Greenland Technologies Holding Corp S-1, filed Aug 26, 2022
Greenland Technologies Holding Corp. (GTEC)
As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 26, 2022
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
GREENLAND TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| British Virgin Islands | 3537 | N/A | ||
|
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
50 Millstone Road, Building 400 Suite 130
East Windsor, NJ 08512
United States
1 (888) 827-4832
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Raymond Wang, Chief Executive Officer
50 Millstone Road, Building 400 Suite 130
East Windsor, NJ 08512
United States
1 (888) 827-4832
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies of all communications, including communications sent to agent for service, should be sent to:
Ying Li, Esq.
Guillaume de Sampigny, Esq.
Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC
48 Wall Street, Suite 1100
New York, NY 10022
212-530-2206
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after this registration statement becomes effective.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☒
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) 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. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer ☐ | Accelerated filer ☐ | |
| Non-accelerated filer ☒ | Smaller reporting company ☒ | |
| Emerging growth company ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided 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, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. The selling securityholder may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUBJECT TO COMPLETION DATED AUGUST 26, 2022
GREENLAND TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING CORPORATION
Up to 5,146,026 Ordinary Shares Issuable upon
Exercise of Pre-Funded Warrants and Common Warrants
This prospectus relates to the offer and sale from time to time by the selling securityholder named in this prospectus (the “Selling Securityholder”) of an aggregate of up to 5,146,026 ordinary shares of Greenland Technologies Holding Corporation (the “Company”, “Greenland,” “we,” “us,” or “ours”), no par value per share (the “ordinary shares”), which consists of (i) up to 616,026 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of 616,026 pre-funded warrants held by such Selling Securityholder, each exercisable for one ordinary share at an exercise price of US$0.001 per share (collectively, the “pre-funded warrants,” and each, a “pre-funded warrant”) and (ii) up to 4,530,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of 4,530,000 common warrants held by such Selling Securityholder, each exercisable for one ordinary share at an exercise price of US$4.49 per share (collectively, the “common warrants”, and each a “common warrant”, and, together with the pre-funded warrants, the “PIPE warrants”). The PIPE warrants were originally issued in a private placement to the Selling Securityholder.
We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of securities by the Selling Securityholder pursuant to this prospectus, although we could receive up to $20.34 million in proceeds from the exercise of all of the PIPE warrants for cash. Any amounts we receive from such exercises will be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Information regarding the Selling Securityholder, the amounts of ordinary shares that may be sold by such Selling Securityholder and the times and manner in which it may offer and sell the ordinary shares under this prospectus is provided under the sections titled “Selling Securityholder” and “Plan of Distribution,” respectively, in this prospectus. We are registering the securities for resale pursuant to the Selling Securityholder’s registration rights under a registration rights agreement between us and the Selling Securityholder. Our registration of the securities covered by this prospectus does not mean that the Selling Securityholder will offer or sell any of the ordinary shares. The Selling Securityholder may offer, sell or distribute all or a portion of the ordinary shares it holds publicly or through private transactions at prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices.
The Selling Securityholder and intermediaries through whom such ordinary shares are sold may be deemed “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), with respect to the securities offered hereby, and any profits realized or commissions received may be deemed underwriting compensation. We have agreed to indemnify the Selling Securityholder against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
We are a holding company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and not a Chinese operating company. As a holding company with no material operations of our own, we conduct our operations through our United States (“U.S.”) subsidiary and our Peoples Republic of China (the “PRC” or “China”) subsidiaries. We hold equity interests in our subsidiaries and do not currently use a variable interest entity (“VIE”) structure.
We are subject to certain legal and operational risks associated with having our operations based in China. PRC laws and regulations governing our current business operations are sometimes vague and uncertain, and, as a result, these risks may result in material changes in the operations of our PRC subsidiaries, significant depreciation of the value of our ordinary shares, or a complete hindrance of our ability to offer or continue to offer our securities to investors. In addition, we are subject to risks and uncertainties of the interpretations and applications of PRC laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, those imposing limitations on foreign ownership in our industry. We are also subject to the risks and uncertainties about any future actions of the PRC government. If any future actions of the PRC government result in a material change in our operations, the value of our ordinary shares may depreciate significantly or become worthless. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us” on page 19 of this prospectus.
As of the date of this prospectus, there are currently no relevant laws or regulations in the PRC that prohibit companies whose entity interests are within the PRC from listing their securities on overseas stock exchanges. Recently, the PRC government adopted a series of regulatory actions and issued statements to regulate business operations in China, 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 newly published, and official guidance and related implementation rules have not been issued, it is highly uncertain what the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operations, our ability to accept foreign investments and our ability to continue listing our securities on a U.S. exchange. As of the date of this prospectus, the Company and its PRC subsidiaries have not been involved in any cybersecurity investigations or reviews initiated by any PRC regulatory authority, nor have we received any inquiry, notice or sanction. As of the date of this prospectus, we also have not received any inquiry, notice, warning, or sanctions regarding offshore offering from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”) or any other PRC governmental authorities. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China” from pages 19 to 20 of this prospectus.
We believe that our operations in China are in material compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements. However, the central or local governments of the jurisdictions in which we operate may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations with little advance notice that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations. Furthermore, the PRC government authorities may continue to strengthen oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers like us. Such actions taken by the PRC government authorities may intervene or influence the operations of our PRC operating entities at any time, which may be beyond our control. Therefore, any such action may adversely affect the operations of our PRC subsidiaries and significantly limit or hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to you and reduce the value of such securities or cause the value of such securities to be completely worthless.
Our PRC subsidiaries are permitted to pay dividends only out of their retained earnings. However, each of our PRC subsidiaries is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, after making up for previous year’s accumulated losses, if any, to fund certain statutory reserves, until the aggregate amount of such funds reaches 50% of registered capital. This portion of our PRC subsidiaries’ respective net assets are prohibited from being distributed to their shareholders as dividends. However, none of our PRC subsidiaries has made any dividends or distributions to our holding company or any U.S. investors as of the date of this prospectus. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — We may rely on dividends paid by our subsidiaries for our cash needs, and any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct business” on page 25 of this prospectus. In addition, the PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our revenues effectively and affect the value of your investment” on page 27 of this prospectus. A 10% PRC withholding tax is applicable to dividends payable to investors that are non-resident enterprises. Any gain realized on the transfer of ordinary shares by such investors is also subject to PRC tax at a current rate of 10%, which in case of dividends will be withheld at source if such gain is regarded as income derived from sources within the PRC. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a ‘Resident Enterprise’ of China. Any classification as such will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders” on page 24 of this prospectus.
Each subsidiary of the Company may initiate a cash transfer request by timely filling out a fund application form, which shall be signed by the financial principal and the principal of the subsidiary and then submitted to the financial department of the Company for approval. After a cash transfer request is approved by the financial department, the relevant subsidiary may proceed to initiate such transfer. Our Company distributed cash as loans to our subsidiaries. Several cash transfers have been made between our Company and our subsidiaries. As of June 30, 2022, our Company had provided loans in the amount of $266,604 to Hangzhou Greenland, and in the amount of $4,392,886 to Zhongchai Holding.
In addition, our ordinary shares may be prohibited from trading on a national exchange under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCA Act, if the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”) is unable to inspect our auditor for three consecutive years. Our auditor, WWC P.C., has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis, with the last inspection conducted in November 2021, and it is not subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021. If trading in our ordinary shares is prohibited under the HFCA Act in the future because the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor at such future time, the Nasdaq Stock Market may determine to delist our ordinary shares. On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which, if passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into law, would reduce the period of time for foreign companies to comply with PCAOB audits to two consecutive years, instead of three, thus reducing the time period for triggering the prohibition on trading. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—A recent joint statement by the SEC and the PCAOB, proposed rule changes submitted by Nasdaq, and the HFCA Act all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the PCAOB” on page 28 of this prospectus.
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and are subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. This prospectus complies with the requirements that apply to an issuer that is an emerging growth company. Our ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbols “GTEC.” On August 24, 2022, the closing price of our ordinary shares was $3.63 per share.
Investing in our securities involves risks. See the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 13 of this prospectus to read about factors you should consider before buying our securities.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized any dealer, salesperson or other person to provide you with information concerning us, except for the information contained in this prospectus. The information contained in this prospectus is complete and accurate only as of the date on the front cover page of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or the sale of any securities. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and we are not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
The date of this prospectus is , 2022.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-1 that we filed with the SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, the Selling Securityholder and its permitted transferees may, from time to time, offer and sell, as applicable, any of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings. The Selling Securityholder and its permitted transferees may use the shelf registration statement to sell such securities from time to time through any means described in the section entitled “Plan of Distribution.”
ii
Organization
Greenland was incorporated on December 28, 2017 as a British Virgin Islands company with limited liability. The Company was incorporated as a blank check company for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more target businesses. Following the Business Combination (as described and defined below) in October 2019, the Company changed its name from Greenland Acquisition Corporation to Greenland Technologies Holding Corporation.
Greenland serves as the parent company of Zhongchai Holding (Hong Kong) Limited, a holding company formed under the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“Hong Kong”) on April 23, 2009 (“Zhongchai Holding”). Zhongchai Holding’s subsidiaries include Zhejiang Zhongchai Machinery Co. Ltd., an operating company formed under the laws of the PRC in 2005, Hangzhou Greenland Energy Technologies Co., Ltd. (“Hangzhou Greenland”), an operating company formed under the laws of the PRC in 2019, Shanghai Hengyu Business Management Consulting Co., Ltd., a company formed under the laws of the PRC in 2005, and Hengyu Capital Limited, a company formed in Hong Kong on August 16, 2022. Through Zhongchai Holding and its subsidiaries, Greenland develops and manufactures traditional transmission products for material handling machineries in the PRC.
HEVI Corp. (“HEVI”), formerly known as Greenland Technologies Corp. prior to May 2022, was incorporated on January 14, 2020 under the laws of the State of Delaware. HEVI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Greenland and promotes sales of sustainable alternative products for the heavy industrial equipment industry, including electric industrial vehicles, in the North American market.
Through its PRC subsidiaries, Greenland offers transmission products, which are key components for forklift trucks used in manufacturing and logistic applications, such as factories, workshops, warehouses, fulfilment centers, shipyards, and seaports. Forklifts play an important role in the logistic systems of many companies across different industries in China and globally. Generally, industries with the largest demand for forklifts include the transportation, warehousing logistics, electrical machinery, and automobile industries. Greenland’s revenue decreased from approximately $52.82 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 to $49.91 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The decrease in revenue was primarily the result of a decrease in the Company’s sales volume, driven by decreasing market demand for the six months ended June 30, 2022. Based on the revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, Greenland believes that it is one of the major developers and manufacturers of transmission products for small and medium-sized forklift trucks in China.
Greenland’s transmission products are used in 1-ton to 15-tons forklift trucks; some with mechanical shift and some with automatic shift. Greenland sells these transmission products directly to forklift-truck manufacturers. For the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, Greenland sold an aggregate of 70,841 and 79,032 sets of transmission products, respectively, to more than 100 forklift manufacturers in the PRC.
There is increasing demand for electric industrial vehicles powered by sustainable energy in order to reduce air pollution and lower carbon emissions. In December 2020, Greenland launched a new division to focus on the production and sale of electric industrial vehicles—a division that Greenland intends to develop to diversify its product offerings. Greenland’s electric industrial vehicle products currently include GEF-series electric forklifts, a series of lithium powered forklifts with three models ranging in size from 1.8 tons to 3.5 tons, GEL-1800, a 1.8 ton rated load lithium powered electric wheeled front loader, and GEX-8000, an all-electric 8.0 ton rated load lithium powered wheeled excavator. These products have become available for purchase in the U.S. market. In July 2022, Greenland launched its new GEL-5000 all-electric 5.0 ton rated load lithium wheeled front loader. Greenland plans to launch a 54,000 square foot assembly site in Baltimore, Maryland in the third quarter of 2022, to support local service, assembly and distribution of its electric industrial heavy equipment product line. Greenland also plans to establish an experience center within the Mid-Atlantic region in 2023, to promote local sales and marketing.
1
As of the date of this prospectus, Cenntro Holding Limited owns 59.42% of our outstanding ordinary shares. Cenntro Holding Limited is controlled and beneficially owned by Mr. Peter Zuguang Wang, the chairman of the board of directors of the Company. As a result, we are a “controlled company” as defined under the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules because Mr. Peter Zuguang Wang beneficially owns more than 50% of our voting power. As a “controlled company,” we are permitted to elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements. If we rely on these exemptions, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements.
Significant Activities since Inception
Initial Public Offering
On July 27, 2018, we consummated our initial public offering of 4,400,000 units, including a partial exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 400,000 units. Each unit consists of one ordinary share, no par value, one warrant to purchase one-half of one ordinary share and one right to receive one-tenth of one ordinary share upon the consummation of our initial business combination, pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1. Warrants must be exercised in multiples of two warrants, and each two warrants are exercisable for one ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. The units were sold in our initial public offering at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, which generated $44,000,000 (before underwriting discounts and offering expenses) in gross proceeds.
Simultaneously with the consummation of our initial public offering, we completed a private placement of 282,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit to Greenland Asset Management Corporation (the “Sponsor”) and Chardan Capital Markets, LLC (“Chardan”), which generated $2,820,000 in gross proceeds. We also sold to Chardan (and its designees), for $100, an option to purchase up to 240,000 units exercisable at $11.50 per unit (or an aggregate exercise price of $2,760,000) commencing on consummation of the Business Combination (as defined below). The unit purchase option may be exercised for cash or on a cashless basis, at the holder’s option, and expires on July 24, 2023. On February 18, 2021, Chardan exercised its option to purchase 120,000 units. As of the date of this prospectus, 120,000 units remain exercisable under the option.
Business Combination
On October 24, 2019, we consummated our business combination with Zhongchai Holding (the “Business Combination”) after a special meeting, where the shareholders of Greenland considered and approved, among other matters, a proposal to adopt a share exchange agreement (the “Share Exchange Agreement”), dated as of July 12, 2019, among (i) Greenland, (ii) Zhongchai Holding, (iii) the Sponsor, in the capacity as the purchaser representative (the “Purchaser Representative”), and (iv) Cenntro Holding Limited, the sole member of Zhongchai Holding (the “Zhongchai Equity Holder” or the “Seller”).
Pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, Greenland acquired from the Seller all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of Zhongchai Holding in exchange for 7,500,000 newly issued ordinary shares, no par value of Greenland, to the Seller (the “Exchange Shares”). As a result, the Seller became the controlling shareholder of Greenland, and Zhongchai Holding became a directly and wholly owned subsidiary of Greenland. The Business Combination was accounted for as a reverse merger effected by the Share Exchange Agreement, where Zhongchai Holding is considered the acquirer for accounting and financial reporting purposes.
The Business Combination was accounted for as a reverse recapitalization (the “Recapitalization Transaction”) in accordance with Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) 805, Business Combinations. For accounting and financial reporting purposes, Zhongchai Holding is considered the acquirer based on the following facts and circumstances:
| ● | Zhongchai Holding’s operations comprise the ongoing operations of the combined entity; | |
| ● | The officers of the newly combined company consist of Zhongchai Holding’s executives, including the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and General Counsel; and | |
| ● | The former shareholders of Zhongchai Holding own a majority voting interests in the combined entity. |
2
As a result of Zhongchai Holding being the accounting acquirer, the financial reports filed with the SEC by the Company subsequent to the Business Combination are prepared “as if” Zhongchai Holding is the predecessor and legal successor to the Company. The historical operations of Zhongchai Holding are deemed to be those of the Company. Thus, the financial statements included in this Report reflect (i) the historical operating results of Zhongchai Holding prior to the Business Combination; (ii) the combined results of Zhongchai Holding and Greenland following the Business Combination in October 2019; (iii) the assets and liabilities of Zhongchai Holding at their historical cost, and (iv) Greenland’s equity structure for all periods presented. Zhongchai Holding received 7,500,000 shares of Greenland in exchange for all the share capital, which is reflected retroactively to December 31, 2017 and will be utilized for calculating earnings per share in all prior periods. No step-up basis of intangible assets or goodwill was recorded in the Business Combination transaction, which is consistent with the treatment of the transaction as a reverse recapitalization of Zhongchai Holding.
Incorporation of HEVI Corp.
On January 14, 2020, HEVI Corp., formerly known as Greenland Technologies Corp. prior to May 2022, was incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware. HEVI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company and promotes sales of sustainable alternative products for the heavy industrial equipment industry, including electric industrial vehicles, in the North American market.
June 2021 Public Offering
On June 28, 2021, the Company entered into an underwriting agreement with Aegis Capital Corp., pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell to Aegis Capital Corp. in a firm commitment public offering 857,884 ordinary shares of the Company, for an offering price of $8.16 per share. The Company received $7.0 million in gross proceeds from this offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and other related offering expenses.
At-the-market Offering Agreement
On November 19, 2021, the Company entered into an at-the-market offering agreement with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, to create an at-the-market equity program pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time, through or to H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, the Company’s ordinary shares, no par value per share, having an aggregate gross offering price of up to $7.72 million. As of the date of this prospectus, no ordinary shares of the Company have been sold under the at-the-market offering agreement.
July 2022 Registered Direct Offering
On July 25, 2022, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with the Selling Securityholder, pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue and sell 1,250,000 ordinary shares and 398,974 pre-funded warrants (the “RD pre-funded warrants”), with each RD pre-funded warrant exercisable for one ordinary share of the Company, for an offering price of $4.17 per share and $4.169 per RD pre-funded warrant. The Company received $6.88 million in gross proceeds from this registered direct offering, before deducting placement agent fees and other related offering expenses.
July 2022 Private Placement
On July 25, 2022, the Company entered into another securities purchase agreement with the Selling Securityholder for a private placement offering of 616,026 pre-funded warrants and 4,530,000 common warrants. Each ordinary share and accompanying common warrants were sold together at a combined offering price of $5.089 per unit, with an exercise price per pre-funded warrant of $0.001 per share. The Company received $3.14 million in gross proceeds from this private placement, before deducting placement agent fees and other related offering expenses.
3
Corporate Structure
The following diagram illustrates the current corporate structure of Greenland, including the jurisdiction of formation and ownership interest of each of its subsidiaries.
Greenland was incorporated on December 28, 2017 as a British Virgin Islands company with limited liability. As a result of the consummation of the Business Combination, Greenland serves as the parent company for Zhongchai Holding.
Zhongchai Holding was incorporated in Hong Kong on April 23, 2009. From April 23, 2009 to November 1, 2011, Zhongchai Holding was a subsidiary of Equicap, Inc., a Nevada corporation, with its stock quoted on the OTC Markets until July 29, 2011.
HEVI was incorporated in the state of Delaware on January 14, 2020 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Greenland. HEVI promotes sales of sustainable alternative products for the heavy industrial equipment industry, including electric industrial vehicles, in the North American market.
Zhejiang Zhongchai, a 71.58% owned subsidiary of Zhongchai Holding, was formed in the PRC on November 21, 2005 and engages in the business of designing, manufacturing, and selling transmission products mainly for forklift trucks. 20.0% of the equity interests in Zhejiang Zhongchai is held by Xinchang County Jiuhe Enterprise Management (Limited Partnership), representing the collective equity interests of Zhejiang Zhongchai owned by its employees. The remaining 10.53% of Zhejiang Zhongchai’s capital stock is owned by Xinchang County Jiuxin Investment Management Partnership (LP) (“Jiuxin”), an entity owned by Mengxing He, director and general manager of Zhejiang Zhongchai.
Hangzhou Greenland, formerly known as Hangzhou Greenland Robotic Co., Ltd. prior to November 6, 2020 (“Hangzhou Greenland”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhongchai Holding, was formed in the PRC on August 9, 2019 and engages in the business of research and development of electric engineering vehicles, including electric forklifts, electric loading vehicles, electric digging vehicles, and other products. Hangzhou Greenland is also committed to product supply chain integration and overseas sales.
Shanghai Hengyu Business Management Consulting Co., Ltd. (“Hengyu”), a 62.5% owned subsidiary of Zhongchai Holding, was formed in PRC on September 10, 2005 and holds no assets other than an account receivable owed by Cenntro Holding Limited, the sole member of Zhongchai Holding prior to the closing of the Business Combination. The remaining 37.5% of Hengyu’s capital stock is beneficially owned by Peter Zuguang Wang, the chairman of our board of directors.
Hengyu Capital Limited, a 62.5% owned subsidiary of Zhognchai Holding, was formed in Hong Kong on August 16, 2022 and will be engaging in the business of investing. The remaining 37.5% of the capital stock of Hengyu Capital Limited is owned by Peter Zuguang Wang, the chairman of our board of directors.
4
Products
Greenland provides transmission systems and integrated powertrains for material handling machineries, particularly for electric forklift trucks. In order to expand and diversify existing product offerings, Greenland recently entered into the electric industry vehicles market by designing and developing electric industry vehicles.
Greenland provides transmission systems and integrated powertrains for material handling machineries, particularly for electric forklift trucks. In order to expand and diversify existing product offerings, Greenland recently entered into the electric industry vehicles market by designing and developing electric industry vehicles.
Transmission products for material handling machineries
Transmission Systems. For 15 years, Greenland, along with its subsidiaries, specializes in designing, developing, and manufacturing a wide range of transmission systems for material handling machineries, in particular forklift trucks. The range of the transmission systems covers machineries from one ton to fifteen tons. Most transmission systems contain auto transmission features. This feature allows for easy machine operations. In addition, Greenland provides transmission system for internal combustion powered machineries as well as for electrical powered machineries. Greenland has recently experienced an increasing demand for electric powered transmission systems. These transmission systems are key components for material handling machinery assembly. To meet this increasing demand, Greenland is able to providing these transmission systems to major forklift truck original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) as well as certain global branded manufacturers.
Integrated Powertrain. Through its PRC subsidiaries, Greenland designs and develops new and distinctive powertrains, which integrates electric motor, speed reduction gearbox, and driving axles into a combined integral module, in order to meet a growing demand for advanced electric forklift trucks. This integrated powertrain will enable the OEMs to significantly shorten design cycle, improve machinery efficiency, and simplify manufacturing process. There is a new trend that OEMs would rather use an integrated powertrain than separate electric motor, speed reduction gearbox, and driving axles, particularly in electric forklift trucks. Currently, Greenland makes two tons to three and a half-tons integrated powertrains for few electric forklift truck OEMs. Greenland is in the process of adding more integrated powertrain products for electric forklift truck OEMs with different sizes.
5
Electric Industrial Vehicles
There is increasing demand for electric industrial vehicles powered by sustainable energy in order to reduce air pollution and lower carbon emissions. In December 2020, Greenland launched a new division to focus on the production and sale of electric industrial vehicles—a division that Greenland intends to develop to diversify its product offerings. Greenland’s electric industrial vehicle products currently include GEF-series electric forklifts, a series of lithium powered forklifts with three models ranging in size from 1.8 tons to 3.5 tons, GEL-1800, a 1.8 ton rated load lithium powered electric wheeled front loader, and GEX-8000, an all-electric 8.0 ton rated load lithium powered wheeled excavator. These products have become available for purchase in the U.S. market. In July 2022, Greenland launched its new GEL-5000 all-electric 5.0 ton rated load lithium wheeled front loader. Greenland plans to launch a 54,000 square foot assembly site in Baltimore, Maryland in the third quarter of 2022 to support local service, assembly and distribution of its electric industrial heavy equipment product line. Greenland also plans to establish an experience center within the Mid-Atlantic region in 2023 to promote local sales and marketing.
Recent Regulatory Developments
We are subject to certain legal and operational risks associated with our operations in China. PRC laws and regulations governing our current business operations are sometimes vague and uncertain, and, as a result, these risks may result in material changes in the operations of our PRC subsidiaries, significant depreciation of the value of our ordinary shares, or a complete hindrance of our ability to offer or continue to offer our securities to investors. For instance, we believe that we are currently not required to obtain any permission or approval from the CSRC and the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC, in the PRC to offer securities to foreign investors. However, there is no guarantee that this will continue to be the case in the future in relation to a follow-on offering or the continued listing of our securities on a U.S. securities exchange, or even in the event such permission or approval is required and obtained, it will not be subsequently revoked or rescinded. In the event that such approval is required in the future and we do not receive or maintain such approval, our ordinary shares may significantly decline in value or become worthless, and our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors may be significantly limited or completely hindered.
In addition, we are subject to risks and uncertainties of the interpretations and applications of PRC laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, limitations on foreign ownership in our industry. We are also subject to the risks and uncertainties about any future actions of the PRC government. If any future actions of the PRC government result in a material change in our operations, the value of our ordinary shares may depreciate significantly or become worthless. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.”
Recently, the PRC government adopted a series of regulatory actions and issued statements to regulate business operations in China, 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. As of the date of this prospectus, our Company and our PRC subsidiaries have not been involved in any investigations on cybersecurity review initiated by any PRC regulatory authority, nor has any of them received any inquiry, notice or sanction. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not received any inquiry, notice, warning, or sanctions from the CSRC or any other PRC governmental authorities regarding the offering of our securities outside of the PRC. As of the date of this prospectus, there are currently no relevant laws or regulations in the PRC that prohibit companies whose entity interests are within the PRC from listing on overseas stock exchanges. In the event that an approval from Chinese authorities is required, if we do not receive or maintain required approvals, or we inadvertently conclude that such approvals are not required, or applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change such that we are required to obtain approval in the future, we may be subject to an investigation by Chinese regulators, fines or penalties, or an order prohibiting us from conducting an offering, and these risks could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our ordinary shares, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, or cause such securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless. In addition, since these statements and regulatory actions are newly published, and official guidance and related implementation rules have not been issued, it is highly uncertain what the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operation, the ability to accept foreign investments and our ability to continue our listing on a U.S. exchange. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — We may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal information provided by our customers and any failure to comply with PRC laws and regulations over data security could result in materially adverse impact on our business, results of operations, and our continued listing on Nasdaq.”
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Although we are not currently owned or controlled by a governmental entity in any foreign jurisdiction, the PRC government has exercised, and continues to exercise, substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership, including the steel sector where we have been conducting our business. Any government decisions or actions to change the steel production, or any decisions the government might make to cut spending, could adversely impact our business and results of operations. We believe that our operations in China are in material compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements. However, the central or local governments of the jurisdictions in which we operate may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations with little advance notice that could require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations. Furthermore, the PRC government authorities may continue to strengthen oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers like us. Such actions taken by the PRC government authorities may intervene or influence the operations of our PRC operating entities at any time, which may be beyond our control. Therefore, any such action may adversely affect the operations of our PRC subsidiaries and significantly limit or hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to you and reduce the value of such securities or cause the value of such securities to be completely worthless. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — The PRC government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business activities. If the Chinese government significantly regulates the business operations of our PRC subsidiaries in the future and our PRC subsidiaries are not able to substantially comply with such regulations, the business operations of our PRC subsidiaries may be materially and adversely affected and the value of our ordinary shares may significantly decrease.”
Trading in our securities may be prohibited under the HFCA Act if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor, and that as a result, an exchange may determine to delist our securities. The PCAOB has been able to inspect our auditor, WWC P.C., an independent registered public accounting firm with its headquarters in San Mateo, California, and with its last inspection completed in November 2021. Our auditor is not subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — A recent joint statement by the SEC and the PCAOB, proposed rule changes submitted by Nasdaq, and the HFCA Act all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the PCAOB.”
Trading in our securities may be prohibited under the HFCA Act if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor, and that as a result, an exchange may determine to delist our securities. The PCAOB has been able to inspect our auditor, WWC P.C., an independent registered public accounting firm with its headquarters in San Mateo, California, with its last inspection conducted in November 2021. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report to notify the SEC of its determinations that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in Mainland China and Hong Kong, respectively, and identifies the registered public accounting firms in Mainland China and Hong Kong that are subject to such determinations. Our auditor is not subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — A recent joint statement by the SEC and the PCAOB, proposed rule changes submitted by Nasdaq, and the HFCA Act all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the PCAOB.”
Dividend Policy and Cash Transfers
We intend to retain all of our available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. As such, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We are permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding to our PRC subsidiaries only through loans or capital contributions, and only if we satisfy the applicable government registration and approval requirements.
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Our PRC subsidiaries are permitted to pay dividends only out of their retained earnings. However, each of our PRC subsidiaries is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, after making up for previous year’s accumulated losses, if any, to fund certain statutory reserves, until the aggregate amount of such funds reaches 50% of registered capital. This portion of our PRC subsidiaries’ respective net assets are prohibited from being distributed to their shareholders as dividends. However, none of our PRC subsidiaries has made any dividends or distributions to our holding company or any U.S. investors as of the date of this prospectus. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — We may rely on dividends paid by our subsidiaries for our cash needs, and any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct business.”
In addition, the PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our revenues effectively and affect the value of your investment.”
A 10% PRC withholding tax is applicable to dividends payable to investors that are non-resident enterprises. Any gain realized on the transfer of ordinary shares by such investors is also subject to PRC tax at a current rate of 10%, which in case of dividends will be withheld at source if such gain is regarded as income derived from sources within the PRC. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a ‘Resident Enterprise’ of China. Any classification as such will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders.”
Each subsidiary of the Company may initiate a cash transfer request by timely filling out a fund application form, which shall be signed by the financial principal and the principal of the subsidiary and then submitted to the financial department of the Company for approval. After a cash transfer request is approved by the financial department, the relevant subsidiary may proceed to initiate such transfer. Our Company distributed cash as loans to our subsidiaries. Several cash transfers have been made between our Company and our subsidiaries. As of June 30, 2022, our Company had provided loans in the amount of $266,604 to Hangzhou Greenland, and in the amount of $4,392,886 to Zhongchai Holding.
Corporate Information
We are a British Virgin Islands company limited by shares and our corporate headquarters are located at 50 Millstone Road, Building 400 Suite 130, East Windsor, NJ, United States 08512. Our telephone number is 1 (888) 827-4832. Our registered office in the British Virgin Islands is located at Craigmuir Chambers, Road Town, Tortola, VG 1110 British Virgin Islands. We maintain a corporate website at http://www.gtecrobotic.com/#/home. The information contained in, or accessible from, our website or any other website does not constitute a part of this prospectus. Our ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “GTEC.”
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company
We qualify as an emerging growth company as that term is used in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”). An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other burdens that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include being permitted to:
| ● | have only two years of audited financial statements and only two years of related Management’s Discussion and Analysis; |
| ● | omit the auditor attestation of our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; and |
| ● | provide limited disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements. |
We have already taken advantage of these reduced reporting burdens in this prospectus and the reports we file with the SEC, some of which are also available to us as a smaller reporting company as defined under Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
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We could remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of July 2023 and the earliest of (1) the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenues exceed $1.07 billion, (2) the date that we become a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our ordinary share that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, or (3) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding three year period.
In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies.
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our ordinary shares is subject to a number of risks, including risks related to our business and industry, risks related to our corporate structure, risks related to doing business in China and risks related to our ordinary shares. You should carefully consider all of the information in this prospectus before making an investment in the ordinary shares. The following list summarizes some, but not all, of these risks. Please read the information in the section titled “Risk Factors” for a more thorough description of these and other risks.
Risks Related to our Business and Industry
For more detailed discussions of the following risks, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Business and Industry” on pages 13 through 18.
| ● | Our business operations are cash intensive, and our business could be adversely affected if we fail to maintain sufficient levels of liquidity and working capital; |
| ● | We grant relatively long payment terms for accounts receivable which can adversely affect our cash flow; |
| ● | We face short lead-times for delivery of products to customers. Failure to meet delivery deadlines could result in the loss of customers and damage to our reputation and goodwill; |
| ● | We face intense competition, and if we are unable to compete effectively, we may not be able to maintain profitability; |
| ● | Our revenues are highly dependent on a limited number of customers and the loss of any one of our major customers could materially and adversely affect our growth and revenues; |
| ● | As we expand our operations, we may need to establish a more diverse supplier network for our raw materials. The failure to secure a more diverse supplier network could have an adverse effect on our financial condition; |
| ● | To remain competitive, we are introducing new lines of business, including the production and sale of electric industrial vehicles. If our efforts are not successful, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected; |
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| ● | New lines of business, including the production and sale of electric industrial vehicles, may subject us to additional risks; |
| ● | Volatile steel prices can cause significant fluctuations in our operating results. Our revenues and operating income could decrease if steel prices increase or if we are unable to pass price increases on to our customers; and |
| ● | We are subject to various risks and uncertainties that may affect our ability to procure raw materials. |
Risks Related to Doing Business in China
For more detailed discussions of the following risks, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China” on pages 19 through 28.
| ● | Changes in China’s economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations; |
| ● | Uncertainties arising from the legal system in China, including uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and the possibility that regulations and rules can change quickly with little advance notice, could hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our securities, result in a material adverse change to our business operations, and damage our reputation, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and cause our securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—The PRC government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business activities. If the Chinese government significantly regulates the business operations of our PRC subsidiaries in the future and our PRC subsidiaries are not able to substantially comply with such regulations, our business operations may be materially adversely affected and the value of our ordinary shares may significantly decrease” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us”; |
| ● | The approval of the CSRC or other PRC governmental authorities may be required, along with compliance with any other applicable PRC rules, policies and regulations, in connection with any future offering of our securities, and, if required, we cannot predict whether or how soon we will be able to obtain such approval or comply with such requirements. Any failure to obtain, or delay in obtaining, any requisite PRC governmental approval or complying with any other applicable PRC requirements for an offering, or a rescission of such approval, may subject us to sanctions imposed by the relevant PRC regulatory authority. In addition, if we do not receive or maintain the approvals, or we inadvertently conclude that such approvals are not required, or applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change such that we are required to obtain approval in the future, we may be subject to an investigation by competent regulators, fines or penalties, or an order prohibiting us from conducting an offering, and these risks could result in a material adverse change in our operations and the value of our ordinary shares, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, or cause such securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—We believe that we are not currently required to obtain the approval and/or comply with other requirements of the CSRC, the CAC, or other PRC governmental authorities under PRC rules, regulations or policies in connection with an offering of our securities outside of the PRC, including on a U.S. exchange. However, in the event that any such approval is required or that there are other requirements we are obligated to comply with, we cannot predict whether or how soon we will be able to obtain such approvals and/or comply with such requirements” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—We may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal information provided by our customers and any failure to comply with PRC laws and regulations over data security could result in materially adverse impact on our business, results of operations, and our continued listing on Nasdaq”; |
| ● | We may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal information provided by our customers and any failure to comply with PRC laws and regulations over data security could result in materially adverse impact on our business, results of operations, and our continued listing on Nasdaq; |
| ● | You may have difficulty enforcing judgments against us; |
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| ● | Under the Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a “Resident Enterprise” of China. Such classification will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders; |
| ● | PRC regulation of loans to, and direct investments in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies may delay or prevent us from using proceeds from our future financing activities to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC operating subsidiaries; |
| ● | We may rely on dividends paid by our subsidiaries for our cash needs, and any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct business; |
| ● | Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our revenues effectively and affect the value of your investment; |
| ● | U.S. regulatory bodies may be limited in their ability to conduct investigations or inspections of our operations in China; and |
| ● | Our securities may be delisted and prohibited from being traded under the HFCA Act if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our auditor in the future. Any future delisting and cessation of trading of our securities, or the threat of their being delisted and prohibited from being traded, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. Additionally, any inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of our auditor in the future would deprive our investors of the benefits of such inspections. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—A recent joint statement by the SEC and the PCAOB, proposed rule changes submitted by Nasdaq, and the HFCA Act all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the PCAOB.” |
Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares
For more detailed discussions of the following risks, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares” on pages 29 through 30.
| ● | Future sales of our ordinary shares, whether by us or our shareholders, could cause the price of our ordinary shares to decline; |
| ● | Because we do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future, you must rely on the price appreciation of our ordinary shares for return on your investment; and |
| ● | Techniques employed by short sellers may drive down the market price of our ordinary shares. |
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| Securities offered by us pursuant to this prospectus | 5,146,026 ordinary shares, which consist of (i) up to 616,026 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of 616,026 pre-funded warrants, and (ii) up to 4,530,000 ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of 4,530,000 common warrants. See “Description of Securities to be Registered.” | |
| Total ordinary shares outstanding before this offering | 12,579,530 ordinary shares | |
| Total ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering | 17,725,556 ordinary shares, assuming that all securities offered hereby are being sold. | |
| Use of proceeds | We are not selling any securities under this prospectus and we will not receive any proceeds from the sale of securities by the Selling Securityholder, although we could receive up to $20.34 million upon the exercise of all of the PIPE warrants. Any amounts we receive from such exercises will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. The holder of the PIPE warrants is not currently obligated to exercise the warrants and we cannot assure you that the holder of the PIPE warrants will choose to exercise all or any of the warrants. See “Use of Proceeds.” | |
| Risk factors | Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. For a discussion of factors you should consider carefully before deciding to invest in our securities, see the information contained in or incorporated by reference under the heading “Risk Factors” beginning on page 13 of this prospectus and in the other documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus. | |
| Listing | Our ordinary shares are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “GTEC.” |
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The following is a summary of certain risks that should be carefully considered along with the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act. If any of the following events actually occurs, our business, operating results, prospects, or financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. The risks described below are not the only ones that we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also significantly impair our business operations and could result in a complete loss of your investment.
Risks Related to our Business and Industry
Our business operations are cash intensive, and our business could be adversely affected if we fail to maintain sufficient levels of liquidity and working capital.
As of June 30, 2022, we had approximately $3.22 million of cash and cash equivalents. Historically, we have spent a significant amount of cash on our operational activities, principally to procure raw materials for our products. Our short-term loans are from Chinese banks and are generally secured by a portion of our fixed assets, land use rights and/or guarantees by related parties. Certain of these loans are secured against a portion of the shares of our PRC subsidiaries. The term of a majority of such loans is one year. Historically, we rolled over such loans on an annual basis. However, we may not have sufficient funds available to pay all of our borrowings upon maturity in the future. Failure to roll over our short-term borrowings at maturity or to service our debt could result in a transfer of the ownership of a portion of the shares of our PRC subsidiaries to secured lenders, the imposition of penalties, including increases in interest rates, legal actions against us by our creditors, and even insolvency.
Although we have been able to maintain adequate working capital primarily through cash from operations and short-term and long-term borrowings, any failure by our customers to settle outstanding accounts receivable, or our inability to borrow sufficient capital from local banks in the future could materially and adversely affect our cash flow, financial condition and results of operations.
We grant relatively long payment terms for accounts receivable which can adversely affect our cash flow.
As is customary in China, for competitive reasons, we grant relatively long payment terms to most of our customers. The reserves we establish for our receivables may not be adequate based on the current bad debts. We are subject to the risk that we may be unable to collect accounts receivable in a timely manner. If the accounts receivable cannot be collected in time, or at all, a significant amount of bad debt expense will occur, and our business, financial condition and results of operation will likely be materially and adversely affected.
We face short lead-times for delivery of products to customers. Failure to meet delivery deadlines could result in the loss of customers and damage to our reputation and goodwill.
Most of our customers are large manufacturers, who generally place large orders for our products and require prompt delivery. Our product sale agreements typically contain short lead-times for the delivery of products and tight production and manufacturer supply schedules that can reduce our profit margins on the products procured from our suppliers. Our suppliers may lack sufficient capacity at any given time to meet all of our customers’ demands if orders exceed their production capacity. We strive for rapid response to customer demands, which can lead to reduced purchasing efficiency, increased procurement costs and low profit margins. If we are unable to meet the customer demands, we may lose customers. Moreover, failure to meet customer demands may damage our reputation and goodwill.
We face intense competition, and, if we are unable to compete effectively, we may not be able to maintain profitability.
We compete with many other companies located in the PRC and internationally that manufacture similar products. Many of our competitors are larger companies with greater financial resources. Intense competition in a challenging economic environment in the PRC has, in the past, put pressure on our margins and may adversely affect our future financial performance. Moreover, intense competition may result in potential or actual litigation between us and our competitors relating to such activities as competitive sales practices, relationships with key suppliers and customers or other matters.
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It is likely that our competitors will seek to develop similar competing products in the near future. Some of our competitors may have more resources than we do, operate in greater scale, be more capitalized than we are, have access to cheaper raw materials than we do, or offer products at a more competitive price. There can be no assurance that our initial competitive advantage will be retained and that one or more competitors will not develop products that are equal or superior in quality and are better priced than our products. If we are unable to compete effectively, our results of operations and financial position may be materially and adversely affected.
Our revenues are highly dependent on a limited number of customers and the loss of any one of our major customers could materially and adversely affect our growth and revenues.
During the six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2022, our five largest customers contributed 50.15% and 48.21% of our revenues, respectively. As a result of our reliance on a limited number of customers, we may face pricing and other competitive pressures, which may have a material adverse effect on our profits and our revenues. The volume of products sold for specific customers varies from year to year, especially since we are not the exclusive provider for any customers. In addition, there are a number of factors that could cause the loss of a customer or a substantial reduction in the products that we provide to any customer that may not be predictable. For example, our customers may decide to reduce spending on our products or a customer may no longer need our products following the completion of a project. The loss of any one of our major customers, a decrease in the volume of sales to our customers or a decrease in the price at which we sell our products to customers could materially adversely affected our profits and revenues.
In addition, this customer concentration may subject us to perceived or actual leverage that our customers may have in negotiations, given their relative size and importance to us. If our customers seek to negotiate their agreements on terms less favorable to us and we accept such terms, such unfavorable terms may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Accordingly, unless and until we diversify and expand our customer base, our future success will significantly depend upon the timing and volume of business from our largest customers and the financial and operational success of these customers.
As we expand our operations, we may need to establish a more diverse supplier network for our raw materials. The failure to secure a more diverse supplier network could have an adverse effect on our financial condition.
In the event that we need to diversify our supplier network, we may not be able to procure a sufficient supply of raw materials at a competitive price, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Furthermore, despite our efforts to control our supply of raw materials and maintain good relationships with our existing suppliers, we could lose one or more of our existing suppliers at any time. The loss of one or more key suppliers could increase our reliance on higher cost or lower quality supplies, which could negative affect our profitability. Any interruptions to, or decline in, the amount or quality of our raw materials supply could materially disrupt our production and adversely affect our business, financial condition and financial prospects.
To remain competitive, we have introduced new lines of business, including the production and sale of electric industrial vehicles. If our efforts are not successful, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
Prior to December 2020, through Zhongchai Holding and its PRC subsidiaries, our products mainly included transmission systems and integrated powertrains for material handling machineries, particularly for electric forklift trucks. In December 2020, we launched a new division to focus on the production and sale of electric industrial vehicles—a division that Greenland intends to develop to diversify its product offerings. Greenland’s electric industrial vehicle products currently include GEF-series electric forklifts, a series of lithium powered forklifts with three models ranging in size from 1.8 tons to 3.5 tons, GEL-1800, a 1.8 ton rated load lithium powered electric wheeled front loader, and GEX-8000, an all-electric 8.0 ton rated load lithium powered wheeled excavator. These products have become available for purchase in the U.S. market. In July 2022, Greenland launched its new GEL-5000 all-electric 5.0 ton rated load lithium wheeled front loader. Greenland plans to establish an assembly site and an experience center in the United States in 2022 to support local sales, assembly and distribution.
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There are risks in connection with this new line of business. We may experience difficulties in the development and launch of our electric industrial vehicles, and our products may not be well-accepted by the market. As we have limited experience in the electric industrial vehicle business, our efforts in developing such business may not succeed and we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to cover our investment and become profitable. During such process, our results of operations and financial conditions may not be improved in a timely manner, or at all. We cannot assure you that we will successfully transition our business focus and it is possible that we remain in such transition period for an extended period of time. During such period, our revenue may be very limited and we may continue to experience material and adverse effects to our results of operations, financial condition and business prospects.
New lines of business, including the production and sale of electric industrial vehicles, may subject us to additional risks.
From time to time, we may implement new lines of business or offer new products within our existing lines of business. Currently, we plan to offer additional models of electric industrial vehicles. As such, we face significant challenges, uncertainties and risks, including, among others, with respect to our ability to:
| ● | build a well-recognized and respected brand; |
| ● | establish and expand our customer base; |
| ● | improve and maintain our operational efficiency for new lines of business; |
| ● | maintain a reliable, secure, high-performance and scalable technology infrastructure for our new lines of business; |
| ● | anticipate and adapt to changing market conditions, including technological development and changes in competitive landscape; |
| ● | navigate an evolving and complex regulatory environment, such as licensing and compliance requirements; and |
| ● | manage the resources and attention of management between our current core business and new lines of business. |
Moreover, there can be no assurance that the introduction and development of new lines of business or new products and services would not encounter significant difficulties or delay or would achieve the profitability as we expect. Failure to successfully manage these risks in the development and implementation of new lines of business or new products or services could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and prospects. For example, we may experience difficulties in developing and launching additional models of our electric industrial vehicles, or may not be able to develop them at reasonable costs. Due to our limited experience with electric industrial vehicles, we also face challenges and uncertainties relating to the possibility of success of our new business.
As we enter into new business sectors, we are also subject to competition from such industries. There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete effectively with respect to our new businesses. If we fail to establish our strengths or maintain our competitiveness in those industries, our business prospects, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.
Volatile steel prices can cause significant fluctuations in our operating results. Our revenues and operating income could decrease if steel prices increase or if we are unable to pass price increases on to our customers.
Our principal raw materials are processed metal parts and components which are made of carburizing steel. The steel industry as a whole is cyclical and, at times, pricing and availability of steel can be volatile due to numerous factors beyond our control, including general domestic and international economic conditions, labor costs, sales levels, competition, levels of inventory, consolidation of steel producers, higher raw material costs for steel producers, import duties and tariffs and currency exchange rates. This volatility can significantly affect the availability and cost of raw materials.
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Our suppliers, like many other processed metal parts and components manufacturers, maintain substantial inventories of steel to accommodate the short lead times and just-in-time delivery requirements of customers. Accordingly, they purchase steel in an effort to maintain their inventory at levels that they believe to be appropriate to satisfy the anticipated needs of customers based upon historic buying practices, supply agreements with customers and market conditions. When steel prices increase, competitive conditions will influence how much of the price increase suppliers would pass on to us and how much we can pass on to our customers. To the extent we are unable to pass on future price increases in raw materials to our customers, the revenues and profitability of our business could be adversely affected.
We are subject to various risks and uncertainties that might affect our ability to procure raw materials.
Our performance depends upon our ability to procure low cost, high quality raw materials on a timely basis from our suppliers. Our suppliers are subject to certain risks, including the availability of raw materials, labor disputes, inclement weather, natural disasters, and general economic and political conditions, which might limit the ability of our suppliers to provide low cost, high quality merchandise on a timely basis. Furthermore, for these or other reasons, one or more of our suppliers might not adhere to our quality control standards, and we might not identify the deficiency. Our suppliers’ failure to supply quality materials at a reasonable cost on a timely basis could reduce our net sales or profits, damage our reputation and have an adverse effect on our financial condition.
We may lose our competitive advantage, and our operations may suffer, if we fail to prevent the loss or misappropriation of, or disputes over, our intellectual property.
We rely on a combination of patents, trademarks, trade secrets and confidentiality agreements to protect our intellectual property rights. While we are not currently aware of any infringement on our intellectual property rights, our ability to compete successfully and to achieve future revenue growth will depend, in significant part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technology. Despite many laws and regulations promulgated, as well as other efforts made, by China over the past several years in an attempt to protect intellectual property rights, intellectual property rights are not as certain in China as they would be in many Western countries, including the United States. Furthermore, enforcement of such laws and regulations in China has not been fully developed. Neither the administrative agencies nor the court systems in China are as equipped as their counterparts in developed countries to deal with violations or handle the nuances and complexities between compliant technological innovation and non-compliant infringement.
Our transmission technology is protected through a combination of patents, trade secrets, confidentiality agreements and other methods. However, our competitors may independently develop similar proprietary methodologies or duplicate our products, or develop alternatives, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The misappropriation or duplication of our intellectual property could disrupt our ongoing business, distract our management and employees, reduce our revenues and increase our expenses. We may need to litigate to enforce our intellectual property rights. Any such litigation could be time consuming and costly and the outcome of any such litigation cannot be guaranteed.
We have limited insurance coverage for our operations in China and may incur losses resulting from product liability claims, business interruption or natural disasters.
HEVI, our subsidiary in the U.S., maintains commercial general liability insurance for its business operations. However, we have limited insurance coverage for our operations in China, and we are therefore exposed to risks associated with product liability claims against our PRC subsidiaries or otherwise against our operations in the PRC in the event that the use of our products results in property damage or personal injury. Since our transmission products are ultimately incorporated into forklifts, it is possible that users of forklifts or people installing our products could be injured or killed, whether as a result of defects, improper installation or other causes. We are unable to predict whether product liability claims will be brought against us in the future or to predict the impact of any resulting adverse publicity on our business. The successful assertion of product liability claims against us could result in potentially significant monetary damages and require us to make significant payments. We do not carry product liability insurance and may not have adequate resources to satisfy a judgment in the event of a successful claim against us. In addition, we do not currently, and may not in the future, maintain business interruption insurance coverage. As such, we may suffer losses that result from interruptions in our operations as a result of inability to operate or failures of equipment and infrastructure at our facilities. We also do not currently maintain catastrophe insurance. As such, any natural disaster or man-made disaster could result in substantial losses and diversion of our resources to address the effects of such an occurrence, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Failure to make adequate contributions to various employee benefit plans as required by PRC regulations may subject us to penalties.
We are required under PRC laws to participate in various government sponsored employee benefit plans, including social security insurance, housing funds and other welfare-oriented payments, and contribute to the plans in amounts equal to certain percentages of salaries, including bonuses and allowances, of our employees up to a maximum amount specified by the local government from time to time at locations where we operate our businesses. We have not made adequate employee benefit payments to the social security insurance and the housing fund. As a result, we may be required to make up the contributions for these plans within a stipulated period of time. In addition, we may be required to pay late fees equal to 0.05% of the shortage of the contributions to the social security fund for each day we fail to make up the contributions and may be imposed fines up to three times of such shortage if we fail to make up the difference within the time frame prescribed by relevant government authorities. The maximum amount of such penalties that we anticipate could be imposed on us with respect such employee benefits payments is approximately US$200,000. If we are subject to late fees or fines in relation to the underpaid employee benefits, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not been ordered to pay outstanding contributions or related penalties.
If labor costs in the PRC increase substantially, our business and costs of operations may be adversely affected.
In recent years, the Chinese economy has experienced inflation and labor cost increases. Average wages are projected to continue to increase. Further, under PRC law an employer is required to pay various statutory employee benefits, including pensions, housing funds, medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance to designated government agencies for the benefit of its employees. The relevant government agencies may examine whether an employer has made adequate payments to the statutory employee benefits, and those employers who fail to make adequate payments may be subject to late payment fees, fines and/or other penalties. We expect that our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to increase based on the past trends. If we are unable to control our labor costs or pass such increased labor costs on to our customers, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.
We are subject to risks related to a substantial balance due from a related party.
As of June 30, 2022, we were owed $37.54 million from Cenntro Holding Limited, our controlling shareholder, and such amount is recorded as “due from related parties” on our balance sheet. We expect the amount due from Cenntro Holding Limited to be paid back based on certain payment schedules, with the last payment to be made by June 30, 2024, as the Company and Cenntro Holding Limited mutually agreed to an extension of the repayment deadline from April 27, 2022. However, there is no guarantee that such amount will be repaid in whole or in part before the end of June 2024, or at all. Such failure to be paid back by Cenntro Holding Limited could have a material negative impact on our balance sheet.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has continued to spread across the world and has created unique global and industry-wide challenges. COVID-19 has resulted in quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of offices and facilities in China and many other countries. New COVID-19 variants have also emerged, potentially extending the period during which COVID-19 will negatively impact the global economy.
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Since 2021, a few waves of COVID-19 infections emerged in various regions of China, and in response, the Chinese government implemented certain anti-COVID measures and protocols. However, in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, these scattered outbreaks were brought under control in a relatively short period of time, and the COVID-19 pandemic had a limited impact on our financial condition and results of operations in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, we experienced rising raw material costs, and we expect raw material costs to continue increasing in the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, local outbreaks of COVID-19 infections continued to emerge in additional regions in China since 2022, and it is difficult to predict how these local outbreaks and relevant remedial measures and lockdown policies may affect our business operations for the rest of 2022.
However, the potential downturn brought by, and the duration of, the COVID-19 pandemic may be difficult to assess or predict, and any associated negative impact on us will depend on many factors beyond our control. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our long-term results remains uncertain, and we are closely monitoring its impact on us. Our business, results of operations, financial conditions and prospects could be adversely affected directly, as well as indirectly, to the extent that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic harms the Chinese and global economy in general.
Competition for our employees is intense, and we may not be able to attract and retain the highly skilled employees needed to support our business.
As we continue to experience growth, our future success depends on our ability to attract, develop, motivate and retain highly qualified and skilled employees, including engineers, financial personnel and marketing professionals. Competition for highly skilled engineering, sales, technical and financial personnel is extremely intense. We may not be able to hire and retain these personnel at compensation levels consistent with our existing compensation and salary structure. Many of the companies with which we compete for experienced employees have greater resources than we have and may be able to offer more attractive terms of employment.
In addition, we invest significant time and expense in training our employees, which increases their value to competitors who may seek to recruit them. If we fail to retain our employees, we could incur significant expenses in hiring and training their replacements, and the quality of our services and our ability to serve customers could diminish, resulting in a material adverse effect on our business.
Our business depends on the continued efforts of our senior management. If one or more of our key executives were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, our business may be severely disrupted.
Our business operations depend on the continuing services of our senior management. While we have provided different incentives to our management, we cannot assure you that we can continue to retain their services. If one or more of our key executives were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them easily or at all, our future growth may be constrained, business may be severely disrupted and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected, and we may incur additional expenses to recruit, train and retain qualified personnel. In addition, although we have entered into a non-competition agreement with Mr. Peter Zuguang Wang, our controlling shareholder and chairman of the board of directors, there is no assurance that Mr. Wang will not join our competitors or form a competing business. If any dispute arises between us and Mr. Wang, we may incur substantial costs and expenses in order to enforce the non-competition agreement in China, and we may be unable to enforce it at all.
We do not maintain “key person” insurance, and as a result, we may incur losses if any of our directors, executive officers, senior manager or other key employees chooses to terminate his or her services with us.
We do not have “key person” insurance for our directors, executive officers, senior management or other key employees. If any of our key employees terminate his or her services or otherwise becomes unable to provide continuous services to us, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected and we may incur additional expenses to recruit, train and retain qualified personnel. If any of our executive officers or key employees joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose customers, operational know-how and key professionals and staff members.
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Risks Related to Doing Business in China
Changes in China’s economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
A substantial majority of our assets and operations are located in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be influenced to a significant degree by political, economic and social conditions in China generally. The PRC economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including with regard to the level of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Although the PRC government has implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets, and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in China is still owned by the government. In addition, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies.
The PRC government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through allocating resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy, and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.
While the PRC economy has experienced significant growth over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy, and the rate of growth has been slowing since 2012. Any adverse changes in economic conditions in China, in the policies of the PRC government or in the laws and regulations in China could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China. Such developments could adversely affect our business and operating results, lead to reduction in demand for our services and adversely affect our competitive position. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall PRC economy, but may have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations. In addition, in the past the PRC government has implemented certain measures, including interest rate adjustment, to control the pace of economic growth. These measures may cause decreased economic activity in China, which may adversely affect our business and operating results.
Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.
The PRC legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike the common law system, prior court decisions under the civil law system may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. Since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and the enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involves uncertainties.
In 1979, the PRC government began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general. The overall effect of legislation over the past four decades has significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. However, China has not developed a fully integrated legal system, and recently enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China. In particular, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. Since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory provisions and contractual terms, it may be difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy. These uncertainties may affect our judgment on the relevance of legal requirements and our ability to enforce our contractual rights or tort claims. In addition, the regulatory uncertainties may be exploited through unmerited or frivolous legal actions or threats in attempts to extract payments or benefits from us.
Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules, some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all and may have retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of any of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. In addition, any administrative and court proceedings in China may be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.
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In addition, we are subject to risks and uncertainties of the interpretations and applications of PRC laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, limitations on foreign ownership in our industry. We are also subject to the risks and uncertainties about any future actions of the PRC government. If any future actions of the PRC government result in a material change in our operations, and the value of our ordinary shares may depreciate significantly or become worthless.
The PRC government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business activities. If the Chinese government significantly regulates the business operations of our PRC subsidiaries in the future and our PRC subsidiaries are not able to substantially comply with such regulations, the business operations of our PRC subsidiaries may be materially and adversely affected and the value of our ordinary shares may significantly decrease.
The PRC government has exercised, and continues to exercise, substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership, including steel sector where we have been doing our business. Any government decisions or actions to change the way steel production is regulated, or any decisions the government might make to cut spending, could adversely impact our business and results of operations. In addition, the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to operate in China may be harmed by changes in PRC laws and regulations, including those relating to taxation, environmental conditions, land use rights, property and other matters. The central or local governments of these jurisdictions may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations. Accordingly, government actions in the future, including any decision not to continue to support recent economic reforms and to return to a more centrally planned economy or regional or local variations in the implementation of economic policies, could have a significant effect on economic conditions in China or particular regions thereof, and could require us to divest ourselves of any interest we then hold in Chinese properties.
We believe that our operations in China are in material compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements. However, the central or local governments of the jurisdictions in which we operate may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations with little advance notice that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations.
Our PRC subsidiaries may incur increased costs necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply. In the event that our PRC subsidiaries are not able to substantially comply with any existing or newly adopted laws and regulations, our business operations may be materially adversely affected and the value of our ordinary shares may significantly decrease.
Furthermore, the PRC government authorities may strengthen oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers like us. Such actions taken by the PRC government authorities may intervene or influence the operations of our PRC operating entities at any time, which may be beyond our control. Therefore, any such action may adversely affect the operations of our PRC subsidiaries and substantially limit or hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to you and significantly reduce the value of such securities or cause the value of such securities to be completely worthless.
We believe that we are not currently required to obtain the approval and/or comply with other requirements of the CSRC, the CAC, or other PRC governmental authorities under PRC rules, regulations or policies in connection with an offering of our securities outside of the PRC, including on a U.S. exchange. However, in the event that any such approval is required or that there are other requirements we are obligated to comply with, we cannot predict whether or how soon we will be able to obtain such approvals and/or comply with such requirements.
The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, purport to require offshore special purpose vehicles that are controlled by PRC companies or individuals and that have been formed for the purpose of seeking a public listing on an overseas stock exchange through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies or assets to obtain CSRC approval prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. The interpretation and application of those regulations remain unclear.
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In addition, the PRC government authorities may strengthen future oversight over offerings that are conducted overseas. For instance, on July 6, 2021, the relevant PRC governmental authorities promulgated the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities, which emphasized the need to strengthen the PRC government’s supervision over overseas listings by PRC companies. Pursuant to the Opinions, effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems, are to be taken to deal with the risks of China-based overseas-listed companies, cybersecurity and data privacy protection requirements and similar matters. The Cybersecurity Review Measures (Decree No. 8 of the Cybersecurity Administration of the PRC), or the revised Cybersecurity Review Measures, enacted on December 28, 2021 and came into effect on February 15, 2022, also require online platform operators holding over one million users’ personal information to apply for a cybersecurity review before any public offering on a foreign stock exchange. These statements and regulations are recently issued, and there remain substantial uncertainties about their interpretation and implementation. See also “—We may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal information provided by our customers and any failure to comply with PRC laws and regulations over data security could result in materially adverse impact on our business, results of operations, and our continued listing on Nasdaq.”
As of the date of this prospectus, we believe we are not required to obtain any permission from PRC authorities (including the CSRC and the CAC) to operate our business as presently conducted or to issue our securities to investors outside of the PRC. Therefore, as of the date of this prospectus, we have not applied for any permission or approval from any PRC governmental authority in connection with our offshore listing or offering and, as such, no such permission or approval has been granted or denied. However, if we determine or otherwise find out that we were required to obtain such permissions or approvals in the future in connection with the listing or continued listing of our securities on a stock exchange outside of China, it is uncertain how long it will take for us to obtain such approval, and, even if we obtain such approval, the approval could be rescinded. Any failure to obtain or a delay in obtaining the necessary permissions from the PRC authorities to conduct offerings or list our securities outside of China may subject us to sanctions imposed by the PRC regulatory authorities, which could include fines and penalties, proceedings against us, and other forms of sanctions, and could restrict our ability to conduct our business, invest in China through our non-Chinese subsidiaries as foreign investments, accept foreign investments, or continue to be listed on a U.S. or other overseas exchange may be restricted, and our business, reputation, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
On December 24, 2021, the CSRC published the Regulations of the State Council on the Administration of Overseas Issuance and Listing of Securities by Domestic Enterprises (Draft for Public Comments) and the Measures for the Administration of Overseas Issuance and Listing of Securities by Domestic Enterprises (Draft for Public Comments) for public comments, which will apply if a domestic enterprise issues shares, depositary receipts, corporate bonds convertible into shares, or other securities of an equity nature outside of the PRC, or lists its securities for trading outside of the PRC. According to such regulations, a domestic enterprise that issues and lists its securities outside of the PRC shall comply with the filing procedures and report the relevant information to the CSRC. A domestic enterprise shall not be listed on an overseas stock exchange if any of the following circumstances exists: (i) there are circumstances in which such listing and financing is expressly prohibited by national laws, regulations and relevant provisions; (ii) the relevant competent department of the State Council has determined, in accordance with law, that the overseas securities offering and listing threatens or endangers national security; (iii) there are major disputes over ownership of shares, major assets, and core technologies, etc.; (iv) such domestic enterprise and its controlling shareholders or actual controllers have committed criminal offences of embezzlement, bribery, misappropriation of property, misappropriation of property or disruption of the socialist market economic order within the last three years, or are under investigation by the judicial authorities for suspected crimes, or are under investigation for suspected major violations of law; (v) the director, supervisor or senior management of such domestic enterprise has been subject to administrative punishment within the last three years for series violations, or is being investigated by the judicial authorities for suspected crimes or is being investigated by the judicial authorities for suspected major violations of law; or (vi) other circumstances as determined by the State Council. If a domestic enterprise violates the above provisions, it may be subject to an order to correct such violation, regulatory talk, warning letter, warning, fines, suspension of relevant business operations or order of rectification, revocation of relevant business qualification permit or revocation of business license, or be held legally responsible for any such violation. Under these regulations, the listing of the Company’s ordinary shares on Nasdaq may fall under the category of “indirect issuance of securities by a domestic enterprise abroad or listing and trading of its securities abroad” and, therefore, the issuance of securities after the listing of the Company may be subject to the relevant filing procedures, which means that the filing materials should be submitted to the CSRC within three business days after the completion of the issuance.
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As of the date of this prospectus, the Company does not currently fall under any of the abovementioned circumstances that prohibit its overseas securities offering or listing, and has not been required to comply with any filing procedures. However, the abovementioned regulations are still subject to public comments, and it is uncertain when they will be formally introduced and whether there will be any changes to their content and as such, the impact of the aforementioned regulations on the Company cannot be determined at this time. However, according to the “Q&A with the relevant person in charge of the CSRC” released on December 24, 2021, the relevant person in charge of the CSRC stated that the CSRC will adhere to the principle of non-retroactivity of the law and ensure the smooth implementation of record management. Enterprises seeking to list their securities overseas and overseas listed enterprises seeking to conduct follow-on offerings and other relevant activities are required to fulfill the filing procedures, and other overseas listed enterprises will be provided with a transition period with respect to their filing requirements. The CSRC will take into full consideration the advantages of conducting follow-on offerings in overseas markets to domestic enterprises, and set up different filing and timing requirements for enterprises seeking to conduct follow-on offerings, so as to reduce the impacts of filing procedures on follow-on offerings of overseas listed enterprises.
We may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal information provided by our customers and any failure to comply with PRC laws and regulations over data security could result in materially adverse impact on our business, results of operations, and our continued listing on Nasdaq.
Our business involves collecting and retaining certain internal and customer data. We also maintain information about various aspects of our operations. The integrity and protection of customer and company data is critical to our business. Our customers expect that we will adequately protect their personal information. We are required by applicable laws to keep strictly confidential the personal information that we collect, and to take adequate security measures to safeguard such information.
The PRC Criminal Law, as amended by its Amendment 7 (effective on February 28, 2009) and Amendment 9 (effective on November 1, 2015), prohibits institutions, companies and their employees from selling or otherwise illegally disclosing a citizen’s personal information obtained in performing duties or providing services or obtaining such information through theft or other illegal ways. On November 7, 2016, the Standing Committee of the PRC National People’s Congress issued the Cyber Security Law of the PRC, or Cyber Security Law, which became effective on June 1, 2017. Pursuant to the Cyber Security Law, network operators must not, without users’ consent, collect their personal information, and may only collect users’ personal information necessary to provide their services. Providers are also obliged to provide security maintenance for their products and services and shall comply with provisions regarding the protection of personal information as stipulated under the relevant laws and regulations.
The Civil Code of the PRC (issued by the PRC National People’s Congress on May 28, 2020 and effective from January 1, 2021) provides the legal basis for privacy and personal information infringement claims under the Chinese civil laws. PRC regulators, including the CAC, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Public Security, have been increasingly focused on regulation in data security and data protection.
The PRC regulatory requirements regarding cybersecurity are evolving. For instance, various regulatory bodies in China, including the CAC, the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration for Market Regulation, have enforced data privacy and protection laws and regulations with varying and evolving standards and interpretations. In April 2020, the Chinese government promulgated Cybersecurity Review Measures, which came into effect on June 1, 2020. According to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, operators of critical information infrastructure must pass a cybersecurity review when purchasing network products and services which do or may affect national security.
In December 2021, the CAC and other related authorities promulgated the revised Cybersecurity Review Measures, which came into effect on February 15, 2022. The revised Cybersecurity Review Measures propose the following key changes:
| ● | online platform operators who are engaged in data processing are also subject to the regulatory scope; |
| ● | the CSRC is included as one of the regulatory authorities for purposes of jointly establishing the state cybersecurity review working mechanism; |
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| ● | the online platform operators holding more than one million users’ individual information and seeking a listing outside China shall file for cybersecurity review with the Cybersecurity Review Office; and |
| ● | the risks of core data, material data or large amounts of personal information being stolen, leaked, destroyed, damaged, illegally used or transmitted to overseas parties and the risks of critical information infrastructure, core data, material data or large amounts of personal information being influenced, controlled or used maliciously shall be collectively taken into consideration during the cybersecurity review process. |
Certain internet platforms in China have reportedly become subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny in relation to cybersecurity matters. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not been included within the definition of “operator of critical information infrastructure” by a competent authority, nor have we been informed by any PRC governmental authority of any requirement that we file for a cybersecurity review. However, if we are deemed to be a critical information infrastructure operator or an online platform operator that is engaged in data processing and holds personal information of more than one million users, we could be subject to PRC cybersecurity review in the future.
As there remains significant uncertainty in the interpretation and enforcement of relevant PRC cybersecurity laws and regulations, we could be subject to cybersecurity review. In addition, we could become subject to enhanced cybersecurity review or investigations launched by PRC regulators in the future. Any failure or delay in the completion of the cybersecurity review procedures or any other non-compliance with the related laws and regulations may result in fines or other penalties, including suspension of business, website closure, removal of our app from the relevant app stores, and revocation of prerequisite licenses, as well as reputational damage or legal proceedings or actions against us, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not been involved in any investigations on cybersecurity review initiated by the CAC or related governmental regulatory authorities, and we have not received any inquiry, notice, warning, or sanction in such respect.
On June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, or the SCNPC, promulgated the PRC Data Security Law, which took effect in September 2021. The PRC Data Security Law imposes data security and privacy obligations on entities and individuals carrying out data activities, and introduces a data classification and hierarchical protection system based on the importance of data in economic and social development, and the degree of harm it will cause to national security, public interests, or legitimate rights and interests of individuals or organizations when such data is tampered with, destroyed, leaked, illegally acquired or used. The PRC Data Security Law also provides for a national security review procedure for data activities that may affect national security and imposes export restrictions on certain data an information.
As of the date of this prospectus, we do not expect that the current PRC laws on cybersecurity or data security would have a material adverse impact on our business operations. However, as the scope of the PRC Data Security Law is broad and includes the collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, availability and disclosure of data, among others, and uncertainties remain regarding the interpretation and implementation of these laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that we will comply with such regulations in all respects and we may be ordered to rectify or terminate any actions that are deemed illegal by regulatory authorities. Any directly liable person within our Company for violations or alleged violations of the PRC Data Security Law may become subject to fines. We may also become subject to fines and/or other sanctions that may have a material adverse effect on our business, operations and financial condition.
A severe or prolonged downturn in the PRC or global economy could materially and adversely affect our business and our financial condition.
The global macroeconomic environment is facing challenges. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China. There have been concerns over unrest and terrorist threats in the Middle East, Europe and Africa and over the conflicts involving Ukraine, Syria, Russia and North Korea. There have also been concerns on the relationship among China and other Asian countries, which may result in, or intensify potential conflicts in relation to, territorial disputes, and the trade disputes between China and other countries. It is unclear whether these challenges and uncertainties will be contained or resolved, and what effects they may have on the global political and economic conditions in the long term.
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Economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions, changes in domestic economic and political policies and the expected or perceived overall economic growth rate in China. While the economy in China has grown significantly over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy, and the rate of growth has been slowing in recent years. Although growth of China’s economy remained relatively stable, there is a possibility that China’s economic growth may materially decline in the near future. Any severe or prolonged slowdown in the global or PRC economy may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
You may have difficulty enforcing judgments against us.
A significant portion of our assets are located, and a substantial amount of our operations are conducted, in the PRC. In addition, many of our directors and officers are nationals and residents of the PRC and a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult to effect service of process within the United States upon these persons. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the PRC would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts because China does not have any treaties or other arrangements that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments with the United States. 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 basic principles of PRC law or national sovereignty, security, or the public interest.
Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a “Resident Enterprise” of China. Any classification as such will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders.
Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the PRC EIT Law, an enterprise established outside of China with “de facto management bodies” within China is considered a “resident enterprise,” meaning that it can be subject to an enterprise income tax, or EIT, rate of 25.0% on its global income. In April 2009, the SAT promulgated a circular, known as Circular 82, and partially amended by Circular 9 promulgated in January 2014, to clarify the certain criteria for the determination of the “de facto management bodies” for foreign enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups. Under Circular 82, a foreign enterprise is considered a PRC resident enterprise if all of the following apply: (1) the senior management and core management departments in charge of daily operations are located mainly within China; (2) decisions relating to the enterprise’s financial and human resource matters are made or subject to approval by organizations or personnel in China; (3) the enterprise’s primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholders’ meeting minutes are located or maintained in China; and (4) 50.0% or more of voting board members or senior executives of the enterprise habitually reside in China. Further to Circular 82, the SAT issued a bulletin, known as Bulletin 45, effective in September 2011 and amended on June 1, 2015 and October 1, 2016, to provide more guidance on the implementation of Circular 82 and clarify the reporting and filing obligations of such “Chinese controlled offshore incorporated resident enterprises.” Bulletin 45 provides for, among other matters, procedures for the determination of resident status and administration of post-determination matters. Although Circular 82 and Bulletin 45 explicitly provide that the above standards apply to enterprises that are registered outside China and controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, Circular 82 may reflect the SAT’s criteria for determining the tax residence of foreign enterprises in general.
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If the PRC tax authorities determine that we are a “resident enterprise” for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, a number of unfavorable PRC tax consequences could follow. First, we may be subject to the enterprise income tax at a rate of 25% on our worldwide taxable income as well as PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations. In our case, this would mean that income such as non-China source income would be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%. Second, under the PRC EIT Law, dividends paid to us from our PRC subsidiaries would be deemed as “qualified investment income between resident enterprises” and therefore qualify as “tax-exempt income” pursuant to the clause 26 of the PRC EIT Law. Finally, it is possible that future guidance issued with respect to the new “resident enterprise” classification could result in a situation in which the dividends we pay with respect to our ordinary shares, or the gain our non-PRC shareholders may realize from the transfer of our ordinary shares, may be treated as PRC-sourced income and may therefore be subject to a 10% PRC withholding tax. The PRC EIT Law is, however, relatively new and ambiguities exist with respect to the interpretation and identification of PRC-sourced income, and the application and assessment of withholding taxes. If we are required under the PRC EIT Law to withhold PRC income tax on dividends payable to our non-PRC shareholders, should there be a determination in the future to pay dividends, or if non-PRC shareholders are required to pay PRC income tax on gains on the transfer of their ordinary shares, our business could be negatively impacted and the value of your investment may be materially reduced. Further, if we were treated as a “resident enterprise” by PRC tax authorities, we would be subject to taxation in both China and such countries in which we have taxable income, and our PRC tax may not be creditable against such other taxes.
PRC regulation of loans to, and direct investments in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies may delay or prevent us from using proceeds from our future financing activities to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC operating subsidiaries.
As an offshore holding company with PRC subsidiaries, we may transfer funds to our PRC subsidiaries or finance our operating entities by means of loans or capital contributions. Any capital contributions or loans that we, as an offshore entity, make to our Company’s PRC subsidiaries, are subject to PRC regulations. Any loans to our PRC subsidiaries, which are foreign-invested enterprises, cannot exceed statutory limits based on the difference between the amount of our investments and registered capital in such subsidiaries, and shall be registered with State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”), or its local counterparts. Furthermore, any capital increase contributions we make to our PRC subsidiaries, which are foreign-invested enterprises, are subject to the requirement of making necessary filings in Foreign Investment Comprehensive Management Information System, and registration with other government authorities in China. We may not be able to obtain these government registrations or approvals on a timely basis, if at all. If we fail to obtain such approvals or make such registration, our ability to make equity contributions or provide loans to our Company’s PRC subsidiaries or to fund their operations may be negatively affected, which may adversely affect their liquidity and ability to fund their working capital and expansion projects and meet their obligations and commitments. As a result, our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business may be negatively affected.
We may rely on dividends paid by our subsidiaries for our cash needs, and any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct business.
As a holding company, we conduct a substantial amount of our business through our subsidiaries in China. We may rely on dividends paid by these PRC subsidiaries for our cash needs, including the funds necessary to pay any dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders, to service any debt we may incur and to pay our operating expenses. The payment of dividends by entities established in China is subject to limitations. Regulations in China currently permit payment of dividends only out of accumulated profits as determined in accordance with accounting standards and regulations in China. In accordance with the Article 166, 168 of the Company Law of the PRC (Amended in 2018), each of our PRC subsidiaries is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profit based on PRC accounting standards each year to its general reserves or statutory capital reserve fund until the aggregate amount of such reserves reaches 50% of its respective registered capital. A company may discontinue the contribution when the aggregate sum of the statutory surplus reserve is more than 50% of its registered capital. The statutory common reserve fund of a company may only be used to cover the losses of the company, expand the business and production of the company or be converted into additional capital. As a result, our PRC subsidiaries are restricted in their ability to transfer a portion of their net assets to us in the form of dividends. In addition, if any of our PRC subsidiaries incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict such subsidiary’s ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. Any limitations on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to transfer funds to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends and otherwise fund and conduct our business.
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You may be subject to PRC income tax on dividends from us or on any gain realized on the transfer of our ordinary shares.
Under the PRC EIT Law, subject to any applicable tax treaty or similar arrangement between the PRC and your jurisdiction of residence that provides for a different income tax arrangement, PRC withholding tax at the rate of 10.0% is normally applicable to dividends from PRC sources payable to investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises, which do not have an establishment or place of business in China, or which have such establishment or place of business if the relevant income is not effectively connected with the establishment or place of business. Any gain realized on the transfer of shares by such investors is subject to 10.0% PRC income tax if such gain is regarded as income derived from sources within China unless a treaty or similar arrangement otherwise provides. Under the Individual Income Tax Law of the PRC and its implementation rules, dividends from sources within China paid to foreign individual investors who are not PRC residents are generally subject to a PRC withholding tax at a rate of 20% and gains from PRC sources realized by such investors on the transfer of shares are generally subject to 20% PRC income tax, in each case, subject to any reduction or exemption set forth in applicable tax treaties and PRC laws.
There is a risk that we will be treated by the PRC tax authorities as a PRC tax resident enterprise. In that case, any dividends we pay to our shareholders may be regarded as income derived from sources within China and we may be required to withhold a 10.0% PRC withholding tax for the dividends we pay to our investors who are non-PRC corporate shareholders, or a 20.0% withholding tax for the dividends we pay to our investors who are non-PRC individual shareholders, including the holders of our Shares. In addition, our non-PRC shareholders may be subject to PRC tax on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of our ordinary shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within China. It is unclear whether our non-PRC shareholders would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties between their tax residence and China in the event that we are considered as a PRC resident enterprise. If PRC income tax is imposed on gains realized through the transfer of our ordinary shares or on dividends paid to our non-resident investors, should there be a determination in the future to pay dividends, the value of your investment in our ordinary shares may be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, our shareholders whose jurisdictions of residence have tax treaties or arrangements with China may not qualify for benefits under such tax treaties or arrangements.
We may be unable to complete a business combination transaction efficiently or on favorable terms due to complicated merger and acquisition regulations and certain other PRC regulations.
On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory authorities, including Ministry of Commerce, the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the SAT, the Administration for Industry and Commerce, the CSRC and SAFE, jointly issued the M&A Rules, which became effective on September 8, 2006 and were amended in June 2009. The M&A Rules, governing the approval process by which a PRC company may participate in an acquisition of assets or equity interests by foreign investors, requires the PRC parties to make a series of applications and supplemental applications to the government agencies, depending on the structure of the transaction. In some instances, the application process may require presentation of economic data concerning a transaction, including appraisals of the target business and evaluations of the acquirer, which are designed to allow the government to assess the transaction. Accordingly, due to the M&A Rules, our ability to engage in business combination transactions has become significantly more complicated, time-consuming and expensive, and we may not be able to negotiate a transaction that is acceptable to our shareholders or sufficiently protective of their interests in a transaction.
The M&A Rules allow PRC government agencies to assess the economic terms of a business combination transaction. Parties to a business combination transaction may have to submit to Ministry of Commerce and other relevant government agencies an appraisal report, an evaluation report and the acquisition agreement, all of which form part of the application for approval, depending on the structure of the transaction. The M&A Rules also prohibit a transaction at an acquisition price obviously lower than the appraised value of the business or assets in China and in certain transaction structures, require that consideration must be paid within defined periods, generally not in excess of a year. In addition, the M&A Rules also limit our ability to negotiate various terms of the acquisition, including aspects of the initial consideration, contingent consideration, holdback provisions, indemnification provisions and provisions relating to the assumption and allocation of assets and liabilities. Transaction structures involving trusts, nominees and similar entities are prohibited. Therefore, such regulations may impede our ability to negotiate and complete a business combination transaction on legal and/or financial terms that satisfy our investors and protect our shareholders’ economic interests.
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Fluctuations in exchange rates could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and the value of your investment.
The conversion of Renminbi into foreign currencies, including U.S. dollars, is based on rates set by the People’s Bank of China. The Renminbi has fluctuated against the U.S. dollar, at times significantly and unpredictably. The value of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions in China and by China’s foreign exchange policies, among other things. We cannot assure you that Renminbi will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar in the future.
Significant fluctuation of the Renminbi may have a material adverse effect on your investment. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into Renminbi for our operations, appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the Renminbi amount we would receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert our Renminbi into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Renminbi would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us.
Very limited hedging options are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not entered into any material hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited and we may not be able to adequately hedge our exposure or at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert Renminbi into foreign currency.
Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our revenues effectively and affect the value of your investment.
The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of the Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive a significant portion of our revenues in Renminbi. Under our current corporate structure, our British Virgin Islands holding company may rely on dividend payments from our PRC subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval of SAFE, by complying with certain procedural requirements. Specifically, under the existing exchange restrictions, without prior approval of SAFE, cash generated from the operations of our PRC subsidiaries in China may be used to pay dividends to our Company. However, approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required where Renminbi is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. As a result, we need to obtain SAFE approval to use cash generated from the operations of our PRC subsidiaries to pay off their respective debt in a currency other than Renminbi owed to entities outside China, or to make other capital expenditure payments outside China in a currency other than Renminbi. If such approval is withheld or the PRC government imposes other restrictions on the convertibility of Renminbi into foreign currencies, we may not be able to utilize our revenues effectively, and as a result, our business and results of operations may be materially adversely affected, and the value of our ordinary shares may decrease.
U.S. regulatory bodies may be limited in their ability to conduct investigations or inspections of our operations in China.
The SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice and other U.S. authorities may also have difficulties in bringing and enforcing actions against us or our directors or executive officers in the PRC. The SEC has stated that there are significant legal and other obstacles to obtaining information needed for investigations or litigation in China. China has recently adopted a revised securities law that became effective on March 1, 2020, Article 177 of which provides, among other things, that no overseas securities regulator is allowed to directly conduct an investigation or evidence collection activities within the territory of the PRC. Accordingly, without governmental approval in China, no entity or individual in China may provide documents and information relating to securities business activities to overseas regulators when it is under direct investigation or evidence discovery conducted by overseas regulators, which could present significant legal and other obstacles to obtaining information needed for investigations and litigation conducted outside of China.
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A recent joint statement by the SEC and the PCAOB, proposed rule changes submitted by Nasdaq, and the HFCA Act, all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the PCAOB.
On April 21, 2020, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and PCAOB Chairman William D. Duhnke III, along with other senior SEC staff, released a joint statement highlighting the risks associated with investing in companies based in or having substantial operations in emerging markets including China. The joint statement emphasized the risks associated with lack of access for the PCAOB to inspect auditors and audit work papers in China and higher risks of fraud in emerging markets.
On May 18, 2020, Nasdaq filed three proposals with the SEC to (i) apply minimum offering size requirement for companies primarily operating in “Restrictive Market,” (ii) adopt a new requirement relating to the qualification of management or board of directors for Restrictive Market companies, and (iii) apply additional and more stringent criteria to an applicant or listed company based on the qualifications of the company’s auditors.
On May 20, 2020, the Senate passed the HFCA Act, requiring a foreign company to certify that it is not owned or manipulated by a foreign government if the PCAOB is unable to audit specified reports because the company uses a foreign auditor not subject to PCAOB inspection. If the PCAOB is unable to inspect the company’s auditors for three consecutive years, the company’s securities are prohibited from trading on a national exchange.
On March 24, 2021, the SEC announced that it had adopted interim final amendments to implement congressionally mandated submission and disclosure requirements of the HFCA Act. The interim final amendments will apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report on Forms 10-K, 20-F, 40-F or N-CSR with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that the PCAOB has determined it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in that jurisdiction. The SEC will implement a process for identifying such a registrant and any such identified registrant will be required to submit documentation to the SEC establishing that it is not owned or controlled by a governmental entity in that foreign jurisdiction, and will also require disclosure in the registrant’s annual report regarding the audit arrangements of, and governmental influence on, such a registrant. We will be required to comply with these rules if the SEC identifies us as having a “non-inspection” year under the related process that will be implemented by the SEC.
On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that, if passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into law, would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCA Act from three years to two, thus reducing the time before our securities may be delisted.
On September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted rules to create a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCA Act, whether it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.
On December 2, 2021, the SEC adopted amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCA Act. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in a foreign jurisdiction.
On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report on its determinations that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in China and in Hong Kong because of positions taken by PRC and Hong Kong authorities in those jurisdictions. The PCAOB has made such designations as mandated under the HFCA Act. Pursuant to each annual determination by the PCAOB, the SEC will, on an annual basis, identify issuers that have used non-inspected audit firms and thus are at risk of such suspensions in the future.
The PCAOB has been able to inspect our auditor, WWC P.C., an independent registered public accounting firm with its headquarters in San Mateo, California, with its last inspection conducted in November 2021. As such, it is not subject to the designations issued by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021. However, if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our accounting firm in a foreign jurisdiction during any period of three consecutive years or we become owned or controlled by a government in that foreign jurisdiction in the future, the HFCA Act may require our ordinary shares to be delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market or any exchange on which our securities are traded in the future.
The recent developments would add uncertainties to our offering and may result in prohibitions on the trading of our ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market, if our auditors fail to meet the PCAOB inspection requirement in time.
We plan to empower our audit committee to take the PCAOB’s lack of inspection, as applicable, into account in connection with the oversight of our independent registered public accounting firm’s audit procedures and establish relevant internal quality control procedures. However, we cannot assure you that our audit committee’s oversight would be effective. In addition, the SEC may initiate proceedings against our independent registered public accounting firm, whether in connection with an audit of our Company or other China-based companies, which could result in the imposition of penalties against our independent registered public accounting firm, such as suspension of its ability to practice before the SEC. All of these could cause our shareholders and investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements, which may have a material effect on our business.
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Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares
Future sales of our ordinary shares, whether by us or our shareholders, could cause the price of our ordinary shares to decline.
If our existing shareholders sell, or indicate an intent to sell, substantial amounts of our ordinary shares in the public market, the trading price of our ordinary shares could decline significantly. Similarly, the perception in the public market that our shareholders might sell our ordinary shares could also depress the market price of our shares. A decline in the price of our ordinary shares might impede our ability to raise capital through the issuance of additional ordinary shares or other equity securities. In addition, the issuance and sale by us of additional ordinary shares, or securities convertible into or exercisable for our ordinary shares, or the perception that we will issue such securities, could reduce the trading price for our ordinary shares as well as make future sales of equity securities by us less attractive or not feasible. The sale of ordinary shares issued upon the exercise of our outstanding warrants could further dilute the holdings of our then existing shareholders.
We do not know whether a market for the ordinary shares will be sustained or what the trading price of the ordinary shares will be and as a result it may be difficult for you to sell your ordinary shares.
Although our ordinary shares trade on Nasdaq, an active trading market for the ordinary shares may not be sustained. It may be difficult for you to sell your ordinary shares without depressing the market price for the ordinary shares. As a result of these and other factors, you may not be able to sell your ordinary shares. Further, an inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital by selling ordinary shares, or may impair our ability to enter into strategic partnerships or acquire companies or products by using our ordinary shares as consideration.
Securities analysts may not cover our ordinary shares and this may have a negative impact on the market price of our ordinary shares.
The trading market for our ordinary shares will depend, in part, on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over independent analysts (provided that we have engaged various non-independent analysts). We do not currently have and may never obtain research coverage by independent securities and industry analysts. If no independent securities or industry analysts commence coverage of us, the trading price for our ordinary shares would be negatively impacted. If we obtain independent securities or industry analyst coverage and if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our ordinary shares, changes their opinion of our shares or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our ordinary shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our ordinary shares could decrease and we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause the price and trading volume of our ordinary shares to decline.
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Because we do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future, you must rely on the price appreciation of our ordinary shares for a return on your investment.
We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, we do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Therefore, you should not rely on an investment in our ordinary shares as a source for any future dividend income.
Our board of directors has complete discretion as to whether to distribute dividends, subject to certain requirements of British Virgin Islands law. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our board of directors. Under British Virgin Islands law, a British Virgin Islands company may pay a dividend out of either profit or share premium account, provided that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in the company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. Even if our board of directors decides to declare and pay dividends, the timing, amount and form of future dividends, if any, will depend on, among other things, our future results of operations and cash flow, our capital requirements and surplus, the amount of distributions, if any, received by us from our subsidiaries, our financial condition, contractual restrictions, and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Accordingly, the return on your investment in our ordinary shares will likely depend entirely upon any future price appreciation of our ordinary shares. There is no guarantee that our ordinary shares will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which you purchased the ordinary shares. You may not realize a return on your investment in our ordinary shares and you may even lose your entire investment in our ordinary shares.
Techniques employed by short sellers may drive down the market price of our ordinary shares.
Short selling is the practice of selling securities that the seller does not own but rather has borrowed from a third party with the intention of buying identical securities back at a later date to return to the lender. The short seller hopes to profit from a decline in the value of the securities between the sale of the borrowed securities and the purchase of the replacement shares, as the short seller expects to pay less in that purchase than it received in the sale. As it is in the short seller’s interest for the price of the security to decline, many short sellers publish, or arrange for the publication of, negative opinions regarding the relevant issuer and its business prospects in order to create negative market momentum and generate profits for themselves after selling a security short. These short attacks have, in the past, led to selling of shares in the market.
Other public companies listed in the United States that have substantial operations in China have been the subject of short selling. Much of the scrutiny and negative publicity has centered on allegations of a lack of effective internal control over financial reporting resulting in financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud. As a result, many of these companies are now conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations and, in the interim, are subject to shareholder lawsuits and/or SEC enforcement actions.
We may in the future be the subject of unfavorable allegations made by short sellers. Any such allegations may be followed by periods of instability in the market price of our ordinary shares and negative publicity. If and when we become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, we could have to expend a significant amount of resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend ourselves. While we would strongly defend against any such short seller attacks, we may be constrained in the manner in which we can proceed against the relevant short seller by principles of freedom of speech, applicable federal or state law or issues of commercial confidentiality. Such a situation could be costly and time-consuming and could distract our management from growing our business. Even if such allegations are ultimately proven to be groundless, allegations against us could severely impact our business operations and shareholder’s equity, and the value of any investment in our ordinary shares could be greatly reduced or rendered worthless.
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We are not selling any securities under this prospectus and all of the ordinary shares offered by the Selling Securityholder pursuant to this prospectus will be sold by the Selling Securityholder for its account. We will not receive any of the proceeds from these sales, although we may receive up to an aggregate of approximately $20.34 million from the exercise of the PIPE warrants, assuming the exercise in full of all of the PIPE warrants for cash. We expect to use the net proceeds from the exercise of the PIPE warrants for working capital and general corporate purposes. We will have broad discretion over the use of proceeds from the exercise of the PIPE warrants.
There is no assurance that the holders of the PIPE warrants will elect to exercise any or all of such PIPE warrants. To the extent that the PIPE warrants are exercised on a “cashless basis,” the amount of cash we would receive from the exercise of the PIPE warrants will decrease.
The ordinary shares being offered by the Selling Securityholder are those issuable to the Selling Securityholder upon exercise of the PIPE warrants. For additional information regarding the issuances of those warrants, see “Prospectus Summary—July 2022 Private Placement.” We are registering the ordinary shares in order to permit the Selling Securityholder to offer the shares for resale from time to time. Except for the ownership of the ordinary shares and the warrants, the Selling Securityholder has not had any material relationship with us within the past three years.
The table below lists the Selling Securityholder and other information regarding the beneficial ownership of the ordinary shares by the Selling Securityholder. The second column lists the number of ordinary shares beneficially owned by the Selling Securityholder, based on its ownership of the ordinary shares and warrants, as of August 24, 2022, assuming exercise of the pre-funded warrants held by the Selling Securityholder on that date, without regard to any limitations on exercises.
The third column lists the ordinary shares being offered by this prospectus by the Selling Securityholder.
In accordance with the terms of a registration rights agreement with the Selling Securityholder, this prospectus generally covers the resale of the maximum number of ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the PIPE warrants, determined as if the outstanding warrants were exercised in full as of the trading day immediately preceding the date this registration statement was initially filed with the SEC, each as of the trading day immediately preceding the applicable date of determination and all subject to adjustment as provided in the registration rights agreement, without regard to any limitations on the exercise of the warrants. The fourth column assumes the sale of all of the shares offered by the Selling Securityholder pursuant to this prospectus.
Under the terms of the pre-funded warrants and PIPE warrants held by Selling Securityholder, the Selling Securityholder may not exercise the warrants to the extent such exercise would cause such Selling Securityholder, together with its affiliates and attribution parties, to beneficially own a number of ordinary shares which would exceed 9.99% and 4.99% of our then outstanding ordinary shares, respectively, following such exercise, excluding for purposes of such determination ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants which have not been exercised. The number of shares in the third and fourth columns do not reflect this limitation. The Selling Securityholder may sell all, some or none of its shares in this offering. See “Plan of Distribution.”
Name of Selling Securityholder | Number of Ordinary Shares Owned Prior to Offering | Maximum Number of Ordinary Shares to be Sold Pursuant to this Prospectus | Number of Ordinary Shares Owned After Offering | |||||||||
| Armistice Capital Master Fund Ltd. (1) | 5,146,026 | 5,146,026 | 0 | |||||||||
| (1) | Consists of pre-funded warrants to purchase 616,026 ordinary shares and common warrants to purchase 4,530,000 ordinary shares issued in our recent private placement (pre-funded warrants are subject to a 9.99% blocker and common warrants are subject to a 4.99% blocker). The address for Armistice Capital Master Fund Ltd. is c/o 510 Madison Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022. |
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MARKET PRICE AND DIVIDENDS ON ORDINARY SHARES AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS
Currently, our ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “GTEC.”
As of the date of this prospectus, there are 11 holders of record of our ordinary shares.
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares and do not plan to pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares in the foreseeable future. Our board of directors will determine our future dividend policy on the basis of many factors, including results of operations, capital requirements, and general business conditions.
This prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference may contain and refer to certain statements that are not historical facts that contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements represent our goals, beliefs, plans and expectations about our prospects for the future and other future events. Such statements involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Specifically, these forward-looking statements may include statements relating to:
| ● | the future financial performance of the Company; |
| ● | changes in the market for Zhongchai Holding’s products; |
| ● | expansion plans and opportunities; and |
| ● | other statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “may,” “can,” “should,” “will,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “target” or similar expressions. |
These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this prospectus and our management’s current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside our control. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Greenland’s views as of any subsequent date. Greenland does not undertake any obligation to update, add or to otherwise correct any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events, inaccuracies that become apparent after the date hereof or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
Although we believe that our plans, intentions, and expectations reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements we make in this prospectus are reasonable, we can give no assurance that these plans, intentions, or expectations will be achieved. As a result of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, our actual results or performance may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause our actual performance, future results and actions to differ materially from any forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in any of our filings with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. In addition, there is uncertainty about the future development of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it may continue to have on the Company’s operations, the demand for the Company’s products, global supply chains and economic activity in general. The forward-looking statements in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement or any amendments thereto and the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus represent our views as of the date such statements are made. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date such statements are made. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
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The Selling Securityholder of the securities and any of its pledgees, assignees and successors-in-interest may, from time to time, sell any or all of their securities covered hereby on the principal trading market or any other stock exchange, market or trading facility on which the securities are traded or in private transactions. These sales may be at fixed or negotiated prices. The Selling Securityholder may use any one or more of the following methods when selling securities:
| ● | ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits purchasers; |
| ● | block trades in which the broker-dealer will attempt to sell the securities as agent but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction; |
| ● | purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its account; |
| ● | an exchange distribution in accordance with the rules of the applicable exchange; |
| ● | privately negotiated transactions; |
| ● | settlement of short sales; |
| ● | in transactions through broker-dealers that agree with the Selling Securityholder to sell a specified number of such securities at a stipulated price per security; |
| ● | through the writing or settlement of options or other hedging transactions, whether through an options exchange or otherwise; |
| ● | a combination of any such methods of sale; or |
| ● | any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law. |
The Selling Securityholder may also sell securities under Rule 144 or any other exemption from registration under the Securities Act, if available, rather than under this prospectus.
Broker-dealers engaged by the Selling Securityholder may arrange for other brokers-dealers to participate in sales. Broker-dealers may receive commissions or discounts from the Selling Securityholder (or, if any broker-dealer acts as agent for the purchaser of securities, from the purchaser) in amounts to be negotiated, but, except as set forth in a supplement to this prospectus, in the case of an agency transaction not in excess of a customary brokerage commission in compliance with FINRA Rule 2440; and in the case of a principal transaction a markup or markdown in compliance with FINRA IM-2440.
In connection with the sale of the securities or interests therein, the Selling Securityholder may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions, which may in turn engage in short sales of the securities in the course of hedging the positions they assume. The Selling Securityholder may also sell securities short and deliver these securities to close out their short positions, or loan or pledge the securities to broker-dealers that in turn may sell these securities. The Selling Securityholder may also enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions or create one or more derivative securities which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of securities offered by this prospectus, which securities such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell pursuant to this prospectus (as supplemented or amended to reflect such transaction).
The Selling Securityholder and any broker-dealers or agents that are involved in selling the securities may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act in connection with such sales. In such event, any commissions received by such broker-dealers or agents and any profit on the resale of the securities purchased by them may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the Securities Act. The Selling Securityholder has informed the Company that it does not have any written or oral agreement or understanding, directly or indirectly, with any person to distribute the securities, as of the date of this prospectus.
The Company is required to pay certain fees and expenses incurred by the Company incident to the registration of the securities. The Company has agreed to indemnify the Selling Securityholder against certain losses, claims, damages and liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
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DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES TO BE REGISTERED
We are incorporated as a British Virgin Islands company limited by shares, and our affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association currently in effect (the “Memorandum and Articles of Association”) and the laws of the British Virgin Islands.
Our authorized shares consist of an unlimited number of ordinary shares, no par value per share. In addition, we may by resolution of the board of directors, without shareholder consent, amend our Memorandum and Articles of Association to create new classes of preferred shares and fix the rights preferences and restrictions of such shares, as the directors of the board of directors in their sole discretion deem fit, which shares may be issued as one or more series.
As of August 24, 2022, we had 12,579,530 ordinary shares outstanding, held of record by 11 shareholders.
The following description summarizes the most important terms of our shares. Because it is only a summary, it does not contain all the information that may be important to you. For a complete description of the matters set forth in this section, you should refer to our Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Ordinary Shares
The holders of ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.
Holders of ordinary shares do not have any conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights and there will be no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights set forth in our Memorandum and Articles of Association.
The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of ordinary shares are subject to those of the holders of any shares of preferred shares we may issue in the future.
Key Provisions of Our Memorandum And Articles of Association And British Virgin Islands Laws Affecting Our Ordinary Shares
The following are summaries of material terms and provisions of our Memorandum and Articles of Association and the BVI Business Companies Act 2004 (as amended), or the BVI Act, insofar as they relate to the material terms of our ordinary shares. This summary is not intended to be complete, and you should read the forms of our Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Voting Rights
Under the BVI Act, the ordinary shares are deemed to be issued when the name of the shareholder is entered in our register of members. Our register of members is maintained by our transfer agent, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, which will enter the name of our shareholders in our register of members. If (a) information that is required to be entered in the register of shareholders is omitted from the register or is inaccurately entered in the register, or (b) there is unreasonable delay in entering information in the register, a shareholder of ours, or any person who is aggrieved by the omission, inaccuracy or delay, may apply to the British Virgin Islands courts for an order that the register be rectified, and the court may either refuse the application or order the rectification of the register, and may direct us to pay all costs of the application and any damages the applicant may have sustained.
Subject to any rights or restrictions attached to any shares, at any general meeting on a show of hands every ordinary shareholder who is present in person (or, in the case of a shareholder being a corporation, by its duly authorized representative) or by proxy will have one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Voting at any meeting of the ordinary shareholders is by show of hands unless a poll is demanded. A poll may be demanded by shareholders present in person or by proxy if the shareholder disputes the outcome of the vote on a proposed resolution and the chairman shall cause a poll to be taken.
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There is nothing under the laws of the British Virgin Islands which specifically prohibits or restricts the creation of cumulative voting rights for the election of our directors, but cumulative voting for the election of directors is permitted only if expressly provided for in the memorandum or articles of association. We have not made provisions in our Memorandum and Articles of Association for cumulative voting for such elections.
Under British Virgin Islands laws, the voting rights of shareholders are regulated by our Memorandum and Articles of Association and, in certain circumstances, the BVI Act. Our Memorandum and Articles of Association govern matters such as quorum for the transaction of business, rights of shares, and majority votes required to approve any action or resolution at a meeting of the shareholders or board of directors. Unless our Memorandum and Articles of Association otherwise provide, the requisite majority is usually a simple majority of votes cast.
Preemption Rights
British Virgin Islands laws do not make a distinction between public and private companies and some of the protections and safeguards (such as statutory preemption rights) that investors may expect to find in relation to a public company are not provided for under British Virgin Islands laws. There are no preemption rights applicable to the issuance of new shares under either British Virgin Islands laws or our Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Liquidation Rights
As permitted by British Virgin Islands laws and our Memorandum and Articles of Association, we may be voluntarily liquidated under Part XII of the BVI Act by resolution of directors and resolution of shareholders if our assets are greater than our liabilities and we are able to pay our debts as they fall due.
Modification of Rights
As permitted by British Virgin Islands laws and our Memorandum and Articles of Association, the rights attached to the ordinary shares as specified in our Memorandum and Articles of Association may only be varied by a resolution passed at a meeting by the holders of more than 50% of the ordinary shares present at a duly convened and constituted meeting of the shareholders of the Company holding ordinary shares which were present at the meeting and voted unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue of such class.
Transfer of Shares
Subject to any applicable restrictions set forth in our Memorandum and Articles of Association, any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of his or her shares by a written instrument of transfer in the usual or common form or in any other form which our directors may approve.
Share Repurchase
As permitted by the BVI Act and our Memorandum and Articles of Association, shares may be repurchased, redeemed or otherwise acquired by us.
Dividends
Subject to the BVI Act and our Memorandum and Articles of Association, directors may declare dividends at a time and amount they think fit if they are satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that, immediately after distribution of the dividend, the value of our assets will exceed our liabilities and we will be able to pay our debts as they fall due. No dividend shall carry interest against us.
Board of Directors
We are managed by a board of directors (our “Board”) which currently consists of five directors. Our Memorandum and Articles of Association provide that the minimum number of directors shall be one and there shall be no maximum number of directors.
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There are no share ownership qualifications for directors.
Meetings of our Board may be convened at any time deemed necessary by any of our directors.
A meeting of our Board will be quorate if at least a majority of the directors are present or represented by an alternate director. At any meeting of our directors, each director, whether by his or her presence or by his or her alternate, is entitled to one vote.
Questions arising at a meeting of our Board are required to be decided by simple majority votes of the directors present or represented at the meeting. Our Board may also pass unanimous written resolutions without a meeting.
Staggered Board of Directors
Our Memorandum and Articles of Association provide for a staggered Board consisting of two classes of directors. Our directors are appointed by our shareholders and are subject to rotational retirement every two years. The initial terms of office of the Class I and Class II directors have been staggered over a period of two years to ensure that all directors of the company do not face reelection in the same year. However, the directors may by resolution appoint a replacement director to fill a casual vacancy arising on the resignation, disqualification or death of a director. The replacement director will then hold office until the next annual general meeting at which the director he replaces would have been subject to retirement by rotation. There is nothing under the laws of the British Virgin Islands which specifically prohibits or restricts the creation of cumulative voting rights for the election of our directors. Our Memorandum and Articles of Association do not provide for cumulative voting for such elections.
Duties of Directors
British Virgin Islands law provides that each of our directors, in exercising his powers or performing his duties, shall act honestly and in good faith and in what the director believes to be in the best interests of the company. Additionally, the director shall exercise the care, diligence, and skill that a reasonable director would exercise in the same circumstances taking into account the nature of the company, the nature of the decision and the position of the director and his responsibilities. In addition, British Virgin Islands laws provide that a director shall exercise his powers as a director for a proper purpose and shall not act, or agree to the company acting, in a manner that contravenes British Virgin Islands laws or the memorandum or articles of association of the company.
Interested Directors
The BVI Act provides that a director shall, after becoming aware that he is interested in a transaction entered into or to be entered into by the company, disclose that interest to our Board. The failure of a director to disclose that interest does not affect the validity of a transaction entered into by us or the director, so long as the director’s interest was disclosed to the Board prior to our entry into the transaction or was not required to be disclosed (for example where the transaction is between us and the director himself or is otherwise in the ordinary course of business and on usual terms and conditions). As permitted by British Virgin Islands laws and our Memorandum and Articles of Association, a director interested in a particular transaction may vote on it, attend meetings at which it is considered, and sign documents on our behalf which relate to the transaction.
Meetings of Shareholders
If our shareholders want us to hold a shareholder meeting, they may requisition the directors to hold one upon the written request of shareholders entitled to exercise at least 30% of the voting rights in respect of the matter for which the meeting is requested. Under British Virgin Island laws, we may not increase the required percentage to call a meeting above 30%.
Subject to our Memorandum and Articles of Association, the director convening a meeting of members shall give not less than 10 nor more than 60 days’ written notice of such meeting to: (a) those members whose names on the date the notice is given appear as members in the share register of the Company and are entitled to vote at the meeting; and (b) the other directors.
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A meeting called by shorter notice than that mentioned above will be valid if shareholders holding at least 90% of the total voting rights on all the matters to be considered at the meeting have waived notice of the meeting and, for this purpose, the presence of a shareholder at the meeting shall constitute a waiver in relation to all the shares which that shareholder holds.
A meeting of shareholders is duly constituted if, at the commencement of the meeting, there are present in person or by proxy not less than 50% of the votes of the shares entitled to vote at the meeting. A quorum may be comprised of a single shareholder or proxy and then such person may pass a resolution of shareholders and a certificate signed by such person accompanied where such person is a proxy by a copy of the proxy instrument shall constitute a valid resolution of shareholders.
Protection of Minority Shareholders
Under the laws of the British Virgin Islands, there is little statutory law for the protection of minority shareholders other than the provisions of the BVI Act dealing with shareholder remedies. One protection under statutory law is that shareholders may bring an action to enforce the BVI Act or our Memorandum and Articles of Association. Shareholders are entitled to have our affairs conducted in accordance with the BVI Act and our Memorandum and Articles of Association.
There are common law rights for the protection of shareholders that may be invoked, largely dependent on English common law, since the common law of the British Virgin Islands is limited. Under the general rule pursuant to English common law known as the rule in Foss v. Harbottle, a court will generally refuse to interfere with the management of a company at the insistence of a minority of its shareholders who express dissatisfaction with the conduct of our affairs by the majority or the Board. However, every shareholder is entitled to have our affairs conducted properly according to British Virgin Islands laws and our constituent documents. As such, if those who control the company have disregarded the requirements of applicable law or the provisions of our Memorandum and Articles of Association, then the courts may grant relief. Generally, the areas in which the courts will intervene are the following: (1) a company is acting or proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of its authority; (2) the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could only be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; (3) the individual rights of the plaintiff shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed; or; and (4) those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.”
Issuance of Additional Ordinary Shares
Our Memorandum and Articles of Association authorize our Board to issue additional ordinary shares from time to time as our Board shall determine, to the extent of available authorized but unissued shares.
Changes in Authorized Shares
We are authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares, which will have rights, privileges, restrictions and conditions attaching to them as the shares in issue. We may by resolution of directors or shareholders:
| ● | consolidate and divide all or any of our unissued authorized shares into shares of larger or smaller amount than our existing shares; |
| ● | cancel any ordinary shares which, at the date of the passing of the resolution, have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person; or |
| ● | create new classes of shares with preferences to be determined by resolution of the Board to amend our Memorandum and Articles of Association to create new classes of shares with such preferences at the time of authorization, although any such new classes of shares, with the exception of the preferred shares, may only be created with prior shareholder approval. |
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Inspection of Books and Records
Under British Virgin Islands law shareholders of our ordinary shares are entitled, on giving written notice to us, to inspect and make copies or take extracts of our: (a) Memorandum and Articles of Association; (b) register of shareholders; (c) register of directors; and (d) minutes of meetings and resolutions of shareholders and those classes of shareholders of which he is a shareholder.
Subject to our Memorandum and Articles of Association, our directors may, if they are satisfied that it would be contrary to our interest to allow a shareholder to inspect any document, or part of a document as referenced in (b), (c) or (d) above, refuse to permit the shareholder to inspect the document or limit the inspection of the document, including limiting the making of copies or the taking of extracts from the records. Where our directors exercise their powers in these circumstances, they shall notify the shareholder as soon as reasonably practicable.
Pre-funded Warrants and Common Warrants
The ordinary shares described above will only be issuable upon exercise of all pre-funded warrants and common warrants.
The pre-funded warrants will not expire until they are fully exercised and are exercisable at any time until they are fully exercised. The pre-funded warrants will be exercisable, at the option of their holder, in whole or in part by delivering to us a duly executed exercise notice and payment of the exercise price. No fractional shares will be issued in connection with the exercise of a pre-funded warrant. The holder of the pre-funded warrants may also satisfy its obligation to pay the exercise price through a “cashless exercise,” in which the holder receives the net value of the pre-funded warrant in ordinary shares determined according to the formula set forth in the pre-funded warrant. The exercise price of our ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the pre-funded warrants is US$0.001 per share. The exercise price of the pre-funded warrants and the number of ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the pre-funded warrants is subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of certain share dividends and distributions, share splits, share combinations, reclassifications or similar events affecting our ordinary shares, as well as upon any distribution of assets, including cash, shares or other property, to our shareholders.
The common warrants become exercisable on or after January 27, 2023 and expire on January 26, 2028. The common warrants will be exercisable, at the option of each holder, in whole or in part by delivering to us a duly executed exercise notice and payment of the exercise price. No fractional shares will be issued in connection with the exercise of a common warrant. The holder of the common warrants may also satisfy its obligation to pay the exercise price through a “cashless exercise,” in which the holder receives the net value of the warrant in ordinary shares determined according to the formula set forth in the warrant. The exercise price of our ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is $4.49 per share. The exercise price of the warrants and the number of ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the common warrants is subject to appropriate adjustment in the event of certain share dividends and distributions, share splits, share combinations, reclassifications or similar events affecting our ordinary shares, as well as upon any distribution of assets, including cash, shares or other property, to our shareholders.
Transfer Agent
The transfer agent for our ordinary shares is Continental Stock Transfer& Trust Company, located at 1 State Street 30th Floor, New York, NY 10004-1561. Their telephone number is (212) 509-4000.
Listing
Our ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “GTEC”.
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Certain legal matters with respect to British Virgin Island laws in connection with the validity of the securities being offered by this prospectus and other legal matters will be passed upon for us by Ogier. Certain legal matters with respect to United States federal securities law in connection with this offering will be passed upon for us by Hunter Taubman Fischer & Li LLC, New York, New York.
The financial statements incorporated by reference in this prospectus as of and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 have been audited by WWC, P.C., an independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon included therein, and incorporated herein by reference, and are included in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing. The office of WWC, P.C. is located at 2010 Pioneer Court, San Mateo, CA 94403.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed a registration statement on Form S-1, of which this prospectus is a part, and related exhibits with the SEC under the Securities Act. This prospectus, filed as part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and its exhibits and schedules, portions of which have been omitted as permitted by the rules and regulations of the SEC. For further information about us and our securities, we refer you to the registration statement and its exhibits and schedules. Statements in this prospectus about the contents of any contract, agreement or other documents are not necessarily complete and, in each instance, we refer you to the copy of such contract, agreement or document filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, with each such statement being qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers. You may inspect the registration statement and exhibits without charge at the SEC’s web site listed above.
The Company files annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is www.sec.gov. You also may read and copy any document we file with the SEC at its public reference facility at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549.
You also may obtain copies of the documents at prescribed rates by writing to the Public Reference Section of the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the public reference facilities.
The registration statement containing this prospectus, including exhibits to the registration statement, provides additional information about us and the ordinary shares offered under this prospectus. The registration statement can be read at the SEC website.
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The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we file with the SEC. This permits us to disclose important information to you by referring to these filed documents. Any information referred to in this way is considered part of this registration statement. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this registration statement, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the following documents that have been filed with the SEC (other than information furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K and all exhibits related to such items):
| ● | our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022; |
| ● | our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2022 and June 30, 2022, filed with the SEC on May 16, 2022 and August 15, 2022, respectively; |
| ● | our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 27, 2022; |
| ● | our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, as amended, filed with the SEC on December 6, 2021; and |
| ● | the description of our securities contained in the Registration Statement filed with the SEC on June 29, 2018, including any subsequent amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description, including without limitation the section entitled “Description of Securities” in our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on September 26, 2019. |
We also incorporate by reference into this registration statement all documents filed by us with the SEC pursuant to Sections 12(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the termination of any offering of securities made by this prospectus. Nothing in this registration statement shall be deemed to incorporate information furnished but not filed with the SEC (including without limitation, information furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K, and any exhibits relating to such information).
Any statement contained in this registration statement or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this registration statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in the applicable prospectus supplement or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference modifies or supersedes the statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.
The information about us contained in this registration statement should be read together with the information in the documents incorporated by reference. You may request a copy of any or all of these filings, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at:
Greenland Technologies Holding Corporation
50 Millstone Road, Building 400 Suite 130
East Windsor, NJ 08512
United States
Attention: Raymond Wang
Phone: 1 (888) 827-4832
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GREENLAND TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING CORPORATION
Up to 5,146,026 Ordinary Shares Issuable upon
Exercise of Pre-Funded Warrants and Common Warrants
Prospectus
August , 2022
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution
The following table sets forth the various expenses expected to be incurred by the Company in connection with the sale and distribution of the securities being registered hereby. All amounts are estimated except the SEC registration fee.
| SEC registration fee | $ | 2,123.62 | ||
| Legal fees and expenses | $ | 130,000 | ||
| Accounting fees and expenses | $ | 15,000 | ||
| Printing and miscellaneous expenses | $ | 3,000 | ||
| Total | $ | 150,123.62 |
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Our Memorandum and Articles of Association provide that, subject to certain limitations, the Company shall indemnify its directors and officers against all expenses, including legal fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement and reasonably incurred in connection with legal, administrative or investigative proceedings. Such indemnity only applies if the person acted honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the company and, in the case of criminal proceedings, the person had no reasonable cause to believe that their conduct was unlawful. The decision of the directors as to whether the person acted honestly and in good faith and with a view to the best interests of the Company and as to whether the person had no reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful and is, in the absence of fraud, sufficient for the purposes of our Memorandum and Articles of Association, unless a question of law is involved. The termination of any proceedings by any judgment, order, settlement, conviction or the entering of a nolle prosequi does not, by itself, create a presumption that the person did not act honestly and in good faith and with a view to the best interests of the Company or that the person had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful.
The Company entered into agreements that provide contractual indemnification with its directors and executive officers, in addition to the indemnification provided for in its Memorandum and Articles of Association and bylaws, and intends to enter into indemnification agreements with any new directors and executive officers in the future. Our Memorandum and Articles of Association also will permit us to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any officer or director who at the request of the Company is or was serving as a director or officer of, or in any other capacity is or was acting for, another company or a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against any liability asserted against the person and incurred by the person in that capacity, whether or not the company has or would have had the power to indemnify the person against the liability as provided in our Memorandum and Articles of Association. We will purchase directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
These provisions may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
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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 theretofore unenforceable.
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
Pursuant to the Service Agreement entered into and by the Company and Chineseinvestors.com, Inc., an Indiana corporation (“CIIX”) on August 21, 2019 (the “Service Agreement”), CIIX was obligated to provide certain investor relations services to the Company for a period of three months beginning on August 21, 2019. Pursuant to the Service Agreement, the Company was obligated to pay CIIX fees consisting of three equal monthly instalments of $12,000 and 5,000 restricted ordinary shares, no par value, of the Company on a quarterly basis during the term of the Service Agreement. On February 24, 2020, Greenland and CIIX entered into a termination agreement (the “CIIX Termination Agreement”) to terminate their respective obligations under the Service Agreement. Pursuant to the CIIX Termination Agreement, the Company agreed to issue 5,000 restricted ordinary shares, no par value (the “CIIX Termination Shares”) to CIIX. Upon CIIX’s receipt of the CIIX Termination Shares, the Company fully satisfied its payment obligations under the Service Agreement.
Pursuant to the Investor Relations Consulting Agreement entered into by the Company and Skyline Corporate Communication Group, LLC, a Massachusetts limited liability company (“SCCG”) on August 15, 2019 (the “Consulting Agreement”), SCCG was obligated to provide certain investor relations services to the Company for a period of twelve months beginning on August 15, 2019. Pursuant to the Consulting Agreement, the Company was obligated to pay SCCG fees consisting of $5,000 per month and 1,250 restricted ordinary shares, no par value, of the Company on a quarterly basis during the term of the Consulting Agreement. On February 25, 2020, Greenland and SCCG entered into a termination agreement (the “SCCG Termination Agreement”) to terminate their respective obligations under the Consulting Agreement. Pursuant to the SCCG Termination Agreement, the Company agreed to issue 10,000 restricted ordinary shares, no par value (the “SCCG Termination Shares”) to SCCG. Upon SCCG’s receipt of the SCCG Termination Shares, the Company fully satisfied its payment obligations under the Consulting Agreement.
On October 24, 2020, the Company’s Board held a meeting and executed resolutions to approve the issuance of 120,000 ordinary shares to Raymond Wang, the Company’s chief executive officer, to offset unpaid salary to him in the amount of $120,833.33 and the issuance of 135,000 ordinary shares to Jing Jin, the Company’s chief financial officer, to offset unpaid salary to him in the amount of $60,000 and his personal loan to the Company in the amount of $75,000. On November 10, 2020, the Company issued 135,000 ordinary shares to Jing Jin. On December 30, 2020 and February 8, 2021, the Company issued 69,000 and 51,000 ordinary shares to Raymond Wang, respectively.
On March 29, 2021, our Board held a meeting and approved the issuance to 2,500 ordinary shares of the Company to each of the Company’s directors, namely Peter Zuguang Wang, Ming Zhao, Everett Xiaolin Wang, Frank Shen and Charles Athle Nelson, as compensation for their services to the Company. On April 19, 2021, these shares were issued to the directors.
On April 16, 2021, our Board approved the issuance of 2,700 ordinary shares of the Company to Xiaqing Yang, an employee of the Company, under the Company’s 2020 Equity Incentive Plan. On the same date, the shares were issued to Xiaqing Yang.
On July 25, 2022, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with the Selling Securityholder for a private placement offering of 616,026 pre-funded warrants and 4,530,000 common warrants. Each ordinary share and accompanying common warrants were sold together at a combined offering price of $5.09 per unit. The Company received $3.14 million in gross proceeds from this private placement, before deducting placement agent fees and other related offering expenses.
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Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
The exhibits listed on the Index to Exhibits of this registration statement are filed herewith or are incorporated herein by reference to other filings.
(a) Exhibits
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| * | Filed herewith. |
| Item 17. | Undertakings |
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(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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(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) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser, 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.
(5) 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.
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.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of East Windsor, in the State of New Jersey, on the 26th day of August, 2022.
| GREENLAND TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING CORPORATION | ||
| By: | /s/ Raymond Z. Wang | |
| Raymond Z. Wang | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Raymond Z. Wang and Jing Jin and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, 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 and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons, in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Signature | Title | Date | ||||
| /s/ Raymond Z. Wang | Chief Executive Officer | August 26, 2022 | ||||
| Raymond Z. Wang | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||||
| /s/ Jing Jin | Chief Financial Officer | August 26, 2022 | ||||
| Jing Jin | (Principal
Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) |
|||||
| /s/ Peter Zuguang Wang | Director | August 26, 2022 | ||||
| Peter Zuguang Wang | ||||||
| /s/ Frank Bo Shen | Director | August 26, 2022 | ||||
| Frank Bo Shen | ||||||
| /s/ Charles Athle Nelson | Director | August 26, 2022 | ||||
| Charles Athle Nelson |
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Exhibit 5.1
Greenland Technologies Holding Corporation Craigmuir Chambers PO Box 71 Road Town Tortola, VG1110 British Virgin Islands |
D +1 284 852 7309 | |
| E michael.killourhy@ogier.com | ||
| Reference: 174563.00010/MJK/DNM | ||
26 August 2022 |
Dear Sirs
Greenland Technologies Holding Corporation, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands with company number 1965087 (the Company)
We have acted as special British Virgin Islands legal counsel to the Company in connection with the Company’s registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States (the SEC) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Act), on Form S-1 (the Registration Statement). The Registration Statement relates to the issuance by the Company of up to 5,146,026 ordinary shares, no par value per share (the Ordinary Shares) that are issuable upon the exercise of (i) 616,026 pre-funded warrants, and (ii) 4,530,000 common warrants (together, the Warrants), in each case held by the Selling Securityholder (as defined in the Registration Statement).
This opinion is given in accordance with the terms of the legal matters section of the Registration Statement and in connection with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Act.
| 1 | Documents |
In preparing this opinion, we have reviewed copies of the following documents:
| (a) | the Registration Statement; |
| (b) | the Company’s prospectus included in the Registration Statement dated June 7, 2021 (the Prospectus), as supplemented from time to time; |
| (c) |
| (i) | the constitutional documents and public records of the Company obtained from the Registry of Corporate Affairs in the British Virgin Islands on 26 July 2022; |
| (ii) | the public information revealed from searches (the Court Searches) of the electronic records of the Civil Division and the Commercial Division of the Registry of the High Court and of the Court of Appeal (Virgin Islands) Register, each from 1 January 2000, as maintained on the Judicial Enforcement Management System (JEMS) by the Registry of the High Court of the Virgin Islands on 26 July 2022, |
(each of the searches in (c)(i) and (ii) together, as updated on 26 August 2022, the Public Records);
| (d) | a registered agent’s certificate issued by the Company’s registered agent dated 25 July 2022 (the Registered Agent’s Certificate); and |
| (e) | written resolutions of the directors of the Company dated 20 April 2021, 27 June 2021, 19 November 2021, 26 July 2022, and 15 August 2022 approving and/or ratifying, inter alia, the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the issuance of the Ordinary Shares (the Resolutions). |
We have not made any enquiries or undertaken any searches concerning, and have not examined any other documents entered into by or affecting the Company or any other person, save for the examinations referred to in paragraph 1 above. In particular, but without limitation, we have not examined any documents referred to within the Registration Statement or the Prospectus save as expressly referred to above and our opinion is limited accordingly.
| 2 | Assumptions |
This opinion is given only as to the circumstances existing on the date hereof and as to British Virgin Islands law in force on this date. We have relied on the Registered Agent’s Certificate without further enquiry and upon the following assumptions, which we have not independently verified:
| (a) | copies of documents or records provided to us are true copies of the originals which are authentic and complete; |
| (b) | all signatures and seals on all documents are genuine and authentic and in particular that any signatures on the documents we have reviewed are the true signatures of the persons authorised to execute the same; |
| (c) | the Resolutions remain in full force and effect; |
| (d) | the accuracy and completeness of the Registered Agent’s Certificate as at the date hereof; and |
| (e) | the information and documents disclosed by the searches of the Public Records was and is accurate, up-to-date and remains unchanged as at the date hereof and there is no information or document which has been delivered for registration by any party (other than the Company), or which is required by the laws of the British Virgin Islands to be delivered for registration by any party (other than the Company), which was not included and available for inspection in the Public Records. |
| 3 | Opinion |
Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the qualifications expressed below, we are of the opinion that the Ordinary Shares issuable on exercise of the Warrants have been duly authorised for issue and, when issued by the Company against payment in full of the consideration therefor in accordance with the terms set out in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and duly registered in the Company’s register of members, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.
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| 4 | Limitations |
We offer no opinion:
| (a) | in relation to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the British Virgin Islands (and we have not made any investigation into such laws); |
| (b) | in relation to any representation or warranty made or given by the Company in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; or |
| (c) | as to the commerciality of the transactions envisaged in the Registration Statement and/or the Prospectus or, save as expressly stated in this opinion, whether the Registration Statement and/or the Prospectus and the transaction envisaged therein achieve the commercial, tax, legal, regulatory or other aims of the parties to the Registration Statement. |
| 5 | Governing Law and Reliance |
| (a) | This opinion shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the British Virgin Islands and is limited to the matters expressly stated herein. This opinion is confined to and given on the basis of the laws and practice in the British Virgin Islands at the date hereof. |
| (b) | We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the reference to our firm in the legal matters and taxation sections of the Registration Statement. In the giving of our consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. |
Yours faithfully
Ogier
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Exhibit 23.1
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Greenland Technologies Holding Corporation
We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in Registration Statement on Form S-1 of our report dated March 31, 2022, relating to the audit of the consolidated balance sheets of Greenland Technologies Holding Corporation and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the related consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income, shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for the two-year period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the financial statements), which appears in the Form 10-K filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission on March 31, 2022.
We also consent to the Company’s reference to WWC, P.C., Certified Public Accountants, as experts in accounting and auditing.
/s/ WWC, P.C.
WWC, P.C.
Certified Public Accountants
San Mateo, California
August 26, 2022
