Our Corporate History and Background
We were incorporated in the State of Nevada on September 5, 2013. Our original business plan was to sell freshly squeezed juices from mobile stands in London, United Kingdom, but this business was not successful and we did not generate any revenue from this business.
On April 7, 2017, we completed the acquisition of PGL and as a result, PGL became our wholly-owned subsidiary and the former shareholders of PGL became the holders of approximately 98.4% of our issued and outstanding capital stock on a fully-diluted basis. We changed our name to Porter Holding International, Inc. on May 8, 2017 to more accurately reflect our new business. For accounting purposes, the transaction with PGL was treated as a reverse acquisition, with PGL as the acquirer and the Company as the acquired party. Unless the context suggests otherwise, when we refer in this report to business and financial information for periods prior to the consummation of the reverse acquisition, we are referring to the business and financial information of PGL and its consolidated subsidiaries.
As described below in more detail, through our PRC VIEs that have contractual arrangements with PGL’s subsidiary, Qianhai Porter, we are at the early stage of developing our O2O (Online to Offline) business and our goal is to become a leading innovative O2O business platform operator providing both online E-commerce and offline physical business facilities to our customers.
Our Corporate Structure
PRC laws and regulations prohibit or restrict foreign ownership of companies that operate Internet information and content, Internet access, online games, mobile, value added telecommunications and certain other businesses in which we are engaged or could be deemed to be engaged. Consequently, we conduct certain of our operations and businesses in the PRC through our VIEs.
PGL, a Seychelles holding company, was formed on October 13, 2016. The share capital of the company is $50,000 divided into 500,000,000 ordinary shares of $0.0001 par value each. On December 6, 2016, the authorized and issued capital of PGL increased to $725,000 divided into 7,250,000,000 shares with a par value of $0.0001 each. PGL was owned and controlled by the same control group as PPBGL and Portercity.
On November 29, 2016, Mr. Zongiian Chen, the sole shareholder of PPBGL, transferred 100% of the outstanding shares of PPBGL to PGL. The share transfer has been accounted for as a common control transaction. Other than its 100% ownership of PPBGL, PGL has no significant assets and no other business operations.
PPBGL was incorporated in Hong Kong on September 21, 2016 as a company with limited liability as an investment holding company. Upon incorporation, PPBGL issued 1 ordinary share at HK$1. Also on September 21, 2016, an additional 9,999 ordinary shares were issued, and Mr. Zongjian Chen held all the 10,000 ordinary shares of PPBGL on behalf of the original investors of Portercity. PPBGL is currently controlled by Mr. Zongjian Chen and other investors and has no significant assets or business operations.
Qianhai Porter was incorporated in the PRC as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise with limited liability on November 21, 2016. Qianhai Porter was set up by PPBGL. Qianhai Porter was incorporated to control the shareholders’ voting interests in Portercity and become the primary beneficiary of Portercity and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Porter E-Commerce, Porter Consulting and Porter Commercial.
Portercity was held by Mr. Zonghua Chen (brother of Mr. Zongjian Chen) and Ms. Xiaomei Xiong (spouse of Mr. Zongjian Chen) on behalf of other investors, including Mr. Zonghua Chen himself.
On December 1, 2016, Portercity acquired a 100% equity interest in Porter Consulting, from Shenzhen Porter Holdings Co., Ltd., for a cash consideration of $144,154 (RMB1,000,000).
On December 15, 2016, our indirectly wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary, Qianhai Porter, Portercity and the shareholders of Portercity entered into the following commercial arrangements, or collectively, VIE Agreements, pursuant to which we have contractual rights to control and operate the businesses of Portercity and Portercity’s three Chinese subsidiaries, Porter E-Commerce, Porter Consulting and Porter Commercial:
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Pursuant to a commission management and consulting services agreement, or the Service Agreement, Qianhai Porter agreed to act as the exclusive management and advisory consultant of Portercity and provide client management, marketing promotion counseling, corporate management and counseling, finance counseling and personnel training services to Portercity. In exchange, Portercity agreed to pay Qianhai Porter a management and consulting fee to be equivalent to the amount of net profit before tax of Portercity;
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Pursuant to an exclusive right and option to purchase agreement, or the Option Agreement, the shareholders of Portercity granted to Qianhai Porter the exclusive right and option to purchase, at any time during the term of the Option Agreement, all of the assets of and equity interests shares in Portercity, at the exercise price equal to the lowest possible price permitted by Chinese laws;
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Pursuant to a shareholders’ voting rights proxy agreement, or the Voting Rights Agreement, each of the shareholders of Portercity irrevocably appointed the representatives designated by Qianhai Porter to exercise its exclusive voting right of shareholders in the general meeting of shareholders of Portercity; and
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Pursuant to an equity interest pledge agreement, the Pledge Agreement, the shareholders of Portercity pledged all of the equity interests in Portercity and any and all legitimate income generated from such equity interests to Qianhai Porter to ensure the rights, privileges and concessions of Qianhai Porter under this and the above contractual arrangements.
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The foregoing description of the VIE Agreements is qualified in its entirety by reference to the text of the VIE Agreements, a copy of each of the VIE Agreements is incorporated by reference as Exhibits 10.1 through 10.4 hereto.
As a result of the above contractual arrangements, or the Contractual Arrangements, we maintain substantial control over the VIEs’ daily operations and financial affairs, election of their senior executives and all matters requiring shareholder approval. Furthermore, as the primary beneficiary of the VIEs, we are entitled to consolidate the financial results of the VIEs in our own consolidated financial statements under Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standard Codification (ASC) Topic 810 and related subtopics related to the consolidation of variable interest entities, or ASC Topic 810.
In the opinion of Guang Dong LianRui Law Firm, our PRC legal counsel:
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the ownership structures of our wholly-foreign owned enterprise and VIEs in China do not and will not violate any applicable PRC law, regulation, or rule currently in effect; and
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the contractual arrangements between our material wholly-foreign owned enterprise, our material variable interest entity and the variable interest entity equity holders governed by PRC laws are valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with their terms and applicable PRC laws, rules, and regulations currently in effect, and will not violate any applicable PRC law, regulation, or rule currently in effect.
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However, we have been further advised by our PRC legal counsel, Guang Dong LianRui Law Firm, that there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws, rules and regulations. Accordingly, the PRC regulatory authorities may, in the future, take a view that is contrary to the opinion of our PRC legal counsel. We have been further advised by our PRC legal counsel that if the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our Internet-based business do not comply with PRC government restrictions on foreign investment in the aforesaid business we engage in, we could be subject to severe penalties including being prohibited from continuing operations. See “Risk Factors — Risks Relating to our Commercial Relationship with VIEs.”
The chart below presents our corporate structure as of the date of this report:
Our principal executive offices are located at 36
th
Floor, Shenzhen Development Center, #2010, Renmin South Road, Luohu District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, 518001. The telephone number at our principal executive office is 86-755-22230666.
Our Business Plan
With the development of mobile Internet, e-commerce, social networks, physical stores and the coming of big data economy era, the online and offline worlds are becoming increasingly more integrated. The Online to Offline (O2O) business model that contains the original business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C) and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) is in the rapid development., O2O is no longer a one-way consumption model, which neither merely guides traditional purchasers to consume online nor only leads online consumers to enjoy offline experience or service.
However, the O2O commerce solutions industry in China is still in its early stages of development and is heavily fragmented with a wide range of services being introduced. The O2O category stretches to include on-demand services like Didi Chuxing, the Chinese equivalent of Uber, Meituan and Dianping, China’s Groupon and Yelp, as well as click-and-collect services offered by traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. In China O2O also covers all manner of services that might not be cost effective to offer in Western markets, including pick-up dry cleaning, home haircuts or wholesale and fresh market delivery services.
We are a commercial platform provider that offers “O2O (network + entity)*service” and only focus on commodities and merchants. First, we provide commodities with concrete platforms and operation in terms of online marketing coverage and offline marketing services. The online marketing coverage refers to services such as global display of commodities information, sales, procurement, payment. The offline marketing services include offline storage, logistics, distribution, exhibition, order, wholesale, retail, brokerage, purchasing, after-sales services, which can certainly be synchronized with the online marketing coverage.
Secondly, we provide merchants with concrete platforms and operation in terms of online marketing coverage and offline marketing services. The online marketing coverage for merchants refers to services such as global promotion of corporate brand & image of merchants, layout of distributor and agency channels, sharing of supply and demand information, creation of commercial credit, recruitment of talents. The offline marketing services are offered to merchants with value-added services such as brand marketing, financial services, credit guarantees, capital market access and public listing, training, education, summits, government relations, and third-party professional services referrals.
Specifically, we are currently developing and plan to provide following core products and services to our customers:
1. Our PT37.com platform (also known as "platform business opportunity" with ICP qualification, established and went into operation at 2009), is a commercial cloud platform, in which all kinds of global small and medium-sized enterprises can apply for access and obtain services free of charge. It is a professional information-supply-and-demand platform with high degree of flexibility, in which enterprises could achieve enterprise informatization within a short time. Through the platform, the enterprises can internally realize IMIS information management and externally release information, display product and services. At present, the categories of products on the pt37.com platform include books, videos, instruments, household appliances, electronic products, home furniture, clothing, automobiles, toys, food and beauty. Each category could be further divided into sub-categories with various search criteria and parameters, allowing merchants to accurately search for information and increase the relevance of searched results. Currently, there are millions of member companies registered on the platform. We do not charge them but we will select high-quality merchant customers based on the transaction volume to enter our O2O platform for operation. In other words, this is a customer resources screening pool as well as the starting point of our "O2O (Network + Entity) * Services" business model.
2. Our 17yugo.com platform (also known as: Porter E-Mall, with ICP qualifications, established and went into operation at 2018) is the online section of our "O2O (Network + Entity) * Services" business model. Currently hundreds of merchants have been selected from member enterprises and thousands of goods of origin have been stationed. In the future, these merchants and products will be stationed in offline Port City simultaneously, and the layout of Porter E-Mall will be synchronized with the physical Port City.
3. Our Port City platform is offline section of our "O2O (Network + Entity) * Services" business model. Regional center cities are top choices of Port City, which may cover more than 1 million square meters. Each Port City will have functions including exhibition, brokerage, procurement, wholesale, order, hotel, conference, warehousing, logistics, distribution and payment. At the same time, within the 200-kilometer range around the Potter City, the traditional 50-square-meter physical stores will be upgraded to form “satellite” physical stores in Porter City with in-depth sales and other services.
Port City platform is built by third parties or through cooperation with third-party property owners. We conduct management and profit earning through operating the platform. The first physical Port City is currently under construction, and the upgrades of nearly thousands of “satellite” stores have been completed.
4. Our payment platform is dedicated to the development of internet software and hardware services for enterprises and individuals. At present, the external services include Internet payment, mobile payment, POS machine receipt, electronic technology development, and Internet marketing services, while the internal services are to provide payment services for our own O2O platform.
Since 2017 and 2018, we have carried out a large number of value-added services for all of our merchant members and customers based on the simultaneous operation of the “O2O (Network + Entity) * Service” business model, and thus earned revenues. In 2017, by collecting conference fees, we organized member companies to conduct new economic summits and forums to preach and disseminate our “O2O (network + entity) * service” business model. In 2018, we began to screen member merchant enterprises to enter our O2O platform, and provided them with “O2O (network + entity) * service” commercial operation services. For those qualified enterprises, we offer public listing consulting services, which help us achieve good returns. At the beginning of 2019, we began to expand the global trade and commodity import and export business of the stationed enterprises.
Investment and Corporate Management Consulting Services
According to the development demand and future goals of our customers, in 2018 we started to offer a series of services such as business planning, financial guidance, business matching and guidance for listing primarily in the United States. At present, in our customer pool, many small and medium-sized enterprises have increased their public awareness. They are seeking the potential advantages of being a listed company and striving for obtaining the recognition of international capital to accelerate their corporate expansion. But many enterprises themselves may not be familiar with the listing requirements, laws and regulations of different capital markets, and the process of obtaining financing from overseas markets.
In order to help our customers who intend to access to the overseas capital market, we have a team of experienced professionals who have professional knowledge of the listing rules and regulations of various capital markets. We will make full use of our expertise and resources in the capital markets to assist these customers to achieve their goals.
Starting from the second quarter of 2018, through Portercity and Porter Commercial, we have been providing investment and corporate management consulting services to our clients, especially those who have the intention to be public listed in the stock exchanges in the United States and other countries. We categorize our consulting services into three phases:
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Phase I consulting services primarily include due diligence review, market research and feasibility study, business plan drafting, accounting record review, and business analysis and recommendations. We estimate that Phase I normally takes around three months to complete based on our past experiences.
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Phase II consulting services primarily include reorganization, pre-listing education and tutoring, talent search, legal and audit firm recommendation and coordination, VIE contracts and other public-listing related documents review, merger and acquisition planning, investor referral and pre-listing equity financing source identification and recommendation, independent directors and audit committee candidates recommendation. We estimate that Phase II normally takes about five months to complete based our past experiences.
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Phase III consulting services primarily include shell company identification and recommendation for customers expecting to become publicly listed through reverse merger transaction; assistance in preparation of customers’ registration statement under IPO transactions or Form 8-K under reverse merger transactions; assistance in answering comments and questions received from regulatory agencies. We believe it is very difficult to estimate the timing of this phase of service as the completion of Phase III services is not within our control.
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Each phase of consulting services is standalone and fees associated with each phase are usually clearly identified in service agreements. Revenue from providing Phase I and Phase II consulting services to customers is recognized ratably over the estimated completion period of each phase only when we have an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date. Otherwise, such revenue is recognized at a point in time when services are delivered and accepted by customers. Revenue from providing Phase III consulting services to customers is recognized upon completion of reverse merger transaction or IPO transaction, which is evidenced by filing of an 8-K for reverse merger transaction or receipt of effective notice from regulatory agencies for IPO transactions. Revenue that has been billed and not yet recognized is reflected as deferred revenue on the consolidated balance sheets.
Depending on the complexity of the underlying service arrangement and related terms and conditions, significant judgments, assumptions and estimates may be required to determine when substantial delivery of contract elements has occurred, whether any significant ongoing obligations exist subsequent to contract execution, whether amounts due are collectible and the appropriate period or periods in which, or during which, the completion of the earnings process occurs. Depending on the magnitude of specific revenue arrangements, adjustment may be made to the judgments, assumptions and estimates regarding contracts executed in any specific period.
On June 28, 2018, Portercity and Mr. Zhibo Mao established Weifang Portercity in Weifang, Shandong Province, the PRC, with a registered capital of RMB1,000,000 (approximately $146,000). Portercity and Mr. Zhibo Mao hold 60% and 40% equity interest in Weifang Portercity, respectively. Weifang Portercity is intended to be engaged in the business of providing various consulting services to its clients, especially to those who have the intention to be publicly listed in the stock exchanges in the United States and other countries. As of December 31, 2018, Weifang Portercity has not commenced operations.
Our Customers
Currently, through our VIE entity, Porter Consulting, we partner with China Payment, a third-party online payment service provider, to promote China Payment’s online payment platform to companies and businesses in Shenzhen and in return share a portion of the processing fees earned by China Payment as commission.
In addition, Porter Consulting partners with Shenzhen Tongfu, a third-party online payment service provider, under which Porter Consulting agreed to promote Shenzhen Tongfu’s online payment platform, including the Point of Sale (POS) system, to companies and businesses in China and in return obtain a certain amount of commission based on the volume of trading through such online payment platform.
Starting from the second quarter of 2018, through Portercity and Porter Commercial, we have been providing investment and corporate management consulting services to our clients, especially those who have the intention to be publicly listed in the stock exchanges in the United States and other countries. They are usually small and medium-sized enterprises based in China.
Our Intellectual Property
The following table illustrates the title of different software copyrights that our VIEs own, their certificate numbers, first publication dates, and certificate issuance dates. We regard our software copyrights important to our success and our competitive position. Using these software, our merchant clients can post and offer products to their customers over our online marketplace. In addition, such software will allow us to analyze online businesses’ operational data and customers’ consumption data and provide value-added data analysis services to our merchant customers to help them manage their business operations, sales channel and customer expansion.
Copyright Title
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Owner
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Certificate Number
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First Publication
Date
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Issue Date
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PT37B&M Online Trading System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0175366
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6-25-2009
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10-23-2009
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PT37 Bidding System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0175372
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6-20-2009
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10-23-2009
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PT37 Fuzzy and Precise Search System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0175382
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6-20-2009
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10-23-2009
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PT37 Enterprise/Individual E-Commerce Data Trading Bidding System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0175385
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6-20-2009
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10-23-2009
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PT37-IMIS Integrated Management Information System v. 2.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0175388
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7-1-2009
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10-23-2009
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PT37 Promotion Alliance System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0175392
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6-20-2009
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10-23-2009
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PT37 Group Purchase System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0175397
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6-20-2009
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10-23-2009
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PT37 Industry Trading System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0182273
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3-20-2009
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11-27-2009
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Porter AI Shopping Guide Robot System
v. 1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0210023
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11-17-2009
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5-11-2010
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Porter Payment System v.2.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0201727
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11-15-2009
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3-24-2010
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PT37-IMIS Integrated Management Information System
v. 1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0297943
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3-10-2009
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6-3-2011
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PT37 Supermarket System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0319110
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12-30-2010
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8-6-2011
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PT37 Advertorial Publication System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0319112
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12-30-2010
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8-6-2011
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PT37 Cloud Intelligence System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0319116
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6-30-2010
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8-6-2011
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PT37 Special Area Gateway System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0319118
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12-30-2010
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8-6-2011
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PT37 Financing and Loan Automatic Selection System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0319120
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12-30-2010
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8-6-2011
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PT37 Porter Communication Platform System v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0319122
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12-30-2010
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8-6-2011
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PT37Open Platform Software v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0319126
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6-10-2010
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8-6-2011
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Porter Credit System Software v.1.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0319128
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6-10-2010
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8-6-2011
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PT37 Orienting Information System v.2.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0319130
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12-30-2010
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8-6-2011
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PT37 Green Online Purchase AI System v.2.0
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Shenzhen Porter Commercial Perspective Network Co., Ltd.
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0319132
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12-30-2010
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8-6-2011
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We have also registered the following trademarks in China:
Mark
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Registration Number
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Description
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Valid Period
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波特
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8329704
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construction model
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June 14, 2011-June 13, 2021
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波特城
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17735570
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construction related
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October 7, 2016- October 6, 2026
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波特城
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17735932
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security and safeguard related
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October 7, 2016- October 6, 2026
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波特城
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17737353
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advertisement related
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October 7, 2016- October 6, 2026
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波特城
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17737756
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urban planning related
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October 7, 2016- October 6, 2026
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波特城
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17737802
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pledge and loan related
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October 7, 2016- October 6, 2026
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8337584
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advertisement related
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July 7, 2011-July 6, 2021
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8337670
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computer programming related
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June 7, 2011-June 6, 2021
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8348071
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advertisement related
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July 7, 2011-July 6, 2021
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8348092
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real estate related
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August 7, 2011-August 6, 2021
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We registered www.17yugo.com and www.pt37.com as our domain names on March 16, 2010 and September 16, 2008, respectively.
Our Competition
Our competitors in China include (i) major e-commerce companies, such as Alibaba Group, which operates taobao.com and tmall.com, and JD.com, Inc.; (2) major traditional brick and mortar shopping centers that aim to offer a one-stop shopping experience, such as Walmart China supercenters and Mixc malls. We believe that the principal competitive factors in our industry include network coverage, brand recognition and reputation, product quality, selection and pricing and quality of customer service. While many of our current or potential competitors have substantially greater financial and technical resources, longer operating histories and more established brand names and relationships than we do, we are confident that our business model will offer our customers one-stop services at a relatively low price and accordingly enhance our competitive position.
Regulation
Because all of our operating entities are located in the PRC, we are regulated by the national and local laws of the PRC. This section summarizes the major PRC regulations relating to our business.
The Telecommunications Regulations
The Telecommunications Regulations, promulgated by the PRC State Council on September 25, 2000 and amended on February 6, 2016, set out the general framework under which domestic Chinese companies such as the Company’s PRC subsidiaries and VIEs may engage in various types of telecommunications services in the PRC. The regulations reiterate the long-standing principle that telecommunications service providers need to obtain operating licenses as a mandatory precondition to begin operation in this sector in China. The Chinese government restricts foreign investment in Internet-related businesses. Accordingly, we operate our Internet-related businesses in China through Portercity, our VIE operating in Shenzhen China.
Industry Catalogue Relating to Foreign Investment
The Guidance Catalogue of Industries for Foreign Investment, or the Catalogue, was promulgated and has been amended from time to time by the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission. In Catalogue, Industries for foreign investment are divided into three categories: encouraged, restricted and prohibited. Establishment of wholly foreign-owned enterprises is generally allowed in encouraged industries. Some restricted industries are limited to equity or contractual joint ventures, while in some cases Chinese partners are required to hold the majority interests in such joint ventures. In addition, restricted category projects are subject to higher-level government approvals. Foreign investors are not allowed to invest in industries in the prohibited category. Industries not listed in the Catalogue are generally open to foreign investment unless specifically restricted by other PRC regulations.
Through our subsidiaries and VIEs, we are engaged in certain industries that are classified as “restricted” or “prohibited” under the Catalogue. Pursuant to the latest Catalogue amended in March 2015, the provision of value-added telecommunications services falls in the restricted category and the percentage of foreign ownership cannot exceed 50% (excluding e-commerce).
Under PRC law, the establishment of a wholly foreign owned enterprise is subject to the approval of the Ministry of Commerce or its local counterparts and the wholly foreign owned enterprise must register with the competent industry and commerce bureau.
Foreign Investment in Value-Added Telecommunications Businesses
The Regulations for Administration of Foreign-invested Telecommunications Enterprises promulgated by the PRC State Council in December 2001 and subsequently amended in February 2016 set forth detailed requirements with respect to capitalization, investor qualifications and application procedures in connection with the establishment of a foreign-invested telecommunications enterprise. These regulations prohibit a foreign entity from owning more than 50% of the total equity interest in any value-added telecommunications service business in China and require the major foreign investor in any value-added telecommunications service business in China have a good and profitable record and operating experience in this industry.
The Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services
The governing law for Internet information service is the Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services, or the Internet Content Provider (“ICP”) Measures, which went into effect on September 25, 2000. Under the ICP Measures, any entity that provides information to online Internet users must obtain an operating license from Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (“MIIT”) or its local branch at the provincial level in accordance with the Telecom Regulations described above.
The ICP Measures further stipulate that entities providing online information services in areas of news, publishing, education, medicine, health, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment must obtain permission from responsible national authorities prior to applying for an operating license from MIIT or its local branch at the provincial or municipal level. Moreover, ICPs must display their operating license numbers in a conspicuous location on their websites. ICPs must police their websites to remove categories of harmful content that are broadly defined. Currently, our VIE, Portercity holds an ICP license which was issued on March 7, 2014, expiring on March 7, 2019. We are currently in the process of renewing our ICP license.
Online Privacy
Chinese law does not prohibit internet service providers from collecting and analyzing personal information from their users if the users agree to do so. The PRC government, however, has the power and authority to order internet service providers to submit personal information of an internet user if such user posts any prohibited content or engages in illegal activities on the internet.
Under the Several Provisions on Regulating the Market Order of Internet Information Services (“Order”) promulgated by the MIIT which became effective on March 15, 2012, internet service providers may not, without a user’s consent, collect the user’s personal information that can be used, alone or in combination with other information, to identify the user, and may not provide any user’s personal information to third parties without the prior consent of the user. Internet service providers may only collect users’ personal information necessary to provide their services and must expressly inform the users of the method, scope and purpose of the collection and processing of such information. They are also required to ensure the proper security of users’ personal information, and take immediate remedial measures if such information is suspected to have been inappropriately disclosed. When a User registers to our application, we require our users to accept a user agreement whereby they agree to provide certain personal information to us. We will take other measures as necessary to comply with these provisions.
ICPs are also required to establish and publish their rules relating to personal information collection or use, keep any collected information strictly confidential, and take technological and other measures to maintain the security of such information. ICP operators are required to cease any collection or use of the user personal information, and de-register the relevant user account, when a given user stops using the relevant Internet service. ICP operators are further prohibited from divulging, distorting or destroying any such personal information, or selling or providing such information unlawfully to other parties. In addition, if an ICP operator appoints an agent to undertake any marketing and technical services that involve the collection or use of personal information, the ICP operator is still required to supervise and manage the protection of the information. As to penalties, in very broad terms, the Order states that violators may face warnings, fines, and disclosure to the public and, in most severe cases, criminal liability.
Foreign Currency Exchange
Under the Foreign Currency Administration Rules promulgated in 1996 and revised in 1997, and various regulations issued by state administration of foreign exchange (SAFE) and other relevant PRC government authorities, RMB is convertible into other currencies without prior approval from SAFE only to the extent of current account items, such as trade related receipts and payments, interest and dividends and after complying with certain procedural requirements. The conversion of RMB into other currencies and remittance of the converted foreign currency outside PRC for the purpose of capital account items, such as direct equity investments, loans and repatriation of investment, requires the prior approval from SAFE or its local office. Payments for transactions that take place within China must be made in RMB. Unless otherwise approved, PRC companies must repatriate foreign currency payments received from abroad. Foreign-invested enterprises may retain foreign exchange in accounts with designated foreign exchange banks subject to a cap set by SAFE or its local office. Unless otherwise approved, domestic enterprises must convert all of their foreign currency proceeds into RMB.
On October 21, 2005, SAFE issued the Notice on Issues Relating to the Administration of Foreign Exchange in Fund-raising and Reverse Investment Activities of Domestic Residents Conducted via Offshore Special Purpose Companies, which became effective as of November 1, 2005. According to the notice, a special purpose company, or SPV, refers to an offshore company established or indirectly controlled by PRC residents for the special purpose of carrying out financing of their assets or equity interest in PRC domestic enterprises. Prior to establishing or assuming control of an SPV, each PRC resident, whether a natural or legal person, must complete the overseas investment foreign exchange registration procedures with the relevant local SAFE branch. The notice applies retroactively. As a result, PRC residents who have established or acquired control of these SPVs that previously made onshore investments in China were required to complete the relevant overseas investment foreign exchange registration procedures by March 31, 2006. These PRC residents must also amend the registration with the relevant SAFE branch in the following circumstances: (i) the PRC residents have completed the injection of equity investment or assets of a domestic company into the SPV; (ii) the overseas funding of the SPV has been completed; (iii) there is a material change in the capital of the SPV. Under the rules, failure to comply with the foreign exchange registration procedures may result in restrictions being imposed on the foreign exchange activities of the violator, including restrictions on the payment of dividends and other distributions to its offshore parent company, and may also subject the violators to penalties under the PRC foreign exchange administration regulations.
On August 29, 2008, SAFE promulgated Circular 142 which regulates the conversion by a foreign-funded enterprise of foreign currency into RMB by restricting how the converted RMB may be used. In addition, SAFE promulgated Circular 45 on November 9, 2011 in order to clarify the application of Circular 142. Under Circular 142 and Circular 45, the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise may only be used for purposes within the business scope approved by the applicable government authority and may not be used for equity investments within the PRC. In addition, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of foreign-invested enterprises. The use of such RMB capital may not be changed without SAFE’s approval, and such RMB capital may not in any case be used to repay RMB loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used. Violations of Circular 142 and Circular 45 could result in severe penalties, such as heavy fines as set out in the relevant foreign exchange control regulations. On July 4, 2014, SAFE promulgated SAFE Circular 36, which launched a pilot reform of the administration of the settlement of the foreign exchange capitals of foreign-invested enterprises in certain designated areas from August 4, 2014. However, SAFE Circular 36 continues to prohibit foreign-invested enterprises from directly or indirectly using the Renminbi converted from their foreign exchange capitals for purposes beyond its business scope. On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated Circular 19, to expand the reform nationwide. Circular 19 will come into force and replace both Circular 142 and Circular 36 on June 1, 2015. Circular 36 allows enterprises established within the pilot areas to use their foreign exchange capitals to make equity investment and removes certain other restrictions provided under Circular 142 for these enterprises. Circular 19 will remove those restrictions for all foreign-invested enterprises established in the PRC. However, both Circular 36 and Circular 19 continue to prohibit foreign-invested enterprises from, among other things, using the Renminbi fund converted from its foreign exchange capitals for expenditure beyond its business scope, providing entrusted loans or repaying loans between non-financial enterprises.
Dividend Distributions
Under applicable PRC regulations, foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) in China may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, a FIE in China is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profit based on PRC accounting standards each year to its general reserves until the accumulative amount of such reserves reach 50% of its registered capital. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. The board of directors of a FIE has the discretion to allocate a portion of its after-tax profits to staff welfare and bonus funds, which may not be distributed to equity owners except in the event of liquidation.
After-tax profits/losses with respect to the payment of dividends out of accumulated profits and the annual appropriation of after-tax profits as calculated pursuant to PRC accounting standards and regulations do not result in significant differences as compared to after-tax earnings as presented in our financial statements. However, there are certain differences between PRC accounting standards and regulations and U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, arising from different treatment of items such as amortization of intangible assets and change in fair value of contingent consideration rising from business combinations.
In addition, under the enterprise income tax (EIT) Law, the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on Negotiated Reduction of Dividends and Interest Rates, which was issued on January 29, 2008, the Arrangement between the PRC and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion, which became effective on December 8, 2006, and the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation Regarding Interpretation and Recognition of Beneficial Owners under Tax Treaties, which became effective on October 27, 2009, dividends from our PRC operating subsidiaries paid to us through our Hong Kong subsidiary may be subject to a withholding tax at a rate of 10%, or at a rate of 5% if our Hong Kong subsidiary is considered a “beneficial owner” that is generally engaged in substantial business activities and entitled to treaty benefits under the Arrangement between the PRC and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion.
Laws and Regulations Related to Employment and Labor Protection
On June 29, 2007, the National People’s Congress promulgated the Employment Contract Law of PRC (“Employment Contract Law”), which became effective as of January 1, 2008 and amended on December 28, 2012. The Employment Contract Law requires employers to provide written contracts to their employees, restricts the use of temporary workers and aims to give employees long-term job security.
Pursuant to the Employment Contract Law, employment contracts lawfully concluded prior to the implementation of the Employment Contract Law and continuing as of the date of its implementation shall continue to be performed. Where an employment relationship was established prior to the implementation of the Employment Contract Law but no written employment contract was concluded, a contract must be concluded within one month after its implementation.
On September 18, 2008, the State Council promulgated the Implementing Regulations for the PRC Employment Contract Law which came into effect immediately. These regulations interpret and supplement the provisions of the Employment Contract Law.
Our standard employment contract complies with the requirements of the Employment Contract Law and its implementing regulations. We have entered into written employment contracts with all of our employees.
Employees
As of December 31, 2018, we had a total of 63 employees, all of whom are full-time employees. The following table sets forth the number of our full-time employees by function.
Function
|
|
Number of Employees
|
Finance
|
|
5
|
Sales and Marketing
|
|
23
|
IT and Engineering
|
|
16
|
General and Administrative
|
|
19
|
Total
|
|
63
|
Our employees are not represented by a labor organization or covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We have not experienced any work stoppages. We believe we maintain good relations with our employees.
Available Information
We make available free of charge, on or through our website, http://www.cnporter.com/index.html, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other filings pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and amendments to such filings, as soon as reasonably practicable after each is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains our reports, proxy and information statements, and our other SEC filings. The address of the SEC’s website is www.sec.gov. Information appearing on our website is not part of any report that we file with the SEC.
An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information included in this report, before making an investment decision. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. You should read the section entitled “Special Notes Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” above for a discussion of what types of statements are forward-looking statements, as well as the significance of such statements in the context of this report.
Risks Related to Our Business
As the Company has working capital deficiency and accumulated deficit, there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
Our consolidated financial statements included in this report include an explanatory paragraph that indicates that they were prepared assuming that we would continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements included with this report, we had a working capital deficiency, accumulated deficit from recurring net losses incurred for the current and prior years as of December 31, 2018. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon generating profitable operations in the future and/or obtaining the necessary financing to meet our obligations and repay our liabilities arising from normal business operations when they become due. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in its plans described above or in attracting equity or alternative financing on acceptable terms, or if at all. These consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to the recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should we be unable to continue as a going concern.
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to remediate the material weaknesses or maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our shares may be adversely affected.
To implement Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or SOX 404, the SEC adopted rules requiring public companies to include a report of management on the company’s internal control over financial reporting in their annual reports on Form 10-K. Under current law, we are subject to the requirement that we maintain internal controls and that management perform periodic evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal controls, assuming our filing status remains as a smaller reporting company. A report of our management is included under Item 9A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our management has identified the following material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting:
(1) We did not hold any formal board meetings or shareholders meetings during the last fiscal year;
(2) We do not have an audit committee;
(3) We do not have sufficient and skilled accounting personnel with an appropriate level of technical accounting knowledge and experience in the application of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States commensurate with our financial reporting requirements;
(4) We do not have appropriate policies and procedures in place to evaluate the proper accounting and disclosures of key documents and agreements of revenue process;
(5) We have not maintained sufficient internal controls over cash related controls, including failure to segregate cash handling and accounting functions and did not require dual signature on the Company’s bank accounts. Alternatively, the effects of poor cash controls were mitigated by the fact that we had limited transactions in our bank accounts; and
(6) We retain copies of all financial data and material agreements; however there is no formal procedure or evidence of normal backup of our data or off-site storage of data in the event of theft, misplacement, or loss due to unmitigated factors. We did not implement appropriate information technology controls.
A “material weakness” is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company's annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. We have taken measures and plan to continue to take measures to remedy this material weakness. However, the implementation of these measures may not fully address the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. Our failure to address any control deficiency could result in inaccuracies in our financial statements and could also impair our ability to comply with applicable financial reporting requirements and related regulatory filings on a timely basis. Moreover, effective internal control over financial reporting is important to prevent fraud. As a result, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, as well as the trading price of our shares, may be materially and adversely affected.
Our business plan is based on a relatively new model that may not be successful and we may not successfully implement our business strategies.
Our business plan has not been examined or tested by the market. Our products and services are targeted at an emerging market and any potential increase in our revenues depends on the achievement by our current and future clients, which is a new market in the region. In addition, we cannot guarantee the full and successful implementation of our business strategies. To ensure the successful reception of our products and services by a large number of consumer manufacturing entities in China, great efforts must to be made in promotion and business partner development. However, we cannot guarantee successful promotion of our products and services and we may not be able to realize our business goals.
We may incur losses in the future, and may not be able to return to profitability, which may cause the market price of our shares to decline.
We incurred a net profit of $1.4 million in 2018 and net loss of $1.5 million in 2017. We did not earn any revenue until we acquired Porter Consulting towards the end of fiscal 2016. Our ability to achieve profitability, therefore, depends on the competitiveness of our future products and services as well as our ability to control costs and to provide new products and services to meet the market demands and attract new customers. Due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development of our business, we cannot guarantee that we may be able to achieve profitability in the short-term or long-term.
Our results of operations and cash flows may fluctuate due to the non-recurring nature of our going public consulting services provided to our clients.
We generated the bulk of our total revenues from going public consulting services provided to small and medium-sized enterprises in China. Unlike other service businesses that have the potential of retaining their clients for long-term and recurring services, our consulting contractual relationships with our clients usually last for 12 months and there is no recurring business from our clients once they become public companies. Therefore, we face the constant challenge of identifying and recruiting new clients in order to maintain our operations and cash flows, which are difficult for us to predict from year to year.
In addition, even though we screen our prospective clients carefully before entering into service agreements, occasionally we have to discontinue our consulting services due to a variety of unforeseeable reasons such as the client’s shortage in funds, disagreements regarding the going public process, changes in the client’s business and expectations, among others. Due to the fact that our consulting fee is paid on installments, we will not be able to realize the complete contracted amounts under these circumstances, without getting into potentially costly litigations.
If we fail to hire, train and retain qualified managerial and other employees, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
We place substantial reliance on the consulting and financial service industry experience and knowledge of our senior management team as well as their relationships with other industry participants. The loss of the services of one or more members of our senior management could hinder our ability to effectively manage our business and implement our growth strategies. Finding suitable replacements for our current senior management could be difficult, and competition for such personnel of similar experience is intense. If we fail to retain our senior management, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Our consulting service personnel are critical to maintaining the quality and consistency of our services, brand and reputation. It is important for us to attract qualified managerial and other employees who have experience in consulting services and are committed to our service approach. There may be a limited supply of such qualified individuals. We must hire and train qualified managerial and other employees on a timely basis to keep pace with our rapid growth while maintaining consistent quality of services across our operations. We must also provide continuous training to our managerial and other employees so that they are equipped with up-to-date knowledge of various aspects of our operations and can meet our demand for high-quality services. If we fail to do so, the quality of our services may decrease, which in turn, may cause a negative perception of our brand and adversely affect our business.
The proper functioning of our online platforms is essential to our business. Any failure to maintain the satisfactory performance of our websites could materially and adversely affect our business and reputation.
The satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of our online platforms are critical to our future success and our ability to attract and retain future customers and provide quality customer service. Any system interruptions caused by telecommunications failures, computer viruses, hacking or other attempts to harm our systems that result in the unavailability or slowdown of our website or reduced order fulfillment performance could adversely affect the daily operations of our business. Our servers may also be vulnerable to computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins and similar disruptions, which could lead to system interruptions, website slowdown or unavailability, delays or errors in transaction processing, loss of data or the inability to accept and fulfill customer orders. Security breaches, computer viruses and hacking attacks have become more prevalent in our industry. We can provide no assurance that our current security mechanisms will be sufficient to protect our IT systems from any third-party intrusions, viruses or hacker attacks, information or data theft or other similar activities. Any such future occurrences could reduce customer satisfaction, damage our reputation and result in a material decrease in our revenue.
We are exposed to potential liability for information on our websites and for products and services sold through our websites and we may incur significant costs and damage to our reputation as a result of defending against such potential liability.
We provide third-party content on our websites such as their products, links to third-party websites, advertisements and content provided by customers and users of our O2O platforms. We could be exposed to liability with respect to such third-party information. Among other things, we may face assertions that, by directly or indirectly providing such third-party content or links to other websites, we should be liable for defamation, negligence, copyright or trademark infringement, or other actions by parties providing such content or operating those websites. We may also face assertions that content on our websites, including statistics or other data we compile internally, or information contained in websites linked to our websites contains false information, errors or omissions, and users and our customers could seek damages for losses incurred as a result of their reliance upon or otherwise relating to incorrect information. We may also be subject to fines and other sanctions by the government for such incorrect information. Moreover, our relevant consolidated controlled entities, as Internet advertising service providers, are obligated under PRC laws and regulations to monitor the advertising content shown on our websites for compliance with applicable law. Violation of applicable law may result in penalties, including fines, confiscation of advertising fees, orders to cease dissemination of the offending advertisements and orders to publish advertisements correcting the misleading information. In case of serious violations, the PRC authorities may revoke the offending entities’ advertising licenses and/or business licenses. In addition, our websites could be used as a platform for fraudulent transactions and third party products and services sold through our websites and mobile apps may be defective. The measures we take to guard against liability for third-party content, information, products and services may not be adequate to exonerate us from relevant civil and other liabilities.
Any such claims, with or without merit, could be time-consuming to defend and result in litigation and significant diversion of management’s attention and resources. Even if these claims do not result in liability to us, we could incur significant costs in investigating and defending against these claims and suffer damage to our reputation.
Regulation of the Internet industry in China, including censorship of information distributed over the Internet, may materially and adversely affect our business.
China has enacted laws, rules and regulations governing Internet access and the distribution of news, information or other content, as well as products and services, through the Internet. In the past, the PRC government has prohibited the distribution of information through the Internet that it deems to be in violation of applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations. In particular, under regulations promulgated by the State Council, the MIIT, the General Administration of Press and Publication (formerly the State Press and Publications Administration) and the Ministry of Culture, Internet content providers and Internet publishers are prohibited from posting or displaying content over the Internet that, among other things: (1) opposes the fundamental principles of the PRC constitution, (2) compromises state security, divulges state secrets, subverts state power or damages national unity, (3) disseminates rumors, disturbs social order or disrupts social stability, (4) propagates obscenity, pornography, gambling, violence, murder or fear or incites the commission of crimes, or (5) insults or slanders a third party or infringes upon the lawful right of a third party.
If any Internet content we offer through our consolidated controlled entities were deemed by the PRC government to violate any of such content restrictions, we would not be able to continue such offerings and could be subject to penalties, including confiscation of illegal revenues, fines, suspension of business and revocation of required licenses, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may also be subject to potential liability for any unlawful actions of our customers or affiliates or for content we distribute that is deemed inappropriate. It may be difficult to determine the type of content that may result in liability to us, and if we are found to be liable, we may be forced to cease operation of our websites in China.
We may not be able to manage our expansion of operations effectively.
We are in the process of developing our business in order to meet the potentially increasing demand for our future products and services, as well as capture new market opportunities. As we continue to grow, we must continue to improve our operational and financial systems, procedures and controls, increase service capacity and output, and expand, train and manage our growing employee base. In order to fund our on-going operations and our future growth, we need to have sufficient internal sources of liquidity or access to additional financing from external sources. Furthermore, our management will be required to maintain and strengthen our relationships with our customers and other third parties. Currently, we only have 51 employees. As a result, our continued expansion has placed, and will continue to place, significant strains on our management personnel, systems and resources. We also will need to further strengthen our internal control and compliance functions to ensure that we will be able to comply with our legal and contractual obligations and minimize our operational and compliance risks. Our current and planned operations, personnel, systems, internal procedures and controls may not be adequate to support our future growth. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, we may not be able to take advantage of market opportunities, execute our business strategies or respond to competitive pressures.
We depend heavily on key personnel, and turnover of key employees and senior management could harm our business.
Our future business and results of operations depend in significant part upon the continued contributions of our key technical and senior management personnel, including Zonghua Chen, our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. They also depend in significant part upon our ability to attract and retain additional qualified management, technical, marketing and sales and support personnel for our operations. If we lose a key employee or if a key employee fails to perform in his or her current position, or if we are not able to attract and retain skilled employees as needed, our business could suffer. Significant turnover in our senior management could significantly deplete our institutional knowledge held by our existing senior management team. We depend on the skills and abilities of these key employees in managing the technical, marketing and sales aspects of our business, any part of which could be harmed by further turnover.
Our holding company structure may limit the payment of dividends.
We have no direct business operations, other than our ownership of our subsidiaries. While we have no current intention of paying dividends, should we decide in the future to do so, as a holding company, our ability to pay dividends and meet other obligations depends upon the receipt of dividends or other payments from our operating subsidiaries and other holdings and investment. In addition, our operating subsidiaries, from time to time, may be subject to restrictions on their ability to make distributions to us, including as a result of restrictive covenants in loan agreements, restrictions on the conversion of local currency into U.S. dollars or other hard currency and other regulatory restrictions as discussed below. If future dividends are paid in RMB, fluctuations in the exchange rate for the conversion of RMB into U.S. dollars may reduce the amount received by U.S. stockholders upon conversion of the dividend payment into U.S. dollars.
Chinese regulations currently permit the payment of dividends only out of accumulated profits as determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. Our subsidiaries in China are also required to set aside a portion of their after tax profits according to Chinese accounting standards and regulations to fund certain reserve funds. Currently, our subsidiaries in China are the only sources of revenues or investment holdings for the payment of dividends. If they do not accumulate sufficient profits under Chinese accounting standards and regulations to first fund certain reserve funds as required by Chinese accounting standards, we will be unable to pay any dividends.
After-tax profits/losses with respect to the payment of dividends out of accumulated profits and the annual appropriation of after-tax profits as calculated pursuant to PRC accounting standards and regulations do not result in significant differences as compared to after-tax earnings as presented in our financial statements. However, there are certain differences between PRC accounting standards and regulations and U.S. GAAP, arising from different treatment of items such as amortization of intangible assets and change in fair value of contingent consideration rising from business combinations.
Risks Relating to our Commercial Relationship with VIEs
Mr. Zonghua Chen’s association with VIEs could pose a conflict of interest which may result in VIEs decisions that are adverse to our business.
Mr. Zonghua Chen, our Chairman, President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and the beneficial owner of 5.9% of our outstanding Common Stock owns 40% of the equity interests in Portercity and its wholly owned subsidiaries, from whom we derived all of our revenue in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, pursuant to the Contractual Arrangements. As a result, conflicts of interest may arise from time to time and these conflicts may result in management decisions that could negatively affect our operations and potentially result in the loss of opportunities.
PRC laws and regulations governing our businesses and the validity of certain of our Contractual Arrangements are uncertain. If we are found to be in violation of such PRC laws and regulations, our business may be negatively affected and we may be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.
PRC laws and regulations prohibit or restrict foreign ownership of companies that operate Internet information and content, Internet access, online games, mobile, value added telecommunications and certain other businesses in which we are engaged or could be deemed to be engaged. Consequently, we conduct certain of our operations and businesses in the PRC through our VIEs. All our revenue is generated by contractually controlled and managed entity, Portercity, and its wholly owned subsidiaries.
The Contractual Arrangements give us effective control over Portercity, and its wholly owned subsidiaries and enable us to obtain substantially all of the economic benefits arising from it as well as consolidate their financial results in our results of operations. Although the structure we have adopted is consistent with longstanding industry practice, and is commonly adopted by comparable companies in China, the PRC government may not agree that these arrangements comply with PRC licensing, registration or other regulatory requirements, with existing policies or with requirements or policies that may be adopted in the future.
In the opinion of Guang Dong LianRui Law Firm, our PRC counsel, the ownership structures of our wholly-foreign owned enterprise and our VIEs in China do not and will not violate any applicable PRC law, regulation or rule currently in effect; and the contractual arrangements between our material wholly-foreign owned enterprise, our material variable interest entity and their respective equity holders governed by PRC law are valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with their terms and applicable PRC laws and regulations currently in effect and will not violate any applicable PRC law, rule or regulation currently in effect. However, Guang Dong LianRui Law Firm has also advised us that there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current PRC laws, rules and regulations. Accordingly, the PRC regulatory authorities and PRC courts may in the future take a view that is contrary to the opinion of our PRC legal counsel.
Our Company, PGL, PPBGL and Qianhai Porter are considered foreign investors or foreign invested enterprises under PRC law. As a result, Uni Line Corp., PGL, PPBGL and Qianhai Porter are subject to certain limitations under PRC law on foreign ownership of Chinese companies. These laws and regulations are relatively new and may be subject to change, and their official interpretation and enforcement may involve substantial uncertainty. The effectiveness of newly enacted laws, regulations or amendments may be delayed, resulting in detrimental reliance by foreign investors. New laws and regulations that affect existing and proposed future businesses may also be applied retroactively.
The PRC government has broad discretion in dealing with violations of laws and regulations, including levying fines, revoking business and other licenses and requiring actions necessary for compliance. In particular, licenses and permits issued or granted to us by relevant governmental bodies may be revoked at a later time by higher regulatory bodies. We cannot predict the effect of the interpretation of existing or new PRC laws or regulations on our businesses. We cannot assure you that our current ownership and operating structure would not be found in violation of any current or future PRC laws or regulations. As a result, we may be subject to sanctions, including fines, and could be required to restructure our operations or cease to provide certain services. In addition, any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. If the imposition of any of these government actions causes us to lose our right to direct the activities of any of our VIEs or otherwise separate from them and if we are not able to restructure our ownership structure and operations in a satisfactory manner, we would no longer be able to consolidate the financial results of our VIEs in our consolidated financial statements. Any of these or similar actions could significantly disrupt our business operations or restrict us from conducting a substantial portion of our business operations, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our arrangements with the VIEs and their shareholders may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities. Any adjustment of related party transaction pricing could lead to additional taxes, and therefore which could have an adverse effect on our income and expenses.
The tax regime in China is rapidly evolving and there is significant uncertainty for taxpayers in China as PRC tax laws may be interpreted in significantly different ways. The PRC tax authorities may assert that we or our subsidiaries or VIEs or their equity holders owe and/or are required to pay additional taxes on previous or future revenue or income. In particular, under applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties, such as the contractual arrangements with our VIEs, may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities. We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that our agreements with the VIEs and their shareholders were not entered into based on arm’s length negotiations. As a result, they may adjust our income and expenses for PRC tax purposes in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. Such an adjustment may require that we pay additional PRC taxes plus applicable penalties and interest, if any.
Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the interpretation and implementation of the newly enacted PRC Foreign Investment Law, which may materially impact the viability of our current corporate structure.
On March 15, 2019, the National People’s Congress approved the Foreign Investment Law, which will come into effect on January 1, 2020 and replace the existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. However, since it is relatively new, uncertainties still exist in relation to its interpretation and implementation. For instance, the Foreign Investment Law has a catch-all provision under the definition of “foreign investment” which includes investments made by foreign investors in China through means stipulated in laws or administrative regulations or other methods prescribed by the State Council. Though the Foreign Investment Law does not explicitly classify contractual arrangements as a form of foreign investment, there is no assurance that foreign investment via contractual arrangement would not be interpreted as a type of indirect foreign investment activities under the definition in the future. The State Council may in the future promulgate laws and regulations that deem investments made by foreign investors through contractual arrangements as “foreign investment,” and our VIE contractual arrangements may be subject to and be deemed to violate the market entry requirements in China. Furthermore, if future laws, administrative regulations or provisions prescribed by the State Council mandate further actions to be taken by companies with respect to existing VIE contractual arrangements, we may face substantial uncertainties as to whether we can complete such actions in a timely manner, or at all. Failure to take timely and appropriate measures to cope with any of these or similar regulatory compliance challenges could materially and adversely affect our current corporate structure and business operations.
Our contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing control over the variable interest entities as direct ownership.
We rely on contractual arrangements with our VIEs to operate our electronic platform in China and other businesses in which foreign investment is restricted or prohibited. These contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over our VIEs.
If we had direct ownership of the VIEs, we would be able to exercise our rights as an equity holder directly to effect changes in the boards of directors of the entity, which could effect changes at the management and operational level. Under our contractual arrangements, we would be able to change the members of the boards of directors of the entity only by exclusively exercising the equity holders’ voting rights and would have to rely on the variable interest entity and the variable interest entity equity holders to perform their obligations in the contractual arrangements in order to exercise our control over the variable interest entity. The variable interest entity equity holders may have conflicts of interest with us or our shareholders, and they may not act in the best interests of our company or may not perform their obligations under these contracts. For example, our VIEs and their equity holders could breach their contractual arrangements with us by, among other things, failing to conduct their operations, including maintaining our website and using our domain names and trademarks which the relevant variable interest entity has exclusive rights to use, in an acceptable manner or taking other actions that are detrimental to our interests. Pursuant to the call option, we may replace the equity holders of the VIEs at any time pursuant to the contractual arrangements. However, if any equity holder is uncooperative and any dispute relating to these contracts or the replacement of the equity holders remains unresolved, we will have to enforce our rights under the contractual arrangements through the operations of PRC law and arbitral or judicial agencies, which may be costly and time-consuming and will be subject to uncertainties in the PRC legal system. See “Any failure by our VIEs or their equity holders to perform their obligations under the contractual arrangements would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.” Consequently, the contractual arrangements may not be as effective in ensuring our control over the relevant portion of our business operations as direct ownership.
Any failure by our VIEs or their equity holders to perform their obligations under the contractual arrangements would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our VIEs or their equity holders fail to perform their respective obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements. Although we have entered into an option agreement in relation to our variable interest entity, which provides that we may exercise an option to acquire, or nominate a person to acquire, ownership of the equity in that entity or, in some cases, its assets, to the extent permitted by applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, the exercise of the option is subject to the review and approval of the relevant PRC governmental authorities. We have also entered into an equity interest pledge agreement with respect to the variable interest entity to secure certain obligations of such VIES or their equity holders to us under the contractual arrangements. However, the enforcement of such agreement through arbitral or judicial agencies may be costly and time-consuming and will be subject to uncertainties in the PRC legal system. Moreover, our remedies under the equity pledge agreement are primarily intended to help us collect debts owed to us by the variable interest entity equity holders under the contractual arrangements and may not help us in acquiring the assets or equity of the variable interest entity.
The contractual arrangements are governed by PRC law and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration or court proceedings in China. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC law and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal system in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. Moreover, there are very few precedents and little formal guidance as to how contractual arrangements in the context of a variable interest entity should be interpreted or enforced under PRC law, and as a result it may be difficult to predict how an arbitration panel or court would view such contractual arrangements. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce the contractual arrangements. Under PRC law, if the losing parties fail to carry out the arbitration awards or court judgments within a prescribed time limit, the prevailing parties may only enforce the arbitration awards or court judgments in PRC courts, which would require additional expense and delay. In the event we are unable to enforce the contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over the variable interest entities, and our ability to conduct our business, as well as our financial condition and results of operations, may be materially and adversely affected.
We may lose the ability to use, or otherwise benefit from, the ICP license held by our VIEs, which could severely disrupt our business, render us unable to conduct some or all of our business operations and constrain our growth.
Our VIE, Portercity, holds an ICP license that is necessary for our business operations, to which foreign investments are typically restricted or prohibited under applicable PRC law. The contractual arrangements contain terms that specifically obligate variable interest entity equity holders to ensure the valid existence of the variable interest entities and restrict the disposal of material assets of the variable interest entities. However, in the event the variable interest entity equity holders breach the terms of these contractual arrangements and voluntarily liquidate any of our VIEs or any of our VIEs declares bankruptcy and all or part of its assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, or are otherwise disposed of without our consent, we may be unable to conduct some or all of our business operations or otherwise benefit from the assets held by the variable interest entity, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, if our variable interest entity undergoes a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, its equity holders or unrelated third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of the assets of such variable interest entity, thereby hindering our ability to operate our business as well as constrain our growth.
Risk Related to Doing Business in China
Changes in the economic and political policies of the PRC government could have a material and adverse effect on our business and operations.
We conduct substantially all our business operations in China. Accordingly, our results of operations, financial condition and prospects are significantly dependent on economic and political developments in China. China’s economy differs from the economies of developed countries in many aspects, including the level of development, growth rate and degree of government control over foreign exchange and allocation of resources. While China’s economy has experienced significant growth in the past 30 years, the growth has been uneven across different regions and periods and among various economic sectors in China. We cannot assure you that China’s economy will continue to grow, or that if there is growth, such growth will be steady and uniform, or that if there is a slowdown, such slowdown will not have a negative effect on its business and results of operations.
The PRC government exercises significant control over China. Accordingly, our results of operations, financial condition and prospects are significantly dependent on economic and political developments in China. Certain measures adopted by the PRC government may restrict loans to certain industries, such as changes in the statutory deposit reserve ratio and lending guidelines for commercial banks by the People’s Bank of China. These current and future government actions could materially affect our liquidity, access to capital, and ability to operate our business.
The global financial markets experienced significant disruptions in 2008 and the United States, Europe and other economies went into recession. Since 2012, growth of the Chinese economy has slowed down. 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 also have a negative effect on us. Our financial condition and results of operation could be materially and adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations that are applicable to us. In addition, any stimulus measures designed to boost the Chinese economy, may contribute to higher inflation, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. See “—Future inflation in China may inhibit our ability to conduct business in China.”
Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could limit the legal protections available to you and us.
We conduct substantially all of our business through our operating subsidiary and VIEs in the PRC. Our operating subsidiary and VIEs are generally subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investments in China and, in particular, laws applicable to FIEs. The PRC legal system is based on written statutes, and prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. Since 1979, a series of new PRC laws and regulations have significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. However, since the PRC legal system continues to evolve rapidly, the interpretations of many laws, regulations, and rules are not always uniform, and enforcement of these laws, regulations, and rules involve uncertainties, which may limit legal protections available to you and us. In addition, any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. In addition, all of our executive officers and most of our directors are residents of China and not of the United States, and substantially all the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it could be difficult for investors to affect service of process in the United States or to enforce a judgment obtained in the United States against our Chinese operations and subsidiaries.
You may have difficulty enforcing judgments against us.
Most of our assets are located outside of the United States and most of our current operations are conducted in the PRC. In addition, all of our directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. A substantial portion of the assets of these persons is located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process within the United States upon these persons. It may also be difficult for you to enforce in U.S. courts judgments on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors, most of whom are not residents in the United States and the substantial majority of whose assets are located outside of the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the PRC would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts. Our counsel as to PRC law has advised us that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. Courts in China may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on reciprocity between jurisdictions. 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. So, it is uncertain whether a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States.
The PRC government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business activities.
The PRC government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. Our ability to operate in China may be harmed by changes in its laws and regulations, including those relating to taxation, import and export tariffs, environmental regulations, land use rights, property, and other matters. 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 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 or joint ventures.
We may be adversely affected by the complexity, uncertainties and changes in PRC regulation of internet-related businesses and companies, and any lack of requisite approvals, licenses or permits applicable to our business may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
The PRC government extensively regulates the internet industry, including foreign ownership of, and the licensing and permit requirements pertaining to, companies in the internet industry. These internet-related laws and regulations are relatively new and evolving, and their interpretation and enforcement involve significant uncertainties. As a result, in certain circumstances it may be difficult to determine what actions or omissions may be deemed to be in violation of applicable laws and regulations.
We only have contractual control over our website. We do not directly own the website due to the restriction of foreign investment in businesses providing value-added telecommunication services in China, including internet information provision services. This may significantly disrupt our business, subject us to sanctions, compromise enforceability of related contractual arrangements, or have other harmful effects on us.
The evolving PRC regulatory system for the internet industry may lead to the establishment of new regulatory agencies. For example, in May 2011, the State Council announced the establishment of a new department, the State Internet Information Office (with the involvement of the State Council Information Office, the MITT, and the Ministry of Public Security). The primary role of this new agency is to facilitate the policy-making and legislative development in this field, to direct and coordinate with the relevant departments in connection with online content administration and to deal with cross-ministry regulatory matters in relation to the internet industry.
The interpretation and application of existing PRC laws, regulations and policies and possible new laws, regulations or policies relating to the internet industry have created substantial uncertainties regarding the legality of existing and future foreign investments in, and the businesses and activities of, internet businesses in China, including our business. We cannot assure you that we have obtained all the permits or licenses required for conducting our business in China or will be able to maintain our existing licenses or obtain new ones. If the PRC government considers that we were operating without the proper approvals, licenses or permits or promulgates new laws and regulations that require additional approvals or licenses or imposes additional restrictions on the operation of any part of our business, it has the power, among other things, to levy fines, confiscate our income, revoke our business licenses, and require us to discontinue our relevant business or impose restrictions on the affected portion of our business. Any of these actions by the PRC government may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
The enforcement of the PRC labor contract law may materially increase our costs and decrease our net income.
China adopted a new Labor Contract Law, effective on January 1, 2008, and issued its implementation rules, effective on September 18, 2008. The Labor Contract Law and related rules and regulations impose more stringent requirements on employers with regard to, among others, minimum wages, severance payment and non-fixed-term employment contracts, time limits for probation periods, as well as the duration and the times that an employee can be placed on a fixed-term employment contract. Due to the limited period of effectiveness of the Labor Contract Law and its implementation rules and regulations, and the lack of clarity with respect to their implementation and potential penalties and fines, it is uncertain how they will impact our current employment policies and practices. In particular, compliance with the Labor Contract Law and its implementation rules and regulations may increase our operating expenses. In the event that we decide to terminate some of our employees or otherwise change our employment or labor practices, the Labor Contract Law and its implementation rules and regulations may also limit our ability to effect those changes in a manner that we believe to be cost-effective or desirable, and could result in a material decrease in our profitability.
Future inflation in China may inhibit our ability to conduct business in China.
In recent years, the Chinese economy has experienced periods of rapid expansion and highly fluctuating rates of inflation. During the past ten years, the rate of inflation in China has been as high as 5.9% and as low as -0.8%. These factors have led to the adoption by the Chinese government, from time to time, of various corrective measures designed to restrict the availability of credit or regulate growth and contain inflation. High inflation may in the future cause the Chinese government to impose controls on credit and/or prices, or to take other action, which could inhibit economic activity in China, and thereby harm the market for our products and our company.
Restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to receive and use our revenues effectively.
Currently, all of our revenues are settled in RMB, and any future restrictions on currency exchanges may limit our ability to use revenue generated in RMB to fund any future business activities outside China or to make dividend or other payments in U.S. dollars. Although the Chinese government introduced regulations in 1996 to allow greater convertibility of the RMB for current account transactions, significant restrictions still remain, including primarily the restriction that FIEs may only buy, sell or remit foreign currencies after providing valid commercial documents, at those banks in China authorized to conduct foreign exchange business. In addition, conversion of RMB for capital account items, including direct investment and loans, is subject to governmental approval in China, and companies are required to open and maintain separate foreign exchange accounts for capital account items. We cannot be certain that the Chinese regulatory authorities will not impose more stringent restrictions on the convertibility of the RMB.
Fluctuations in exchange rates could adversely affect our business and the value of our securities.
The value of our common stock will be indirectly affected by the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and RMB and between those currencies and other currencies in which our sales may be denominated. Appreciation or depreciation in the value of the RMB relative to the U.S. dollar would affect our financial results reported in U.S. dollar terms without giving effect to any underlying change in our business or results of operations. Fluctuations in the exchange rate will also affect the relative value of any dividend we issue that will be exchanged into U.S. dollars, as well as earnings from, and the value of, any U.S. dollar-denominated investments we make in the future.
Since July 2005, the RMB has no longer been pegged to the U.S. dollar. Although the People’s Bank of China regularly intervenes in the foreign exchange market to prevent significant short-term fluctuations in the exchange rate, the RMB may appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the medium to long term. Moreover, it is possible that in the future PRC authorities may lift restrictions on fluctuations in the RMB exchange rate and lessen intervention in the foreign exchange market.
Very limited hedging transactions are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions. While we may enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these transactions may be limited, and we may not be able to successfully hedge our exposure at all. In addition, our foreign currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert RMB into foreign currencies.
Restrictions under PRC law on our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to make dividends and other distributions could materially and adversely affect our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could benefit our business, pay dividends to you, and otherwise fund and conduct our business.
Substantially all of our revenues are earned by our PRC subsidiaries and VIEs. However, PRC regulations restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiary to make dividends and other payments to their offshore parent companies. PRC legal restrictions permit payments of dividends by our PRC subsidiary only out of their accumulated after-tax profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Our PRC subsidiary is also required under PRC laws and regulations to allocate at least 10% of its annual after-tax profits determined in accordance with PRC generally accepted accounting principles to a statutory general reserve fund until the amounts in said fund reaches 50% of its registered capital. Allocations to these statutory reserve funds can only be used for specific purposes and are not transferable to us in the form of loans, advances, or cash dividends. Any limitations on the ability of our PRC subsidiary 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.
PRC regulations relating to investments in offshore companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC-resident beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiary to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiary or limit our PRC subsidiary's ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits.
SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, on July 4, 2014, which replaced the former circular commonly known as “SAFE Circular 75” promulgated by SAFE on October 21, 2005. SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents to register with local branches of the SAFE in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity, for the purpose of overseas investment and financing, with such PRC residents’ legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests, referred to in SAFE Circular 37 as a “special purpose vehicle.” SAFE Circular 37 further requires amendment to the registration in the event of any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle, such as increase or decrease of capital contributed by PRC individuals, share transfer or exchange, merger, division or other material event. In the event that a PRC shareholder holding interests in a special purpose vehicle fails to fulfill the required SAFE registration, the PRC subsidiaries of that special purpose vehicle may be prohibited from making profit distributions to the offshore parent and from carrying out subsequent cross-border foreign exchange activities, and the special purpose vehicle may be restricted in its ability to contribute additional capital into its PRC subsidiary. Moreover, failure to comply with the various SAFE registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for evasion of foreign exchange controls. According to the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving Policies for the Foreign Exchange Administration of Direct Investment released on February 13, 2015 by SAFE, local banks will examine and handle foreign exchange registration for overseas direct investment, including the initial foreign exchange registration and amendment registration, under SAFE Circular 37 from June 1, 2015.
According to SAFE Circular 37, our shareholders or beneficial owners, who are PRC residents, are subject to SAFE Circular 37 or other foreign exchange administrative regulations in respect of their investment in our company. We have notified substantial beneficial owners of common stock who we know are PRC residents of their filing obligations. Nevertheless, we may not be aware of the identities of all of our beneficial owners who are PRC residents. We do not have control over our beneficial owners and there can be no assurance that all of our PRC-resident beneficial owners will comply with SAFE Circular 37 and subsequent implementation rules, and there is no assurance that the registration under SAFE Circular 37 and any amendment will be completed in a timely manner, or will be completed at all. The failure of our beneficial owners who are PRC residents to register or amend their foreign exchange registrations in a timely manner pursuant to SAFE Circular 37 and subsequent implementation rules, or the failure of future beneficial owners of our company who are PRC residents to comply with the registration procedures set forth in SAFE Circular 37 and subsequent implementation rules, may subject such beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiary to fines and legal sanctions. Such failure to register or comply with relevant requirements may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiary and limit our PRC subsidiary’s ability to distribute dividends to our company. These risks may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Furthermore, SAFE Circular 37 is unclear how this regulation, and any future regulation concerning offshore or cross-border transactions, will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant PRC government authorities, and we cannot predict how these regulations will affect our business operations or future strategy. Failure to register or comply with relevant requirements may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries and limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to us. These risks could in the future have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
PRC regulation of loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may restrict or prevent us from using the proceeds of our future financings to make loans to our PRC subsidiary and our consolidated VIEs, or to make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary.
We, as a holding company, are permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding to our PRC subsidiary, which are treated as foreign-invested enterprises under PRC laws, through loans or capital contributions. However, loans by us to our PRC subsidiary to finance its activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the local counterpart of SAFE and capital contributions to our PRC subsidiary are subject to the requirement of making necessary filings in the Foreign Investment Comprehensive Management Information System, and registration with other governmental authorities in China.
SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming the Administration of Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or Circular 19, effective on June 1, 2015, in replacement of the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign- Invested Enterprises, or Circular 142, the Notice from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues Concerning Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Exchange Businesses, or Circular 59, and the Circular on Further Clarification and Regulation of the Issues Concerning the Administration of Certain Capital Account Foreign Exchange Businesses, or Circular 45. According to Circular 19, the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company is regulated such that RMB capital may not be used for the issuance of RMB entrusted loans, the repayment of inter-enterprise loans or the repayment of bank loans that have been transferred to a third party. Although Circular 19 allows RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign invested enterprise to be used for equity investments within the PRC, it also reiterates the principle that RMB converted from the foreign currency-denominated capital of a foreign-invested company may not be directly or indirectly used for purposes beyond its business scope. Thus, it is unclear whether SAFE will permit such capital to be used for equity investments in the PRC in actual practice. SAFE promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming and Standardizing the Foreign Exchange Settlement Management Policy of Capital Account, or Circular 16, effective on June 9, 2016, which reiterates some of the rules set forth in Circular 19, but changes the prohibition against using RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company to issue RMB entrusted loans to a prohibition against using such capital to grant loans to non-associated enterprises. Violations of SAFE Circular 19 and Circular 16 could result in administrative penalties. Circular 19 and Circular 16 may significantly limit our ability to transfer any foreign currency we hold, including the net proceeds from our future financings, to our PRC subsidiary, which may adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business in the PRC.
Due to the restrictions imposed on loans in foreign currencies extended to any PRC domestic companies, we are not likely to make such loans to any of our consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries, each a PRC domestic company. Meanwhile, we are not likely to finance the activities of our consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries by means of capital contributions given the restrictions on foreign investment in the businesses that are currently conducted by our consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries.
In light of the various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or obtain the necessary government approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans to our PRC subsidiary or any consolidated variable interest entity or future capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiary. As a result, uncertainties exist as to our ability to provide prompt financial support to our PRC subsidiary or consolidated VIEs and their subsidiaries when needed. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to use foreign currency, including the proceeds we received from our future financings, and to capitalize or otherwise fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
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 and regulations to participate in various government sponsored employee benefit plans, including certain social insurance, housing funds and other welfare-oriented payment obligations, 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. The requirement of employee benefit plans has not been implemented consistently by the local governments in China given the different levels of economic development in different locations. Although we have made contributions to some employee benefit plans, such as social security plans, we may have not made adequate employee benefit payments required by PRC regulations. We may be required to make up the contributions for these plans as well as pay late fees and fines. 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.
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.
On March 16, 2007, the National People’s Congress of China passed a new Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law. On November 28, 2007, the State Council of China passed its implementing rules, which took effect on January 1, 2008. Under the 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 treated in a manner similar to a Chinese enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes. The implementing rules of the EIT Law define de facto management as “substantial and overall management and control over the production and operations, personnel, accounting, and properties” of the enterprise.
On April 22, 2009, the State Administration of Taxation issued the Notice Concerning Relevant Issues Regarding Cognizance of Chinese Investment Controlled Enterprises Incorporated Offshore as Resident Enterprises. According to the Criteria of de facto Management Bodies, or the Notice, further interprets the application of the EIT Law and its implementation non-Chinese enterprise or group controlled offshore entities. Pursuant to the Notice, an enterprise incorporated in an offshore jurisdiction and controlled by a Chinese enterprise or group will be classified as a “non-domestically incorporated resident enterprise” if (i) its senior management in charge of daily operations reside or perform their duties mainly in China; (ii) its financial or personnel decisions are made or approved by bodies or persons in China; (iii) its substantial assets and properties, accounting books, corporate chops, board and shareholder minutes are kept in China; and (iv) at least half of its directors with voting rights or senior management often resident in China. A resident enterprise would be subject to an enterprise income tax rate of 25% on its worldwide income and must pay a withholding tax at a rate of 10%, when paying dividends to its non-PRC shareholders. However, it remains unclear as to whether the Notice is applicable to an offshore enterprise incorporated by a Chinese natural person, nor detailed measures on imposition of tax from non-domestically incorporated resident enterprises are available. Therefore, it is unclear how tax authorities will determine tax residency based on the facts of each case.
We may be deemed to be a resident enterprise by Chinese tax authorities. If the PRC tax authorities determine that we are a “resident enterprise” for the 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 interest on financing proceeds and non-China source income would be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%. Second, although, under the EIT Law and its implementing rules, dividends paid to us from our PRC subsidiaries would qualify as “tax-exempt income,” we cannot guarantee that such dividends will not be subject to a 10% withholding tax, as the PRC foreign exchange control authorities, which enforce the withholding tax, have not yet issued a guidance with respect to the processing of outbound remittances to entities that are treated as resident enterprises for the PRC enterprise income tax purposes. Finally, it is possible that future guidance issued with respect to the new “resident enterprise” classification could result in a situation, which a 10% withholding tax is imposed on dividends we pay to our non-PRC shareholders and with respect to gains derived by our non-PRC stockholders from transferring our shares.
If we were treated as a “resident enterprise” by the PRC tax authorities, we would be subject to taxation in both the U.S. and China, and our PRC tax may not be used as a credit to reduce our U.S. tax.
We and our stockholders face uncertainties with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises or other assets attributed to a Chinese establishment of a non-Chinese company, or immovable properties located in China owned by non-Chinese companies.
In October 2017, the State Administration of Taxation issued the Bulletin on Issues Concerning the Withholding of Non-PRC Resident Enterprise Income Tax at Source, or Bulletin 37, which replaced the Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises issued by the State Administration of Taxation on December 10, 2009, and partially replaced and supplemented rules under the Bulletin on Issues of Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Transfers of Assets by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or Bulletin 7, issued by the State Administration of Taxation on February 3, 2015. Pursuant to Bulletin 7, an “indirect transfer” of PRC assets, including a transfer of equity interests in an unlisted non-PRC holding company of a PRC resident enterprise, by non-PRC resident enterprises may be re-characterized and treated as a direct transfer of the underlying PRC assets, if such arrangement does not have a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of avoiding payment of PRC enterprise income tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax. According to Bulletin 7, “PRC taxable assets” include assets attributed to an establishment in China, immoveable properties located in China, and equity investments in PRC resident enterprises and any gains from the transfer of such asset by a direct holder, who is a non-PRC resident enterprise, would be subject to PRC enterprise income taxes. When determining whether there is a “reasonable commercial purpose” of the transaction arrangement, features to be taken into consideration include: whether the main value of the equity interest of the relevant offshore enterprise derives from PRC taxable assets; whether the assets of the relevant offshore enterprise mainly consists of direct or indirect investment in China or if its income mainly derives from China; whether the offshore enterprise and its subsidiaries directly or indirectly holding PRC taxable assets have real commercial nature which is evidenced by their actual function and risk exposure; the duration of existence of the business model and organizational structure; the replicability of the transaction by direct transfer of PRC taxable assets; and the tax situation of such indirect transfer and applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements. In the case of an indirect offshore transfer of assets of a PRC establishment, the resulting gain is to be included with the enterprise income tax filing of the PRC establishment or place of business being transferred, and may consequently be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%. Where the underlying transfer relates to immoveable properties located in China or to equity investments in a PRC resident enterprise, which is not related to a PRC establishment or place of business of a non-resident enterprise, a PRC enterprise income tax of 10% would apply, subject to available preferential tax treatment under applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements, and the party who is obligated to make the transfer payments has the withholding obligation. Pursuant to Bulletin 37, the withholding agent shall declare and pay the withheld tax to the competent tax authority in the place where such withholding agent is located within 7 days from the date of occurrence of the withholding obligation, while the transferor is required to declare and pay such tax to the competent tax authority within the statutory time limit according to Bulletin 7. Late payment of applicable tax will subject the transferor to default interest. Both Bulletin 37 and Bulletin 7 do not apply to transactions of sale of shares by investors through a public stock exchange where such shares were acquired from a transaction through a public stock exchange.
There is uncertainty as to the application of Bulletin 37 or previous rules under Bulletin 7. We face uncertainties as to the reporting and other implications of certain past and future transactions where PRC taxable assets are involved, such as offshore restructuring, sale of the shares in our offshore subsidiaries or investments. Our company may be subject to filing obligations or taxes if our company is transferor in such transactions, and may be subject to withholding obligations if our company is transferee in such transactions, under Bulletin 37 and Bulletin 7. For transfer of shares in our company by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises, our PRC subsidiary may be requested to assist in the filing under Bulletin 37 and Bulletin 7. As a result, we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Bulletin 37 and Bulletin 7 or to request the relevant transferors from whom we purchase taxable assets to comply with these circulars, or to establish that our company should not be taxed under these circulars, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Chinese anti-corruption laws, and any determination that we violated these laws could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, or FCPA, and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by U.S. persons and issuers as defined by the statute, for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We have operations, agreements with third parties, and make most of our sales in China. The PRC also strictly prohibits bribery of government officials. Our activities in China create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by the employees, consultants, sales agents, or distributors of our Company, even though they may not always be subject to our control. It is our policy to implement safeguards to discourage these practices by our employees. However, our existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and the employees, consultants, sales agents, or distributors of our Company may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA or Chinese anti-corruption laws may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the U.S. government may seek to hold our Company liable for successor liability FCPA violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire.
If we become directly subject to the recent scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity involving U.S.-listed Chinese companies, we may have to expend significant resources to investigate and resolve the matter which could harm our business operations, stock price and reputation and could result in a loss of your investment in our stock, especially if such matter cannot be addressed and resolved favorably.
Recently, U.S. public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China, particularly companies like us which have completed so-called reverse merger transactions, have been the subject of intense scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity by investors, financial commentators and regulatory agencies, such as the SEC. Much of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity has centered around financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, a lack of effective internal controls over financial accounting, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud. As a result of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity, the publicly traded stock of many U.S. listed Chinese companies has sharply decreased in value and, in some cases, has become virtually worthless. Many of these companies are now subject to shareholder lawsuits and SEC enforcement actions and are conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations. It is not clear what effect this sector-wide scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity will have on our Company, our business and our stock price. If we become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, we will have to expend significant resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend our company. This situation will be costly and time consuming and distract our management from growing our company.
The disclosures in our reports and other filings with the SEC and our other public pronouncements are not subject to the scrutiny of any regulatory bodies in the PRC. Accordingly, our public disclosure should be reviewed in light of the fact that no governmental agency that is located in China where substantially all of our operations and business are located have conducted any due diligence on our operations or reviewed or cleared any of our disclosure.
We are regulated by the SEC and our reports and other filings with the SEC are subject to SEC review in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Unlike public reporting companies whose operations are located primarily in the United States, however, substantially all of our operations are located in China. Since substantially all of our operations and business takes place in China, it may be more difficult for the staff of the SEC to overcome the geographic and cultural obstacles that are present when reviewing our disclosure. These same obstacles are not present for similar companies whose operations or business take place entirely or primarily in the United States. Furthermore, our SEC reports and other disclosure and public pronouncements are not subject to the review or scrutiny of any PRC regulatory authority. For example, the disclosure in our SEC reports and other filings are not subject to the review of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, a PRC regulator that is tasked with oversight of the capital markets in China. Accordingly, you should review our SEC reports, filings and our other public pronouncements with the understanding that no local regulator has done any due diligence on our company and with the understanding that none of our SEC reports, other filings or any of our other public pronouncements has been reviewed or otherwise been scrutinized by any local regulator.
Risks Related to the Market for our Common Stock
Our common stock is quoted on the OTCQB market, which may have an unfavorable impact on our stock price and liquidity.
Our common stock is quoted on the OTCQB market. The OTCQB market is a significantly more limited market than the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ. The quotation of our shares on the OTCQB may result in a less liquid market available for existing and potential stockholders to trade shares of our common stock, could depress the trading price of our common stock and could have a long-term adverse impact on our ability to raise capital in the future. We plan to list our common stock as soon as practicable. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to meet the initial listing standards of any stock exchange, or that we will be able to maintain any such listing.
We are subject to penny stock regulations and restrictions and you may have difficulty selling shares of our common stock.
The SEC has adopted regulations which generally define so-called “penny stocks” to be an equity security that has a market price less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exemptions. Our common stock is a “penny stock” and is subject to Rule 15g-9 under the Exchange Act, or the Penny Stock Rule. This rule imposes additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that sell such securities to persons other than established customers and “accredited investors” (generally, individuals with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual incomes exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with their spouses). For transactions covered by Rule 15g-9, a broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and have received the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale. As a result, this rule may affect the ability of broker-dealers to sell our securities and may affect the ability of purchasers to sell any of our securities in the secondary market, thus possibly making it more difficult for us to raise additional capital.
For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require delivery, prior to any transaction in penny stock, of a disclosure schedule prepared by the SEC relating to the penny stock market. Disclosure is also required to be made about sales commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, monthly statements are required to be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stock.
There can be no assurance that our common stock will qualify for exemption from the Penny Stock Rule. In any event, even if our common stock were exempt from the Penny Stock Rule, we would remain subject to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, which gives the SEC the authority to restrict any person from participating in a distribution of penny stock, if the SEC finds that such a restriction would be in the public interest.
We are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to “emerging growth companies” will make our common shares less attractive to investors.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an “emerging growth company,” we may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We could be an “emerging growth company” until the end of 2019, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if we become a large accelerated filer or if we have issued an aggregate of $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the preceding 3 years. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and the price of our common stock may be more volatile.
We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.
For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock. Accordingly, investors must be prepared to rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation to earn an investment return, which may never occur. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our board deems relevant.
Compliance with changing regulation of corporate governance and public disclosure will result in additional expenses.
Changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including SOX and related SEC regulations, have created uncertainty for public companies and significantly increased the costs and risks associated with accessing the public markets and public reporting. Our management team will need to invest significant management time and financial resources to comply with both existing and evolving standards for public companies, which will lead to increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue generating activities to compliance activities.
Provisions in our charter documents and under Nevada law could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable.
Provisions in our articles of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or changes in our management. Our board of directors has the right to determine the authorized number of directors. In addition, we are authorized to issue up to 250,000,000 shares of preferred stock, in one or more classes or series as may be determined by our board of directors. The issuance of shares of preferred stock, while providing desirable flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or of discouraging a third party from acquiring, a majority of our outstanding voting stock.