CHNR China Natural Resources Inc

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

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FORM 20-F/A

(Amendment No. 1)

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(Mark One)

☐	REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
	a
OR
☒	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022
OR
☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from: _____________ to _____________
OR
☐	SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of event requiring shell company report ___________

Commission file number: 0-26046

CHINA NATURAL RESOURCES, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Not Applicable

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

British Virgin Islands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

Room 2205, 22/F, West Tower, Shun Tak Centre,

168-200 Connaught Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

(Address of principal executive offices)

Zhu Youyi, Chief Financial Officer

Room 2205, 22/F, West Tower, Shun Tak Centre,

168-200 Connaught Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

01185228107205

zhuyouyi@chnr.net

(Name, telephone number, e-mail and/or facsimile number and address of company contact person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Shares, without par value	CHNR	Nasdaq Capital Market

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report. 40,948,082 common shares as of December 31, 2022. (8,197,897 common shares following a five-to-one share combination as of April 3, 2023).

 

 

 

 

Indicate by check mark if the issuer is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes ☐  No ☒

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Yes ☐  No ☒

Note – Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (•232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Yes ☒  No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large Accelerated Filer ☐		Accelerated Filer ☐
Non-Accelerated Filer ☒		Emerging Growth Company ☐

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by checkmark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

U.S. GAAP ☐		International Financial Reporting Standards as issued		Other ☐
		By the International Accounting Standards Board ☒

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.

Item 17 ☐  Item 18 ☐

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes ☐  No ☒

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

 

This Amendment No. 1 (this “Amendment”) to the Annual Report on Form 20-F of China Natural Resources, Inc. (the “Company”) for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed on May 15, 2023 (the “Original Filing”) is being filed solely to amend and restate in its entirety Item 16I, “Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections” in order to provide the documentation required under Item 16I(a) of Form 20-F and to provide the disclosures required under Item 16I(b) of Form 20-F.

 

Except as noted above, this Amendment does not update or modify any disclosures in the Original Filing or reflect any events occurring after the filing of the Original Filing. Accordingly, this Amendment should be read in conjunction with the Original Filing.

 

As required by Rule 12b-15 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Company is filing or furnishing the certifications required under Section 302 and Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as exhibits to this Amendment No. 1.

 

 

 

ITEM 16I.

DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS

 

In June 2022, we were conclusively listed by the SEC as a “Commission-Identified Issuer” under the HFCAA following the filing of our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. Our auditor, a registered public accounting firm that the PCAOB was unable to inspect or investigate completely in 2021, issued the audit report for us for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB issued a report that vacated its December 16, 2021 determination and removed mainland China and Hong Kong from the list of jurisdictions where it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms. For this reason, we do not expect to be identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer under the HFCAA after we filed the Original Filing and the filing of this Amendment.

As of the date of the Original Filing, Guangzhou Ruiyi Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., and Shaoguan Wujiang Runheng Municipal & Rural Development Investment Co., Ltd. each owns 20% of the registered capital of Shaoguan Angrui Environmental Technology Development Co., Limited (“Shaoguan Angrui”), a company organized in the PRC and a 55%-owned subsidiary of Shanghai Onway. Each of Guangzhou Ruiyi Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., and Shaoguan Wujiang Runheng Municipal & Rural Development Investment Co., Ltd. is a PRC state-owned enterprise. On July 28, 2023, the Company entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Feishang Group Limited (“Feishang”) for the sale of Precise Space-Time Technology Limited. Feishang is the Company’s largest shareholder and a British Virgin Islands company wholly owned by Mr. LI Feilie, the principal beneficial owner of the Company and its former Chairman and CEO. After the completion of the sale, subsidiaries of Precise Space-Time Technology Limited, including Shanghai Onway Environmental Development Co., Limited (“Shanghai Onway”), Zhejiang Xinyu Environmental Technology Co., Limited (“Zhejiang Xinyu”) and Shaoguan Angrui will no longer be our consolidated foreign operating entities.

 

Our common shares are listed and traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market. PRC governmental entities or affiliated entities could acquire equity interests in our company on the open market, but except as disclosed above, based on an examination of the Company’s register of members and public filings made by its shareholders, as of the date of the Original Filing, to our knowledge, no governmental entities in the BVI, Hong Kong or the PRC has any significant shareholding in our company.

 

Except as disclosed above, based on an examination of the Company’s register of members and public filings made by its shareholders, as of the date of the Original Filing, to our knowledge, no governmental entities in the BVI, Hong Kong or the PRC do not have a controlling financial interest in us or any of our consolidated foreign operating entities.

 

As of the date of the Original Filing, none of the currently effective memorandum and articles of association (or equivalent organizing document) of the Company or any of our consolidated foreign operating entities contains any charter of the Chinese Communist Party.

 

As of the date of the Original Filing, the directors and officers of the Company consist of: Wong Wah On Edward, Tam Cheuk Ho, Zhu Youyi, Zou Yu, Peng Wenlie, Lam Kwan Sing, Ng Kin Sing, Yip Wing Hang and Li Feilie. None of the Company’s directors or officers are representatives of any government entity in the PRC.

 

None of the members of the board of directors of the Company or any of our consolidated foreign entities is an official of the Chinese Communist Party, except for the following:

 

1.

Zheng Lei is a director of Shanghai Onway, a director of Bayannaoer City Feishang Mining Company Limited (“Bayannaoer Mining”), and a supervisor of Yunnan Feishang Mining Co., Limited, Shenzhen Feishang Management and Consulting Co., Limited, and Shenzhen Qianhai Feishang Environmental Investment Co., Limited. Zheng Lei is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

 

2.

Ding Daohua, a director of Bayannaoer Mining, is a retired civil servant in the PRC.

 

3.

Zhang Huachun, a director of Yangpu Shuanghu Industrial Development Co., Limited, is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

 

4.

Qiu Jiangping, a director of Shanghai Onway, is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

 

5.

Zhang Zhengshi is a director of Zhejiang Xinyu and a director of Shaoguan Angrui. Zhang Zhengshi is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

 

6.

Peng Wenjie, a director of Shanghai Onway, is a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

 

 

ITEM 19.

EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit No.		Exhibit Description
12.1		CEO Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith).
12.2		CFO Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith).
13.1		CEO Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (furnished herewith).
13.2		CFO Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (furnished herewith).

 

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

The registrant hereby certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form 20-F and that it has duly caused and authorized the undersigned to sign this Annual Report on its behalf.

	CHINA NATURAL RESOURCES, INC.
Date: August 31, 2023	By:	/s/ Wong Wah On Edward
		Wong Wah On Edward, CEO

 

Exhibit 12.1

 

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

 

I, Wong Wah On Edward, certify that:

1.

I have reviewed this annual report on Form 20-F of China Natural Resources, Inc.;

 

2.

Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.

Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.

The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by the annual report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5.

The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. 

 

August 31, 2023

 

/s/ Wong Wah On Edward     

Wong Wah On Edward

Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

 

 

Exhibit 12.2

 

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

 

CERTIFICATION

I, Zhu Youyi, certify that:

1.

I have reviewed this annual report on Form 20-F of China Natural Resources, Inc.;

 

2.

Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.

Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.

The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by the annual report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5.

The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. 

 

August 31, 2023

 

/s/ Zhu Youyi          

Zhu Youyi

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer)

 

 

Exhibit 13.1

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

 

In connection with the Annual Report on Form 20-F of China Natural Resources, Inc. (the “Company”) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Wong Wah On Edward, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:

(1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

(2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

 

/s/ Wong Wah On Edward        

Wong Wah On Edward

Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

August 31, 2023

 

 

Exhibit 13.2

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

 

In connection with the Annual Report on Form 20-F of China Natural Resources, Inc. (the “Company”) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Zhu Youyi, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:

(1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

(2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

 

/s/ Zhu Youyi            

Zhu Youyi

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer)

August 31, 2023

 

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