT reporting requirements. Developed by the PRC government, ACTCS was intended to effectively eliminate counterfeit invoices, providing accurate and complete tax information for the regional and national audit system. We are authorized by the State Taxation Bureau, Xiamen Branch, as one of the first ACTCS service providers in the Xiamen metropolitan area. GTD is an ACTCS device necessary for normal operation of ACTCS software. The purchase of GTD is allowed only in conjunction with the use of the ACTCS software and its supporting services. Since 1996, we have been the number one ACTCS services provider for Xiamen business enterprises according to the data compiled by Xiamen Province Taxation Bureau.
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Complementing our physical service center, we started developing online service center in 2018 to enable tens of thousands of businesses in the Xiamen metropolitan area to securely process VAT reporting and payment from their desktop virtually anytime and anywhere. Currently, our customers range from small, medium to large enterprises across industries in the Xiamen metropolitan area.
In April 2021, WFOE established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Xiamen Haitian Weilai Technology Co., Ltd. (“Haitian Weilai”) under the laws of the PRC. The strategy purpose of establishing the new subsidiary is for the integration of tax invoicing management services from the VIE to Haitian Weilai.
As part of the services provided to large businesses, the VIE currently sells its Communication Interface System (“CIS”), its self-developed software which provides embedded system interface solutions for large businesses. CIS is a universal embedded interface system used in petrochemical and coal businesses to collect industrial, electricity, facility pressure and temperature statistics and convert to readable format for analytical purposes.
As part of our services provided to large businesses, Huasheng sold hardware such as laptops, printers, desktop computers and associated accessories, together with certain internet servers, cameras and monitors. Huasheng’s major business strategy in its market was to connect and source through exclusive relationships with manufacturers so that Huasheng could offer competitively priced hardware. Huasheng has established its online support system in the beginning of 2018. The online system further enhanced Huasheng’s customer experience, which is complemented by highly trained professionals and attractive physical store environment. From the beginning of 2022, Huasheng transferred the above business to the VIE.
Our principal executive offices are located at Unit 304, No. 30 Guanri Road, Siming District, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, PRC. Our telephone number at this address is +86 592-5395967. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at the offices of Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Puglisi & Associates, located at 850 Library Avenue, Suite 204, Newark, Delaware 19711.
The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov. You can also find information on our website at http://www.xmhitek.com. The information contained on our website is not a part of this prospectus.
As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt under the Exchange Act from, among other things, the rules prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will not be required under the Exchange Act to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act.
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Any investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risk factors discussed or incorporated by reference in the applicable prospectus supplement, together with all the other information contained in the prospectus supplement or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should also consider the risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus, and which may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports we file with the SEC in the future.
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We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities we offer as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement(s).
We are a Cayman Islands company and our affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, which we refer to as the Companies Act below. The following description of our memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time, are summaries and do not purport to be complete.
As of May 16, 2024, our authorized share capital consists of $50,000 divided into 500,000,000 shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, comprised of 431,808,000 Class A Shares, 58,192,000 Class B Ordinary Shares, and 10,000,000 preference shares.
Our directors may, in their absolute discretion and without the approval of our shareholders, create and designate out of the unissued preference shares of our company one or more classes or series of preference shares, comprising such number of preference shares, and having such designations, powers, preferences, privileges and other rights, including dividend rights, voting rights, conversion rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, as our directors may determine. As of the date hereof, there are 6,200,364 Class A Shares and 8,192,000 Class B Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding. The following are summaries of material provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Act insofar as they relate to the material terms of our Class A Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares.
Ordinary shares
Dividends. Subject to any rights and restrictions of any other class or series of shares, our board of directors may, from time to time, declare dividends on the shares issued and authorize payment of the dividends out of our lawfully available funds. No dividends shall be declared by the board out of our company except the following:
| ● | profits; or |
| ● | “share premium account,” which represents the excess of the price paid to our company on issue of its shares over the par or “nominal” value of those shares, which is similar to the U.S. concept of additional paid in capital. |
However, no dividend shall bear interest against the Company.
Voting Rights. Holders of Class A Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights as set forth in our memorandum and articles of association. In respect of matters requiring a vote of all shareholders, each holder of Class A Shares will be entitled to one vote per one Class A Share and each holder of Class B Ordinary Shares will be entitled to 15 votes per one Class B Ordinary Share. The Class B Ordinary Shares are convertible into Class A Shares at any time after issuance at the option of the holder on a one-to-one basis.
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On a show of hands, every shareholder who is present in person and every person representing a shareholder by proxy shall have one vote for each Class A Share and 15 votes for each Class B Ordinary Share of which he or the person represented by proxy is the holder. On a poll, a Class A shareholder shall have one vote for each Class A Share he holds whereas a Class B Ordinary shareholder shall have 15 votes for each Class B Ordinary Share he holds, unless any share carries special voting rights. In addition, all shareholders holding shares of a particular class are entitled to vote at a meeting of the holders of that class of shares. Votes may be given either personally or by proxy.
Any ordinary resolution to be made by the shareholders requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes cast in a general meeting, while a special resolution requires the affirmative vote of no less than two-thirds of the votes cast.
Under Cayman Islands law, some matters, such as amending the memorandum and articles of association, changing the name or resolving to be registered by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, require approval of shareholders by a special resolution.
There are no limitations on non-residents or foreign shareholders in the memorandum and articles of association to hold or exercise voting rights on the Class A Shares or Class B Ordinary Shares imposed by foreign law or by the charter or other constituent document of our company. However, no person will be entitled to vote at any general meeting or at any separate meeting of the holders of the Class A Shares or Class B Ordinary Shares unless the person is registered as of the record date for such meeting and unless all calls or other sums presently payable by the person in respect of Class A Shares or Class B Ordinary Shares in the Company have been paid.
Winding Up; Liquidation. Upon the winding up of our company, after the full amount that holders of any issued shares ranking senior to the Class A Shares or Class B Ordinary Shares as to distribution on liquidation or winding up are entitled to receive has been paid or set aside for payment, the holders of our Class A Shares or Class B Ordinary Shares are entitled to receive any remaining assets of the Company available for distribution as determined by the liquidator. The assets received by the holders of our Class A Shares or Class B Ordinary Shares in a liquidation may consist in whole or in part of property, which is not required to be of the same kind for all shareholders.
Calls on Ordinary Shares and Forfeiture of Ordinary Shares. Our board of directors may from time to time make calls upon shareholders for any amounts unpaid on their Class A Shares or Class B Ordinary Shares in a notice served to such shareholders at least 14 days prior to the specified time and place of payment. Any Class A Shares or Class B Ordinary Shares that have been called upon and remain unpaid are subject to forfeiture.
Redemption of Ordinary Shares. We may issue shares that are, or at its option or at the option of the holders are, subject to redemption on such terms and in such manner as it may, before the issue of the shares, determine. Under the Companies Act, shares of a Cayman Islands company may be redeemed or repurchased out of profits of the company, out of the proceeds of a fresh issue of shares made for that purpose or out of capital, provided the memorandum and articles of association authorize this and it has the ability to pay its debts as they come due in the ordinary course of business.
No Preemptive Rights. Holders of Class A Shares or Class B Ordinary Shares will have no preemptive or preferential right to purchase any securities of our company.
Variation of Rights Attaching to Shares. If at any time the share capital is divided into different classes of shares, the rights attaching to any class (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class) may, subject to the memorandum and articles of association, be varied or abrogated with the consent in writing of the holders of three-fourth of the issued shares of that class or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a general meeting of the holders of the shares of that class.
Anti-Takeover Provisions. Some provisions of our current memorandum and articles of association may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or management that shareholders may consider favorable, including provisions that authorize our board of directors to issue preference shares in one or more Class And to designate the price, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of such preference shares without any further vote or action by our shareholders.
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Exempted Company. We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except that an exempted company:
| ● | does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies; | |
| ● | is not required to open its register of members for inspection; | |
| ● | does not have to hold an annual general meeting; | |
| ● | may issue shares with no par value; | |
| ● | may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance); | |
| ● | may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; | |
| ● | may register as a limited duration company; and | |
| ● | may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
Register of Members
Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there shall be entered therein:
| (a) | the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member; |
| (b) | the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; |
| (c) | the date on which any person ceased to be a member; and |
| (d) | whether voting rights are attached to the share in issue. |
Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e. the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members shall be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this public offering, the register of members shall be immediately updated to reflect the issue of shares by us. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members shall be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name.
However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our Class A Shares or Class B Ordinary Shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.
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Preference shares
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of 10,000,000 preference shares with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by our board of directors. Accordingly, our board of directors is empowered, without shareholder approval, to issue preference shares with dividend, liquidation, redemption, voting or other rights which could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of our Class A Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares. We may issue some or all of the preference shares to effect a business combination. In addition, the preference shares could be utilized as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control of us. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preference shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modeled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements.
In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution (usually a majority of 66.6% in value) of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the issued shares of each class in a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.
Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the director of the Cayman Islands company is required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, he is of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted.
Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands company, the director of the Cayman Islands company is further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, he is of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (iv) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
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Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of his shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows (a) the shareholder must give his written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30 day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30 day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder) must file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
Moreover, Cayman Islands law also has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedure of which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:
| ● | we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with; |
| ● | the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question; |
| ● | the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and |
| ● | the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.” |
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If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of U.S. corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.
Squeeze-out Provisions.
When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer relates within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through other means to these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, through contractual arrangements, of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits.
Maples and Calder (Cayman ) LLP, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:
| ● | a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority; |
| ● | the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or |
| ● | those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.” |
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of civil liabilities.
The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and may provide less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.
We were advised by Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the U.S. predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the U.S. or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the U.S. or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the U.S., the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
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Special Considerations for Exempted Companies.
We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
| ● | annual reporting requirements are minimal and consist mainly of a statement that the company has conducted its operations mainly outside of the Cayman Islands and has complied with the provisions of the Companies Act; |
| ● | an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection; |
| ● | an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
| ● | an exempted company may issue negotiable or bearer shares or shares with no par value; |
| ● | an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance); |
| ● | an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; |
| ● | an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and |
| ● | an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
Vstock Transfer, LLC is the transfer agent and registrar for our Class A Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares. Its principal office is at 18 Lafayette Place, Woodmere, New York 11598.
ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES
We are a Cayman Islands company incorporated on November 3, 2017 as an exempted company with limited liability. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies wishing to conduct business outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with section 6 of the Tax Concessions Law (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
All of our assets are located in the PRC. In addition, a majority of our directors and officers are nationals or residents of the PRC and all or a substantial portion of their 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 these persons, or to enforce against us or them 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 in the United States.
We have appointed Puglisi & Associates as our agent to receive service of process with respect to any action brought against us in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under the Federal securities laws of the United States or of any state in the United States or any action brought against us in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the County of New York under the securities laws of the State of New York.
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We were advised by Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the U.S. predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the U.S. or any State; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the U.S. or any State, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the U.S., the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
PRC
Jingtian & Gongcheng, our counsel as to PRC law, has advised us that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of China would:
| ● | recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the U.S. or any state in the United States; or |
| ● | entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the U.S. or any state in the U.S. |
Jingtian & Gongcheng further advised us that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the jurisdiction where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other form of reciprocity with the U.S. that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in the PRC will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC law or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the U.S. Under the PRC Civil Procedures Law, foreign shareholders may originate actions based on PRC law against us in the PRC, if they can establish sufficient nexus to the PRC for a PRC court to have jurisdiction, and meet other procedural requirements, including, among others, the plaintiff must have a direct interest in the case, and there must be a concrete claim, a factual basis and a cause for the suit. However, it would be difficult for foreign shareholders to establish sufficient nexus to the PRC by virtue only of holding our ordinary shares.
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The following summary of the material Cayman Islands, PRC and U.S. tax consequences of an investment in our Class A Shares is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date hereof, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect. This summary is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, legal or tax advice and is not exhaustive of all possible tax considerations. This summary also does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our Class A Shares, such as the tax consequences under state, local, non-U.S., non-PRC, and non-Cayman Islands tax laws. Investors should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our Class A Shares.
People’s Republic of China Enterprise Taxation (the “EIT Law”)
The following brief description of Chinese enterprise laws is designed to highlight the enterprise-level taxation on our earnings, which will affect the amount of dividends, if any, we are ultimately able to pay to our shareholders.
We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands and we gain substantial income by way of dividends paid to us from our subsidiaries in China. The EIT Law and its implementation rules provide that China-sourced income of foreign companies, such as dividends paid by a PRC subsidiary to its equity holders that are non-resident companies, will normally be subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of 10%, unless any such foreign investor’s jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a preferential tax rate or a tax exemption.
Under the EIT Law, an enterprise established outside of China with a “de facto management body” within China is considered a “resident enterprise,” which means that it is treated in a manner similar to a Chinese enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes. Although the implementation rules of the EIT Law define “de facto management body” as a managing body that actually, comprehensively manage and control the production and operation, staff, accounting, property and other aspects of an enterprise, the only official guidance for this definition currently available is set forth in SAT Notice 82, which provides guidance on the determination of the tax residence status of a Chinese-controlled offshore incorporated enterprise, defined as an enterprise that is incorporated under the laws of a foreign country or territory and that has a PRC enterprise or enterprise group as its primary controlling shareholder. Although we do not have a PRC enterprise or enterprise group as our primary controlling shareholder and are therefore not a Chinese-controlled offshore incorporated enterprise within the meaning of SAT Notice 82, in the absence of guidance specifically applicable to us, we have applied the guidance set forth in SAT Notice 82 to evaluate the tax residence status of the Company and its subsidiaries organized outside the PRC.
According to SAT Notice 82, a Chinese-controlled offshore incorporated enterprise will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having a “de facto management body” in China and will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on its worldwide income only if all of the following criteria are met: (i) the places where senior management and senior management departments that are responsible for daily production, operation and management of the enterprise perform their duties are mainly located within the territory of China; (ii) financial decisions (such as money borrowing, lending, financing and financial risk management) and personnel decisions (such as appointment, dismissal and salary and wages) are decided or need to be decided by organizations or persons located within the territory of China; (iii) main property, accounting books, corporate seal, the board of directors and files of the minutes of shareholders’ meetings of the enterprise are located or preserved within the territory of China; and (iv) one half (or more) of the directors or senior management staff having the right to vote habitually reside within the territory of China.
We believe we do not meet some of the conditions outlined in the immediately preceding paragraph. For example, as a holding company, the key assets and records of our company including the resolutions and meeting minutes of our board of directors and the resolutions and meeting minutes of our shareholders, are located and maintained outside the PRC. In addition, we are not aware of any offshore holding companies with a corporate structure similar to ours that has been deemed a PRC “resident enterprise” by the PRC tax authorities. Accordingly, we believe we and our offshore subsidiaries should not be treated as a “resident enterprise” for PRC tax purposes if the criteria for “de facto management body” as set forth in SAT Notice 82 were deemed applicable to us. However, as the tax residency status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term “de facto management body” as applicable to our offshore entities, we will continue to monitor our tax status.
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The implementation rules of the EIT Law provide that, (i) if the enterprise that distributes dividends is domiciled in the PRC or (ii) if gains are realized from transferring equity interests of companies domiciled in the PRC, then such dividends or gains are treated as China-sourced income. It is not clear how “domicile” may be interpreted under the EIT Law, and it may be interpreted as the jurisdiction where the enterprise is a tax resident. Therefore, if we are considered as a PRC tax resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes, any dividends we pay to our overseas shareholders which are non-resident companies as well as gains realized by such shareholders from the transfer of our shares may be regarded as China-sourced income and as a result become subject to PRC withholding tax of up to 10%. We are unable to provide a “will” opinion because Jingtian & Gongcheng, our PRC counsel, believes it is possible but unlikely the Company and its offshore subsidiaries would be treated as a “resident enterprise” for PRC tax purposes because they do not meet some of the conditions outlined in SAT Notice 82. In addition, we are not aware of any offshore holding companies with a corporate structure similar to ours that has been deemed a PRC “resident enterprise” by the PRC tax authorities as of the date of this annual report. Therefore, it is possible but highly unlikely that the income received by our overseas shareholders will be regarded as China-sourced income.
Cayman Islands Tax Considerations
The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in the securities of the Company. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investor’s particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.
Under Existing Cayman Islands Laws:
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of our securities will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the securities nor will gains derived from the disposal of the securities be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporation tax. The Cayman Islands currently have no income, corporate or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of the warrants. An instrument of transfer in respect of a warrant is stampable if executed in or brought into the Cayman Islands.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of our Class A Shares or on an instrument of transfer in respect of such shares.
The Company has been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, has applied for and received an undertaking from the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands in the following form:
The Tax Concessions Act (As Revised)
Undertaking as to Tax Concessions
In accordance with the provision of Section 6 of The Tax Concessions Act (As Revised), the Financial Secretary undertakes with the Company:
| 1. | That no law which is hereafter enacted in the Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to the Company or its operations; and |
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| 2. | In addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable: |
| a. | On or in respect of the shares, debentures or other obligations of the Company; or |
| b. | by way of the withholding in whole or part, of any relevant payment as defined in Section 6(3) of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised). |
These concessions shall be for a period of twenty years from the date hereof.
United States Federal Income Taxation
The following does not address the tax consequences to any particular investor or to persons in special tax situations such as:
| ● | banks; | |
| ● | financial institutions; | |
| ● | insurance companies; | |
| ● | regulated investment companies; |
| ● | real estate investment trusts; | |
| ● | broker-dealers; | |
| ● | traders that elect to mark-to-market; | |
| ● | U.S. expatriates; | |
| ● | tax-exempt entities; | |
| ● | persons liable for alternative minimum tax; | |
| ● | persons holding our Class A Shares as part of a straddle, hedging, conversion or integrated transaction; | |
| ● | persons that actually or constructively own 10% or more of our voting shares; | |
| ● | persons who acquired our Class A Shares pursuant to the exercise of any employee share option or otherwise as consideration; or | |
| ● | persons holding our Class A Shares through partnerships or other pass-through entities. |
Prospective purchasers are urged to consult their own tax advisors about the application of the U.S. Federal tax rules to their particular circumstances as well as the state, local, foreign and other tax consequences to them of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our Class A Shares.
Taxation of Dividends and Other Distributions on our Class A Shares
Subject to the passive foreign investment company rules discussed below, the gross amount of distributions made by us to you with respect to the Class A Shares (including the amount of any taxes withheld therefrom) will generally be includable in your gross income as dividend income on the date of receipt by you, but only to the extent that the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). With respect to corporate U.S. Holders, the dividends will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations in respect of dividends received from other U.S. corporations.
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With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, including individual U.S. Holders, dividends will be taxed at the lower capital gains rate applicable to qualified dividend income, provided that (1) the Class A Shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the U.S., or we are eligible for the benefits of an approved qualifying income tax treaty with the U.S. that includes an exchange of information program, (2) we are not a passive foreign investment company (as discussed below) for either our taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year, and (3) certain holding period requirements are met. Under U.S. Internal Revenue Service authority, Class A Shares are considered for purpose of clause (1) above to be readily tradable on an established securities market in the U.S. because they are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. You are urged to consult your tax advisors regarding the availability of the lower rate for dividends paid with respect to our Class A Shares, including the effects of any change in law after the date of this annual report.
Dividends will constitute foreign source income for foreign tax credit limitation purposes. If the dividends are taxed as qualified dividend income (as discussed above), the amount of the dividend taken into account for purposes of calculating the foreign tax credit limitation will be limited to the gross amount of the dividend, multiplied by the reduced rate divided by the highest rate of tax normally applicable to dividends. The limitation on foreign taxes eligible for credit is calculated separately with respect to specific classes of income. For this purpose, dividends distributed by us with respect to our Class A Shares will constitute “passive category income” but could, in the case of certain U.S. Holders, constitute “general category income.”
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we have not declared any dividends on our Class A Shares or Class B Ordinary Shares. To the extent the distribution exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles), it will be treated first as a tax-free return of your tax basis in your Class A Shares, and to the extent the distribution exceeds your tax basis, the excess will be taxed as capital gain. We do not intend to calculate our earnings and profits under U.S. federal income tax principles. Therefore, a U.S. Holder should expect that a distribution will be treated as a dividend even if that distribution would otherwise be treated as a non-taxable return of capital or as capital gain under the rules described above.
Taxation of Dispositions of Class A Shares
Subject to the passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) rules discussed below, you will recognize taxable gain or loss on any sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of a share equal to the difference between the amount realized (in U.S. dollars) for the share and your tax basis (in U.S. dollars) in the Class A Shares. The gain or loss will be capital gain or loss. If you are a non-corporate U.S. Holder, including an individual U.S. Holder, who has held the Class A Shares for more than one year, you will be eligible for (a) reduced tax rates of 0% (for individuals in the 10% or 15% tax brackets), (b) higher tax rates of 20% (for individuals in the 39.6% tax bracket) or (c) 15% for all other individuals. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations. Any such gain or loss that you recognize will generally be treated as United States source income or loss for foreign tax credit limitation purposes.
Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) Consequences
Based on our current and anticipated operations and the composition of our assets, we do not expect to be treated as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for our current taxable year. PFIC status is a factual determination for each taxable year which cannot be made until the close of the taxable year. A non-U.S. corporation is considered a PFIC for any taxable year if either:
| ● | at least 75% of its gross income is passive income; or | |
| ● | at least 50% of the value of its assets (based on an average of the quarterly values of the assets during a taxable year) is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income (the “asset test”). |
We will be treated as owning our proportionate share of the assets and earning our proportionate share of the income of any other corporation in which we own, directly or indirectly, at least 25% (by value) of the stock.
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We must make a separate determination each year as to whether we are a PFIC. As a result, our PFIC status may change from no to yes. In particular, because the value of our assets for purposes of the asset test will generally be determined based on the market price of our Class A Shares, our PFIC status will depend in large part on the market price of our Class A Shares. Accordingly, fluctuations in the market price of the Class A Shares may cause us to become a PFIC. In addition, the application of the PFIC rules is subject to uncertainty in several respects and the composition of our income and assets will be affected by how, and how quickly, we spend the cash we raise in our initial public offering. If we are a PFIC for any year during which you hold Class A Shares, we will continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which you hold Class A Shares. However, if we cease to be a PFIC, you may avoid some of the adverse effects of the PFIC regime by making a “deemed sale” election with respect to the Class A Shares.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which you hold Class A Shares, you will be subject to special tax rules with respect to any “excess distribution” that you receive and any gain you realize from a sale or other disposition (including a pledge) of the Class A Shares, unless you make a “mark-to-market” election as discussed below. Distributions you receive in a taxable year that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions you received during the shorter of the three preceding taxable years or your holding period for the Class A Shares will be treated as an excess distribution. Under these special tax rules:
| ● | the excess distribution or gain will be allocated ratably over your holding period for the Class A Shares; |
| ● | the amount allocated to the current taxable year, and any taxable year prior to the first taxable year in which we were a PFIC, will be treated as ordinary income, and |
| ● | the amount allocated to each other year will be subject to the highest tax rate in effect for that year and the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed on the resulting tax attributable to each such year. |
The tax liability for amounts allocated to years prior to the year of disposition or “excess distribution” cannot be offset by any net operating losses for such years, and gains (but not losses) realized on the sale of the Class A Shares cannot be treated as capital, even if you hold the Class A Shares as capital assets.
A U.S. Holder of “marketable stock” (as defined below) in a PFIC may make a mark-to-market election for such stock to elect out of the tax treatment discussed above. If you make a mark-to-market election for the Class A Shares, you will include in income each year an amount equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the Class A Shares as of the close of your taxable year over your adjusted basis in such Class A Shares. You are allowed a deduction for the excess, if any, of the adjusted basis of the Class A Shares over their fair market value as of the close of the taxable year. However, deductions are allowable only to the extent of any net mark-to-market gains on the Class A Shares included in your income for prior taxable years. Amounts included in your income under a mark-to-market election, as well as gain on the actual sale or other disposition of the Class A Shares, are treated as ordinary income. Ordinary loss treatment also applies to the deductible portion of any mark-to-market loss on the Class A Shares, as well as to any loss realized on the actual sale or disposition of the Class A Shares, to the extent that the amount of such loss does not exceed the net mark-to-market gains previously included for such Class A Shares. Your basis in the Class A Shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts. If you make a valid mark-to-market election, the tax rules that apply to distributions by corporations which are not PFICs would apply to distributions by us, except that the lower applicable capital gains rate for qualified dividend income discussed above under “— Taxation of Dividends and Other Distributions on our Class A Shares” generally would not apply.
The mark-to-market election is available only for “marketable stock”, which is stock that is traded in other than de minimis quantities on at least 15 days during each calendar quarter (“regularly traded”) on a qualified exchange or other market (as defined in applicable U.S. Treasury regulations), including the Nasdaq Capital Market. Our Class A Shares started trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on March 31, 2023. If the Class A Shares are regularly traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market and if you are a holder of Class A Shares, the mark-to-market election would be available to you were we to be or become a PFIC.
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Alternatively, a U.S. Holder of stock in a PFIC may make a “qualified electing fund” election with respect to such PFIC to elect out of the tax treatment discussed above. A U.S. Holder who makes a valid qualified electing fund election with respect to a PFIC will generally include in gross income for a taxable year such holder’s pro rata share of the corporation’s earnings and profits for the taxable year. However, the qualified electing fund election is available only if such PFIC provides such U.S. Holder with certain information regarding its earnings and profits as required under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations. We do not currently intend to prepare or provide the information that would enable you to make a qualified electing fund election. If you hold Class A Shares in any year in which we are a PFIC, you will be required to file U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Form 8621 regarding distributions received on the Class A Shares and any gain realized on the disposition of the Class A Shares.
You are urged to consult your tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to your investment in our Class A Shares and the elections discussed above.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Dividend payments with respect to our Class A Shares and proceeds from the sale, exchange or redemption of our Class A Shares may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible U.S. backup withholding at a current rate of 24%. Backup withholding will not apply, however, to a U.S. Holder who furnishes a correct taxpayer identification number and makes any other required certification on IRS Form W-9 or who is otherwise exempt from backup withholding. U.S. Holders who are required to establish their exempt status generally must provide such certification on IRS Form W-9. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the U.S. information reporting and backup withholding rules.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against your U.S. federal income tax liability, and you may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS and furnishing any required information. We do not intend to withhold taxes for individual shareholders.
Under the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010, certain U.S. Holders are required to report information relating to Class A Shares, subject to certain exceptions (including an exception for Class A Shares held in accounts maintained by certain financial institutions), by attaching a complete IRS Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, with their tax return for each year in which they hold Class A Shares. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the U.S. information reporting and backup withholding rules.
We may sell the securities through underwriters or dealers, through agents, directly to one or more purchasers, through a rights offering, or otherwise. We will describe the terms of the offering of the securities in a prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference or free writing prospectus, including:
| ● | the name or names of any underwriters, if any; |
| ● | the purchase price of the securities and the proceeds we will receive from the sale; |
| ● | any underwriting discounts and other items constituting underwriters’ compensation; |
| ● | any initial public offering price; |
| ● | any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and |
| ● | any securities exchange or market on which the securities may be listed. |
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Only underwriters we name in the prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference or free writing prospectus are underwriters of the securities offered thereby. The distribution of securities may be effected, from time to time, in one or more transactions, including:
| ● | block transactions (which may involve crosses) and transactions on the NASDAQ Capital Market or any other organized market where the securities may be traded; |
| ● | purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its own account pursuant to a prospectus supplement; |
| ● | ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which a broker-dealer solicits purchasers; |
| ● | sales “at the market” to or through a market maker or into an existing trading market, on an exchange or otherwise; and |
| ● | sales in other ways not involving market makers or established trading markets, including direct sales to purchasers. |
The securities may be sold at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, or at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices relating to the prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. The consideration may be cash or another form negotiated by the parties. Agents, underwriters or broker-dealers may be paid compensation for offering and selling the securities. That compensation may be in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions to be received from us or from the purchasers of the securities. Dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters, and compensation received by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). If such dealers or agents were deemed to be underwriters, they may be subject to statutory liabilities under the Securities Act.
We may also make direct sales through rights distributed to our existing shareholders on a pro rata basis, which may or may not be transferable. In any distribution of rights to our shareholders, if all of the underlying securities are not subscribed for, we may then sell the unsubscribed securities directly to third parties or may engage the services of one or more underwriters, dealers or agents, including standby underwriters, to sell the unsubscribed securities to third parties.
Some or all of the securities we offer though this prospectus may be new issues of securities with no established trading market. Any underwriters to whom we sell our securities for public offering and sale may make a market in those securities, but they will not be obligated to do so and they may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. Accordingly, we cannot assure you of the liquidity of, or continued trading markets for, any securities that we offer.
Agents may, from time to time, solicit offers to purchase the securities. If required, we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement, document incorporated by reference or free writing prospectus, as applicable, any agent involved in the offer or sale of the securities and set forth any compensation payable to the agent. Unless otherwise indicated, any agent will be acting on a best efforts basis for the period of its appointment. Any agent selling the securities covered by this prospectus may be deemed to be an underwriter, as that term is defined in the Securities Act, of the securities.
If underwriters are used in an offering, securities will be acquired by the underwriters for their own account and may be resold, from time to time, in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or under delayed delivery contracts or other contractual commitments. Securities may be offered to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more firms acting as underwriters. If an underwriter or underwriters are used in the sale of securities, an underwriting agreement will be executed with the underwriter or underwriters at the time an agreement for the sale is reached. The applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the managing underwriter or underwriters, as well as any other underwriter or underwriters, with respect to a particular underwritten offering of securities, and will set forth the terms of the transactions, including compensation of the underwriters and dealers and the public offering price, if applicable. The prospectus, and the applicable prospectus supplement and any applicable free writing prospectus will be used by the underwriters to resell the securities.
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If a dealer is used in the sale of the securities, we or an underwriter will sell the securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale. To the extent required, we will set forth in the prospectus supplement, document incorporated by reference or free writing prospectus, as applicable, the name of the dealer and the terms of the transactions.
We may directly solicit offers to purchase the securities and may make sales of securities directly to institutional investors or others. These persons may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any resale of the securities. To the extent required, the prospectus supplement, document incorporated by reference or free writing prospectus, as applicable, will describe the terms of any such sales, including the terms of any bidding or auction process, if used.
Agents, underwriters and dealers may be entitled under agreements which may be entered into with us to indemnification by us against specified liabilities, including liabilities incurred under the Securities Act, or to contribution by us to payments they may be required to make in respect of such liabilities. If required, the prospectus supplement, document incorporated by reference or free writing prospectus, as applicable, will describe the terms and conditions of such indemnification or contribution. Some of the agents, underwriters or dealers, or their affiliates may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us, our subsidiaries or affiliates in the ordinary course of business.
Under the securities laws of some states, the securities offered by this prospectus may be sold in those states only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers.
Any person participating in the distribution of common shares registered under the registration statement that includes this prospectus will be subject to applicable provisions of the Exchange Act, and the applicable SEC rules and regulations, including, among others, Regulation M, which may limit the timing of purchases and sales of any of our common shares by any such person. Furthermore, Regulation M may restrict the ability of any person engaged in the distribution of our common shares to engage in market-making activities with respect to our common shares. These restrictions may affect the marketability of our common shares and the ability of any person or entity to engage in market-making activities with respect to our common shares.
Certain persons participating in an offering may engage in over-allotment, stabilizing transactions, short-covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the offered securities. If any such activities will occur, they will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
To the extent required, this prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time to time to describe a specific plan of distribution.
All securities we offer other than common shares will be new issues of securities with no established trading market. Any underwriters may make a market in these securities, but will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. We cannot guarantee the liquidity of the trading markets for any securities.
In compliance with the guidelines of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), the aggregate maximum discount, commission or agency fees or other items constituting underwriting compensation to be received by any FINRA member or independent broker-dealer will not exceed 8% of any offering pursuant to this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, as the case may be.
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Haneberg Hurlbert PLC is acting as counsel for us with respect to certain legal matters as to U.S. Federal securities law in this offering. Except as otherwise set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement, certain legal matters in connection with the securities offered pursuant to this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP to the extent governed by the laws of the Cayman Islands. The address of Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP is P.O. Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. Certain legal matters as to PRC law will be passed upon for us by Jingtian & Gongcheng. Additional legal matters may be passed on for us, or any underwriters, dealers or agents, by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.
The consolidated financial statements of our Company appearing in our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 have been audited by Wei Wei & Co., LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in the reports thereon and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firms as experts in accounting and auditing.
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 or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT US
This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form F-3 that we filed with the SEC using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may from time to time sell the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings up to a total of $120,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer securities under this shelf registration process, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain more specific information about the terms of that offering. This prospectus does not contain all the information provided in the registration statement we have filed with the SEC. For further information about us or the securities offered hereby, you should refer to that registration statement and the exhibits filed as a part of that registration statement.
We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, and file reports, including Annual Reports on Form 20-F and Reports on Form 6-K, with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. The public may read our SEC filings, including the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and the exhibits filed as a part of that registration statement, over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov. The public may also read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Our filings with the SEC are also available to the public through the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov.
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INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we file with them. This means we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. Each document incorporated by reference is current only as of the date of such document, and the incorporation by reference of such documents shall not create any implication that there has been no change in our affairs since the date thereof or that the information contained therein is current as of any time subsequent to its date. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus and should be read with the same care. When we update the information contained in documents that have been incorporated by reference by making future filings with the SEC, the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus is considered to be automatically updated and superseded. In other words, in the case of a conflict or inconsistency between information contained in this prospectus and information incorporated by reference in this prospectus, you should rely on the information contained in the document that was filed later.
We incorporate by reference the following documents:
| ● | our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 filed on April 5, 2024; |
| ● | the description of our securities contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on June 18, 2020, as updated by Exhibit 2.2 to our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the SEC on April 5, 2024, and including any amendments or reports filed for purposes of updating such descriptions; |
| ● | any future annual reports on Form 20-F filed with the SEC after the date of this prospectus and prior to the termination of the offering of the securities offered by this prospectus; and |
| ● | any future reports on Form 6-K that we furnish to the SEC after the date of this prospectus that are identified in such reports as being incorporated by reference in this prospectus. |
Our annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 contains a description of our business and audited consolidated financial statements with a report by our independent auditor. The consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Unless expressly incorporated by reference, nothing in this prospectus shall be deemed to incorporate by reference information furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC. Copies of all documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, other than exhibits to those documents unless such exhibits are specially incorporated by reference in this prospectus, will be provided at no cost to each person, including any beneficial owner, who receives a copy of this prospectus on the written or oral request of that person made to:
Hitek Global Inc.
Unit 304, No. 30 Guanri Road, Siming District
Xiamen City, Fujian Province, People’s Republic of China
+86 592-5395967
Attn: Investor Relations
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You should rely only on the information that we incorporate by reference or provide in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We are not making any offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of those documents.
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HITEK GLOBAL INC.
$120,000,000
Class A Ordinary Shares
PROSPECTUS
, 2024
No dealer, salesperson, or other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representation not contained in this prospectus, and, if given or made, such information and representation should not be relied upon as having been authorized by us. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities offered by this prospectus in any jurisdiction or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation. Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any sale made hereunder shall under any circumstances create an implication that there has been no change in the facts set forth in this prospectus or in our affairs since the date hereof.
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 8. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated articles of association provide to the extent permitted by law, we shall indemnify each existing or former secretary, director (including alternate director), and any of our other officers (including an investment adviser or an administrator or liquidator) and their personal representatives against:
| ● | all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by the existing or former secretary or officer in or about the conduct of our business or affairs or in the execution or discharge of the existing or former secretary’s or officer’s duties, powers, authorities or discretions; and |
| ● | without limitation to paragraph (a) above, all costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by the existing or former secretary or officer in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative proceedings (whether threatened, pending or completed) concerning us or our affairs in any court or tribunal, whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere. |
No such existing or former secretary or officer, however, shall be indemnified in respect of any matter arising out of his own dishonesty.
To the extent permitted by law, we may make a payment, or agree to make a payment, whether by way of advance, loan or otherwise, for any legal costs incurred by an existing or former secretary or any of our officers in respect of any matter identified in above on condition that the secretary or officer must repay the amount paid by us to the extent that it is ultimately found not liable to indemnify the secretary or that officer for those legal costs.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Item 9. Exhibits
A list of exhibits filed with this registration statement on Form F-3 is set forth on the Exhibit Index and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 10. Undertakings
| (a)(1) | To file, during any period in which offers or sales 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. |
| (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; |
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Provided however, that:
| A. | Paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-8, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in 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 registration statement; and |
| B. | Paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3 or Form F-3 and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in 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 registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of 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 (a)(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 this chapter 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. |
| (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 |
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| (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; |
| (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, as amended, the Company certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing this Registration Statement or Amendment thereto on Form F-3 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Xiamen, People’s Republic of China on May 16, 2024.
| HITEK GLOBAL INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Xiaoyang Huang | |
| Name: | Xiaoyang Huang | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
| By: | /s/ Tianyu Xia | |
| Name: | Tianyu Xia | |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer | |
| (Principal Accounting and Financial Officer) |
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Xiaoyang Huang and Tianyu Xia, and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, each with full power of substitution and re-substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement and any and all related registration statements pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated have signed this Registration Statement or Amendment thereto on Form F-3.
| Signature | Capacity | Date | ||
| /s/ Xiaoyang Huang | Chief Executive Officer | May 16, 2024 | ||
| Xiaoyang Huang | ||||
| /s/ Shenping Yin | Chairman of the Board | May 16, 2024 | ||
| Shenping Yin | ||||
| /s/ Tianyu Xia | Chief Financial Officer | May 16, 2024 | ||
| Tianyu Xia | ||||
| /s/ Bo Shi | Chief Technology Officer | May 16, 2024 | ||
| Bo Shi | ||||
| /s/ Wenhua Yang | Director | May 16, 2024 | ||
| Wenhua Yang | ||||
| /s/ Jianben Song | Director | May 16, 2024 | ||
| Jianben Song | ||||
| /s/ Lawrence Venick | Director | May 16, 2024 | ||
| Lawrence Venick |
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SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REGISTRANT
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of Hitek Global Inc. has signed this registration statement or amendment thereto in Newark, Delaware, United States on May 16, 2024.
| Authorized U.S. Representative | ||
| Puglisi & Associates | ||
| By: | /s/ Donald J. Puglisi | |
| Name: | Donald J. Puglisi | |
| Title: | Managing Director | |
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EXHIBIT INDEX
| * | To the extent applicable, to be filed by an amendment or as an exhibit to a document filed under the Exchange Act and incorporated by reference herein. |
| ** | Furnished herewith. |
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Exhibit 5.1
| Our ref | MUL/742937-000001/78623170v1 |
Hitek Global Inc.
PO Box 309, Ugland House
Grand Cayman
KY1-1104
Cayman Islands
15 May 2024
Hitek Global Inc.
We have acted as counsel as to Cayman Islands law to Hitek Global Inc. (the “Company”) to provide this opinion letter in connection with the Company’s registration statement on Form F-3, including all amendments or supplements thereto, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”) (including its exhibits, the “Registration Statement”) for the purposes of, registering with the Commission under the Act, the offering and sale to the public of up to US$120,000,000 of Class A ordinary share of a par value of US$0.0001 of the Company (“Class A Ordinary Shares”) which may be offered and sold by the Company from time to time, in one or more offerings.
This opinion letter is given in accordance with the terms of the Legal Matters section of the Registration Statement.
| 1 | Documents Reviewed |
We have reviewed originals, copies, drafts or conformed copies of the following documents:
| 1.1 | The certificate of incorporation dated 3 November 2017 and the second memorandum and articles of association of the Company as registered or adopted on 5 February 2024 (the “Memorandum and Articles”). |
| 1.2 | The written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company dated 15 May 2024 (the “Resolutions”). |
| 1.3 | A certificate of good standing with respect to the Company issued by the Registrar of Companies (the “Certificate of Good Standing”). |
| 1.4 | A certificate from a director of the Company a copy of which is attached to this opinion letter (the “Director’s Certificate”). |
| 1.5 | The Registration Statement. |
| 2 | Assumptions |
The following opinions are given only as to, and based on, circumstances and matters of fact existing and known to us on the date of this opinion letter. These opinions only relate to the laws of the Cayman Islands which are in force on the date of this opinion letter. In giving the following opinions, we have relied (without further verification) upon the completeness and accuracy, as at the date of this opinion letter, of the Director’s Certificate and the Certificate of Good Standing. We have also relied upon the following assumptions, which we have not independently verified:
| 2.1 | Copies of documents, conformed copies or drafts of documents provided to us are true and complete copies of, or in the final forms of, the originals. |
| 2.2 | All signatures, initials and seals are genuine. |
| 2.3 | The capacity, power, authority and legal right of all parties under all relevant laws and regulations (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws and regulations of the Cayman Islands) to enter into, execute, unconditionally deliver and perform their respective obligations under the Registration Statement. |
| 2.4 | No invitation has been or will be made by or on behalf of the Company to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for any of the Class A Ordinary Shares. |
| 2.5 | There is no contractual or other prohibition or restriction (other than as arising under Cayman Islands law) binding on the Company prohibiting or restricting it from entering into and performing its obligations under the Registration Statement. |
| 2.6 | No monies paid to or for the account of any party under the Registration Statement or any property received or disposed of by any party to the Registration Statement in each case in connection with the Registration Statement or the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby represent or will represent proceeds of criminal conduct or criminal property or terrorist property (as defined in the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) and the Terrorism Act (As Revised), respectively). |
| 2.7 | There is nothing contained in the minute book or corporate records of the Company (which we have not inspected) which would or might affect the opinions set out below. |
| 2.8 | There is nothing under any law (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands) which would or might affect the opinions set out below. Specifically, we have made no independent investigation of the laws of the State of New York. |
| 2.9 | The Company will receive money or money’s worth in consideration for the issue of the Class A Ordinary Shares and none of the Class A Ordinary Shares were or will be issued for less than par value. |
| 2.10 | There will be sufficient Class A Ordinary Shares authorised for issue under the Memorandum and Articles. |
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| 2.11 | The issue the Class A Ordinary Shares will be of commercial benefit to the Company. |
Save as aforesaid we have not been instructed to undertake and have not undertaken any further enquiry or due diligence in relation to the transaction the subject of this opinion letter.
| 3 | Opinions |
Based upon, and subject to, the foregoing assumptions and the qualifications set out below, and having regard to such legal considerations as we deem relevant, we are of the opinion that:
| 3.1 | The Company has been duly incorporated as an exempted company with limited liability and is validly existing and in good standing with the Registrar of Companies under the laws of the Cayman Islands. |
| 3.2 | With respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares, when: (a) the board of directors of the Company has taken all necessary corporate action to approve the issue thereof, the terms of the offering thereof and related matters; (b) the issue of such Ordinary Shares has been recorded in the Company’s register of members (shareholders); and (c) the subscription price of such Ordinary Shares (being not less than the par value of the Class A Ordinary Shares) has been fully paid in cash or other consideration approved by the board of directors of the Company, the Class A Ordinary Shares will be duly authorised, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. |
| 3.3 | The statements made in the Registration Statement under the heading “Cayman Islands Tax Considerations” are correct in so far as such statements are summaries of or relate to Cayman Islands law. |
| 4 | Qualifications |
The opinions expressed above are subject to the following qualifications:
| 4.1 | To maintain the Company in good standing with the Registrar of Companies under the laws of the Cayman Islands, annual filing fees must be paid and returns made to the Registrar of Companies within the time frame prescribed by law. |
| 4.2 | Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members (shareholders) is prima facie evidence of title to shares and this register would not record a third party interest in such shares. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. As far as we are aware, such applications are rarely made in the Cayman Islands and there are no circumstances or matters of fact known to us on the date of this opinion letter which would properly form the basis for an application for an order for rectification of the register of members of the Company, but if such an application were made in respect of the Class A Ordinary Shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court. |
| 4.3 | In this opinion letter the phrase “non-assessable” means, with respect to the issuance of shares, that a shareholder shall not, in respect of the relevant shares and in the absence of a contractual arrangement, or an obligation pursuant to the memorandum and articles of association, to the contrary, have any obligation to make further contributions to the Company’s assets (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil). |
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| 4.4 | We express no opinion as to the meaning, validity or effect of any references to foreign (i.e. non-Cayman Islands) statutes, rules, regulations, codes, judicial authority or any other promulgations and any references to them in the Registration Statement. |
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the references to our firm under the headings “Legal Matters”, “Risk Factors”, “Shareholders’ Suits” and “Enforceability of Civil Liabilities” in the prospectus included in the Registration Statement. In providing our consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under section 7 of the Act or the Rules and Regulations of the Commission thereunder.
We express no view as to the commercial terms of the Registration Statement or whether such terms represent the intentions of the parties and make no comment with regard to warranties or representations that may be made by the Company.
The opinions in this opinion letter are strictly limited to the matters contained in the opinions section above and do not extend to any other matters. We have not been asked to review and we therefore have not reviewed any of the ancillary documents relating to the Registration Statement and express no opinion or observation upon the terms of any such document.
The opinions in this opinion letter are strictly limited to the matters contained in the opinions section above and do not extend to any other matters. We have not been asked to review and we therefore have not reviewed any of the ancillary documents relating to the Registration Statement and express no opinion or observation upon the terms of any such document. This opinion letter may be relied upon by Haneberg Hurlbert PLC for the purposes solely of any legal opinion that they may be required to give with respect to the Registration Statement.
Yours faithfully
Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP
4
Hitek Global Inc.
PO Box 309, Ugland House
Grand Cayman
KY1-1104
Cayman Islands
| To: | Maples and Calder (Cayman) LLP |
| PO Box 309, Ugland House | |
| Grand Cayman | |
| KY1-1104 | |
| Cayman Islands |
15 May 2024
Hitek Global Inc. (the “Company”)
I, the undersigned, being a director of the Company, am aware that you are being asked to provide an opinion letter (the “Opinion”) in relation to certain aspects of Cayman Islands law. Unless otherwise defined herein, capitalised terms used in this certificate have the respective meanings given to them in the Opinion. I hereby certify that:
| 1 | The Memorandum and Articles remain in full force and effect and are unamended. |
| 2 | The Company has not entered into any mortgages or charges over its property or assets other than those entered in the register of mortgages and charges of the Company. |
| 3 | The Resolutions were duly passed in the manner prescribed in the Memorandum and Articles (including, without limitation, with respect to the disclosure of interests (if any) by directors of the Company) and have not been amended, varied or revoked in any respect. |
| 4 | The authorised share capital of the Company is US$50,000 divided into 431,808,000 Class A ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each, 58,192,000 Class B ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each and 10,000,000 preference shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each. |
| 5 | The shareholders of the Company (the “Shareholders”) have not restricted the powers of the directors of the Company in any way. |
| 6 | The directors of the Company at the date of the Resolutions and at the date of this certificate were and are as follows: Shenping Yin, Xiaoyang Huang, Lawrence Venick, Shuiqing Huang and Weijun Wang. |
| 7 | The minute book and corporate records of the Company as maintained at its registered office in the Cayman Islands and made available to you are complete and accurate in all material respects, and all minutes and resolutions filed therein represent a complete and accurate record of all meetings of the Shareholders and directors (or any committee thereof) of the Company (duly convened in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles) and all resolutions passed at the meetings or passed by written resolution or consent, as the case may be. |
| 8 | Prior to, at the time of, and immediately following the approval of the transactions contemplated by the Registration Statement, the Company was, or will be, able to pay its debts as they fell, or fall, due and has entered, or will enter, into the transactions contemplated by the Registration Statement for proper value and not with an intention to defraud or wilfully defeat an obligation owed to any creditor or with a view to giving a creditor a preference. |
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| 9 | Each director of the Company considers the transactions contemplated by the Registration Statement to be of commercial benefit to the Company and has acted in good faith in the best interests of the Company, and for a proper purpose of the Company, in relation to the transactions which are the subject of the Opinion. |
| 10 | The Company has received or will receive money or money’s worth in consideration for the issue of the Ordinary Shares upon exercise of any of the Securities and none of the Ordinary Shares were or will be issued for less than par value. |
| 11 | To the best of my knowledge and belief, having made due inquiry, the Company is not the subject of legal, arbitral, administrative or other proceedings in any jurisdiction and neither the directors nor Shareholders have taken any steps to have the Company struck off or placed in liquidation. Further, no steps have been taken to wind up the Company or to appoint restructuring officers or interim restructuring officers, and no receiver has been appointed in relation to any of the Company’s property or assets. |
| 12 | The Company is not subject to the requirements of Part XVIIA of the Companies Act. |
| 13 | To the best of my knowledge and belief, having made due inquiry, there are no circumstances or matters of fact existing which may properly form the basis for an application for an order for rectification of the register of members of the Company. |
| 14 | The Registration Statement has been, or will be, authorised and duly executed and delivered by or on behalf of all relevant parties in accordance with all relevant laws. |
| 15 | No invitation has been made or will be made by or on behalf of the Company to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for any of the Class A Ordinary Shares. |
| 16 | The Class A Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to the Registration Statement have been, or will be, duly registered, and will continue to be registered, in the Company’s register of members (shareholders). |
| 17 | The Company is not a central bank, monetary authority or other sovereign entity of any state and is not a subsidiary, direct or indirect, of any sovereign entity or state. |
| 18 | There is no contractual or other prohibition or restriction (other than as arising under Cayman Islands law) binding on the Company prohibiting or restricting it from entering into and performing its obligations under the Registration Statement. |
(Signature Page follows)
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I confirm that you may continue to rely on this certificate as being true and correct on the day that you issue the Opinion unless I shall have previously notified you in writing personally to the contrary.
| Signature: | /s/ Shenping Yin | |
| Name: | Shenping Yin | |
| Title: | Director |
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Exhibit 8.2
Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form F-3 of our report dated April 5, 2024, relating to the consolidated financial statements of Hitek Global Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2023, included in the Registrant’s 2023 annual report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 5, 2024.
We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in this Form F-3.
| /s/ Wei, Wei & Co., LLP | |
| Flushing, New York | |
| May 16, 2024 |
Exhibit 23.3
34/F, Tower 3, China Central Place, 77 Jianguo Road, Beijing 100025, China
Telephone: (86-10) 5809-1000 Facsimile: (86-10) 5809-1100
Jingtian & GongCheng LLP
34/F, Tower 3, China Central Place
77 Jianguo Road, Beijing 100025
People’s Republic of China
May 15, 2024
Re: Consent Letter on Hitek Global Inc. – Form F-3
We are qualified lawyers of the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC” or “China”, for the purpose of this consent only, the PRC shall not include the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan).
We act as the PRC counsel to Hitek Global Inc (the “Company”), a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands in connection with the filing on Form F-3 to register up to $120,000,000 of securities of the Company in a shelf registration statement.
We hereby consent to the reference to our name in such registration statement.
This Consent is rendered solely to you for the filing on Form F-3 and may not be used for any other purpose. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder.
| Sincerely yours, | |
| /s/ Jingtian & Gongcheng LLP | |
| Jingtian & Gongcheng LLP |
