As
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 6,
2022
Registration
No. 333-262504
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
DC 20549
Pre-effective Amendment No. 5
To
FORM
F-3
REGISTRATION
STATEMENT
UNDER
THE
SECURITIES
ACT OF 1933
DOGNESS
(INTERNATIONAL) CORPORATION
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
British
Virgin Islands |
|
N/A |
|
Not
Applicable |
(State
or other jurisdiction
of incorporation or organization) |
|
(Translation
of Registrant’s
Name
into English)
|
|
(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.)
|
No.
16 N. Dongke Road
Tongsha
Industrial Zone
Dongguan,
Guangdong 523217
+86-769-8875-3300
(Address,
including zip code, and telephone
number,
including area code, of registrant’s
principal
executive offices)
|
|
CT
Corporation System
111
Eighth Avenue
New
York, New York 10011
(800)
624-0909
(Name,
address including zip code, and
telephone
number, including area code, of agent
for
service)
|
With
a copy to:
Anthony
W. Basch, Esq.
Chenxi
Lu, Esq.
Kaufman
& Canoles, P.C.
Two
James Center
1021
East Cary Street, Suite 1400
Richmond,
Virginia 23219
Fax:
804-771-5777
Approximate
date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to
time after the effective date of this registration statement as
determined by the registrant.
If
the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered
pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check
the following box: ☐
If
any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be
offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under
the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☒
If
this Form is filed to register additional securities for an
offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please
check the following box and list the Securities Act registration
statement number of the earlier effective registration statement
for the same offering. ☐
If
this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule
462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list
the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier
effective registration statement for the same offering.
☐
If
this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General
Instruction I.C. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall
become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule
462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box.
☐
If
this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement
filed pursuant to General Instruction I.C. filed to register
additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant
to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box.
☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company
as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933. Emerging
growth company ☒
If an
emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in
accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant
has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying
with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided
pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
The
term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any
update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its
Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.
The
registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date
or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the
registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states
that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective
in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or
until this registration statement shall become effective on such
date as the Commission acting pursuant to said Section 8(a) may
determine.
Prospectus
The
information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed.
We may not sell these securities until the registration statement
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective.
This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not
soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state where the
offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject
to completion, dated July 6, 2022

DOGNESS
(INTERNATIONAL) CORPORATION
$250,000,000
Class
A Common Shares, Share Purchase Contracts, Share Purchase
Units,
Warrants,
Debt Securities, Rights and Units
We
may offer and sell, from time to time in one or more offerings on
terms we may determine at the time of offering, any combination of
Class A Common Shares, warrants, debt securities, rights, share
purchase contracts, share purchase units or units (collectively,
the “Securities”) having an aggregate initial offering price of up
to $250,000,000.
We
will provide the specific terms of these Securities in supplements
to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement may also add, update
or change information in this prospectus. Before you invest, we
urge you to read carefully this prospectus and any prospectus
supplement, as well as the documents incorporated by reference or
deemed to be incorporated by reference into this
prospectus.
These
Securities may be offered and sold in the same offering or in
separate offerings; to or through underwriters, dealers, and
agents; or directly to purchasers. The names of any underwriters,
dealers, or agents involved in the sale of our Securities, their
compensation and any over-allotment options held by them will be
described in the applicable prospectus supplement. For a more
complete description of the plan of distribution of these
securities, see the section entitled “Plan of Distribution”
beginning on page 54 of this prospectus.
Our
Class A Common Shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under
the symbol “DOGZ”. On July 5, 2022, the closing sale price of our
Class A Common Shares as reported by the NASDAQ Global Market was
$1.74. We have not offered any securities pursuant to General
Instruction I.B.5 of Form F-3 during the prior 12 calendar month
period that ends on and includes the date of this prospectus. We
will provide information in any applicable prospectus supplement
regarding any listing of securities other than our Class A Common
Shares on any securities exchange.
We
are not a Chinese operating company but a British Virgin Islands
holding company with operations conducted by our subsidiaries
established in Delaware, People’s Republic of China (“PRC” or
“China”), Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s
Republic of China (“HKSAR” or “Hong Kong”) and British Virgin
Islands. Therefore, investing in our securities being offered
pursuant to this prospectus involves unique and a high degree of
risk. You should carefully read and consider the risk factors
beginning on page 19 of this prospectus and in the applicable
prospectus supplement before you make your investment
decision.
The
Securities offered in this offering are of the off-shore holding
company Dogness (International) Corporation (the “Company”), which
owns equity interests, directly or indirectly, of the operating
subsidiaries. Unless otherwise stated, “PRC Subsidiaries” refer to
our subsidiaries incorporated in mainland China, including Dogness
Intelligent Technology (Dongguan) Co., Ltd., a PRC company
(“Dongguan Dogness”), Dongguan Jiasheng Enterprise Co., Ltd., a PRC
company (“Dongguan Jiasheng”), Zhangzhou Meijia Metal Product Co.,
Ltd, a PRC company (“Meijia”), and Dogness Intelligence Technology
Co., Ltd., a PRC company (“Intelligence Guangzhou”); “Hong Kong
Subsidiaries” refer to our subsidiaries incorporated in Hong Kong,
including Jiasheng Enterprise (Hongkong) Co., Limited, a Hong Kong
company (“HK Jiasheng”) and Dogness (Hongkong) Pet’s Products Co.,
Limited, a Hong Kong company (“HK Dogness”). We will also refer to
all of our subsidiaries, “Subsidiaries”. See Prospectus Summary –
Our Corporate Structure, for further information regarding name,
place of incorporation, and equity ownership.
We
are subject to legal and operational risks associated with being
based in and having the majority of the company’s operations in PRC
and Hong Kong. The Chinese government may intervene or influence
the operation of our Hong Kong and PRC operating entities and
exercise significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of
their business and may intervene in or influence their operations
at any time with little advance notice, or may exert more control
over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in
China-based issuers, which could result in a material change in our
operations and/or the value of our Class A Common Shares. Further,
any actions by the Chinese government to exert more oversight and
control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign
investment in China-based issuers could significantly limit or
completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer
Securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to
significantly decline or be worthless.
Recently,
the PRC government initiated a series of regulatory actions and
statements to regulate business operations in China with little
advance notice, including cracking down on illegal activities in
the securities market, adopting new measures to impose filing
requirements on China-based companies for their initial public
offerings or listings in overseas stock markets and extend the
scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the efforts in
anti-monopoly enforcement.
On
July 6, 2021, the General Office of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State
Council jointly released the Opinions on Severely Cracking Down on
Illegal Securities Activities According to Law, or the Opinions.
The Opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration
over illegal securities activities, and the need to strengthen the
supervision over overseas listings by Chinese companies. Effective
measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory
systems will be taken to deal with the risks and incidents of
China-concept overseas listed companies, and cybersecurity and data
privacy protection requirements, etc. The Opinions and any related
implementing rules to be enacted may subject us to compliance
requirement in the future.
On
December 24, 2021, China Securities Regulatory Commission (the
“CSRC”) issued the Administrative Provisions of the State Council
Regarding the Overseas Issuance and Listing of Securities by
Domestic Enterprises (the “Draft Administrative Provisions”) and
the Measures for the Overseas Issuance of Securities and Listing
Record-Filings by Domestic Enterprises (Draft for Comments) (the
“Draft Filing Measures”), collectively, the “Draft Rules Regarding
Overseas Listings”, which were published for public comments till
January 23,2022. According to the Draft Rules Regarding Overseas
Listings, among other things, after making initial applications
with overseas stock markets for initial public offerings or
listings, all China-based companies shall file with the CSRC within
three working days. The required filing materials with the CSRC
include (without limitation): (i) record-filing reports and related
undertakings, (ii) compliance certificates, filing or approval
documents from the primary regulators of applicants’ businesses (if
applicable), (iii) security assessment opinions issued by related
departments (if applicable), (iv) PRC legal opinions, and (v)
prospectus. In addition, overseas offerings and listings may be
prohibited for such China-based companies when any of the following
applies: (1) if the intended securities offerings and listings are
specifically prohibited by the laws, regulations or provision of
the PRC; (2) if the intended securities offerings and listings may
constitute a threat to, or endanger national security as reviewed
and determined by competent authorities under the State Council in
accordance with laws; (3) if there are material ownership disputes
over applicants’ equity interests, major assets, core technologies,
or the others; (4) if, in the past three years, applicants’
domestic enterprises, controlling shareholders or de facto
controllers have committed corruption, bribery, embezzlement,
misappropriation of property, or other criminal offenses disruptive
to the order of the socialist market economy, or are currently
under judicial investigation for suspicion of criminal offenses, or
are under investigation for suspicion of major violations; (5) if,
in the past three years, any directors, supervisors, or senior
executives of applicants have been subject to administrative
punishments for severe violations, or are currently under judicial
investigation for suspicion of criminal offenses, or are under
investigation for suspicion of major violations; (6) other
circumstances as prescribed by the State Council. The Draft
Administrative Provisions further stipulate that a fine between RMB
1 million and RMB 10 million may be imposed if an applicant fails
to fulfill the filing requirements with the CSRC or conducts an
overseas offering or listing in violation of the Draft Rules
Regarding Overseas Listings, and in cases of severe violations, a
parallel order to suspend relevant businesses or halt operations
for rectification may be issued, and relevant business permits or
operational license revoked. The Draft Rules Regarding Overseas
Listings, if enacted, may subject us or our Subsidiaries to
additional compliance requirements in the future.
As of the date of this prospectus, the Draft Rules Regarding
Overseas Listings have not been promulgated, and neither us nor any
of our Subsidiaries has been required to obtain permission from the
government of China for any of our U.S. offerings. While the final
version of the Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listings are expected
to be adopted in 2022, we believe that none of the situation that
would clearly prohibit overseas offering and listings applies to
us. In reaching this conclusion, we are relying on an opinion of
our PRC counsel and that there is uncertainty inherent in relying
on an opinion of counsel in connection with whether we or our
Subsidiaries are required to obtain permissions from the Chinese
government that is required to approve of our operations and/or
offering. In the event that we or any of our Subsidiaries are
subject to the compliance requirements, we cannot assure you that
any of us will be able to receive clearance of such filing
requirements in a timely manner, or at all. Any failure of us or
our Subsidiaries to fully comply with new regulatory requirements
may significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer
or continue to offer our Class A Common Shares, cause significant
disruption to our business operations, severely damage our
reputation, materially and adversely affect our financial condition
and results of operations and cause our Class A Common Shares to
significantly decline in value or become worthless. See “Risk
Factor — Draft
rules for China-based companies seeking for securities offerings in
foreign stock markets was released by the CSRC for public
consultation. While such rules have not yet come into effect, the
Chinese government may exert more oversight and control over
overseas public offerings conducted by China-based issuers, which
could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer
or continue to offer our Class A Common Shares to investors and
could cause the value of our Class A Common Shares to significantly
decline or become worthless.”
We or
our Subsidiaries may also be subject to PRC laws relating to the
use, sharing, retention, security and transfer of confidential and
private information, such as personal information and other data.
On November 14, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China
(“CAC”) released the Regulations on the Network Data Security
Management (Draft for Comments), or the Data Security Management
Regulations Draft, to solicit public opinion and comments till
December 13, 2021, which has not been promulgated as of the date of
this prospectus.. Pursuant to the Data Security Management
Regulations Draft, data processors holding more than one million
users/users’ individual information shall be subject to
cybersecurity review before listing abroad. Data processing
activities refers to activities such as the collection, retention,
use, processing, transmission, provision, disclosure, or deletion
of data. According to the latest amended Cybersecurity Review
Measures, which was promulgated on November 16, 2021 and became
effective on February 15, 2022, an online platform operator holding
more than one million users/users’ individual information shall be
subject to cybersecurity review before listing abroad. As of the
date of this prospectus, we have not been informed by any PRC
governmental authority of any requirement that we or our
Subsidiaries file for approval for this offering. We don’t believe
that we or any of our Subsidiaries will be subject to either the
amended Cybersecurity Review Measures or the Data Security
Management Regulations Draft since none of us hold more than one
million users/users’ individual information. However, it is
uncertain how the above mentioned new laws or regulations will be
enacted, interpreted or implemented, and whether it will affect us.
Since the regulatory actions are new, it is highly uncertain how
soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will
respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed
implementations and interpretations will be modified or
promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such modified or new
laws and regulations will have on our Subsidiaries’ daily business
operation, their ability to accept foreign investments, and our
ability to continue to list or offer securities on an U.S.
exchange. See “Risk Factor — The Chinese government
exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must
conduct our business activities and may intervene or influence our
operations at any time, which could result in a material change in
our operations and the value of our Class A Common
Shares.”
On
February 7, 2021, the Anti-Monopoly Committee of the State Council
promulgated the Anti-monopoly Guidelines for the Platform Economy
Sector, or the Anti-monopoly Guideline, aiming to improve
anti-monopoly administration on online platforms. The Anti-monopoly
Guideline, operating as the compliance guidance under the
then-existing PRC anti-monopoly regulatory regime for platform
economy operators, specifically prohibits certain acts of the
platform economy operators that may have the effect of eliminating
or limiting market competition, such as concentration of
undertakings. The PRC anti-monopoly regulatory regime started with
the Anti-Monopoly Law promulgated by the Standing Committee of the
National People’s Congress of China (“SCNPC”) on August 30, 2007
and effective on August 1, 2008, which requires that transactions
which are deemed concentrations and involve parties with specified
turnover thresholds must be cleared by the Ministry of Commerce of
China (“MOFCOM”) before they can be completed. In addition, on
February 3, 2011, the General Office of the State Council
promulgated a Notice on Establishing the Security Review System for
Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign
Investors, or Circular 6, which officially established a security
review system for mergers and acquisitions of domestic enterprises
by foreign investors. Further, on August 25, 2011, MOFCOM
promulgated the Regulations on Implementation of Security Review
System for the Merger and Acquisition of Domestic Enterprises by
Foreign Investors, or the MOFCOM Security Review Regulations, which
became effective on September 1, 2011, to implement Circular 6.
Under Circular 6, a security review is required for mergers and
acquisitions by foreign investors having “national defense and
security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions by which foreign
investors may acquire the “de facto control” of domestic
enterprises with “national security” concerns. Under the MOFCOM
Security Review Regulations, MOFCOM will focus on the substance and
actual impact of the transaction when deciding whether a specific
merger or acquisition is subject to security review. If MOFCOM
decides that a specific merger or acquisition is subject to
security review, it will submit it to the Inter-Ministerial Panel,
an authority established under the Circular 6 led by the NDRC, and
MOFCOM under the leadership of the State Council, to carry out the
security review. The regulations prohibit foreign investors from
bypassing the security review by structuring transactions through
trusts, indirect investments, leases, loans, control through
contractual arrangements or offshore transactions.
As a
holding company, we may rely on dividends and other distributions
on equity paid by our subsidiaries, including those based in the
PRC, for our cash and financing requirements. If any of our PRC
Subsidiaries incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the
instruments governing such debt may restrict their ability to pay
dividends to us.Under
British Virgin Islands law, we may only pay dividends from surplus
(the excess, if any, at the time of the determination of the total
assets of our company over the sum of our liabilities, as shown in
our books of account, plus our capital), and we must be solvent
before and after the dividend payment in the sense that we will be
able to satisfy our liabilities as they become due in the ordinary
course of business; and the realizable value of assets of our
company will not be less than the sum of our total liabilities,
other than deferred taxes as shown on our books of account, and our
capital. If we determine to pay dividends on any of our Common
Shares in the future, as a holding company, we will be dependent on
receipt of funds from our Hong Kong Subsidiaries, HK Jiasheng and
HK Dogness. Current PRC regulations permit the PRC Subsidiaries to
pay dividends to HK Dogness only out of their accumulated profits,
if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards
and regulations. In addition, the PRC government also imposes
controls on the conversion of RMB into foreign currencies and the
remittance of currencies out of the PRC. Therefore, we may
experience difficulties in completing the administrative procedures
necessary to obtain and remit foreign currency for the payment of
dividends from our profits, if any. As of the date of this
prospectus, none of the subsidiaries has made any dividends or
distributions to us and we have not made any dividends or
distributions to our shareholders. We anticipate that we will
retain any earnings to support operations and to finance the growth
and development of our business. Therefore, we do not expect or
intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We have
installed cash management policies or procedures in place that
dictate how funds are transferred, under an umbrella of corporate
policies and financial reporting policies. Even though our policies
do not specifically address the limitations, as discussed above, on
the amount of funds the Company can transfer out of China, if we
decide to transfer cash out of China in the future, all relevant
transfers will be conducted in compliance with such limitations.
See “Prospectus Summary – Dividend Distributions and Cash Transfer
among Dogness and the Subsidiaries”, “Prospectus Summary – Selected
Condensed Consolidated Financial Schedule of Dogness
(International) Corporation and its Subsidiaries” and the
consolidated financial statements, “Risk Factor — China’s
economic, political and social conditions, as well as changes in
any government policies, laws and regulations, could have a
material adverse effect on our business”, “Risk Factor – We
may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our
subsidiaries, including those based in the PRC, for our cash and
financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the
ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a
material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our
business.”, “Risk Factor — PRC regulation of loans
and direct investment by offshore holding companies to PRC entities
may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this Offering to
make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC
subsidiary, which could materially and adversely affect our
liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business”,
“Risk Factor — Governmental control of currency conversion
may limit our ability to use our revenues effectively and the
ability of our PRC subsidiaries to obtain financing”,
and “Risk Factor — We must remit the offering proceeds to China
before they may be used to benefit our business in China, the
process of which may be time-consuming, and we cannot assure that
we can finish all necessary governmental registration processes in
a timely manner.”
Moreover,
the transfer of funds among our PRC Subsidiaries are subject to the
Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues
Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Private Lending
Cases (2020 Revision, the “Provisions on Private Lending Cases”),
which was implemented on August 20, 2020 to regulate the financing
activities between natural persons, legal persons and
unincorporated organizations. As advised by our PRC counsel, the
Provisions on Private Lending Cases does not prohibit using cash
generated from one subsidiary to fund the operations of another
subsidiary in China. As of the date of this prospectus, no cash
generated from one subsidiary has been used to fund another
subsidiary’s operations; for that reason, our cash management
policies do not specifically address this type of transfers between
subsidiaries. We do not anticipate any occasions where cash
generated from one subsidiary needs to be transferred to another
subsidiary and will comply with PRC laws discussed above should we
decide to conduct such a transfer. We do not anticipate any
difficulties or limitations on our ability to transfer cash between
subsidiaries. See “Prospectus Summary – Dividend Distributions
and Cash Transfer among Dogness and the Subsidiaries”,
“Prospectus Summary – Selected Condensed Consolidated Financial
Schedule of Dogness (International) Corporation and its
Subsidiaries” and the consolidated financial
statements
Cash
flow between Dogness and the Subsidiaries primarily consists of
transfers from Dogness to these Subsidiaries for short-term working
capital loan, which is mainly used in payment of operating expenses
and investments. To date, there are no other assets transferred
between Dogness and the subsidiaries except for the below cash
transfers:
|
● |
For
the year ended June 30, 2019, cash transferred from Dogness to HK
Dogness was $98 for payments of miscellaneous charge. The source of
fund was the cash retained in our Company after IPO. In addition,
HK Dogness repaid $44 back to Dogness for the year ended June 30,
2019. |
|
|
|
|
● |
For
the year ended June 30, 2020, cash transferred from Dogness to HK
Dogness was $103,333 for short-term working capital loan. The
source of funds was the cash retained. |
|
|
|
|
● |
For
the year ended June 30, 2021, Dogness transferred $505,850 to the
Delaware subsidiary, Dogness Group LLC, for short term working
capital loan purpose and transferred $2,581,533 to HK Dogness for
short term working capital loan purpose. The source of funds was
the registered direct public offering we completed on January
20,2021 with net proceeds of $6.6 million. For the year ended June
30, 2021, Dogness also received cash repayment transferred from HK
Dogness in the amount of $304. |
|
|
|
|
● |
For
the six months ended December 31, 2021, Dogness transferred
$1,355,982 ($30,000 + $1,325,982) to Dogness Group LLC. The source
of funds was the equity financing we completed in July 2021 and the
exercise of warrants in November and December 2021. |
In
the future, cash proceeds raised from overseas financing activities
may be transferred by Dogness to the Subsidiaries via capital
contribution or shareholder loans, as the case may be. See
“Prospectus Summary – Selected Condensed Consolidated Financial
Schedule of Dogness (International) Corporation and its
Subsidiaries” and “Prospectus Summary – Dividend Distributions and
Cash Transfer among Dogness and the Subsidiaries” and the
consolidated financial statements included in our annual reports on
Form 20-F and any interim financial statements we may
file.
Our
Class A Common Shares may be prohibited to trade on a national
exchange or “over-the-counter” markets under the Holding Foreign
Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCA Act”) if Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) is unable to inspect our
auditors for three consecutive years beginning in 2021. Our auditor
is currently subject to PCAOB inspections and PCAOB is able to
inspect our auditor. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate
passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
(“AHFCAA”), which, if signed into law, would amend the HFCA Act and
require the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on
any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB
inspections for two consecutive years instead of three consecutive
years. Pursuant to the HFCA Act, the PCAOB issued a Determination
Report on December 16, 2021 which found that the PCAOB is unable to
inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting
firms headquartered in: (1) mainland China of the PRC, and (2) Hong
Kong. In addition, the PCAOB’s report identified the specific
registered public accounting firms which are subject to these
determinations. Our auditor, Prager Metis CPAs, LLC, is located at
Hackensack New Jersey, and has been inspected by the PCAOB on a
regular basis with the last inspection in August 2020. Our auditor
is not headquartered in mainland China or Hong Kong and was not
identified in this report as a firm subject to the PCAOB’s
determination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the future, if
there is any regulatory change or step taken by PRC regulators that
does not permit Prager Metis CPAs, LLC to provide audit
documentations located in China or Hong Kong to the PCAOB for
inspection or investigation, or the PACOB expands the scope of the
Determination so that we are subject to the HFCA Act, as the same
may be amended, you may be deprived of the benefits of such
inspection which could result in limitation or restriction to our
access to the U.S. capital markets and trading of our securities,
including trading on the national exchange and trading on
“over-the-counter” markets, may be prohibited under the HFCA Act.
See “Risk Factors — Recent joint statement by the SEC and PCAOB,
proposed rule changes submitted by Nasdaq, and an act passed by the
US Senate all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be
applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the
qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors
who are not inspected by the PCAOB. These developments could add
uncertainties to our offering.” for more
information.
Please
see “Risk Factor” starting on page 19 of this prospectus for
additional information.
This
prospectus may not be used to offer or sell our securities unless
accompanied by a prospectus supplement. The information contained
or incorporated in this prospectus or in any prospectus supplement
is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, or such
prospectus supplement, as applicable, regardless of the time of
delivery of this prospectus or any sale of our
securities.
Neither
the Securities and Exchange Commission, British Virgin Islands, nor
any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of
these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or
complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal
offense.
The
date of this prospectus is
,
2022

Table
of Contents
You
should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by
reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have
not authorized any person to provide you with different or
additional information. If anyone provides you with different or
inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This
prospectus is not an offer to sell securities, and it is not
soliciting an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction where the
offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the
information appearing in this prospectus or any prospectus
supplement, as well as information we have previously filed with
the SEC and incorporated by reference, is accurate as of the date
on the front of those documents only. Our business, financial
condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed
since those dates.
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This
prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) using a shelf
registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may
offer from time to time, in one or more offerings, securities
having an aggregate initial offering price of up to $250,000,000
(or its equivalent in foreign or composite currencies). This
prospectus provides you with a general description of the
securities that may be offered. Each time we offer securities under
this shelf registration statement, we will provide you with a
prospectus supplement that describes the specific amounts, prices
and terms of the securities being offered. The prospectus
supplement also may add, update or change information contained in
this prospectus. You should read carefully both this prospectus and
any prospectus supplement together with additional information
described below under the caption “Where You Can Find More
Information,” before making an investment decision. We have
incorporated exhibits into this registration statement. You should
read the exhibits carefully for provisions that may be important to
you.
You
should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by
reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have
not authorized any person to provide you with different or
additional information. If anyone provides you with different or
inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This
prospectus is not an offer to sell securities, and it is not
soliciting an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction where the
offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the
information appearing in this prospectus or any prospectus
supplement, as well as information we have previously filed with
the SEC and incorporated by reference, is accurate as of the date
on the front of those documents only. Our business, financial
condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed
since those dates.
We
may sell securities through underwriters or dealers, through
agents, directly to purchasers or through a combination of these
methods. We and our agents reserve the sole right to accept or
reject, in whole or in part, any proposed purchase of securities.
The prospectus supplement, which we will provide to you each time
we offer securities, will set forth the names of any underwriters,
agents or others involved in the sale of securities and any
applicable fee, commission or discount arrangements with them. See
the information described below under the heading “Plan of
Distribution.”
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
This
prospectus, each prospectus supplement and the information
incorporated by reference in this prospectus and each prospectus
supplement contain certain statements that constitute
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. The words “anticipate,” “expect,” “believe,”
“goal,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “may,” “will,” and similar
expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify
forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of
identifying such statements. Any statements regarding the intent,
belief or current expectations of the Company and management that
are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
assumptions are considered forward-looking statements. You are
cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve risks and
uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from
those projected in the forward-looking statements.
Because
forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and
uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you
should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of
future events. The events and circumstances reflected in the
forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual
results could differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law,
including the securities laws of the United States and the rules
and regulations of the SEC, we do not plan to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements contained herein after we
distribute this prospectus, whether as a result of any new
information, future events or otherwise.
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This
summary highlights information that we present more fully in the
rest of this prospectus. This summary does not contain all of the
information you should consider before buying Class A Common Shares
in this offering. You should read the entire prospectus carefully,
including the “Risk Factors” section and the financial statements
and the notes to those statements.
Our Company - Overview
We
are not a Chinese operating company but a British Virgin Islands
holding company with operations conducted by our Subsidiaries
established in Delaware, PRC, British Virgin Islands, and Hong
Kong.
PRC
laws and regulations governing business operations are sometimes
vague and uncertain, and therefore, these risks may result in a
material change in the operations of our PRC Subsidiaries and Hong
Kong Subsidiaries, significant depreciation of the value of our
Class A Common Shares, or a complete hindrance of our ability to
offer or continue to offer our securities to investors and cause
the value of such securities to significantly decline or be
worthless. The Chinese government may intervene or influence the
operations of our PRC operating entities at any time and may exert
more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign
investment in China-based issuers, which could result in a material
change in the operations of our PRC operating entities and/or the
value of our Class A Common Shares. Further, any actions by the
Chinese government to exert more oversight and control over
offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in
China-based issuers could significantly limit or completely hinder
our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors
and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or
be worthless. Recently, the PRC government initiated a series of
regulatory actions and statements to regulate business operations
in China with little advance notice, including cracking down on
illegal activities in the securities market, adopting new measures
to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the
efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. See “Prospectus Summary —
Permission Required from the PRC Authorities for the Company’s
Operation and to Issue Our Class A Common Shares to Foreign
Investors”; “Risk Factor — Draft rules for China-based
companies seeking for securities offerings in foreign stock markets
was released by the CSRC for public consultation. While such rules
have not yet come into effect, the Chinese government may exert
more oversight and control over overseas public offerings conducted
by China-based issuers, which could significantly limit or
completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our
Class A Common Shares to investors and could cause the value of our
Class A Common Shares to significantly decline or become
worthless”; “Risk Factor — Our failure to obtain prior
approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) for
the listing and trading of our Class A Common Shares on a foreign
stock exchange could delay this offering or could have a material
adverse effect upon our business, operating results, reputation and
trading price of our Class A Common Shares”.
Trading
in our Class A Common Shares
may be prohibited on national exchanges or “over-the-counter”
markets under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the
“HFCA Act”) if the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(“PCAOB”) is unable to inspect our auditors for three consecutive
years beginning in 2021, and as a result, an exchange may determine
to delist our securities. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S.
Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies
Accountable Act (“AHFCAA”), which, if signed into law, would amend
the HFCA Act and require the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities
from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not
subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of
three consecutive years. Pursuant to the HFCA Act, the PCAOB issued
a Determination Report on December 16, 2021 which found that the
PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered
public accounting firms headquartered in: (1) mainland China of the
PRC, and (2) Hong Kong. In addition, the PCAOB’s report identified
the specific registered public accounting firms which are subject
to these determinations.
Our
auditor is currently subject to PCAOB inspections and the PCAOB is
thus able to inspect our auditor.Our auditor, Prager
Metis CPAs, LLC, is located at Hackensack New Jersey, and has been
inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis with the last inspection
in August 2020. Our auditor is not headquartered in mainland China
or Hong Kong and was not identified in this report as a firm
subject to the PCAOB’s determination. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, in the future, if there is any regulatory change or step
taken by PRC regulators that does not permit Prager Metis CPAs, LLC
to provide audit documentations located in China or Hong Kong to
the PCAOB for inspection or investigation, or the PACOB expands the
scope of the Determination so that we are subject to the HFCA Act,
as the same may be amended, you may be deprived of the benefits of
such inspection which could result in limitation or restriction to
our access to the U.S. capital markets and trading of our
securities, including trading on the national exchange and trading
on “over-the-counter” markets, may be prohibited under the HFCA
Act. See “Risk Factors — Recent joint statement by the SEC and
PCAOB, proposed rule changes submitted by Nasdaq, and an act passed
by the US Senate all call for additional and more stringent
criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing
the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S.
auditors who are not inspected by the PCAOB. These developments
could add uncertainties to our offering.” for more
information.
History and Development of the Company
Dogness
(International) Corporation, is a company limited by shares
established under the laws of the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) on
July 11, 2016 as a holding company. The Company, through its
subsidiaries, is primarily engaged in the design, manufacturing and
sales of various types of pet leashes, pet collars, pet harnesses,
intelligent pet products and retractable leashes with products
being sold all over the world mainly through distributions by large
retailers.
A
reorganization of the legal structure was completed on January 9,
2017. Reorganization involved the incorporation of Dogness, a BVI
holding company; and Dogness Intelligent Technology (Dongguan) Co.,
Ltd. (“Dongguan Dogness”), a holding company established under the
laws of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”); and the transfer of
HK Dogness, HK Jiasheng and Dongguan Jiasheng Enterprise Co., Ltd.
(“Dongguan Jiasheng”; collectively, the “Transferred Entities”)
from the Controlling Shareholder to Dogness and Dongguan Dogness.
Prior to the reorganization, the Transferred Entities’ equity
interests were 100% controlled by our founder and Chief Executive
Officer, Mr. Silong Chen (the “Controlling
Shareholder”).
On
November 24, 2016, the Controlling Shareholder transferred his 100%
ownership interest in Dongguan Jiasheng to Dongguan Dogness, which
is 100% owned by HK Dogness and considered a wholly foreign-owned
entity (“WFOE”) in PRC. On January 9, 2017, the Controlling
Shareholder transferred his 100% equity interests in HK Dogness and
HK Jiasheng to Dogness. After the reorganization, Dogness
ultimately owns 100% of the equity interests of the entities
mentioned above.
Dongguan
Jiasheng Enterprise Co., Ltd. (“Dongguan Jiasheng”) was established
on May 15, 2009 under the laws of the PRC, with registered capital
of RMB 10 million (approximately $1.5 million) contributed by
individual shareholder Mr. Silong Chen. Dongguan Jiasheng is the
main operating entity and is engaged in the research and
development, manufacturing and distribution of various types of
gift suspenders, pet belts ribbon, lace, elastic belt, computer
jacquard ribbon and high-grade textile lace.
Since
the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries were effectively
controlled by the same Controlling Shareholder before and after the
reorganization, they are considered under common control. The
above-mentioned transactions were accounted for as a
recapitalization. The consolidation of the Company and its
subsidiaries has been accounted for at historical cost and prepared
on the basis as if the aforementioned transactions had become
effective as of the beginning of the first period presented in the
accompanying consolidated financial statements.
In
January 2018, the Company formed a Delaware limited liability
company, Dogness Group LLC, with its operation focusing primarily
on promoting the Company’s pet products sales in the United States.
In February 2018, Dogness Overseas Ltd, which is wholly owned by
the Company, was established in the British Virgin Islands as a
holding company. Dogness Overseas Ltd owns all of the interests in
Dogness Group LLC.
On
March 16, 2018 (the “Acquisition Date”), the Company entered into a
share purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the equity interests in
Zhangzhou Meijia Metal Product Co., Ltd (“Meijia”) from its
original shareholder, Long Kai (Shenzhen) Industrial Co., Ltd
(“Longkai”), for a total cash consideration of approximately $11.0
million (or RMB 71.0 million). After the acquisition, Mejia became
the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary. Meijia owns the land use
right to a land parcel of 19,144.54 square meters and a factory and
office buildings of an aggregate of 18,912.38 square meters. This
Acquisition enables the Company to build its own facility instead
of leasing manufacturing facilities and expand its production
capacity sustainably to meet increased customer demand. Total
budgeted capital expenditure to bring Meijia manufacturing facility
into use was originally estimated to be completed at a cost of RMB
110 million ($17.0 million). The actual costs have been adjusted
based on additional works required for waterproofing, sewage
pipeline and hazardous waste leakage prevention. Meijia plant has
reached its designed production capacity by June 2021.
On
July 6, 2018, Dogness Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd.
(“Intelligence Guangzhou”) was incorporated under the laws of the
People’s Republic of China in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province,
China with a total registered capital of RMB 80 million
(approximately $12.4 million). One of the Company’s subsidiaries,
Dongguan Jiasheng, owns 58% of Intelligence Guangzhou, with the
remaining 42% of ownership interest owned by two unrelated
entities. As of the date hereof, Dongguan Jiasheng has not made the
capital contribution. Intelligence Guangzhou has had immaterial
operation since its inception.
On
February 5, 2019, in order to expand into the Japanese market and
expedite the development of new smart pet products, the Company
invested $142,000 for 51% ownership interest in Dogness Japan Co.
Ltd. (“Dogness Japan”), with the remaining 49% ownership interest
owned by an unrelated individual. Due to the negative impact of
COVID-19 and because no material revenue was generated since its
inception, on November 28, 2020, the Board approved to the sale of
the Company’s 51% ownership interest to the remaining shareholder
of Dogness Japan.
Dogness
Pet Culture (Dongguan) Co., Ltd. (“Dogness Culture”) was
incorporated on December 14, 2018 with registered capital of RMB 10
million (approximately $1.5 million). The capital was not paid and
there were no active business operations. On January 15, 2020, the
Company’s subsidiary, Dongguan Dogness, entered into an agreement
with the original shareholder of Dogness Culture, who is related to
Mr. Silong Chen, our Chief Executive Officer, to acquire 51.2%
ownership interest of Dogness Culture for a nominal fee. The
remaining equity interest of 48.8% was also transferred to other
two third parties for a nominal fee. Dongguan Dogness thereafter
contributed cash consideration of RMB 5.12 million (approximately
$0.79 million) on April 16, 2020 along with other two shareholders’
capital contributions of RMB 4.88 million (approximately $0.76
million). Dogness Culture will mainly focus on developing and
expanding pet food market in China in the near future.
Our Corporate Structure

|
● |
Dogness
(International) Corporation, a British Virgin Islands business
company (“Dogness” when individually referenced), which is the
parent holding company issuing securities hereby); |
|
|
|
|
● |
Dogness
Overseas Ltd (“Dogness Overseas”), a British Virgin Islands
business company, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Dogness. |
|
|
|
|
● |
Dogness
Group LLC (“Dogness Group”), a Delaware limited company, which is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Dogness Overseas; and |
|
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|
|
● |
Jiasheng
Enterprise (Hongkong) Co., Limited, a Hong Kong company (“HK
Jiasheng” when individually referenced), which is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Dogness; |
|
|
|
|
● |
Dogness
(Hongkong) Pet’s Products Co., Limited, a Hong Kong company (“HK
Dogness” when individually referenced), which is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Dogness; |
|
|
|
|
● |
Dogness
Intelligent Technology (Dongguan) Co., Ltd., a PRC company
(“Dongguan Dogness”), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of HK
Dogness; |
|
|
|
|
● |
Dongguan
Jiasheng Enterprise Co., Ltd., a PRC company (“Dongguan Jiasheng”),
which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dongguan Dogness; |
|
|
|
|
● |
Zhangzhou
Meijia Metal Product Co., Ltd, a PRC company (“Meijia”), which is a
Wholly owned subsidiary of Dongguan Dogness; |
|
|
|
|
● |
Dogness
Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd. (“Intelligence Guangzhou”), a PRC
company, and Dongguan Jiasheng owns 58% of the equity of
Intelligence Guangzhou ; and |
|
|
|
|
● |
Dogness
Pet Culture (Dongguan) Co., Ltd. (“Dogness Culture”), a PRC
company, and Dongguan Dogness owns 51.2% of the equity of Dogness
Culture. |
Permission Required from the PRC Authorities for the Company’s
Operation and to Issue Our Class A Common Shares to Foreign
Investors
As of
the date of this prospectus, we and our Subsidiaries have obtained
all permits and licenses that are required by Chinese authorities
for our Subsidiaries to operate in China and for us to offer the
securities being registered to foreign investors. Except for
the potential uncertainties disclosed below, we and our
Subsidiaries have not received any requirements to obtain
permissions from any PRC authorities to operate in China or to
issue our Class A Common Shares to foreign investors, and recent
statements and regulatory actions by the Chinese government
indicating an intent to exert more oversight and control over
offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in
China-based issuers, such as those related to anti-monopoly
concerns, have not impacted the ability of Dogness or our
Subsidiaries to conduct business, accept foreign investments, or
list on a U.S. or other foreign exchange.
Below is a list of the required permits and licenses of us and our
Subsidiaries in the PRC:
|
● |
Business
Licenses |
|
● |
Food
Distribution License |
|
● |
Pollutant
Discharge Permit |
|
● |
License
for the Discharge of Sewage into Drainage Pipelines |
|
● |
Veterinary
Drugs Distribution Permit |
As of
the date of this prospectus, all our Subsidiaries in the PRC have
obtained the required business licenses from the State
Administration for Market Regulation for their operations, and all
such licenses are currently in effect. Further, Meijia obtained a
Food Distribution License from the Zhangpu County Administration
for Market Regulation on December 23, 2019, with a term of five
years till December 22, 2024, for its catering services provided to
its workers at the cafeteria, and a Pollutant Discharge Permit for
the operation of the Meijia plant from the Zhangpu Ecological
Environment Bureau of Zhangzhou City on June 20, 2019, with a term
of three years till June 19, 2022. Dongguan Jiasheng obtained a
License for the Discharge of Sewage into Drainage Pipelines from
the Ecological Environment Bureau of Dongguan City on May 21, 2021,
effective till May 20, 2026, for its manufacture. Dogness Culture
obtained a Veterinary Drugs Distribution Permit from the Bureau of
Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Dongguan City on April 27, 2021,
effective till April 27, 2026, for its importing and distributing
pet drugs.
Pursuant
to the Food Safety Law of the PRC and the Administrative Measures
for Food Distribution Licensing, a permit is required for vendors
engaging in the sale of food and catering services. Meijia provides
catering services to its workers at its cafeteria and has obtained
the Food Distribution License. In the event that Meijia could not
maintain or renew such license but continues to engage in catering
services, it would be subject to the confiscation of the illegal
income, the illegally distributed food, and the tools, equipment,
raw materials and other items that are used in the illegal
distribution activities, as well as a fine of no less than RMB
50,000 but no more than RMB 100,000 if the illegally distributed
food worth no more than RMB 10,000, or a fine of no less than ten
times but no more than twenty times of the value of the goods if
such value is no less than RMB 10,000.
Pursuant
to the Environmental Protection Law of the PRC and the Regulation
on the Permit Administration of Pollutant Discharge, a business
operator which is subject to the permit administration of pollutant
discharge, such as Meijia, shall obtain a pollutant discharge
permit. If Meijia fails to maintain or renew such permit and
continues to discharge pollutant, it would be subject to an order
of rectification, restriction on production, or suspension of
production for rectification, and a fine of no less than RMB 2
million and no more than RMB 10 million; in case of serious
violation, upon the approval of the competent people’s government,
it may be ordered to suspend or cease its business.
Pursuant
to the Regulations on Urban Drainage and Sewage Treatment and the
Administrative Measures for the Licensing of Discharge of Urban
Sewage into the Drainage Pipelines, any person or entity engaging
in industry, construction, catering, medical services and other
activities (the “drainage entity”) that discharges sewage into
municipal drainage facilities shall apply to the competent
authority for a license authorizing the sewage being discharged
into drainage pipelines (the “Sewage Discharge License”), the
violation of which could subject the drainage entity to (i) an
order to cease the illegal act and take measures to remedy within
the prescribed time, (ii) an obligation to apply for the Sewage
Discharge License, and (iii) potentially, a fine of no more than
RMB 500,000. Further, if the drainage entity does not discharge
sewage in accordance with the requirements specified by the Sewage
Discharge License, it shall be ordered to cease the illegal act and
rectify within the prescribed time, and may be subject to a fine of
no more than RMB 50,000; in case of serious violations, its Sewage
Discharge License shall be revoked, and it shall be subject to a
fine of more than RMB 50,000 but less than RMB 500,000, and the
public can be informed of its violations. In the event of
violations that cause damages, the drainage entity shall bear the
compensation liability, and if a violation constitutes a criminal
act, the drainage entity shall bear the relevant criminal
liability. Dongguan Jiasheng has obtained the Sewage Discharge
License and it is currently effective.
Pursuant
to the Regulations on the Administration of Veterinary Drugs, an
enterprise that engages in the distribution of veterinary drugs
shall obtain a veterinary drugs distribution permit, violation of
which may subject the enterprise to penalties including, suspension
of operation, confiscation of the raw materials, auxiliary
materials and packing materials used in the distribution of the
veterinary drugs and the illegal income related, and a fine worth
no less than twice but no more than five times of the value of the
illegally distributed veterinary drugs. If the value of such goods
cannot be verified, the enterprise shall be subject to a fine of
more than RMB 100,000 but less than RMB 200,000. In case of serious
violation, the enterprise shall be subject to the revocation of the
veterinary drug distribution permit and may be subject to criminal
liability. Dogness Culture has obtained a Veterinary Drugs
Distribution which is currently in effect.
As of
the date of this prospectus, except for the potential uncertainties
disclosed below, we and our Subsidiaries have not received any
requirements to obtain permissions from any PRC authorities,
including the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) and
the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”), to operate in China
or to issue our Class A Common Shares to foreign investors. In
reaching this conclusion, we relied on an opinion of our PRC
counsel, and a consent from the PRC counsel has been filed with
this registration statement as Exhibit 23.4.
On
August 8, 2006, six Chinese regulatory agencies, including the
Ministry of Commerce of China (“MOFCOM”), jointly issued the
Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by
Foreign Investors (the “M&A Rules”), which became effective on
September 8, 2006 and amended on June 22, 2009. The M&A Rules
contain provisions that require that an offshore special purpose
vehicle (“SPV”) formed for listing purposes and controlled directly
or indirectly by Chinese companies or individuals shall obtain the
approval of CSRC prior to the listing and trading of such SPV’s
securities on an overseas stock exchange. On September 21, 2006,
CSRC published procedures specifying documents and materials
required to be submitted to it by an SPV seeking CSRC approval of
overseas listings. However, the application of the M&A Rules
remains unclear with no consensus currently existing among leading
Chinese law firms regarding the scope and applicability of the CSRC
approval requirement. We have not chosen to voluntarily request
approval under the M&A Rules. Based on the understanding of the
current PRC law, rules and regulations, given that Dogness was not
established by a merger with or an acquisition of any PRC domestic
companies as defined under the M&A Rules, we believe that, as
of the date of this prospectus, CSRC’s approval under the M&A
Rules is not required for the listing and trading of our Common
Shares on Nasdaq in the context of this offering. However,
our PRC legal counsel has further advised us that there remains
some uncertainty as to how the M&A Rules will be interpreted or
implemented, and our understanding summarized above is subject to
any new laws, rules and regulations or detailed implementations and
interpretations in any form relating to the M&A Rules. We
cannot assure you that relevant Chinese government agencies,
including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion.
On
February 7, 2021, the Anti-Monopoly Committee of the State Council
promulgated the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for the Platform Economy
Sector, or the Anti-Monopoly Guideline, aiming to improve
anti-monopoly administration on online platforms. The Anti-Monopoly
Guideline, operating as the compliance guidance under the
then-existing PRC anti-monopoly regulatory regime for platform
economy operators, specifically prohibits certain acts of the
platform economy operators that may have the effect of eliminating
or limiting market competition, such as concentration of
undertakings. The Anti-Monopoly Guideline requires that the
Ministry of Commerce, or MOC, shall be notified in advance of any
concentration of undertaking if certain thresholds are triggered.
In addition, the security review rules issued by the MOC that
became effective in September, 2011 specify that mergers and
acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and
security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which
foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic
enterprises that raise “national security” concerns are subject to
strict review by the MOC, and the rules prohibit any activities
attempting to bypass a security review, including by structuring
the transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangement.
As of the date of this prospectus, the Chinese government’s recent
statements and regulatory actions related to anti-monopoly concerns
have not impacted our ability to conduct business, accept foreign
investments, or list on a U.S. or other foreign exchange because
neither the Company nor our PRC Subsidiaries engage in monopolistic
behaviors that are subject to these statements or regulatory
actions. In the future, however, we may grow our business by
acquiring complementary businesses, and complying with the
requirements of the above-mentioned regulations and other relevant
rules to complete such transactions could be time consuming, and
any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from
the MOC or its local counterparts, may delay or inhibit our ability
to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to
expand our business or maintain our market share.
On
July 6, 2021, the General Office of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State
Council jointly released the Opinions on Severely Cracking Down on
Illegal Securities Activities According to Law, or the Opinions.
The Opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration
over illegal securities activities, and the need to strengthen the
supervision over overseas listings by Chinese companies. Effective
measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory
systems will be taken to deal with the risks and incidents of
China-concept overseas listed companies, and cybersecurity and data
privacy protection requirements, etc. Given the current PRC
regulatory environment, it is uncertain when and whether we or our
PRC subsidiaries, will be required to obtain permission from the
PRC government to list on U.S. exchanges in the future, and even
when such permission is obtained, whether it will be denied or
rescinded. We have been closely monitoring regulatory
developments in China regarding any necessary approvals from the
CSRC or other PRC governmental authorities required for overseas
listings, including this offering. As of the date of this
prospectus, we have not received any inquiry, notice, warning,
sanctions or regulatory objection to this offering from the CSRC or
other PRC governmental authorities. However, there remains
significant uncertainty as to the enactment, interpretation and
implementation of regulatory requirements related to overseas
securities offerings and other capital markets
activities.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, on December 24, 2021, CSRC issued
the Administrative Provisions of the State Council Regarding the
Overseas Issuance of Securities and Listing by Domestic Enterprises
(the “Draft Administrative Provisions”) and the Measures for the
Overseas Issuance of Securities and Listing Record-Filings by
Domestic Enterprises (Draft for Comments) (the “Draft Filing
Measures”), collectively, the “Draft Rules Regarding Overseas
Listings”, which were published for public comments till January
23, 2022. According to the Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listings,
among other things, after making initial applications with overseas
stock markets for initial public offerings or listings, all
China-based companies shall file with CSRC within three working
days. The required filing materials with CSRC include (without
limitation): (i) record-filing reports and related undertakings,
(ii) compliance certificates, filing or approval documents from the
primary regulator of the applicants’ businesses (if applicable),
(iii) security assessment opinions issued by related departments
(if applicable), (iv) PRC legal opinions, and (v) prospectus. In
addition, overseas offerings and listings may be prohibited for
such China-based companies when any of the following applies: (1)
if the intended securities offerings and listings are specifically
prohibited by the laws, regulations or provision of the PRC; (2) if
the intended securities offerings and listings may constitute a
threat to, or endanger national security as reviewed and determined
by competent authorities under the State Council in accordance with
laws; (3) if there are material ownership disputes over applicants’
equity interests, major assets, core technologies, or the others;
(4) if, in the past three years, applicants’ domestic enterprises
or controlling shareholders, de facto controllers have committed
corruption, bribery, embezzlement, misappropriation of property, or
other criminal offenses disruptive to the order of the socialist
market economy, or are currently under judicial investigation for
suspicion of criminal offenses, or are under investigation for
suspicion of major violations; (5) if, in the past three years, any
directors, supervisors, or senior executives of applicants have
been subject to administrative punishments for severe violations,
or are currently under judicial investigation for suspicion of
criminal offenses, or are under investigation for suspicion of
major violations; (6) other circumstances as prescribed by the
State Council. The Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listings further
require all overseas-listed China-based companies to file with CSRC
for certain matters, including follow-on offerings, after their
initial public offering. The Draft Administrative Provisions
stipulate that a fine between RMB 1 million and RMB 10 million may
be imposed if an applicant fails to fulfill the filing requirements
with CSRC or conducts an overseas offering or listing in violation
of the Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listings, and in cases of
severe violations, a parallel order to suspend relevant businesses
or halt operations for rectification may be issued, and relevant
business permits or operational license revoked.
As of the date of this prospectus, the Draft Rules Regarding
Overseas Listings have not been promulgated, and neither us nor any
of our Subsidiaries has been required to obtain permission from, or
make filings with, CSRC or any Chinese governmental agencies for
any of our U.S. offerings. While the final version of the Draft
Rules Regarding Overseas Listings is expected to be adopted in
2022, we believe that none of the six situations that would clearly
prohibit overseas offering and listings apply to us. In reaching
this conclusion, we are relying on an opinion of our PRC counsel
and that there is uncertainty inherent in relying on an opinion of
counsel in connection with whether we or our Subsidiaries are
required to obtain permissions from the Chinese government that is
required to approve of our operations and/or offering. Further, the
Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listings, if enacted, may subject us
or our Subsidiaries to additional compliance requirements for our
follow-on offerings in the future. In the event that we or any of
our Subsidiaries are subject to the compliance requirements, we
cannot assure you that any of us will be able to receive clearance
of such filing requirements in a timely manner, or at all. Any
failure of us or our Subsidiaries to fully comply with new
regulatory requirements may significantly limit or completely
hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our Class A Common
Shares, cause significant disruption to our business operations,
severely damage our reputation, materially and adversely affect our
financial condition and results of operations and cause our Class A
Common Shares to significantly decline in value or become
worthless. See “Risk Factor — Draft rules for China-based
companies seeking for securities offerings in foreign stock markets
was released by the CSRC for public consultation. While such rules
have not yet come into effect, the Chinese government may exert
more oversight and control over overseas public offerings conducted
by China-based issuers, which could significantly limit or
completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our
Class A Common Shares to investors and could cause the value of our
Class A Common Shares to significantly decline or become
worthless.”; “Risk Factor — Our failure to obtain prior
approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) for
the listing and trading of our Class A Common Shares on a foreign
stock exchange could delay this offering or could have a material
adverse effect upon our business, operating results, reputation and
trading price of our Class A Common Shares”.
We or
our Subsidiaries may also be subject to PRC laws relating to the
use, sharing, retention, security and transfer of confidential and
private information, such as personal information and other data.
On November 14, 2021, the CAC released the Regulations on the
Network Data Security Management (Draft for Comments), or the Data
Security Management Regulations Draft, to solicit public opinion
and comments till December 13, 2021, which has not been promulgated
as of the date of this prospectus. Pursuant to the Data Security
Management Regulations Draft, data processor holding more than one
million users’ personal information shall be subject to
cybersecurity review before listing abroad. Data processing
activities refers to activities such as the collection, retention,
use, processing, transmission, provision, disclosure, or deletion
of data. According to the latest amended Cybersecurity Review
Measures, which was promulgated on November 16, 2021 and became
effective on February 15, 2022, an online platform operator holding
more than one million users’ personal information shall be subject
to cybersecurity review before listing abroad.
We,
through our Subsidiaries, are primarily engaged in the design,
manufacturing and sales of various types of pet leashes, pet
collars, pet harnesses, intelligent pet products and retractable
leashes. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not been
informed by any PRC governmental authority, including the CAC, of
any requirement that we or our Subsidiaries file for approval for
this offering. We don’t believe that we or any of our Subsidiaries
will be subject to either the amended Cybersecurity Review Measures
or the Data Security Management Regulations Draft since none of us
are online platform operators or data processors with more than one
million users’ personal information. In reaching this conclusion,
we replied on an opinion of our PRC counsel, who has also advised
us that, since the above-mentioned laws and regulations are either
newly adopted or have not be formally promulgated, it is uncertain
how they will be enacted, interpreted or implemented, and whether
it will affect us. Since the regulatory actions are new, it is
highly uncertain how soon legislative or administrative regulation
making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or
regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be
modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such
modified or new laws and regulations will have on our Subsidiaries’
daily business operation, their ability to accept foreign
investments, and our ability to list or offer securities on an U.S.
exchange.
In
addition, according to the Personal Information Protection Law
issued by Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of
the PRC on August 20, 2021, where the purpose of the activity is to
provide a product or service to that natural person located within
China, such activity shall comply with the Personal Information
Protection Law. Further, the Data Security Law, which took effect
in September 2021, provides that where any data handling activity
carried out outside of the territory of China harms the national
security, public interests, or the legitimate rights and interests
of citizens or organizations of China, legal liability shall be
investigated in accordance with such law. As of the date hereof, we
are of the view that we and our Subsidiaries are in compliance with
the applicable PRC laws and regulations governing the data privacy
and personal information in all material respects, including the
data privacy and personal information requirements of the
Cyberspace Administration of China, and we and our Subsidiaries
have not received any complaints from any third party, or been
investigated or punished by any PRC competent authority in relation
to data privacy and personal information protection. In reaching
this conclusion, we and our Subsidiaries have adopted corresponding
internal control measures to ensure the security of our information
system and confidentiality of our customers’ personal information,
including, but not limited to the followings:
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● |
We
and our Subsidiaries provide training to our employees to ensure
that they are aware of our internal policies in relation to data
protection. |
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|
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We
and our Subsidiaries have specific network administrator
responsible for installing the network firewall, remoting backup
storage of important databases, business data, and documents, and
promoting information security awareness among our
employees. |
For
the data and personal information collected from the customers, we
set out our data privacy policy and obtain the prior consent of the
customers as required by the applicable laws and regulations before
collecting their data and personal information. We collect personal
information in accordance with the principle of legality, propriety
and necessity, and do not collect personal information irrelevant
to the service we provide to the customers. We have not shared,
transferred or publicly disclosed user data without prior consent
or authorization from the customers, unless otherwise permitted by
relevant laws and regulations. However, the Personal Information
Protection Law and the Data Security Law are relatively new, there
remains uncertainty as to how the laws will be interpreted or
implemented and whether the PRC regulatory agencies, including the
CAC, may adopt new laws, regulations, rules, or detailed
implementation and interpretation related to the two laws. We may
be required to comply with laws and regulations in the PRC relating
to data privacy and personal information, and failure to comply
with such laws and regulations may potentially lead to regulatory
or civil liability.
In
conclusion, we and our Subsidiaries have received all required
permissions from the Chinese authorities and no permission has been
denied. In reaching this conclusion, we relied on an opinion of our
PRC counsel, and a consent from the PRC counsel has been filed with
this registration statement as Exhibit 23.4. But given the current
regulatory environment in the PRC, we are still subject to the
uncertainty of interpretation and enforcement of the rules and
regulations in the PRC, which can change quickly due to any future
actions of the Chinese authorities with little advance notice. The
Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listings, Data Security Management
Regulations Draft, Cybersecurity Review Measures, Personal
Information Protection Law and Data Security Law are relatively
new, there are substantial uncertainties regarding their
interpretation and application, the PRC regulatory authorities may
take a view that is contrary to the analysis above. We are not sure
whether the PRC regulatory authorities will adopt other rules and
restrictions in the future. See “Risk Factor — Uncertainties
with respect to the PRC legal system could have a material adverse
effect on us” and “Risk Factor — China Securities Regulatory
Commission and other Chinese government agencies may exert more
oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas
and foreign investment in China-based issuers, especially those in
the technology filed. Additional compliance procedures may be
required in connection with this offering, and, if required, we
cannot predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval. If
we are required to obtain PRC governmental permission to commence
the sale of our securities, we will not commence the offering until
we obtain such permissions. As a result, we face uncertainty about
future actions by the PRC government that could significantly
affect our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to
investors and cause the value of our securities to significantly
decline or be worthless.”
Dividend Distributions and Cash Transfer among Dogness and the
Subsidiaries
As a holding company, we may rely on dividends and other
distributions on equity paid by our subsidiaries, including those
based in the PRC, for our cash and financing requirements. . If any
of our PRC Subsidiaries incurs debt on its own behalf in the
future, the instruments governing such debt may restrict their
ability to pay dividends to us. To
date, none of the Subsidiaries has made any dividends or
distributions to Dogness, and Dogness has not made any dividends or
distributions to our shareholders. We anticipate that we will
retain any earnings to support operations and to finance the growth
and development of our business. Therefore, we do not expect to pay
cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Under British Virgin
Islands law, we may only pay dividends from surplus (the excess, if
any, at the time of the determination of the total assets of our
company over the sum of our liabilities, as shown in our books of
account, plus our capital), and we must be solvent before and after
the dividend payment in the sense that we will be able to satisfy
our liabilities as they become due in the ordinary course of
business; and the realizable value of assets of our company will
not be less than the sum of our total liabilities, other than
deferred taxes as shown on our books of account, and our capital.
If we determine to pay dividends on any of our Common Shares in the
future, as a holding company, we will be dependent on receipt of
funds from our Hong Kong subsidiaries, HK Jiasheng and HK Dogness.
Current PRC regulations permit the PRC Subsidiaries to pay
dividends to HK Dogness only out of their accumulated profits, if
any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and
regulations. In addition, each of our subsidiaries in China is
required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each
year, if any, to fund a statutory reserve until such reserve
reaches 50% of its registered capital. Each of such entity in China
is also required to further set aside a portion of its after-tax
profits to fund the employee welfare fund, although the amount to
be set aside, if any, is determined at the discretion of its board
of directors. Although the statutory reserves can be used, among
other ways, to increase the registered capital and eliminate future
losses in excess of retained earnings of the respective companies,
the reserve funds are not distributable as cash dividends except in
the event of liquidation.
The
PRC government also imposes controls on the conversion of RMB into
foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of
currencies out of the PRC. We receive a majority of our revenues in
Renminbi, which currently is not a freely convertible currency.
Restrictions on currency conversion imposed by the PRC government
may limit our ability to use revenues generated in Renminbi to fund
our expenditures denominated in foreign currencies or our business
activities outside China. Under China’s existing foreign exchange
regulations, Renminbi may be freely converted into foreign currency
for payments relating to current account transactions, which
include among other things dividend payments and payments for the
import of goods and services, by complying with certain procedural
requirements. Our PRC subsidiaries are able to pay dividends in
foreign currencies to us without prior approval from the related
government agencies, by complying with certain procedural
requirements. Our PRC subsidiaries may also retain foreign currency
in their respective current account bank accounts for use in
payment of international current account transactions. However, we
cannot assure you that the PRC government will not at its
discretion take measures in the future to restrict access to
foreign currencies for current account transactions.
Conversion
of Renminbi into foreign currencies, and of foreign currencies into
Renminbi, for payments relating to capital account transactions,
which principally includes investments and loans, generally
requires the approval of China’s State Administration of Foreign
Exchange (“SAFE”) or other relevant PRC governmental authorities.
Any foreign loans procured by our PRC Subsidiaries is required to
be registered with SAFE or its local branches or satisfy relevant
requirements, and our PRC Subsidiaries may not procure loans which
exceed the difference between their respective total project
investment amount and registered capital or 2 times (which may be
varied year by year due to the change of PRC’s national
macro-control policy) of the net worth of our PRC Subsidiary.
According to the relevant PRC regulations on foreign-invested
enterprises in China, capital contributions to our PRC Subsidiaries
are subject to the approval of or filing with State Administration
for Market Regulation in its local branches, the Ministry of
Commerce in its local branches and registration with a local bank
authorized by SAFE. For these capital account transactions, we must
take the steps legally required under the PRC laws, for example, we
will open a special foreign exchange account, remit the offering
proceeds into such special foreign exchange account, and apply for
settlement of the foreign exchange. The timing of the process is
difficult to estimate because the efficiencies of different SAFE
branches can vary materially. 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 by us to our
PRC Subsidiary or with respect to future capital contributions by
us to our PRC Subsidiaries. If we fail to complete such
registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to use the
proceeds from this offering and to capitalize or otherwise fund our
PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could materially
and adversely affect our liquidity, our ability to fund and expand
our business and our Common Shares. On the other hand, restrictions
on the convertibility of the Renminbi for capital account
transactions could affect the ability of our PRC Subsidiaries to
make investments overseas or to obtain foreign currency through
debt or equity financing, including by means of loans or capital
contributions from us. We cannot assure you that the registration
process will not delay or prevent the conversion of Renminbi for
use outside of China. Currently, we have installed cash
management policies or procedures in place that dictate how funds
are transferred, under an umbrella of corporate policies and
financial reporting policies. Even though our policies do not
specifically address the limitations, as discussed above, on the
amount of funds the Company can transfer out of China, if we decide
to transfer cash out of China in the future, all relevant transfers
will be conducted in compliance with such limitations. Please see
“Risk Factor — China’s economic, political and social
conditions, as well as changes in any government policies, laws and
regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business”;
“Risk Factor – We
may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our
subsidiaries, including those based in the PRC, for our cash and
financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the
ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a
material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our
business”; “Risk Factor — PRC regulation of loans and
direct investment by offshore holding companies to PRC entities may
delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of this Offering to
make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC
subsidiary, which could materially and adversely affect our
liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business”;
“Risk Factor — Governmental control of currency conversion
may limit our ability to use our revenues effectively and the
ability of our PRC subsidiaries to obtain financing”; and
‘Risk
Factor
– We must remit the offering proceeds to China before they may
be used to benefit our business in China, the process of which may
be time-consuming, and we cannot assure that we can finish all
necessary governmental registration processes in a timely
manner.”
In
addition, the transfer of funds among our PRC Subsidiaries are
subject to the Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on Several
Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Private
Lending Cases (2020 Revision, the “Provisions on Private Lending
Cases”), which was implemented on August 20, 2020 to regulate the
financing activities between natural persons, legal persons and
unincorporated organizations. As advised by our PRC counsel, the
Provisions on Private Lending Cases does not prohibit using cash
generated from one subsidiary to fund the operations of another
subsidiary in China. As of the date of this prospectus, no cash
generated from one subsidiary has been used to fund another
subsidiary’s operations, expect for the financing obtained by the
Company be transferred to operating entities for their operations.
We have not been notified of any other restriction which could
limit our PRC Subsidiaries’ ability to transfer cash between
subsidiaries in China, and do not anticipate any difficulties or
limitations in our ability to transfer cash between subsidiaries.
As of the date of this prospectus, no cash generated from one
subsidiary has been used to fund another subsidiary’s operations;
for that reason, our cash management policies do not specifically
address this type of transfers between subsidiaries. We do not
anticipate any occasions where cash generated from one subsidiary
needs to be transferred to another subsidiary and will comply with
PRC laws discussed above should we decide to conduct such a
transfer. See “Prospectus Summary – Selected Condensed
Consolidated Financial Schedule of Dogness (International)
Corporation and its Subsidiaries” and the consolidated
financial statements.
Cash
flow between Dogness and the Subsidiaries primarily consists of
transfers from Dogness to these Subsidiaries for short-term working
capital loan, which is mainly used in payment of operating expenses
and investments. To date, there are no other assets transferred
between Dogness and the Subsidiaries except for the below cash
transfers:
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● |
For
the year ended June 30, 2019, cash transferred from Dogness to HK
Dogness was $98 for payments of miscellaneous charge. The source of
fund was the cash retained in our Company after IPO. In addition,
our HK Dogness repaid $44 back to Dogness for the year ended June
30, 2019. |
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For
the year ended June 30, 2020, cash transferred from Dogness to HK
Dogness was $103,333 for short-term working capital loan. The
source of funds was the cash retained. |
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For
the year ended June 30, 2021, Dogness transferred $505,850 to the
Delaware subsidiary, Dogness Group LLC, for short term working
capital loan purpose and transferred $2,581,533 to HK Dogness for
short term working capital loan purpose. The source of funds was
the registered direct public offering we completed on January
20,2021 with net proceeds of $6.6 million. For the year ended June
30, 2021, Dogness also received cash repayment transferred from HK
Dogness in the amount of $304. |
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For
the six months ended December 31, 2021, Dogness transferred
$1,355,982 ($30,000 + $1,325,982) to Dogness Group LLC. The source
of funds was the equity financing we completed in July 2021 and the
exercise of warrants in November and December 2021. |
In
the future, cash proceeds raised from overseas financing activities
may be transferred by Dogness to the Subsidiaries via capital
contribution or shareholder loans, as the case may be.
Summary of risk factors
Investing
in our Class A Common Shares involves significant risks. You should
carefully consider all of the information in this prospectus before
making an investment in our Class A Common Shares. Below please
find a summary of the principal risks we face, organized under
relevant headings. These risks are discussed more fully in the
section titled “Risk factors.”
Risks
related to our business. See “Risk Factor — Risks Related to Our
Business”
Risks
and uncertainties related to our business include, but are not
limited to, the following:
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● |
The
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on
our operations since January 2020 and could materially adversely
affect our business and financial results for the remaining months
of the 2020 calendar year. |
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● |
We
may incur liability for unpaid taxes, including interest and
penalties. |
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If
our largest customers reduce their orders with us, such revenues
would be very difficult to replace. |
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Our
smart products have only recently entered distribution and are not
as well-known as those of our competitors. |
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Price
increases in raw materials and sourced products could harm the
Company’s financial results. |
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● |
Our
reliance on third party logistics providers may put us at risk of
service failures for our customers. |
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● |
The
loss of any of our key customers could reduce our revenues and our
profitability. |
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● |
If we
fail to protect our intellectual property rights, it could harm our
business and competitive position. |
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● |
Outstanding
bank loans may reduce our available funds. |
Risks
Related to Our Corporate Structure and Operation. See “Risk Factor
— Our Corporate Structure and Operation”
We
are also subject to risks and uncertainties related to our
corporate structure, including, but not limited to, the
following:
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● |
Our
dual class structure concentrate a majority of voting power in our
Chief Executive Officer, who is the only owner of our Class B
Common Shares. |
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We
are a “foreign private issuer,” and our disclosure obligations
differ from those of U.S. domestic reporting companies. As a
result, we may not provide you the same information as U.S.
domestic reporting companies or we may provide information at
different times, which may make it more difficult for you to
evaluate our performance and prospects. |
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As a
foreign private issuer, we are permitted to rely on exemptions from
certain Nasdaq corporate governance standards applicable to U.S.
issuers, including the requirement that a majority of an issuer’s
directors consist of independent directors. If we opt to rely on
such exemptions in the future, such decision might afford less
protection to holders of our Class A Common Shares. |
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Our
failure to obtain prior approval of the China Securities Regulatory
Commission (“CSRC”) for the listing and trading of our Class A
Common Shares on a foreign stock exchange could delay this offering
or could have a material adverse effect upon our business,
operating results, reputation and trading price of our Class A
Common Shares. |
Risks
Related to Ownership of Our Class A Common Shares. See “Risk Factor
– Risks Related to Ownership of Our Class A Common
Shares”
Risks
Related to Ownership of Our Class A Common Shares include, but not
limited to, the following:
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We
are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain whether
the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth
companies will make our Class A Common Shares less attractive to
investors. |
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Because
we have elected to use the extended transition period for complying
with new or revised accounting standards for an “emerging growth
company” our financial statements may not be comparable to
companies that comply with these accounting standards as of the
public company effective dates. |
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If we
are unable to implement and maintain effective internal control
over financial reporting in the future, investors may lose
confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial
reports and the market price of our Class A Common Shares may
decline. |
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Recent
joint statement by the SEC and PCAOB, proposed rule changes
submitted by Nasdaq, and an act passed by the US Senate all call
for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to
emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their
auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by
the PCAOB. These developments could add uncertainties to our
offering. |
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● |
The
Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act all call for additional
and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market
companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors,
especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the
PCAOB. These developments could add uncertainties to our
offering. |
Risks
Related to Doing Business in China. See “Risk Factors — Risks
Related to Doing Business in China”
We
are based in China and have the majority of our operations in
China, so we face risks and uncertainties related to doing business
in China in general, including, but not limited to, the
following:
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● |
China
has not developed a fully integrated legal system, and recently
enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects
of economic activities in China. Since PRC administrative and court
authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and
implementing statutory provisions and contractual terms, it may be
difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court
proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy. See “Risk
Factor — Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could
have a material adverse effect on us.” |
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China’s
social and political conditions may change and become unstable. Any
sudden changes to China’s political system or the occurrence of
widespread social unrest could have a material adverse effect on
our business and results of operations. See “Risk Factor — China’s
economic, political and social conditions, as well as changes in
any government policies, laws and regulations may be quick with
little advance notice and, could have a material adverse effect on
our business and the value of our Class A Common
Shares.” |
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The
Chinese government has exercised and continues to exercise
substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese
economy through regulation and state ownership. Our ability to
operate in China may be harmed by changes in its laws and
regulations, including those relating to securities regulation,
data protection, cybersecurity and mergers and acquisitions and
other matters. See “Risk Factor — The Chinese government exerts
substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our
business activities and may intervene or influence our operations
at any time, which could result in a material change in our
operations and the value of our Class A Common Shares.” |
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China
Securities Regulatory Commission and other Chinese government
agencies may exert more oversight and control over offerings that
are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based
issuers, especially those in the technology filed. See “Risk Factor
— China Securities Regulatory Commission and other Chinese
government agencies may exert more oversight and control over
offerings that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in
China-based issuers, especially those in the technology filed.
Additional compliance procedures may be required in connection with
this offering, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will
be able to obtain such approval. If we are required to obtain PRC
governmental permission to commence the sale of our securities, we
will not commence the offering until we obtain such permissions. As
a result, we face uncertainty about future actions by the PRC
government that could significantly affect our ability to offer or
continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of
our securities to significantly decline or be
worthless.” |
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The
proceeds of this offering may be sent back to the PRC, and the
process for sending such proceeds back to the PRC may be
time-consuming after the closing of this offering. We may be unable
to use these proceeds to grow our business until our PRC
subsidiaries receive such proceeds in the PRC. See “Risk Factor —
We must remit the offering proceeds to China before they may be
used to benefit our business in China, the process of which may be
time-consuming, and we cannot assure that we can finish all
necessary governmental registration processes in a timely
manner.” |
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Our
business involves collecting and retaining certain internal and
customer data. We also maintain information about various aspects
of our operations as well as regarding our employees. The integrity
and protection of our customer, employee and company data is
critical to our business. Our customers and employees expect that
we will adequately protect their personal information. We are
required by applicable laws to keep strictly confidential the
personal information that we collect, and to take adequate security
measures to safeguard such information. See “Risk Factor — We may
be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal information
provided by our customers.” |
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Failure
by any such shareholders or beneficial owners to comply with
Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on
Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip
Investment Through Special Purpose Vehicles could subject us to
fines or legal sanctions, restrict our overseas or cross-border
investment activities, limit our PRC subsidiary’s ability to make
distributions or pay dividends or affect our ownership structure,
which could adversely affect our business and prospects. See “Risk
Factor — PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore
special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC
resident shareholders to personal liability and limit our ability
to acquire PRC companies or to inject capital into our PRC
subsidiary, limit our PRC subsidiary ability to distribute profits
to us, or otherwise materially and adversely affect
us.” |
Business Overview
We
believe technology can bring pets and their caregivers closer
together. At Dogness, we combine our research and development
expertise with customer feedback to make products that improve
pets’ lives. We create and manufacture fun, useful and high-quality
products for everyone to experience. We believe that high
technology pet products must be accessible and reliable to capture
pet lovers’ imagination and to enhance their pets’
lives.
Dogness
has been making the highest quality collars, harnesses, and
traditional and retractable leashes since 2003, featuring stylish
design and rugged engineering. Beginning with smart collars and
harnesses in 2016, based on the belief that internet-connected
products could improve the lives of pets and their caregivers,
Dogness developed a suite of smart products, moving past these
first products into smart feeders, fountains, treat dispensers and
robots to interact with pets.
Dogness
focuses on connected pet care, to link pets and pet caregivers and
ultimately to integrate the “Smart Pet Ecosystem” into a single
cohesive platform that integrates smart technology into pets’
lives. The Smart Pet Ecosystem has four major areas: smart pet
technology, pet care, leashes and collars, and pet health and
wellness.
Smart
Pet Technology
Through
a single platform, the Dogness mobile app, our smart products allow
pet owners to remotely see, hear, speak, feed, play, and interact
with their pets in different ways. We accomplish all of this with a
tool the owner likely already has, a smart phone. The Dogness app
is available for both Android and iOS and communicates with the
smart product anywhere the phone and smart product both have Wi-Fi
or cellular service. If your dog will listen to you from across the
room, you can tell her to roll over from around the
world.
Dogness
Smart Wearables: Our smart wearable collars and harnesses
feature integrated electronics, which allows us to pair high
quality collars with a lightweight smart component and LED lights.
We have focused on the important details for dog owners, allowing
owners to locate their pets, direct their pets’ movements,
communicate with their dogs, provide tailored instantaneous
feedback to problem barking and keep track of exercise and other
biodata.
Dogness
Smart iPet Robot: Pet owners will be able to see their pets
through a camera, hear their pets through a built-in microphone,
interact with their pets by feeding them treats, and play with
their pets through an interactive laser pointer. Pet owners have
full control over the 360-degree mobility of the robot through the
Dogness app and can securely take and save pictures and videos of
their dogs.
Dogness
Mini Treat Robot: Space-conscious pet owners can see their pets
through a stationary tilting camera that securely records photo and
video, hear their pets through a built-in microphone, interact with
their pets by feeding them treats, and play with them through an
interactive laser pointer.
Dogness
Smart CAM Feeder: Pet owners can now ensure that their pets are
well-fed and on-schedule. Able to hold around 6.5 pounds of dry
food, the smart feeder helps pet owners ensure the health of their
pets, even when away from home. Pet owners can see their pets’
eating habits night and day through a built-in camera with night
vision and call their pets to the feeder through a voice recording
that can be programmed to be played at meal times.
Dogness
Smart Fountain: The smart fountain ensures that pets stay
hydrated with a source of clean filtered water from a patented
filtering technology. Additional features include an oxygenating,
free-falling, recirculating water stream for optimal freshness, the
ability to increase or decrease the flow of water, a replaceable
carbon water filter and a nano filter to maintain water freshness,
a submersible pump for quiet operation, dishwasher-safe material,
and an easily assembled and disassembled design.
Dogness
Smart Fountain Mini and Smart Fountain Plus: In addition to our
Smart Fountain, we have developed the Smart Fountain Mini (1L
capacity) and Smart Fountain Plus (3.2L capacity) for additional
options for pet owners. The Smart Fountain Mini enables our
products to be used in smaller spaces, while the Smart Fountain
Plus ensures an even larger reservoir for pets. Both fountains
maintain a constant flow of water, so pets can drink water that is
as fresh as from the faucet. The Smart Fountains have a three-stage
filtering system, which ensures the water flowing out is filtered,
fresh and clean.
Dogness
Smart CAM Treater: Allows pet owners to see their pets night
and day through a 160-degree full HD camera with night vision, hear
their pets through a built-in microphone, interact with their pets
by speaking to them through a built-in speaker, and play with their
pets by tossing them treats.
Dogness
App Feeder and App Feeder Mini: Pet owners can ensure that
their pets are well-fed and on-schedule. Able to hold around 6.5
pounds of dry food, the App feeder enables pet owners to set up
their pet’s feeding schedule from the App via their mobile phone,
even when away from home. App Feeder Mini holds around 2.0 pounds
of dry food and is suitable for cats and small dogs.
Dogness
Smart Vacuumed Pet Food Storage Containers. Dogness proprietary
vacuum food storage container was designed to use an intelligent,
constant pressure vacuum locking method, which significantly
upgrades and modernizes conventional food storage, by completely
isolating mildew and moisture in the air, keeping pet food fresh
and crispy for longer, and bringing a higher quality to pets’
healthy lives.
Dogness
C6 GPS Tracker “Discover”: Pet owners can have peace of mind
knowing where their pets are anytime when they open the GPS Tracker
App on their mobile phones. The Trackers are 4G compatible and
allow the owners to keep track of the location of their pets. They
can also set up virtual fences and the GPS Tracker App will alert
the pet parents if their pets are beyond the fences. The Trackers
also monitor and provide the pets’ activity level
statistics.
Pet
Care
Our
pet care products currently focus on high quality pet shampoos. We
launched these shampoo products in August 2018.
We
have two lines of shampoos, which are focused on and tailored to
Chinese online and offline consumption. Our One on One Service line
is focused on consumer purchasers and consists of dog and cat
shampoo products that feature natural plant and amino acid
composition. In addition to universal-purpose products, we have
also developed seven breed-tailored shampoo products for golden
retrievers, poodles, huskies, bulldogs, border collies and corgis.
Our Professional Bathing & Spa line is focused on professional
purchasers, like dog and cat groomers. These products consist of
bathing products, hair conditioners and essential oil
products.
Leashes
and Collars
Traditional
Product Lines: We produce collars, harnesses and leashes in seven
main series (Classic, Elegance, Luxury, LED, Holiday, Special
Function, and Cat series). Given the choices available to
customers, we currently manufacture between 500 and 600 traditional
products and can add additional options to meet customer
preferences. Our traditional product lines use leather, nylon,
Teflon-coated fabrics and other materials to suit consumer
preferences. Not only do we produce these products; we also design
fabric patterns and invent improved components such as a comfort
curved buckle for collars and locking closing mechanism for
leashes.
Retractable
Leashes: In addition to our newest smart products, we have devoted
significant effort to designing and manufacturing some of the
finest retractable leashes available. Retractable leashes balance
freedom for the dog with control for the owner. If used well, a
retractable leash promotes good communication between the two, as
the dog has exactly as much room to roam as the owner permits, and
this amount can be adjusted to suit the environment and
circumstances. Dogness also offers an updated retractable leash to
enhance the pet walking experience. The new leash allows pet owners
to attach Dogness accessories to their retractable leashes, which
currently include an LED light for better visibility in low light
settings; a convenience box to store items such as doggie bags,
treats, or keys; and a Bluetooth speaker to listen to music or
answer calls.
Other
Products: In addition to collars, leashes and harnesses, we also
produce lanyards for use by humans and ornaments that attach to
collars. As to the lanyards, we produce such lanyards using our
fabric weaving machines. Because we have our production in-house,
we can design lanyards that match a customer’s need, in terms of
color, size, quantity and pattern. Our hanging ornament series uses
high-quality electroplating techniques to create fashionable
accents for pet collars. We make a variety of patterns in bright
and vibrant colors, as well as custom bells for cat
collars.
Upcoming
New Products
Dogness
expects to launch additional seven (7) new products with 24 SKUs,
including convenient indoor pet toilets, air purifiers, smart pet
travel bags and other products.
Pet
Health and Wellness
One
of our new research areas is pet-focused health and wellness
products. One of our subsidiaries is currently serving as a
distributor of a few premium pet food brands from overseas. While
we do not currently offer our own branded products for sale in this
category, we are currently developing supplements and nutrition
products in consultation with veterinarians and pharmacists and
anticipate introducing these products in the future.
Operations
Dogness
has marketing and sales networks all over the world and has
businesses in Dallas, Dongguan, Hong Kong and Zhangzhou. Senior
management, R&D and production, marketing, customer service and
finance operate from Dogness’ headquarters in Dongguan, Guangdong
Province, which also serves as the manufacturing base for smart
products and dog leashes. Dogness Group LLC in Dallas, Texas, USA
serves as the sales and service center for all international
markets and R&D center for pet health and wellness. The
company’s factory in Zhangzhou, Fujian serves as a material
production base, responsible for sample dyeing, ribbon dyeing and
electroplating. One of Dogness’ competitive advantages comes from
integrating the whole industrial chain, including retraction ropes,
textiles, printing and dyeing, mold development, and hardware and
plastics. In addition, Dogness’ subsidiary in the United States has
R&D and design centers for pet smart products, forming a
complete supply chain system with manufacturing bases in China. We
benefit from vertically integrated manufacturing operations, which
allow us to design, machine and assemble the vast majority of our
products in house, so we can easily incorporate improvements in
design.
Intellectual
Property
We
use a combination of trade secret, copyright, trademark, patent and
other rights to protect our intellectual property and our brand. We
have completed registration of 105 patents with the China State
Intellectual Property Office. In addition, we have registered 21
patents in Germany, 26 in Japan, 20 in the United States, 8 in
Canada, 3 in Australia, and 8 in the European Union. As of the date
hereof, we have successfully obtained 191 patents (including 105 in
China), which includes 28 invention patents, 60 utility patents,
and 103 appearance patents.
We
have completed registration of 188 trademarks, with the Trademark
Office of the State Administration for Industry & Commerce of
the PRC. In addition, we have registered our key trademark for
Dogness in Japan, Australia, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the
United States. Our trademarks will expire at various dates through
November 12, 2030. In addition, we have completed the registration
of copyrights for our 2 artworks with the Copyright Bureau of
Guangdong. We have registered all of intellectual property rights
under Dongguan Jiasheng, Dongguan Dogness, Dogness Culture, Dogness
Group, and HK Dogness.
Selected Condensed Consolidated Financial Schedule of Dogness
(International) Corporation and its Subsidiaries
The
following tables present selected condensed consolidated financial
data of Dogness and its subsidiaries for the fiscal years ended
June 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, and balance sheet data as of June 30,
2021 and 2020, which have been derived from our audited
consolidated financial statements for those years.
SELECTED
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE
INCOME (LOSS)
|
|
For the Year Ended June 30, 2021 |
|
|
|
Dogness |
|
|
Non-PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
Eliminations |
|
|
Consolidated
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
2,038,212 |
|
|
$ |
23,313,301 |
|
|
$ |
(1,031,392 |
) |
|
$ |
24,320,121 |
|
Income for equity method
investment |
|
$ |
1,762,371 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
(6,891 |
) |
|
$ |
(1,755,480 |
) |
|
$ |
- |
|
Net income (loss) |
|
$ |
1,512,364 |
|
|
$ |
(103,471 |
) |
|
$ |
1,513,704 |
|
|
$ |
(1,623,569 |
) |
|
$ |
1,299,028 |
|
Comprehensive income (loss) |
|
$ |
6,340,044 |
|
|
$ |
(102,204 |
) |
|
$ |
2,428,725 |
|
|
$ |
(2,488,222 |
) |
|
$ |
6,178,343 |
|
|
|
For the Year Ended June 30, 2020 |
|
|
|
Dogness |
|
|
Non-PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
PRC and Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
Eliminations |
|
|
Consolidated
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
1,166,629 |
|
|
$ |
18,140,068 |
|
|
$ |
(135,339 |
) |
|
$ |
19,171,358 |
|
Income for equity method
investment |
|
$ |
(8,045,293 |
) |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
(84,117 |
) |
|
$ |
8,129,410 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
Net loss |
|
$ |
(8,441,559 |
) |
|
$ |
(747,192 |
) |
|
$ |
(7,436,264 |
) |
|
$ |
8,088,090 |
|
|
$ |
(8,536,925 |
) |
Comprehensive loss |
|
$ |
(10,335,224 |
) |
|
$ |
(746,350 |
) |
|
$ |
(7,862,546 |
) |
|
$ |
8,510,261 |
|
|
$ |
(10,433,859 |
) |
|
|
For the Year Ended June 30, 2019 |
|
|
|
Dogness |
|
|
Non-PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
Eliminations |
|
|
Consolidated
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
378,340 |
|
|
$ |
26,706,401 |
|
|
$ |
(868,226 |
) |
|
$ |
26,216,515 |
|
Income for equity method
investment |
|
$ |
2,096,088 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
(19,363 |
) |
|
$ |
(2,076,725 |
) |
|
$ |
- |
|
Net income (loss) |
|
$ |
1,421,781 |
|
|
$ |
(778,613 |
) |
|
$ |
3,127,727 |
|
|
$ |
(2,367,717 |
) |
|
$ |
1,403,178 |
|
Comprehensive income (loss) |
|
$ |
(587,768 |
) |
|
$ |
(780,722 |
) |
|
$ |
2,647,547 |
|
|
$ |
(1,886,049 |
) |
|
$ |
(606,992 |
) |
SELECTED
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
|
|
As of June 30, 2021 |
|
|
|
Dogness |
|
|
Non-PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
Eliminations |
|
|
Consolidated
Total |
|
Cash |
|
$ |
3,500,048 |
|
|
$ |
42,472 |
|
|
$ |
1,393,234 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
4,935,754 |
|
Total current
assets |
|
$ |
3,924,251 |
|
|
$ |
1,270,332 |
|
|
$ |
9,323,937 |
|
|
$ |
(252,389 |
) |
|
$ |
14,266,131 |
|
Investments in
subsidiaries |
|
$ |
60,455,357 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
(60,455,357 |
) |
|
$ |
- |
|
Total
non-current assets |
|
$ |
60,455,357 |
|
|
$ |
2,401,022 |
|
|
$ |
77,199,022 |
|
|
$ |
(60,476,124 |
) |
|
$ |
79,579,277 |
|
Total
assets |
|
$ |
64,379,608 |
|
|
$ |
3,671,354 |
|
|
$ |
86,522,959 |
|
|
$ |
(60,728,513 |
) |
|
$ |
93,845,408 |
|
Total
liabilities |
|
$ |
5,215 |
|
|
$ |
1,385,548 |
|
|
$ |
75,497,310 |
|
|
$ |
(47,945,070 |
) |
|
$ |
28,943,003 |
|
Total
shareholders’ equity |
|
$ |
64,374,393 |
|
|
$ |
2,285,806 |
|
|
$ |
11,025,649 |
|
|
$ |
(12,783,443 |
) |
|
$ |
64,902,405 |
|
Total
liabilities and shareholders’ equity |
|
$ |
64,379,608 |
|
|
$ |
3,671,354 |
|
|
$ |
86,522,959 |
|
|
$ |
(60,728,513 |
) |
|
$ |
93,845,408 |
|
|
|
As of June 30, 2020 |
|
|
|
Dogness (BVI) |
|
|
Non-PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
Eliminations |
|
|
Consolidated
Total |
|
Cash |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
144,663 |
|
|
$ |
1,122,210 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
1,266,873 |
|
Total current
assets |
|
$ |
51,916 |
|
|
$ |
1,149,684 |
|
|
$ |
27,421,767 |
|
|
$ |
(16,995,909 |
) |
|
$ |
11,627,458 |
|
Investments in
subsidiaries |
|
$ |
51,042,389 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
38,163 |
|
|
$ |
(51,080,552 |
) |
|
$ |
- |
|
Total
non-current assets |
|
$ |
51,042,389 |
|
|
$ |
2,589,626 |
|
|
$ |
49,509,716 |
|
|
$ |
(51,217,928 |
) |
|
$ |
51,923,803 |
|
Total
assets |
|
$ |
51,094,305 |
|
|
$ |
3,739,310 |
|
|
$ |
76,931,483 |
|
|
$ |
(68,213,837 |
) |
|
$ |
63,551,261 |
|
Total
liabilities |
|
$ |
201,046 |
|
|
$ |
1,288,714 |
|
|
$ |
68,236,438 |
|
|
$ |
(57,682,865 |
) |
|
$ |
12,043,333 |
|
Total
shareholders’ equity |
|
$ |
50,893,259 |
|
|
$ |
2,450,596 |
|
|
$ |
8,695,045 |
|
|
$ |
(10,530,972 |
) |
|
$ |
51,507,928 |
|
Total
liabilities and shareholders’ equity |
|
$ |
51,094,305 |
|
|
$ |
3,739,310 |
|
|
$ |
76,931,483 |
|
|
$ |
(68,213,837 |
) |
|
$ |
63,551,261 |
|
SELECTED
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
|
|
For the Year Ended June 30, 2021 |
|
|
|
Dogness |
|
|
Non-PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
PRC /Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
Eliminations |
|
|
Consolidated
Total |
|
Net cash provided by (used
in) operating activities |
|
$ |
(3,199,506 |
) |
|
$ |
144,395 |
|
|
$ |
6,807,343 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
3,752,232 |
|
Net cash used in investing
activities |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
(11,245,631 |
) |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
(11,245,631 |
) |
Net cash provided by (used in)
activities |
|
$ |
6,611,432 |
|
|
$ |
(195,555 |
) |
|
$ |
4,635,694 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
11,051,571 |
|
|
|
For the Year Ended June 30, 2020 |
|
|
|
Dogness |
|
|
Non-PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
Eliminations |
|
|
Consolidated
Total |
|
Net cash used in operating
activities |
|
$ |
(157,344 |
) |
|
$ |
(1,040,198 |
) |
|
$ |
(1,014,729 |
) |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
(2,212,271 |
) |
Net cash used in investing
activities |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
(30,625 |
) |
|
$ |
(2,427,296 |
) |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
(2,457,921 |
) |
Net cash provided by financing
activities |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
973,300 |
|
|
$ |
2,068,284 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
3,041,584 |
|
|
|
For the Year Ended June 30, 2019 |
|
|
|
Dogness |
|
|
Non-PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
PRC/Hong Kong Subsidiaries |
|
|
Eliminations |
|
|
Consolidated
Total |
|
Net cash provided by (used
in) operating activities |
|
$ |
7,892 |
|
|
$ |
(1,392,302 |
) |
|
$ |
115,459 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
(1,268,951 |
) |
Net cash used in investing
activities |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
(738,612 |
) |
|
$ |
(741,736 |
) |
|
$ |
(142,290 |
) |
|
$ |
(1,622,638 |
) |
Net cash provided by (used in)
financing activities |
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
279,000 |
|
|
$ |
(1,784,829 |
) |
|
$ |
(142,290 |
) |
|
$ |
(1,648,119 |
) |
General Description Of The Securities We May
Offer
We
may offer our Class A Common Shares, share purchase contracts,
share purchase units, warrants, debt securities, rights or units,
with a total value of up to $250,000,000 from time to time under
this prospectus at prices and on terms to be determined by our
board of directors and based on market conditions at the time of
any offering. This prospectus provides you with a general
description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer a
type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide
a prospectus supplement that will describe the specific amounts,
prices and other important terms of the securities, including, to
the extent applicable:
|
● |
Designation
or classification; |
|
|
|
|
● |
Aggregate
offering price; |
|
|
|
|
● |
Rates
and times of payment of dividends, if any; |
|
|
|
|
● |
Redemption,
conversion, exercise and exchange terms, if any; |
|
|
|
|
● |
Restrictive
covenants, if any; |
|
|
|
|
● |
Voting
or other rights, if any; |
|
|
|
|
● |
Conversion
prices, if any; and |
|
|
|
|
● |
Material
U.S. federal income tax considerations. |
The
prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus that
we may authorize to be provided to you may also add, update or
change information contained in this prospectus or in documents we
have incorporated by reference. However, no prospectus supplement
or free writing prospectus will offer a security that is not
registered and described in this prospectus at the time of the
effectiveness of the registration statement of which this
prospectus is a part.
RISK FACTORS
Before
making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the
risks described under “Risk Factors” in the applicable prospectus
supplement and in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed
on October 29, 2021, or included in any Annual Report on Form 20-F
filed with the SEC after the date of this prospectus or Reports on
Form 6-K furnished to the SEC after the date of this prospectus,
together with all of the other information appearing in this
prospectus or incorporated by reference into this prospectus and
any applicable prospectus supplement, in light of your particular
investment objectives and financial circumstances. Please see
“Where You Can Find More Information” on how you can view our SEC
reports and other filings. Our business, financial condition or
results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any
of these risks. The trading price of our securities could decline
due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your
investment. When we offer and sell any securities pursuant to a
prospectus supplement, we may include additional risk factors that
you should carefully consider.
The
risks and uncertainties described in this prospectus, any
applicable prospectus supplement, any related free writing
prospectus and any document incorporated by reference into this
prospectus are not the only ones that we face. Additional risks and
uncertainties that we do not presently know about or that we
currently believe are not material may also adversely affect our
business. If any of the risks and uncertainties described in this
prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement, any related free
writing prospectus and any document incorporated by reference into
this prospectus actually occur, our business, financial condition
and results of operations could be materially and adversely
affected. The value of our securities could decline and you may
lose some or all of your investment if one or more of these risks
and uncertainties develop into actual events. Keep these risk
factors in mind when you read forward-looking statements contained
in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement, any
related free writing prospectus and any document incorporated by
reference into this prospectus.
Risks Related to Our Business
We face risks related to health epidemics that could impact our
sales and operating results.
Our
business could be adversely affected by the effects of a widespread
outbreak of contagious disease, including the recent outbreak of
respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus first identified
in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Any outbreak of contagious
diseases, and other adverse public health developments,
particularly in China, could have a material and adverse effect on
the business operations of us and our Subsidiaries. These could
include disruptions or restrictions on our ability to resume the
general shipping agency services, as well as temporary closures of
our facilities and ports or the facilities of our customers and
third-party service providers. Any disruption or delay of our
customers or third-party service providers would likely impact our
operating results and the ability of the Company to continue as a
going concern. In addition, a significant outbreak of contagious
diseases in the human population could result in a widespread
health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and
financial markets of China and many other countries, resulting in
an economic downturn that could affect demand for our services and
significantly impact our operating results.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a significant
impact on our operations since January 2020 and could materially
adversely affect our business and financial results for the
remaining months of the 2020 calendar year.
Our
ability to manufacture and/or sell our products may be impaired by
damage or disruption to our manufacturing, warehousing or
distribution capabilities, or to the capabilities of our suppliers,
logistics service providers or distributors as a result of the
impact from the COVID-19. This damage or disruption could result
from events or factors that are impossible to predict or are beyond
our control, such as raw material scarcity, pandemics, government
shutdowns, disruptions in logistics, supplier capacity constraints,
adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, fire, terrorism or
other events.
The
COVID-19 pandemic, which has spread rapidly across the globe,
resulted in adverse economic conditions and business disruptions.
In reaction to this outbreak, governments worldwide have imposed
varying degrees of preventative and protective actions, such as
temporary travel bans, forced business closures, and stay-at-home
orders, all in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus. Since
this outbreak, business activities in China and many other
countries including U.S. have been disrupted by a series of
emergency quarantine measures taken by the government. The Chinese
government has employed measures including city lockdowns,
quarantines, travel restrictions, suspension of business activities
and school closures. Due to difficulties resulting from the
COVID-19 outbreak, including, but not limited to, the temporary
closure of the factory and operations beginning in early February
until late March 2020, limited support from the employees, delayed
access to raw material supplies and inability to deliver products
to customers on a timely basis, our business was negatively
impacted. While the spread of the disease has gradually returned
under control in China, COVID-19 could still adversely affect the
business operation our PRC Subsidiaries and Hong Kong Subsidiaries
and our financial results in the future. As a result, there is a
possibility that the Company’s revenues and operating cash flows
may be significantly lower than expected for fiscal year
2022.
We and our Subsidiaries may incur liability for unpaid taxes,
including interest and penalties.
In
the normal course of business, we and our Subsidiaries may be
subject to challenges from various PRC taxing authorities regarding
the amounts of taxes due. PRC taxing authorities may take the
position that we or our Subsidiaries owe more taxes than it has
paid. We recorded tax liabilities of $4.4 million, $2.8 million and
$2.9 million as of June 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively, for
the possible underpayment of income and business taxes. It is
possible that the tax liability of for past taxes may be higher
than those amounts, if the PRC authorities determine that penalties
are applicable or that the correct amount has not been paid.
Although the Company’s management believes it may be able to
negotiate with local PRC taxing authorities a reduction to any
amounts that such authorities may believe are due and a reduction
to any interest or penalties thereon, we have no guarantee that we
will be able to negotiate such a reduction. To the extent we are
able to negotiate such amounts, national-level taxing authorities
may take the position that localities are without power to reduce
such liabilities, and such PRC taxing authorities may attempt to
collect unpaid taxes, interest and penalties in amounts greatly
exceeding management’s estimates.
If our largest customers reduce their orders with us, such revenues
would be very difficult to replace.
Although
we have also sold our products through distributors and trading
companies, some of our largest customers are Petco and Pet Valu,
which are by far the largest pet specialty chains in North America.
Petco has around 1600 stores in the US and Pet Valu has around 600
stores in Canada. There is not another brick-and-mortar customer
that presents the opportunity that these customers present to us.
As a result, if we were to lose these accounts or if these
customers purchased less of our products in the future, it would be
difficult to replace those lost revenues.
Our smart products have only recently entered
distribution.
While
we are optimistic that our smart products such as collars,
harnesses, feeders and robots will be important products for our
company in the future, we only recently begun to sell them and thus
do not know whether they will prove popular with consumers. We have
exhibited these products at expos in multiple countries and have
begun to receive orders, but our revenues for all smart products
was approximately $7.8 million, $4.3 million and $2.1 million
during the years ended June 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
As a result, we do not have an accurate gauge of how well accepted
they will be by consumers. If consumers do not appreciate our smart
products, we may not sell enough products to grow our market share
in this new industry.
Our smart products are not as well-known as those of our
competitors.
There
are a variety of competitors providing smart collars, smart feeders
and smart treaters for dogs and cats that are more well-known than
our products. We are aware of more than a dozen competitors to our
smart products, some of which have been on the market for several
years. Because smart collars are still a relatively new industry,
we do not believe that there is a single leader. Nevertheless, we
face competition from more well-known products like the Whistle GPS
Pet Tracker and Tractive, as well as products from more
well-established, better capitalized companies in the United States
such as Garmin, which produces varieties of dog training and
tracking devices. Similarly, companies such as PetSafe, Petzi,
Petcube, Arf Pets, and Furbo market food and treat dispensers with
functionalities that in some cases are similar to our products. If
we are unable to achieve recognition for our technology or if
consumers opt to use products from companies they recognize more
than our company, our smart collar and harness products may not be
well accepted.
Our smart collars and harnesses are currently between
generations.
We
debuted our C2 and H2 smart collars and harnesses in 2016. These
products were designed to operate over 2G telephone technology.
While this platform was sufficient to meet the needs of the
products, 2G speeds lag far behind currently available 4G and now
5G technology. As a result, our C2 and H2 products have thus far
obtained a very limited customer base. For this reason, we have
been researching and developing our next generation of smart
collars and harnesses to operate with today’s higher internet
speeds in mind. Before we are able to bring these products to
market, we anticipate that our sales of smart collars and
harnesses, along with subscriptions for ongoing cellular services
for those products, will be nominal. If and when we are able to
introduce our next generation of smart collars and harnesses, we
are unable to predict the extent to which consumers will be drawn
to such new products.
Our smart collars rely on third-party cellular telephone companies
and application developers for functionality.
One
of the features of our smart collars is the ability to communicate
between the owner’s cell phone and the collar, even when the two
are too far away to communicate directly. We achieve this by having
a SIM card in the smart collar so that, so long as the collar has a
cell phone signal, it will communicate with the telephone. We
cooperate with cell phone companies in our target markets to
provide cellular service to these SIM cards. If this cooperation
were to end or if the cellular service we receive is not reliable
or more expensive than we anticipate, the market for our products
could be harmed.
In
addition, the Dogness smartphone App on which our smart collars
rely are still under development and test by a company, Dogness
Network Technology Co., Ltd (“Dogness Network”), in which we have a
minority interest. Our company owns 10% of Dogness Network. Dogness
Network plans to derive its revenues from subscriptions for
services provided through the Dogness smartphone App in the near
future, and we will purchase such products from Dogness Network and
resell to our customers. We may benefit only by virtue of our 10%
interest in Dogness Network. In fiscal year 2021, subscription
revenues were approximately $1.8 million from about 68,100 users.
If Dogness Network were to stop supporting the application or
impair its functionality, our smart collars and harnesses could
become unusable or have decreased value to end users.
To
the extent we were unable to cooperate with such third parties in
the future, we would need to locate and cooperate with other
service providers, and we cannot guarantee that we would be able to
do so under terms that are satisfactory to us, if at
all.
Our software platform may not interface with applications consumers
want to be integrated.
In
the connected home, consumers are increasingly aware of the
interconnection among applications and devices, such as speakers
that can turn on lights or adjust the temperature. Some customers
purchase products based on how they will interact with other
services and products that the customers already use. If we are
unable to anticipate and accommodate these desires, customers may
choose other products that do interact with their preferred
services. Although we may incorporate such functionality in future
generations of our products, not all of our current products
integrate into Apple’s, Google’s or Amazon’s smart home platforms.
Our Dogness CAM feeder, App feeder, and App mini feeder work with
Amazon Alexa.
We
are also dependent on third party application stores that may
prevent us from timely updating our current products or uploading
new products. In addition, our products interoperate with servers,
mobile devices and software applications predominantly through the
use of protocols, many of which are created and maintained by third
parties. We therefore depend on the interoperability of our
products with such third-party services, mobile devices and mobile
operating systems, as well as cloud-enabled hardware, software,
networking, browsers, database technologies and protocols that we
do not control. Any changes in such technologies that degrade the
functionality of our products or give preferential treatment to
competitive services could adversely affect adoption and usage of
our platform. Also, we may not be successful in developing or
maintaining relationships with key participants in the mobile
industry or in developing products that operate effectively with a
range of operating systems, networks, devices, browsers, protocols
and standards. In addition, we may face different fraud, security
and regulatory risks from transactions sent from mobile devices
than we do from personal computers. If we are unable to effectively
anticipate and manage these risks, or if it is difficult for our
customers to access and use our platform, our business, results of
operations and financial condition may be harmed.
Price increases in raw materials and sourced products could harm
the Company’s financial results.
Our
primary raw materials are plastic, leather, nylon, polyester,
chemical fiber blended fabric, metal, GPPS and HIPS, most of which
are extracted from crude oil. These raw materials are subject to
price volatility and inflationary pressures. Our success is
dependent, in part, on our continued ability to reduce our exposure
to increases in those costs through a variety of programs,
including sales price adjustments based on adjustments in such raw
material costs, while maintaining and improving margins and market
share. We also rely on third-party manufacturers as a source for a
minor portion of components for our products. These manufacturers
are also subject to price volatility and labor cost and other
inflationary pressures, which may, in turn, result in an increase
in the amount we pay for sourced products. Raw material and sourced
product price increases may more than offset our productivity gains
and price increases and may adversely impact our financial
results.
Our plan to vertically integrate our production may not provide the
benefits we foresee.
Over
the last several years, we have increasingly produced our products
in-house. We have made this strategic decision because of our
belief that it will facilitate our control over the costs of
components in our products. The price of components is extremely
important where the per-unit sales price is as low as it is in our
industry. Thus, we believe it is important to control costs as much
as possible.
That
being said, when we produce components in-house that we previously
purchased from a third-party supplier, we may not benefit from the
economies of scale that a dedicated third-party supplier could see.
Moreover, we invest in infrastructure for such production, such as
buying machines and leasing additional facility space; in the event
new technology is developed to produce components of our products
more cheaply than we can with our existing infrastructure, we could
find that our operating results are negatively impacted, compared
with what we would see if we were purchasing from third parties. In
such case, our products could be more expensive than those of our
competitors that purchase from third-party suppliers, which could
make our products less attractive to customers.
Our reliance on third party logistics providers may put us at risk
of service failures for our customers.
We
rely on third parties to ship our products from China to our
customers. We compete based on price, quality and reliability, so a
failure to deliver our products on time to our large customers
could harm our reputation. To the extent we are unable to meet
their demand for products or do not deliver products on time, we
stand a substantial risk of losing key accounts. Because we rely on
third parties for logistics services, we may be unable to avoid
supply chain failures, even if we are able to meet our
manufacturing obligations to customers.
If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights, it could
harm our business and competitive position.
We
rely on a combination of patent, trademark, domain name and trade
secret laws and non-disclosure agreements and other methods to
protect our intellectual property rights. Our PRC subsidiaries own
117 patents and 179 trademarks in China and 85 patents and 14
trademarks outside China, all of which have been properly
registered with regulatory agencies such as the State Intellectual
Property Office and Trademark Office of China’s State
Administration for Industry and Commerce (“SAIC”). This
intellectual property has allowed our products to earn market share
in the pet products industry.
The
process of seeking patent protection can be lengthy and expensive,
our patent applications may fail to result in patents being issued,
and our existing and future patents may be insufficient to provide
us with meaningful protection or commercial advantage. Our patents
and patent applications may also be challenged, invalidated or
circumvented.
We
also rely on trade secret rights to protect our business through
non-disclosure provisions in employment agreements with employees.
If our employees breach their non-disclosure obligations, we may
not have adequate remedies in China, and our trade secrets may
become known to our competitors.
In
accordance with Chinese intellectual property laws and regulations,
we will have to renew our trademarks once the terms expire.
However, patents are not renewable. Some of our patents,
particularly utility mode and design patents, have only 10 years of
protection and will end in the near future. Once these patents
expire, our products may lose some market share if they are copied
by our competitors. Then, our business revenue might suffer some
loss as well.
Implementation
of PRC intellectual property-related laws has historically been
lacking, primarily because of ambiguities in the PRC laws and
enforcement difficulties. Accordingly, intellectual property rights
and confidentiality protections in China may not be as effective as
in the United States or other western countries. Furthermore,
policing unauthorized use of proprietary technology is difficult
and expensive, and we may need to resort to litigation to enforce
or defend patents issued to us or to determine the enforceability,
scope and validity of our proprietary rights or those of others.
Such litigation and an adverse determination in any such
litigation, if any, could result in substantial costs and diversion
of resources and management attention, which could harm our
business and competitive position.
Our Chinese patents and registered marks may not be protected
outside of China due to territorial limitations on
enforceability.
In
general, patent and trademark rights have territorial limitations
in law and are valid only within the countries in which they are
registered.
At
present, Chinese enterprises may register their trademarks overseas
through two methods. One is to file an application for trademark
registration in each single country or region in which protection
is desired, while the other is to apply via the Madrid system for
international trademark registration. By the second way, under the
provisions of the Madrid Agreement concerning the International
Registration of Marks (the “Madrid Agreement”) or the Protocol
Relating to the Madrid Agreement concerning the International
Registration of Marks (the “Madrid Protocol”), applicants may
designate their marks in one or more member countries via the
Madrid system for international registration.
As of
the date of the filing, we have registered 179 trademarks in China.
We have also registered our key trademarks in Japan, Australia,
Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States.
Similar
with trademarks, Chinese enterprises may also register their
patents overseas through two methods. One is to file an application
for patent registration in each single country or region, and the
other is to file international application with the China
Intellectual Property Office or the International Bureau of World
Intellectual Property Organization under the Patent Cooperation
Treaty. However, such international application may relate to
invention or utility model patents, but does not include industrial
design patents.
Currently,
most of our patents and trademarks are registered in China. If we
do not register them in other jurisdictions, they may not be
protected outside of China. As a result, our business and
competitive position could be harmed.
We may be exposed to intellectual property infringement and other
claims by third parties which, if successful, could disrupt our
business and have a material adverse effect on our financial
condition and results of operations.
Our
success depends, in large part, on our ability to use and develop
our technology and know-how without infringing third party
intellectual property rights. If we sell our branded products
internationally, and as litigation becomes more common in China, we
face a higher risk of being the subject of claims for intellectual
property infringement, invalidity or indemnification relating to
other parties’ proprietary rights. Our current or potential
competitors, many of which have substantial resources and have made
substantial investments in competing technologies, may have or may
obtain patents that will prevent, limit or interfere with our
ability to make, use or sell our branded products in either China
or other countries, including the United States and other countries
in Asia. The validity and scope of claims relating to patents in
our industry involve complex scientific, legal and factual
questions and analysis and, as a result, may be highly uncertain.
In addition, the defense of intellectual property suits, including
patent infringement suits, and related legal and administrative
proceedings can be both costly and time consuming and may
significantly divert the efforts and resources of our technical and
management personnel. Furthermore, an adverse determination in any
such litigation or proceedings to which we may become a party could
cause us to:
|
● |
pay
damage awards; |
|
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seek
licenses from third parties; |
|
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pay
ongoing royalties; |
|
● |
redesign
our branded products; or |
|
● |
be
restricted by injunctions, |
each
of which could effectively prevent us from pursuing some or all of
our business and result in our customers or potential customers
deferring or limiting their purchase or use of our products, which
could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and
results of operations.
Outstanding bank loans may reduce our available
funds.
As of
June 30, 2021, we had approximately $8.0 million in outstanding
bank loans, with expected repayment of approximately $1.5 million
in one year, $1.4 million in two years and $3.3 million in three
years. The loans are guaranteed by the fixed assets of the
Company’s subsidiaries and are also personally guaranteed by our
Chief Executive Officer and certain of his family members. While we
believe we have sufficient capital resources to repay these bank
loans with support from Mr. Silong Chen, our Chief Executive
Officer, there can be no guarantee that we will be able to pay all
amounts when due or to refinance the amounts on terms that are
acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to make our payments
when due or to refinance such amounts, our property could be
foreclosed and our business could be negatively
affected.
While
we do not believe they will impact our liquidity, the terms of the
debt agreements impose significant operating and financial
restrictions on us. These restrictions could also have a negative
impact on our business, financial condition and results of
operations by significantly limiting or prohibiting us from
engaging in certain transactions, including but not limited to:
incurring or guaranteeing additional indebtedness; transferring or
selling assets currently held by us; and transferring ownership
interests in certain of our subsidiaries. The failure to comply
with any of these covenants could cause a default under our other
debt agreements. Any of these defaults, if not waived, could result
in the acceleration of all of our debt, in which case the debt
would become immediately due and payable. If this occurs, we may
not be able to repay our debt or borrow sufficient funds to
refinance it on favorable terms, if any.
If the village cooperative from which we rent our factory in
Dongguan fails to provide ownership certificates or construction
approvals on demand, our ability to use our facilities may be
impaired.
Our
PRC Subsidiaries lease our production facility from Dongguan
Dongcheng District Tongsha Huanggongkeng Co-op (“Huanggongkeng”).
We understand that, as is not uncommon in our area, Huanggongkeng
did not obtain prior government approval before constructing the
facilities and thus may be unable to provide evidence of government
approval. If the local authority were to request proof of such
approval, operations at our facility could be interrupted until
Huanggongkeng was able to provide evidence of such approvals. If
Huanggongkeng were unable to rectify this issue, we could find our
operations halted indefinitely.
If the value of our property decreases, we may not be able to
refinance our current debt.
All
of our current debt is secured by either mortgages on real and
other business property or guarantees by some of our shareholders.
If the value of our real property decreases, we may find that banks
are unwilling to loan money to us secured by our business property.
A drop in property value could also prevent us from being able to
refinance that loan when it becomes due on acceptable terms or at
all.
Our new facilities in Zhangzhou and Dongguan may be more expensive
than anticipated to complete.
In
March 2018, we purchased all of the equity interests in Zhangzhou
Meijia Metal Product Co., Ltd (“Meijia”), for a total cash
consideration of approximately $11.0 million (RMB 71.0 million)
(“Acquisition Cost”), which has been fully paid upon consummation
of the Meijia acquisition transaction. Because Meijia had no
substantial operations and its property consisted of a land use
right and factory and office buildings, we accounted for the
acquisition as a purchase of assets. After the acquisition, we
started building our own facilities and office spaces to expand the
production capacity in order to fulfill increased customer orders.
Total budgeted capital expenditure to bring Meijia manufacturing
facility into use was originally estimated to be completed at a
cost of RMB110 million ($17.0 million). The actual costs have been
adjusted based on additional works required for waterproofing,
sewage pipeline and hazardous waste leakage prevention. As a
result, total actual costs incurred as of June 30, 2021, amounted
to RMB118.5 million ($18.4 million). Meijia plant started test
operations in August 2019, and has started normal production since
December 2019 upon passing the final inspection conducted by the
local government. Meijia plant has reached its fully production
capacity as of June 30, 2021.
In
addition to our Zhangzhou facility, we are also building new
manufacturing and operating facilities, which include warehouse,
workshops, office building, security gate, employee apartment
building, electrical transformer station and exhibition hall, etc.
The total budget is approximately RMB 230.8 million ($35.8
million). As of June 30, 2021, the Company had substantially
completed this project and transferred most of the related CIP to
fixed assets. As of June 30, 2021, the Company has made total
payments of approximately RMB 161.3 million ($25.0 million) in
connection to this project, which resulted in future minimum
capital expenditure payments of RMB 69.5 million ($10.8
million).
The
Company’s subsidiary Dogness Culture is also working on a project
to decorate a pet themed retail store. Total budget is RMB 2.2
million ($0.3 million). As of June 30, 2021, the Company has spent
RMB 1.5 million ($0.2 million). This project was fully completed by
June 30, 2021.
As a
result of the above, the Company’s future capital expenditure
payable on Dongguan Jiasheng and on the pet store under Dogness
Culture amounted to approximately $10.9 million as of June 30,
2021. Subsequently, the capital expenditure payable increased to
approximately $15.2 million due to increased costs related to the
construction and decoration projects. From July 2021 to December
2021, the Company made payment of RMB 56.9 million ($8.9 million)
on the above-mentioned construction projects. As a result, the
Company’s future capital expenditure payable on CIP has been
lowered down from approximately $15.2 million to approximately $6.3
million as of December 31, 2021.
We
may find in the course of development that construction costs come
in above budget, that we exceed projected timelines, and that we
face other challenges and inconveniences that make our development
plans less successful than we expect. If these were to occur, we
could find the costs and effort of development distract our
management from our business development strategies and that our
financial results are negatively affected as a result.
We may require additional financing in the future and our
operations could be curtailed if we are unable to obtain required
additional financing when needed.
We
may need to obtain additional debt or equity financing to fund
future capital expenditures and initiatives. Additional debt
financing may include conditions that would restrict our freedom to
operate our business, such as conditions that:
●
limit our ability to pay dividends or require us to seek consent
for the payment of dividends;
●
increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry
conditions;
●
require us to dedicate a portion of our cash flow from operations
to payments on our debt, thereby reducing the availability of our
cash flow to fund capital expenditures, working capital and other
general corporate purposes; and
●
limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in
our business and our industry.
We
cannot guarantee that we will be able to obtain any additional
financing on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all.
The loss of any of our key customers could reduce our revenues and
our profitability.
Our
key customers are principally retail pet specialty stores and mass
merchandisers. For the year ended June 30, 2021, sales to our three
largest customers amounted in the aggregate to approximately 32.0%,
9.1% and 6.9% of our total revenue. For the year ended June 30,
2020, sales to our three largest customers amounted in the
aggregate to approximately 27.6%, 6.5% and 4.4% of our total
revenue. For the year ended June 30, 2019, sales to our three
largest customers accounted for 28.1%, 13.5% and 5.6% of the
Company’s total revenue. There can be no assurance that we will
maintain or improve the relationships with these customers, or that
we will be able to continue to supply these customers at current
levels or at all. Any failure to pay by these customers could have
a material negative effect on our company’s business. In addition,
having a relatively small number of customers may cause our
quarterly results to be inconsistent, depending upon when these
customers pay for outstanding invoices. During the years ended June
30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, we had one, one and two customers that
accounted for 10% or more of our revenues.
Our bank accounts are not fully insured or protected against
loss.
We
maintain our cash with various banks and trust companies located in
mainland China. Our cash accounts in the PRC are not insured or
otherwise protected. Should any bank or trust company holding our
cash deposits become insolvent, or if we are otherwise unable to
withdraw funds, we would lose the cash on deposit with that
particular bank or trust company.
We are substantially dependent upon our senior management and key
research and development personnel.
We
are highly dependent on our senior management to manage our
business and operations and our key research and development
personnel for the development of new products and the enhancement
of our existing products and technologies. In particular, we rely
substantially on our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Silong
Chen.
While
we provide the legally required personal insurance for the benefit
of our employees, we do not maintain key person life insurance on
any of our senior management or key personnel. The loss of any one
of them would have a material adverse effect on our business and
operations. Competition for senior management and our other key
personnel is intense, and the pool of suitable candidates is
limited. We may be unable to quickly locate a suitable replacement
for any senior management or key personnel that we lose. In
addition, if any member of our senior management or key personnel
joins a competitor or forms a competing company, they may compete
with us for customers, business partners and other key
professionals and staff members of our company. Although each of
our senior management and key personnel has signed a
confidentiality and non-competition agreement in connection with
his employment with us, we cannot assure you that we will be able
to successfully enforce these provisions in the event of a dispute
between us and any member of our senior management or key
personnel.
In
our efforts to develop new products, we compete for qualified
personnel with technology companies and research institutions.
Although we have our own research and development team, we also
rely heavily on our cooperation with another software development
company, which has been helping us develop our high-tech products.
This relationship has become an important part of our company’s
business development. If this relationship becomes unstable or is
terminated in the future, we may be unable to meet our business and
financial goals.
Failure to manage our growth could strain our management,
operational and other resources, which could materially and
adversely affect our business and prospects.
Our
growth strategy includes increasing market penetration of our
existing products, developing new products and increasing the
number and size of customers we serve. Pursuing these strategies
has resulted in, and will continue to result in, substantial
demands on management resources. In particular, the management of
our growth will require, among other things:
|
● |
continued
enhancement of our research and development
capabilities; |
|
● |
stringent
cost controls and sufficient liquidity; |
|
● |
strengthening
of financial and management controls; |
|
● |
increased
marketing, sales and support activities; and |
|
● |
hiring
and training of new personnel. |
If we
are not able to manage our growth successfully, our business and
prospects would be materially and adversely affected.
Because we rely on Hong Kong entities to fulfill orders from many
of our customers, we may be exposed to claims of value-added tax
underreporting.
Many of our international customers order our products by placing
an order with our Hong Kong Subsidiaries. Our Hong Kong
Subsidiaries then procure the products from our PRC Subsidiaries.
When these products are sold from our PRC Subsidiaries to our Hong
Kong Subsidiaries, the price paid is set at what we believe to be a
fair value. Further, we have informed the applicable tax bureaus of
the pricing of products. Nevertheless, the tax bureau in the future
may claim that we have engaged in transfer pricing to avoid payment
of value-added tax (“VAT”) because the price our Hong Kong
Subsidiary charges to the customer may be higher than the price our
PRC Subsidiaries charge to our Hong Kong Subsidiaries. Under PRC
law, the VAT is refundable on export, so we believe there is
limited risk in the event that we were called upon to pay VAT on
such transfers from China to Hong Kong, but a failure to report
proper VAT payable could expose us to penalties and interest for
failing to pay it on time.
We may be subject to penalties under relevant PRC laws and
regulations due to failure to make full social security and housing
fund contributions for some of our employees.
In the past, contributions by some of our PRC Subsidiaries for some
of their employees to the social security and housing funds may not
have been in compliance with relevant PRC regulations. Pursuant to
the Regulation on the Administration of Housing Accumulation Funds,
as amended in 2002, the relevant housing fund authority may order
an enterprise to pay outstanding contributions within a prescribed
time limit. Pursuant to the PRC Social Insurance Law promulgated in
2010, the social security authority may order an enterprise to pay
the outstanding contributions within a prescribed time limit, and
may impose penalties if there is a failure to do so. To the extent
the relevant authorities determine we have underpaid, some of our
PRC Subsidiaries may be required to pay outstanding contributions
and penalties to the extent they did not make full contributions to
the social security housing funds.
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and
Operation
Our dual class structure concentrate a majority of voting power in
our Chief Executive Officer, who is the only owner of our Class B
Common Shares.
Our
Class B Common Shares have three votes per share, and our Class A
Common Shares have one vote per share. Our directors, executive
officers, and their affiliates, hold in the aggregate approximately
57.0% of the voting power of our capital stock as of June 30, 2021.
Because of the three-to-one voting ratio between our Class B and
Class A Common Shares, the holder of our Class B Common Shares
collectively control a majority of the combined voting power of our
Common Shares and therefore is able to control all matters
submitted to our shareholders for approval. The sole owner of such
Class B Common Shares is our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Silong
Chen, who owns 9,069,000 Class B Common Shares through Fine victory
holding company Limited. This concentrated control may limit or
preclude your ability to influence corporate matters for the
foreseeable future, including the election of directors, amendments
of our organizational documents, and any merger, consolidation,
sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or other major
corporate transaction requiring shareholder approval. In addition,
this may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or
offers for our capital stock that you may feel are in your best
interest as one of our shareholders.
Future
transfers by holders of Class B Common Shares will generally result
in those shares converting to Class A Common Shares, subject to
limited exceptions, such as certain transfers effected for estate
planning purposes. The conversion of Class B Common Shares to Class
A Common Shares will have the effect, over time, of increasing the
relative voting power of those holders of Class B Common Shares who
retain their shares in the long term.
The obligation to disclose information publicly may put us at a
disadvantage to competitors that are private
companies.
As a
publicly listed company in the United States, we are required to
file periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission
upon the occurrence of matters that are material to our company and
shareholders. In some cases, we will need to disclose material
agreements or results of financial operations that we would not be
required to disclose if we were a private company. Our competitors
may have access to this information, which would otherwise be
confidential. This may give them advantages in competing with our
company. Similarly, as a U.S.-listed public company, we will be
governed by U.S. laws that our non-publicly traded competitors are
not required to follow. To the extent compliance with U.S. laws
increases our expenses or decreases our competitiveness against
such companies, our public listing could affect our results of
operations.
We are a “foreign private issuer,” and our disclosure obligations
differ from those of U.S. domestic reporting companies. As a
result, we may not provide you the same information as U.S.
domestic reporting companies or we may provide information at
different times, which may make it more difficult for you to
evaluate our performance and prospects.
We
are a foreign private issuer and, as a result, we are not subject
to the same requirements as U.S. domestic issuers. Under the
Exchange Act, we will be subject to reporting obligations that, to
some extent, are more lenient and less frequent than those of U.S.
domestic reporting companies. For example, we are not required to
issue quarterly reports or proxy statements. We are not required to
disclose detailed individual executive compensation information.
Furthermore, our directors and executive officers will not be
required to report equity holdings under Section 16 of the Exchange
Act and will not be subject to the insider short-swing profit
disclosure and recovery regime.
As a
foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the requirements of
Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure) which, generally, are meant to
ensure that select groups of investors are not privy to specific
information about an issuer before other investors. However, we are
still subject to the anti-fraud and anti-manipulation rules of the
SEC, such as Rule 10b-5 under the Exchange Act. Since many of the
disclosure obligations imposed on us as a foreign private issuer
differ from those imposed on U.S. domestic reporting companies, you
should not expect to receive the same information about us and at
the same time as the information provided by U.S. domestic
reporting companies.
As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to rely on exemptions
from certain Nasdaq corporate governance standards applicable to
U.S. issuers, including the requirement that a majority of an
issuer’s directors consist of independent directors. If we opt to
rely on such exemptions in the future, such decision might afford
less protection to holders of our Class A Common
Shares.
Section
5605(b)(1) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules requires listed companies to
have, among other things, a majority of its board members to be
independent, and Section 5605(d) and 5605(e) require listed
companies to have independent director oversight of executive
compensation and nomination of directors. As a foreign private
issuer, however, we are permitted to follow home country practice
in lieu of the above requirements. Our Board of Directors could
make such a decision to depart from such requirements by ordinary
resolution.
The
corporate governance practice in our home country, the British
Virgin Islands, does not require a majority of our board to consist
of independent directors or the implementation of a nominating and
corporate governance committee. Since a majority of our board of
directors would not consist of independent directors if we relied
on the foreign private issuer exemption, fewer board members would
be exercising independent judgment and the level of board oversight
on the management of our company might decrease as a result. In
addition, we could opt to follow British Virgin Islands law instead
of the Nasdaq requirements that mandate that we obtain shareholder
approval for certain dilutive events, such as an issuance that will
result in a change of control, certain transactions other than a
public offering involving issuances of 20% or greater interests in
the company and certain acquisitions of the shares or assets of
another company. For a description of the material corporate
governance differences between the Nasdaq requirements and British
Virgin Islands law, see “Description of Share Capital — Differences
in Corporate Law”.
An insufficient amount of insurance could expose us to significant
costs and business disruption.
While
we have purchased insurance, including export transportation,
product liability and account receivable insurance, to cover
certain assets and property of our business, the amounts and scope
of coverage could leave our business inadequately protected from
loss. For example, our subsidiaries do not have coverage of
business interruption insurance. If we were to incur substantial
losses or liabilities due to fire, explosions, floods, other
natural disasters or accidents or business interruption, our
results of operations could be materially and adversely
affected.
Our failure to obtain prior approval of the China Securities
Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) for the listing and trading of our
Class A Common Shares on a foreign stock exchange could delay this
offering or could have a material adverse effect upon our business,
operating results, reputation and trading price of our Class A
Common Shares.
On
August 8, 2006, six Chinese regulatory agencies, including the
MOFCOM, jointly issued the M&A Rules, which became effective on
September 8, 2006 and amended on June 22, 2009. The M&A Rules
contains provisions that require that an offshore SPV formed for
listing purposes and controlled directly or indirectly by Chinese
companies or individuals shall obtain the approval of the CSRC
prior to the listing and trading of such SPV’s securities on an
overseas stock exchange. On September 21, 2006, the CSRC published
procedures specifying documents and materials required to be
submitted to it by an SPV seeking CSRC approval of overseas
listings. However, the application of the M&A Rule remains
unclear with no consensus currently existing among leading Chinese
law firms regarding the scope and applicability of the CSRC
approval requirement. We have not chosen to voluntarily request
approval under the M&A Rules. Based on the understanding of the
current PRC law, rules and regulations, we believe that the CSRC’s
approval may not be required for the listing and trading of our
common shares on Nasdaq in the context of this offering, given that
Dogness was not established by a merger with or an acquisition of
any PRC domestic companies as defined under the M&A
Rules.
If
the CSRC requires that we obtain its approval prior to the
completion of this offering, the offering will be delayed until we
obtain CSRC approval, which may take several months. There is also
the possibility that we may not be able to obtain such approval. If
prior CSRC approval was required, we may face regulatory actions or
other sanctions from the CSRC or other Chinese regulatory
authorities. These authorities may impose fines and penalties upon
our operations in China, limit our operating privileges in China,
delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from this
offering into China, or take other actions that could have a
material adverse effect upon our business, financial condition,
results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the
trading price of our Class A Common Shares. The CSRC or other
Chinese regulatory agencies may also take actions requiring us, or
making it advisable for us, to terminate this offering prior to
closing.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Class A Common
Shares
We are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain
whether the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging
growth companies will make our Class A Common Shares less
attractive to investors.
We
are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our
Business Startups Act, or 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, reduced
disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our
periodic reports and 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 for up to five years,
although we could lose that status sooner if our revenues reach
$1.07 billion, if we issue $1.07 billion or more in non-convertible
debt in a three year period, or if the market value of our Class A
Common Shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any
December 31 before that time, in which case we would no longer be
an emerging growth company as of the following June 30. We cannot
predict if investors will find our Class A Common Shares less
attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some
investors find our Class A Common Shares less attractive as a
result, there may be a less active trading market for our Class A
Common Shares and our share price may be more volatile. Under the
JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can also delay adopting new or
revised accounting standards until such time as those standards
apply to private companies.
Because we have elected to use the extended transition period for
complying with new or revised accounting standards for an “emerging
growth company” our financial statements may not be comparable to
companies that comply with these accounting standards as of the
public company effective dates.
We
have elected to use the extended transition period for complying
with new or revised accounting standards under Section 107(b) of
the JOBS Act. This election allows us to delay the adoption of new
or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates
for public and private companies until those standards apply to
private companies. As a result of this election, our financial
statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with
these accounting standards as of the public company effective
dates. Consequently, our financial statements may not be comparable
to companies that comply with public company effective dates.
Because our financial statements may not be comparable to companies
that comply with public company effective dates, investors may have
difficulty evaluating or comparing our business, performance or
prospects in comparison to other public companies, which may have a
negative impact on the value and liquidity of our Class A Common
Shares. We cannot predict if investors will find our Class A Common
Shares less attractive because we plan to rely on this exemption.
If some investors find our Class A Common Shares less attractive as
a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Class A
Common Shares and our share price may be more volatile.
If we are unable to implement and maintain effective internal
control over financial reporting in the future, investors may lose
confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial
reports and the market price of our Class A Common Shares may
decline.
Prior
to our initial public offering in 2017, we were a private company
with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to
address our internal controls and procedures. Our independent
registered public accounting firm has not conducted an audit of our
internal control over financial reporting. However, in preparing
our consolidated financial statements in connection with this
annual report, we and our independent registered public accounting
firm identified material weaknesses in our internal control over
financial reporting, as defined in the standards established by the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the United States, or
PCAOB, and other control deficiencies. One material weakness
identified relates to (i) a lack of full-time accounting and
financial reporting personnel with appropriate knowledge of U.S.
GAAP and SEC reporting and compliance requirements; (ii) a lack of
an effective review process by management, which led to material
audit adjustments for the year ended June 30, 2020 and (iii) lack
of risk assessment in accordance with the requirement of COSO 2013
framework. Following the identification of the material weaknesses
and control deficiencies, we have taken and plan to continue to
take remedial measures, including (i) engaging a Chief Financial
Officer who holds a Ph.D in accounting and a CPA license in the
United States and hiring external financial consultants with
experience in U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting obligations (ii) hiring
more qualified accounting personnel with relevant U.S. GAAP and SEC
reporting experience and qualifications to strengthen the financial
reporting function and to set up a financial and system control
framework; (iii) implementing regular and continuous U.S. GAAP
accounting and financial reporting training programs for our
accounting and financial reporting personnel; (iv) setting up an
internal audit function as well as engaging an external consulting
firm to assist us with assessment of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance
requirements and improvement of overall internal control;. However,
the implementation of these measures may not fully address the
material weaknesses in our internal control over financial
reporting. Our failure to correct the material weaknesses or our
failure to discover and address any other material weaknesses or
control deficiencies 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, ineffective internal control
over financial reporting significantly hinders our ability to
prevent fraud.
As a
public company, we will be required to maintain internal control
over financial reporting and to report any material weaknesses in
such internal control. In addition, we are required to furnish a
report by management on the effectiveness of our internal control
over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As of the date hereof, management has concluded
that such controls are ineffective.
In
addition, our independent registered public accounting firm will be
required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control
over financial reporting beginning with our annual report on Form
20-F following the date on which we are no longer an “emerging
growth company,” which may be up to five full years following the
date of our initial public offering. If we identify material
weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, if we
are unable to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a
timely manner or assert that our internal control over financial
reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public
accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting when
required, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and
completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our
Class A Common Shares could be negatively affected, and we could
become subject to investigations by the stock exchange on which our
securities are listed, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or
the SEC, or other regulatory authorities, which could require
additional financial and management resources.
Recent joint statement by the SEC and PCAOB, proposed rule changes
submitted by Nasdaq, and an act passed by the US Senate all call
for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to
emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their
auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by
the PCAOB. These developments could add uncertainties to our
offering.
In
May 2013, the PCAOB announced that it had entered into a Memorandum
of Understanding on Enforcement Cooperation with the CSRC, and the
PRC Ministry of Finance, which establishes a cooperative framework
between the parties for the production and exchange of audit
documents relevant to investigations undertaken by the PCAOB, the
CSRC or the PRC Ministry of Finance in the United States and the
PRC, respectively. The PCAOB continues to be in discussions with
the CSRC, and the PRC Ministry of Finance to permit joint
inspections in the PRC of audit firms that are registered with
PCAOB and audit Chinese companies that trade on U.S.
exchanges.
On
December 7, 2018, the SEC and the PCAOB issued a joint statement
highlighting continued challenges faced by the U.S. regulators in
their oversight of financial statement audits of U.S.-listed
companies with significant operations in China. The joint statement
reflects a heightened interest in an issue that has vexed U.S.
regulators in recent years.
On
April 21, 2020, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and PCAOB Chairman William
D. Duhnke III, along with other senior SEC staff, released a joint
statement highlighting the risks associated with investing in
companies based in or have substantial operations in emerging
markets including China. The joint statement emphasized the risks
associated with lack of access for the PCAOB to inspect auditors
and audit work papers in China and higher risks of fraud in
emerging markets.
On
June 4, 2020, the U.S. President issued a memorandum ordering the
President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, or the PWG, to
submit a report to the President within 60 days of the memorandum
that includes recommendations for actions that can be taken by the
executive branch and by the SEC or PCAOB on Chinese companies
listed on U.S. stock exchanges and their audit firms, in an effort
to protect investors in the U.S.
On
August 6, 2020, the PWG released a report recommending that the SEC
take steps to implement the five recommendations outlined in the
report. In particular, to address companies from jurisdictions that
do not provide the PCAOB with sufficient access to fulfill its
statutory mandate, or NCJs, the PWG recommends enhanced listing
standards on U.S. stock exchanges. This would require, as a
condition to initial and continued exchange listing, PCAOB access
to work papers of the principal audit firm for the audit of the
listed company. Companies unable to satisfy this standard as a
result of governmental restrictions on access to audit work papers
and practices in NCJs may satisfy this standard by providing a
co-audit from an audit firm with comparable resources and
experience where the PCAOB determines it has sufficient access to
audit work papers and practices to conduct an appropriate
inspection of the co-audit firm. There is currently no legal
process under which such a co-audit may be performed in China. The
report permits the new listing standards to provide for a
transition period until January 1, 2022 for listed companies, but
would apply immediately to new listings once the necessary
rulemakings and/or standard-setting are effective. The measures in
the PWG Report are presumably subject to the standard SEC
rulemaking process before becoming effective. On August 10, 2020,
the SEC announced that SEC Chairman had directed the SEC staff to
prepare proposals in response to the PWG Report, and that the SEC
was soliciting public comments and information with respect to
these proposals. After we are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market,
if we fail to meet the new listing standards before the deadline
specified thereunder due to factors beyond our control, we could
face possible de-listing from the NASDAQ Capital Market,
deregistration from the SEC and/or other risks, which may
materially and adversely affect, or effectively terminate, our
Class A Common Shares trading in the United States.
On
March 24, 2021, the SEC announced that it had adopted interim final
amendments to implement congressionally mandated submission and
disclosure requirements of the Act. The interim final amendments
will apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed
an annual report on Forms 10-K, 20-F, 40-F or N-CSR with an audit
report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is
located in a foreign jurisdiction and that the PCAOB has determined
it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a
position taken by an authority in that jurisdiction. The SEC will
implement a process for identifying such a registrant and any such
identified registrant will be required to submit documentation to
the SEC establishing that it is not owned or controlled by a
governmental entity in that foreign jurisdiction, and will also
require disclosure in the registrant’s annual report regarding the
audit arrangements of, and governmental influence on, such a
registrant.
Furthermore,
the HFCA Act, which requires that the PCAOB be permitted to inspect
the issuer’s public accounting firm within three years, may result
in the delisting of our Company in the future if the PCAOB is
unable to inspect our accounting firm at such future
time.
In
addition, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating
Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“AHFCAA”), which, if
signed into law, would amend the HFCA Act and require the SEC to
prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S. stock
exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for
two consecutive years instead of three consecutive
years.
On
November 5, 2021, the SEC approved the PCAOB’s Rule 6100, Board
Determinations Under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act.
Rule 6100 provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when
determining, as contemplated under the HFCA Act, whether it is
unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public
accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a
position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction. On
December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a Determination Report which
found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely
registered public accounting firms headquartered in: (1) mainland
China, and (2) Hong Kong. The lack of access to the PCAOB
inspection in China prevents the PCAOB from fully evaluating audits
and quality control procedures of the auditors based in China. As a
result, the investors may be deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB
inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of
auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the
effectiveness of these accounting firms’ audit procedures or
quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China
that are subject to the PCAOB inspections, which could cause
existing and potential investors in our stock to lose confidence in
our audit procedures and reported financial information and the
quality of our financial statements.
Our
auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that
issues the audit report included elsewhere in this prospectus, as
an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United
States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in
the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular
inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable
professional standards. Our auditor, Prager Metis CPAs, LLC, is
located at Hackensack New Jersey, and has been inspected by the
PCAOB on a regular basis with the last inspection in August 2020.
In the event that, in the future, either there is any regulatory
change or step taken by PRC regulators that does not permit Prager
Metis CPAs, LLC to provide audit documentations located in China or
Hong Kong to the PCAOB for inspection or investigation, or the
PACOB expands the scope of the determinations so that our PRC
operating entities will be subject to the HFCA Act, as the same may
be amended, you may be deprived of the benefits of such inspection
which could result in limitation or restriction to our access to
the U.S. capital markets and trading of our securities, including
“over-the-counter” trading, may be prohibited, under the HFCA Act.
The recent developments would add uncertainties to our offering and
we cannot assure you whether the national securities exchange we
apply to for listing or regulatory authorities would apply
additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the
effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures and quality control
procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of
resources, geographic reach, or experience as it relates to our
audit.
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act all call for
additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging
market companies upon assessing the qualification of their
auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by
the PCAOB. These developments could add uncertainties to our
offering.
On
May 20, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the Holding Foreign Companies
Accountable Act (“HFCA Act”) requiring a foreign company to certify
it is not owned or controlled by a foreign government if the PCAOB
is unable to audit specified reports because the company uses a
foreign auditor not subject to PCAOB inspection. If the PCAOB is
unable to inspect the company’s auditors for three consecutive
years, the issuer’s securities are prohibited to trade on a
national exchange. On December 2, 2020, the U.S. House of
Representatives approved the HFCA Act. On December 18, 2020, the
HFCA Act was signed into law. On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted
interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain
disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCA Act. A
company will be required to comply with these rules if the SEC
identifies it as having a “non-inspection” year under a process to
be subsequently established by the SEC. The SEC is assessing how to
implement other requirements of the HFCA Act, including the listing
and trading prohibition requirements described above. Furthermore,
on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the AHFCAA, which, if
signed into law, would amend the HFCA Act and require the SEC to
prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S. stock
exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for
two consecutive years instead of three consecutive years. On
September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a final rule implementing the
HFCAA, which provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when
determining, as contemplated under the HFCA Act, whether the PCAOB
is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public
accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a
position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.
Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the AHFCAA,
which, if signed into law, would amend the HFCA Act and require the
SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S.
stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections
for two consecutive years instead of three consecutive years. On
December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a Determination Report which
found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely
registered public accounting firms headquartered in: (1) mainland
China, and (2) Hong Kong.
Our
auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that
issues the audit report included elsewhere in this prospectus, as
an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United
States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in
the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular
inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable
professional standards. Our auditor, Prager Metis CPAs, LLC, is
located at Hackensack New Jersey, and has been inspected by the
PCAOB on a regular basis with the last inspection in August 2020.
The recent developments would add uncertainties to our offering and
we cannot assure you whether the national securities exchange we
apply to for listing or regulatory authorities would apply
additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the
effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures and quality control
procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of
resources, geographic reach, or experience as it relates to our
audit. Furthermore, the HFCA Act, which requires that the PCAOB be
permitted to inspect the issuer’s public accounting firm within
three years, may result in the delisting of our Company in the
future if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our accounting firm at
such future time.
Our management team has limited experience in managing a U.S.
public company and complying with laws applicable to such company,
the failure of which may adversely affect our business, financial
conditions and results of operations.
Our
current management team has limited experience in managing a U.S.
publicly traded company, interacting with public company investors
and complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to U.S.
public companies. Prior to the completion of our initial public
offering, we mainly operated our businesses as a private company in
the PRC. As a result of our IPO, our company became subject to
significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under
the federal securities laws and the scrutiny of securities analysts
and investors, and our management currently has no experience in
complying with such laws, regulations and obligations. Our
management team may not successfully or efficiently manage our
transition to becoming a U.S. public company. These new obligations
and constituents will require significant attention from our senior
management and could divert their attention away from the
day-to-day management of our business, which could adversely affect
our business, financial conditions and results of
operations.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources
and divert management’s attention.
As a
public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”),
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing
requirements of the securities exchange on which we list, and other
applicable securities rules and regulations. Despite recent reforms
made possible by the JOBS Act, compliance with these rules and
regulations will nonetheless increase our legal and financial
compliance costs, make some activities more difficult,
time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and
resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth
company.” The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we
file annual and current reports with respect to our business and
operating results. In addition, as long as we are listed on the
Nasdaq Global Market, we are also required to file semi-annual
financial statements.
We
expect these new rules and regulations to increase our legal,
accounting and financial compliance costs and to make certain
corporate activities more time-consuming and costly. In addition,
we will incur additional costs associated with our public company
reporting requirements. While it is impossible to determine the
amounts of such expenses in advance, we expect that we will incur
expenses of between $500,000 and $1 million per year that we did
not experience prior to commencement of our initial public
offering.
As a
result of disclosure of information in filings required of a public
company, our business and financial condition will become more
visible, which we believe may result in threatened or actual
litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If
such claims are successful, our business and operating results
could be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation
or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and
resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of
our management and adversely affect our business, brand and
reputation and results of operations.
We
also expect that being a public company and these rules and
regulations will make it more expensive for us to obtain director
and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept
reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain
coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to
attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors,
particularly to serve on our audit committee and compensation
committee, and qualified executive officers.
The market price of our Class A Common Shares may be volatile or
may decline regardless of our operating
performance.
If
you purchase our Class A Common Shares, you may not be able to
resell those shares at or above your purchase price. The market
price of our Class A Common Shares may fluctuate significantly in
response to numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control,
including:
●
actual or anticipated fluctuations in our revenue and other
operating results;
● the
financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in
these projections or our failure to meet these
projections;
●
actions of securities analysts who initiate or maintain coverage of
us, changes in financial estimates by any securities analysts who
follow our company, or our failure to meet these estimates or the
expectations of investors;
●
announcements by us or our competitors of significant products or
features, technical innovations, acquisitions, strategic
partnerships, joint ventures, or capital commitments;
●
price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market,
including as a result of trends in the economy as a
whole;
●
lawsuits threatened or filed against us; and
●
other events or factors, including those resulting from war or
incidents of terrorism, or responses to these events.
In
addition, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and
volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the
market prices of equity securities of many companies. Stock prices
of many companies have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or
disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies.
In the past, stockholders have filed securities class action
litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were to
become involved in securities litigation, it could subject us to
substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management
from our business, and adversely affect our business.
We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable
future.
We
currently intend to retain any future earnings to finance the
operation and expansion of our business, and we do not expect to
declare or pay any dividends in the foreseeable future. As a
result, you may only receive a return on your investment in our
Class A Common Shares if the market price of our Class A Common
Shares increases.
There may not be an active, liquid trading market for our Class A
Common Shares.
Prior
to our initial public offering, there was no public market for our
Class A Common Shares. An active trading market for our Class A
Common Shares may not be sustained. You may not be able to sell
your shares at the market price, if at all, if trading in our
shares is not active. The initial public offering price was
determined by negotiations between us and the underwriters based
upon a number of factors which are described in the “Plan of
Distribution” section. The initial public offering price may not be
indicative of prices that will prevail in the trading
market.
We are subject to liability risks stemming from our foreign status,
which could make it more difficult for investors to sue or enforce
judgments against our company.
Most
of our operations and assets are located in the PRC. In addition,
most of our executive officers and directors are non-residents of
the U.S., and much of the assets of such persons are located
outside the U.S. As a result, it could be difficult for investors
to effect service of process in the U.S., or to enforce a judgment
obtained in the U.S. against us or any of these persons.
In
addition, British Virgin Islands companies may not have standing to
initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the
United States. The circumstances in which any such action may be
brought, and the procedures and defenses that may be available in
respect to any such action, may result in the rights of
shareholders of a British Virgin Islands company being more limited
than those of shareholders of a company organized in the United
States. Accordingly, shareholders may have fewer alternatives
available to them if they believe that corporate wrongdoing has
occurred. The British Virgin Islands courts are also unlikely to
recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts in the United
States based on certain liability provisions of U.S. securities
law; and to impose liabilities against us, in original actions
brought in the British Virgin Islands, based on certain liability
provisions of U.S. securities laws that are penal in nature. There
is no statutory recognition in the British Virgin Islands of
judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the
British Virgin Islands will generally recognize and enforce the
non-penal judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction
without retrial on the merits. This means that even if shareholders
were to sue us successfully, they may not be able to recover
anything to make up for the losses suffered.
Lastly,
under the law of the British Virgin Islands, there is little
statutory law for the protection of minority shareholders. The
principal protection under statutory law is that shareholders may
bring an action to enforce the constituent documents of the
corporation, our Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Shareholders are entitled to have the affairs of the company
conducted in accordance with the general law and the Articles and
Memorandum.
There
are common law rights for the protection of shareholders that may
be invoked, largely dependent on English company law, since the
common law of the British Virgin Islands for business companies is
limited. Under the general rule pursuant to English company law
known as the rule in Foss v. Harbottle, a court will
generally refuse to interfere with the management of a company at
the insistence of a minority of its shareholders who express
dissatisfaction with the conduct of the company’s affairs by the
majority or the board of directors. However, every shareholder is
entitled to have the affairs of the company conducted properly
according to law and the constituent documents of the corporation.
As such, if those who control the company have persistently
disregarded the requirements of company law or the provisions of
the company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, then the
courts will grant relief. Generally, the areas in which the courts
will intervene are the following: (1) an act complained of which is
outside the scope of the authorized business or is illegal or not
capable of ratification by the majority; (2) acts that constitute
fraud on the minority where the wrongdoers control the company; (3)
acts that infringe on the personal rights of the shareholders, such
as the right to vote; and (4) where the company has not complied
with provisions requiring approval of a special or extraordinary
majority of shareholders, which are more limited than the rights
afforded minority shareholders under the laws of many states in the
United States.
Our board of directors may decline to register transfers of Class A
Common Shares in certain circumstances.
Our
board of directors may, in its sole discretion, decline to register
any transfer of any Class A Common Share which is not fully paid up
or on which we have a lien. Our directors may also decline to
register any transfer of any share unless (i) the instrument of
transfer is lodged with us, accompanied by the certificate for the
shares to which it relates and such other evidence as our board of
directors may reasonably require to show the right of the
transferor to make the transfer; (ii) the instrument of transfer is
in respect of only one class of shares; (iii) the instrument of
transfer is properly stamped, if required; (iv) in the case of a
transfer to joint holders, the number of joint holders to whom the
share is to be transferred does not exceed four; (v) the shares
conceded are free of any lien in favor of us; or (vi) a fee of such
maximum sum as Nasdaq may determine to be payable, or such lesser
sum as our board of directors may from time to time require, is
paid to us in respect thereof.
If
our directors refuse to register a transfer they shall, within one
month after the date on which the instrument of transfer was
lodged, send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of
such refusal. The registration of transfers may, on 14 days’ notice
being given by advertisement in such one or more newspapers or by
electronic means, be suspended and the register closed at such
times and for such periods as our board of directors may from time
to time determine, provided, however, that the registration of
transfers shall not be suspended nor the register closed for more
than 30 days in any year.
You may be unable to present proposals before general meetings or
extraordinary general meetings not called by
shareholders.
British
Virgin Islands law provides shareholders with only limited rights
to requisition a general meeting and does not provide shareholders
with any right to put any proposal before a general meeting.
However, these rights may be provided in a company’s articles of
association. Our Articles of Association allow our shareholders
holding shares representing in aggregate not less than 30% of our
voting share capital in issue, to requisition an extraordinary
general meeting of our shareholders, in which case our directors
are obliged to call such meeting and to put the resolutions so
requisitioned to a vote at such meeting.
Although
our Articles of Association do not provide our shareholders with
any right to put any proposals before annual general meetings or
extraordinary general meetings not called by such shareholders, any
shareholder may submit a proposal to our Board of Directors for
consideration of inclusion in a proxy statement. Advance notice of
at least seven (7) calendar days is required for the convening of
our annual general shareholders’ meeting and any other general
meeting of our shareholders. A quorum required for a meeting of
shareholders consists of at least one shareholder present in person
or by proxy, representing not less than one-half of the total
issued voting power of our company. In the event we do not have
quorum at the time set for the meeting, we are required to adjourn
the meeting until the following week, at which time quorum will be
satisfied if shares representing at least one-third of the total
issued voting power of our company are present in person or by
proxy. Because our Class A Common Shares are entitled to one (1)
vote and our Class B Common Shares are entitled to three (3) votes,
the presence of holders of the Class B Common Shares will have a
significant impact on whether any meeting of shareholders has
quorum.
Risks Related to Doing Business in China
Adverse changes in political, economic and other policies of the
Chinese government could have a material adverse effect on the
overall economic growth of China, which could materially and
adversely affect the growth of our business and our competitive
position.
The
majority of our business operations are conducted in China.
Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of
operations and prospects are affected significantly by economic,
political and legal developments in China. China’s economy differs
from the economies of most developed countries in many respects,
including with respect to the amount of government involvement,
level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange, and
allocation of resources. The PRC government exercises significant
control over China’s economic growth through strategical allocation
of resources, controlling the payment of foreign
currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy, and
providing preferential treatment to particular industries or
companies. While the Chinese economy has experienced significant
growth in the past decades, growth has been uneven, both
geographically and among various sectors of the economy. The growth
of the Chinese economy may not continue at a rate experienced in
the past, and the impact of COVID-19 on the Chinese economy may
continue. Any prolonged slowdown in the Chinese economy may reduce
the demand for our services and materially and adversely affect our
business and results of operations. Furthermore, any adverse change
in the economic conditions in China, in policies of the PRC
government or in laws and regulations in China could have a
material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China and
market demand for our outsourcing services. Such developments could
adversely affect our businesses, lead to reduction in demand for
our services and adversely affect our competitive
position.
Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could have a
material adverse effect on us.
The
PRC legal system is based on written statutes. Prior court
decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential
value. We conduct our business primarily through our subsidiaries
established in China.
These
subsidiaries are generally subject to laws and regulations
applicable to foreign investment in China. However, since these
laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system
continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws,
regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of
these laws, regulations and rules involves uncertainties, which may
limit legal protections available to us. Recently, the General
Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and
the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the
“Opinions on Severely Cracking Down on Illegal Securities
Activities According to Law,” or the Opinions, which was made
available to the public on July 6, 2021. The Opinions emphasized
the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities
activities, and the need to strengthen the supervision over
overseas listings by Chinese companies. Effective measures, such as
promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems will be
taken to deal with the risks and incidents of China-concept
overseas listed companies, and cybersecurity and data privacy
protection requirements, etc. The Opinions and any related
implementing rules to be enacted may subject us to compliance
requirement in the future. In addition, some regulatory
requirements issued by certain PRC government authorities may not
be consistently applied by other government authorities (including
local government authorities), thus making strict compliance with
all regulatory requirements impractical, or in some circumstances
impossible. For example, we may have to resort to administrative
and court proceedings to enforce the legal protection that we enjoy
either by law or contract. However, since PRC administrative and
court authorities have discretion in interpreting and implementing
statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to
predict the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the
level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal
systems. These uncertainties may impede our ability to enforce the
contracts we have entered into with our business partners,
customers and suppliers. In addition, such uncertainties, including
any inability to enforce our contracts, together with any
development or interpretation of PRC law that is adverse to us,
could materially and adversely affect our business and operations.
Furthermore, intellectual property rights and confidentiality
protections in China may not be as effective as in the United
States or other more developed countries. We cannot predict the
effect of future developments in the PRC legal system, including
the promulgation of new laws, changes to existing laws or the
interpretation or enforcement thereof, or the preemption of local
regulations by national laws. These uncertainties could limit the
legal protections available to us and other foreign investors,
including you. In addition, any litigation in China may be
protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of our
resources and management attention.
China’s economic, political and social conditions, as well as
changes in any government policies, laws and regulations may be
quick with little advance notice and, could have a material adverse
effect on our business and the value of our Class A Common
Shares.
Our
business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects
are subject, to a significant extent, to economic, political and
legal developments in China. For example, as a result of recent
proposed changes in the cybersecurity regulations in China that
would require certain Chinese technology firms to undergo a
cybersecurity review before being allowed to list on foreign
exchanges, this may have a material adverse effect on our business
and the value of our Class A Ordinary Share.
China’s
economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in
many respects, including the amount of government involvement,
level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and
allocation of resources. While the PRC economy has experienced
significant growth in the past two to three decades, growth has
been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the
economy. Demand for target services and products depends, in large
part, on economic conditions in China. Any slowdown in China’s
economic growth may cause our potential customers to delay or
cancel their plans to purchase our services and products, which in
turn could reduce our net revenues.
Although
China’s economy has been transitioning from a planned economy to a
more market oriented economy since the late 1970s, the PRC
government continues to play a significant role in regulating
industry development by imposing industrial policies. The PRC
government also exercises significant control over China’s economic
growth through allocating resources, controlling the incurrence and
payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting
monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular
industries or companies. Changes in any of these policies, laws and
regulations may be quick with little advance notice and could
adversely affect the economy in China and could have a material
adverse effect on our business and the value of our Class A Common
Shares.
The
PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage
foreign investment and sustainable economic growth and to guide the
allocation of financial and other resources. However, we cannot
assure you that the PRC government will not repeal or alter these
measures or introduce new measures that will have a negative effect
on us, or more specifically, we cannot assure you that the PRC
government will not initiate possible governmental actions or
scrutiny to us, which could substantially affect our operation and
the value of our Common Shares may depreciate quickly. China’s
social and political conditions may change and become unstable. Any
sudden changes to China’s political system or the occurrence of
widespread social unrest could have a material adverse effect on
our business and results of operations.
The Chinese government exerts substantial influence over the manner
in which we must conduct our business activities and may intervene
or influence our operations at any time, which could result in a
material change in our operations and the value of our Class A
Common Shares.
The
Chinese government has exercised and continues to exercise
substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese
economy through regulation and state ownership. Our ability to
operate in China may be harmed by changes in its laws and
regulations, including those relating to securities regulation,
data protection, cybersecurity and mergers and acquisitions and
other matters. The central or local governments of these
jurisdictions may impose new, stricter regulations or
interpretations of existing regulations that would require
additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our
compliance with such regulations or interpretations.
Government
actions in the future could significantly affect economic
conditions in China or particular regions thereof, and could
require us to materially change our operating activities or divest
ourselves of any interests we hold in Chinese assets. Our business
may be subject to various government and regulatory interference in
the provinces in which we operate. We may incur increased costs
necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted laws and
regulations or penalties for any failure to comply. Our operations
could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by existing or
future laws and regulations relating to our business or
industry.
Given
recent statements by the Chinese government indicating an intent to
exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted
overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, any such
action could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability
to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the
value of such securities to significantly decline or become
worthless.
Among other things, China’s M&A Rules and the Anti-Monopoly Law
established additional procedures and requirements that could make
merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more
time-consuming and complex. Such regulation requires, among other
things, that State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) be
notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a
foreign investor acquires control of a PRC domestic enterprise or a
foreign company with substantial PRC operations, if certain
thresholds are triggered. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law requires
that transactions which involve the national security, the
examination on the national security shall also be conducted
according to the relevant provisions of the State. In addition, PRC
Measures for the Security Review of Foreign Investment which became
effective in January 2021 require acquisitions by foreign investors
of PRC companies engaged in military-related or certain other
industries that are crucial to national security be subject to
security review before consummation of any such acquisition. We may
pursue potential strategic acquisitions in China that are
complementary to our business and operations. Complying with the
requirements of these regulations to complete such transactions
could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes,
including obtaining approval or clearance from the MOFCOM, may
delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which
could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our
market share.
Recently,
the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued
the Opinions on Severely Cracking Down on Illegal Securities
Activities According to Law, or the Opinions, which was made
available to the public on July 6, 2021. The Opinions emphasized
the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities
activities, and the need to strengthen the supervision over
overseas listings by Chinese companies. Effective measures, such as
promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems, will be
taken to deal with the risks and incidents of China-concept
overseas listed companies. As of the date of this prospectus, we
have not received any inquiry, notice, warning, or sanctions from
PRC government authorities in connection with the
Opinions.
On
June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s
Congress of China, or the SCNPC, promulgated the PRC Data Security
Law, which took effect in September 2021. The PRC Data Security Law
imposes data security and privacy obligations on entities and
individuals carrying out data activities, and introduces a data
classification and hierarchical protection system based on the
importance of data in economic and social development, and the
degree of harm it will cause to national security, public
interests, or legitimate rights and interests of individuals or
organizations when such data is tampered with, destroyed, leaked,
illegally acquired or used. The PRC Data Security Law also provides
for a national security review procedure for data activities that
may affect national security and imposes export restrictions on
certain data an information.
In
early July 2021, regulatory authorities in China launched
cybersecurity investigations with regard to several China-based
companies that are listed in the United States. The Chinese
cybersecurity regulator announced on July 2 that it had begun an
investigation of Didi Global Inc. (NYSE: DIDI) and two days later
ordered that the company’s app be removed from smartphone app
stores. On July 5, 2021, the Chinese cybersecurity regulator
launched the same investigation on two other Internet platforms,
China’s Full Truck Alliance of Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. (NYSE:
YMM) and Boss of KANZHUN LIMITED (Nasdaq: BZ). On July 24, 2021,
the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central
Committee and the General Office of the State Council jointly
released the Guidelines for Further Easing the Burden of Excessive
Homework and Off-campus Tutoring for Students at the Stage of
Compulsory Education, pursuant to which foreign investment in such
firms via mergers and acquisitions, franchise development, and
variable interest entities are banned from this sector.
On
November 14, 2021, the CAC released the Regulations on the Network
Data Security Management (Draft for Comments), or the Data Security
Management Regulations Draft, to solicit public opinion and
comments. Pursuant to the Data Security Management Regulations
Draft, data processor holding more than one million users/users’
individual information shall be subject to cybersecurity review
before listing abroad. Data processing activities refers to
activities such as the collection, retention, use, processing,
transmission, provision, disclosure, or deletion of data. According
to the latest amended Cybersecurity Review Measures, which was
promulgated on December 28, 2021, and will become effective on
February 15, 2022 and replace the Cybersecurity Review Measures
promulgated on April 13, 2020, an online platform operator holding
more than one million users/users’ individual information shall be
subject to cybersecurity review before listing abroad. Since the
Cybersecurity Review Measures is new, the implementation and
interpretation thereof is not yet clear. As of the date of this
prospectus, we have not been informed by any PRC governmental
authority of any requirement that we file for approval for this
offering.
On
August 17, 2021, the State Council promulgated the Regulations on
the Protection of the Security of Critical Information
Infrastructure, or the Regulations, which took effect on September
1, 2021. The Regulations supplement and specify the provisions on
the security of critical information infrastructure as stated in
the Cybersecurity Review Measures. The Regulations provide, among
others, that protection department of certain industry or sector
shall notify the operator of the critical information
infrastructure in time after the identification of certain critical
information infrastructure.
On
August 20, 2021, the SCNPC promulgated the Personal Information
Protection Law of the PRC, or the Personal Information Protection
Law, which took effect in November 2021. As the first systematic
and comprehensive law specifically for the protection of personal
information in the PRC, the Personal Information Protection Law
provides, among others, that (i) an individual’s consent shall be
obtained to use sensitive personal information, such as biometric
characteristics and individual location tracking, (ii) personal
information operators using sensitive personal information shall
notify individuals of the necessity of such use and impact on the
individual’s rights, and (iii) where personal information operators
reject an individual’s request to exercise his or her rights, the
individual may file a lawsuit with a People’s Court. Given that the
above mentioned newly promulgated laws, regulations and policies
were recently promulgated or issued, and have not yet taken effect
(as applicable), their interpretation, application and enforcement
are subject to substantial uncertainties. See “Risk Factor — We
may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal
information provided by our customers” and “Risk Factors —
Our failure to obtain prior approval of the China Securities
Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) for the listing and trading of our
Class A Common Shares on a foreign stock exchange could delay this
offering or could have a material adverse effect upon our business,
operating results, reputation and trading price of our Class A
Common Shares.”
Draft rules for China-based companies seeking for securities
offerings in foreign stock markets was released by the CSRC for
public consultation. While such rules have not yet come into
effect, the Chinese government may exert more oversight and control
over overseas public offerings conducted by China-based issuers,
which could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to
offer or continue to offer our Class A Common Shares to investors
and could cause the value of our Class A Common Shares to
significantly decline or become worthless.
On
December 24, 2021, CSRC and relevant departments of the State
Council published the Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listings,
which aim to regulate overseas securities offerings and listings by
China-based companies, are available for public consultation. The
Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listing aim to lay out the filing
regulation arrangement for both direct and indirect overseas
listing and clarify the determination criteria for indirect
overseas listing in overseas markers.
The
Draft Rules Regarding Overseas Listing, among other things,
stipulate that, after making initial applications with overseas
stock markets for initial public offerings or listings, all
China-based companies shall file with CSRC within three working
days, and make filings for certain matters, including follow-on
offerings, after their initial public offerings or listings. The
required filing materials with the CSRC include (without
limitation): (i) record-filing reports and related undertakings,
(ii) compliance certificates, filing or approval documents from the
primary regulator of the applicants’ businesses (if applicable),
(iii) security assessment opinions issued by related departments
(if applicable), (iv) PRC legal opinions, and (v) prospectus. In
addition, overseas offerings and listings may be prohibited for
such China-based companies when any of the following applies: (1)
if the intended securities offerings and listings are specifically
prohibited by the laws, regulations or provision of the PRC; (2) if
the intended securities offerings and listings may constitute a
threat to, or endanger national security as reviewed and determined
by competent authorities under the State Council in accordance with
laws; (3) if there are material ownership disputes over applicants’
equity interests, major assets, core technologies, etc.; (4) if, in
the past three years, applicants’ domestic enterprises, controlling
shareholders or de facto controllers have committed corruption,
bribery, embezzlement, misappropriation of property, or other
criminal offenses disruptive to the order of the socialist market
economy, or are currently under judicial investigation for
suspicion of criminal offenses, or are under investigation for
suspicion of major violations; (5) if, in the past three years, any
directors, supervisors, or senior executives of applicants have
been subject to administrative punishments for severe violations,
or are currently under judicial investigation for suspicion of
criminal offenses, or are under investigation for suspicion of
major violations; (6) other circumstances as prescribed by the
State Council. The Draft Administrative Provisions stipulate that a
fine between RMB 1 million and RMB 10 million may be imposed if an
applicant fails to fulfill the filing requirements with the CSRC or
conducts an overseas offering or listing in violation of the Draft
Rules Regarding Overseas Listings, and in cases of severe
violations, a parallel order to suspend relevant businesses or halt
operations for rectification may be issued, and relevant business
permits or operational license revoked.
As of the date of this prospectus, the Draft Rules Regarding
Overseas Listings have not been promulgated, and neither we nor any
of our PRC Subsidiaries have been required to obtain permission
from, or make filings with, CSRC or any Chinese governmental
agencies for any of our U.S. offerings. The Draft Rules Regarding
Overseas Listings, if enacted, however, may subject us to
additional compliance requirements in the future, and though we
believe that none of six situations that would clearly prohibit
overseas listing and offering apply to us, we cannot assure you
that we will be able to receive clearance of such filing
requirements in a timely manner, or at all. If CSRC or any Chinese
governmental agencies requires that we obtain its approval prior to
the completion of this offering, the offering will be delayed until
we have obtained such approval, which may take several months.
There is also the possibility that we may not be able to obtain or
maintain such approval or that we inadvertently concluded that such
approval was not required. If prior governmental agencies approval
was required while we inadvertently concluded that such approval
was not required or if applicable laws and regulations or the
interpretation of such were modified to require us to obtain such
approval in the future, we may face regulatory actions or other
sanctions from CSRC or other Chinese governmental agencies. These
authorities may impose fines and penalties upon our operations in
China, limit our operating privileges in China, delay or restrict
the repatriation of the proceeds from this offering into China, or
take other actions that could have a material adverse effect upon
our business, financial condition, results of operations,
reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our Class
A Common Shares. CSRC or other Chinese governmental agencies may
also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to
terminate this offering prior to closing. Any failure of us to
fully comply with new regulatory requirements may significantly
limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to
offer the Class A Common Shares, cause significant disruption to
our business operations, severely damage our reputation, materially
and adversely affect our financial condition and results of
operations, and cause the Class A Common Shares to significantly
decline in value or become worthless.
The holding company may be subject to approval or other requirement
from PRC authorities in connection with this offering, and, if
required, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such
approval or satisfy such requirement. If we failed to obtain such
approval or satisfy such requirement, we may not be able to
continue listing on U.S. exchange, continue to offer securities to
investors, or materially affect the interest of the investors and
the value of our Class A Common Shares may decrease or become
worthless.
As of
the date of this prospectus, we or our Subsidiaries have not
received any requirement to obtain permission or approval from CSRC
or Cyberspace Administration of China. However, recently, the
General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued
the “Opinions on Severely Cracking Down on Illegal Securities
Activities According to Law,” or the Opinions, which was made
available to the public on July 6, 2021. The Opinions emphasized
the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities
activities, and the need to strengthen the supervision over
overseas listings by Chinese companies. Effective measures, such as
promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems will be
taken to deal with the risks and incidents of China-concept
overseas listed companies, and cybersecurity and data privacy
protection requirements and similar matters. The Opinions and any
related implementing rules to be enacted may subject us to
compliance requirement in the future.
Given
the current regulatory environment in the PRC, we are still subject
to the uncertainty of interpretation and enforcement of the rules
and regulations in the PRC, which can change quickly with little
advance notice, and any future actions of the PRC authorities. It
is uncertain when and whether the Company will be required to
obtain permission from the PRC government to list on U.S. exchanges
(including retroactively), and even if such permission is obtained,
whether it will be denied or rescinded. As a result, our operations
could be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by existing or
future laws and regulations relating to our business or
industry.
PRC laws and regulations governing our current business operations
are sometimes vague and uncertain and any changes in such laws and
regulations may impair our ability to operate
profitably.
There
are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and
application of PRC laws and regulations including, but not limited
to, the laws and regulations governing our business and the
enforcement and performance of our arrangements with customers in
certain circumstances. The laws and regulations are sometimes vague
and may be subject to future changes, and their official
interpretation and enforcement may involve substantial uncertainty.
The effectiveness and interpretation of newly enacted laws or
regulations, including amendments to existing laws and regulations,
may be delayed, and our business may be affected if we rely on laws
and regulations which are subsequently adopted or interpreted in a
manner different from our understanding of these laws and
regulations. New laws and regulations that affect existing and
proposed future businesses may also be applied retroactively. We
cannot predict what effect the interpretation of existing or new
PRC laws or regulations may have on our business.
The
PRC legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes.
Unlike the common law system, prior court decisions under the civil
law system may be cited for reference but have limited precedential
value. Since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the
PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations
of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and the
enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involves
uncertainties.
In
1979, the PRC government began to promulgate a comprehensive system
of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general. The
overall effect of legislation over the past three decades has
significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of
foreign investments in China. However, China has not developed a
fully integrated legal system, and recently enacted laws and
regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic
activities in China. In particular, the interpretation and
enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties.
Since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant
discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory provisions
and contractual terms, it may be difficult to evaluate the outcome
of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal
protection we enjoy. These uncertainties may affect our judgment on
the relevance of legal requirements and our ability to enforce our
contractual rights or tort claims. In addition, the regulatory
uncertainties may be exploited through unmerited or frivolous legal
actions or threats in attempts to extract payments or benefits from
us.
Furthermore,
the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and
internal rules, some of which are not published on a timely basis
or at all and may have retroactive effect. As a result, we may not
be aware of our violation of any of these policies and rules until
sometime after the violation. In addition, any administrative and
court proceedings in China may be protracted, resulting in
substantial costs and diversion of resources and management
attention.
From
time to time, we may have to resort to administrative and court
proceedings to enforce our legal rights. However, since PRC
administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in
interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it
may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and
court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than
in more developed legal systems. Furthermore, the PRC legal system
is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of
which are not published in a timely manner or at all) that may have
retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our
violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the
violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope
and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual
property) and procedural rights, and any failure to respond to
changes in the regulatory environment in China could materially and
adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue
our operations.
Recently,
the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued
the “Opinions on Severely Cracking Down on Illegal Securities
Activities According to Law,” or the Opinions, which was made
available to the public on July 6, 2021. The Opinions emphasized
the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities
activities, and the need to strengthen the supervision over
overseas listings by Chinese companies. Effective measures, such as
promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems will be
taken to deal with the risks and incidents of China-concept
overseas listed companies, and cybersecurity and data privacy
protection requirements and similar matters. The Opinions and any
related implementing rules to be enacted may subject us to
compliance requirement in the future.
Regulation and censorship of information distribution over the
Internet in China may adversely affect our business, and we may be
liable for information displayed on, retrieved from or linked to
our website.
China
has enacted laws and regulations governing Internet access and the
distribution of products, services, news, information, audio-video
programs and other content through the Internet. The PRC government
has prohibited the distribution of information through the Internet
that it deems to be in violation of PRC laws and regulations. If
any of the content on our online platform is deemed to violate any
content restrictions by the PRC government, we would not be able to
continue to display such content and could become subject to
penalties, including confiscation of income, fines, suspension of
business and revocation of required licenses, which could
materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition
and results of operations. We may also be subject to potential
liability for any unlawful actions of our customers or customers of
our website 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 prevented from operating our website in
China.
China Securities Regulatory Commission and other Chinese government
agencies may exert more oversight and control over offerings that
are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based
issuers, especially those in the technology filed. Additional
compliance procedures may be required in connection with this
offering, and, if required, we cannot predict whether we will be
able to obtain such approval. If we are required to obtain PRC
governmental permissions to commence the sale of the securities, we
will not commence the offering until we obtain such permissions. As
a result, we face uncertainty about future actions by the PRC
government that could significantly affect our ability to offer or
continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of
our securities to significantly decline or be
worthless.
On
July 6, 2021, the General Office of the Communist Party of China
Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council
jointly issued a document to crack down on illegal activities in
the securities market and promote the high-quality development of
the capital market, which, among other things, requires the
relevant governmental authorities to strengthen cross-border
oversight of law-enforcement and judicial cooperation, to enhance
supervision over China-based companies listed overseas, and to
establish and improve the system of extraterritorial application of
the PRC securities laws. Since this document is relatively new,
uncertainties still exist in relation to how soon legislative or
administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what
existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and
interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the
potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will
have on our future business, results of operations, and the value
of our securities.
Further,
Chinese government continues to exert more oversight and control
over Chinese technology firms. On July 2, 2021, Chinese
cybersecurity regulator announced, that it had begun an
investigation of Didi Global Inc. (NYSE: DIDI) and two days later
ordered that the company’s application be removed from smartphone
application stores. On July 5, 2021, the Chinese cybersecurity
regulator launched the same investigation on two other Internet
platforms, China’s Full Truck Alliance of Full Truck Alliance Co.
Ltd. (NYSE: YMM) and Boss of KANZHUN LIMITED (Nasdaq:
BZ).
Therefore,
China Securities Regulatory Commission and other Chinese government
agencies may exert more oversight and control over offerings that
are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based
issuers, especially those in the technology filed. As of the date
of this prospectus, we have not received any requirement to obtain
approval of CSRC to list on U.S. exchanges. Further, however, given
the current regulatory environment in the PRC, we are still subject
to the uncertainty of interpretation and enforcement of the rules
and regulations in the PRC, which can change quickly with little
advance notice, and any future actions of the PRC authorities,
additional compliance procedures may be required in connection with
this offering and our business operations. If such compliance
procedures were required in the future in connection with this
offering and our business operations, and, if required, we cannot
predict whether we will be able to obtain such approval. If we are
unable to obtain such permission we may be forced to abandon this
offering. As a result, we face uncertainty about future actions by
the PRC government that could significantly affect our ability to
offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the
value of our Class A Common Shares to significantly decline or be
worthless.
We
may be subject to PRC laws relating to the use, sharing, retention,
security and transfer of confidential and private information, such
as personal information and other data. These laws continue to
develop, and the PRC government may adopt other rules and
restrictions in the future. Non-compliance could result in
penalties or other significant legal liabilities.
The
Cybersecurity Law, which was adopted by the National People’s
Congress on November 7, 2016 and came into force on June 1, 2017,
and the Cybersecurity Review Measures, or the “Review Measures,”
which were promulgated on April 13, 2020, amended on December 28,
2021 and will become effective on February 15, 2022, provide that
personal information and important data collected and generated by
a critical information infrastructure operator in the course of its
operations in China must be stored in China, and if a critical
information infrastructure operator purchases internet products and
services that affect or may affect national security, it should be
subject to cybersecurity review by the CAC. In addition, a
cybersecurity review is required where critical information
infrastructure operators, or the “CIIOs,” purchase network-related
products and services, which products and services affect or may
affect national security. Due to the lack of further
interpretations, the exact scope of what constitute a “CIIO”
remains unclear. Further, the PRC government authorities may have
wide discretion in the interpretation and enforcement of these
laws. In addition, Review Measures stipulates that an online
platform operator holding more than one million users/users’
individual information shall be subject to cybersecurity review
before listing abroad. Cybersecurity Review Measures does not
provide a definition of “online platform operator”, therefore, we
cannot assure you that we will not be deemed as an “online platform
operator”. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not received
any notice from any authorities identifying us as a CIIO or
requiring us to undertake a cybersecurity review by the CAC.
Further, as of the date of this prospectus, we have not been
subject to any penalties, fines, suspensions, investigations from
any competent authorities for violation of the regulations or
policies that have been issued by the CAC. On June 10, 2021, the
Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated
the Data Security Law which took effect on September 1, 2021. The
Data Security Law requires that data shall not be collected by
theft or other illegal means, and it also provides that a data
classification and hierarchical protection system shall be
established. The data classification and hierarchical protection
system protects data according to its importance in economic and
social development, and the damages it may cause to national
security, public interests, or the legitimate rights and interests
of individuals and organizations if the data is falsified, damaged,
disclosed, illegally obtained or illegally used, which protection
system is expected to be built by the state for data security in
the near future. On November 14, 2021, CAC published the
Regulations on the Network Data Security Management (Draft for
Comments), or the Data Security Management Regulations Draft to
solicit public opinion and comments. Under the Data Security
Management Regulations Draft, which provides that an overseas
initial public offering to be conducted by a data processor
processing the personal information of more than one million
individuals shall apply for a cybersecurity review. Data processor
means an individual or organization that independently makes
decisions on the purpose and manner of processing in data
processing activities, and data processing activities refers to
activities such as the collection, retention, use, processing,
transmission, provision, disclosure, or deletion of data. We may be
deemed as a data processor under the Data Security Management
Regulations Draft. However, the Data Security Management
Regulations Draft has not been formally adopted. It is uncertain
when the final regulation will be issued and take effect, how it
will be enacted, interpreted or implemented, and whether it will
affect us. There remains uncertainty as to how the Review Measures
and the Data Security Management Regulations Draft will be
interpreted or implemented and whether the PRC regulatory agencies,
including the CAC, may adopt new laws, regulations, rules, or
detailed implementation and interpretation related to the Review
Measures and the Data Security Regulations Draft. If any such new
laws, regulations, rules, or implementation and interpretation come
into effect, we expect to take all reasonable measures and actions
to comply. We cannot assure you that PRC regulatory agencies,
including the CAC, would take the same view as we do, and there is
no assurance that we can fully or timely comply with such laws
should they be deemed applicable to our operations. Any
cybersecurity review could also result in negative publicity with
respect to our Company and diversion of our managerial and
financial resources. There is no certainty as to how such review or
prescribed actions would impact our operations and we cannot
guarantee that any clearance can be obtained or any actions that
may be required for our listing on the Nasdaq capital market and
the offering as well can be taken in a timely manner, or at
all.
In
addition, according to the Personal Information Protection Law,
where the purpose of the activity is to provide a product or
service to that natural person located within China, such activity
shall comply with the Personal Information Protection Law. Further,
the Data Security Law provides that where any data handling
activity carried out outside of the territory of China harms the
national security, public interests, or the legitimate rights and
interests of citizens or organizations of China, legal liability
shall be investigated in accordance with such law. However, the
Personal Information Protection Law and the Data Security Law are
relatively new, there remains uncertainty as to how the laws will
be interpreted or implemented and whether the PRC regulatory
agencies, including the CAC, may adopt new laws, regulations,
rules, or detailed implementation and interpretation related to the
two laws.
The
regulatory requirements with respect to cybersecurity and data
privacy are constantly evolving and can be subject to varying
interpretations, and significant changes, resulting in
uncertainties about the scope of our responsibilities in that
regard. Failure to comply with the cybersecurity and data privacy
requirements in a timely manner, or at all, may subject us to
government enforcement actions and investigations, fines,
penalties, suspension, or disruption of our operations, among other
things.
We may be liable for improper use or appropriation of personal
information provided by our customers.
Our
business
can potentially involve collecting and retaining certain internal
and customer data. We also maintain information about various
aspects of our operations as well as regarding our employees. The
integrity and protection of our customer, employee and company data
is critical to our business. Our customers and employees expect
that we will adequately protect their personal information. We are
required by applicable laws to keep strictly confidential the
personal information that we collect, and to take adequate security
measures to safeguard such information.
The
PRC Criminal Law, as amended by its Amendment 7 (effective on
February 28, 2009) and Amendment 9 (effective on November 1, 2015),
prohibits institutions, companies, and their employees from selling
or otherwise illegally disclosing a citizen’s personal information
obtained in performing duties or providing services or obtaining
such information through theft or other illegal ways. On November
7, 2016, the SCNPC issued the Cyber Security Law of the PRC, or
Cyber Security Law, which became effective on June 1, 2017.
Pursuant to the Cyber Security Law, network operators must not,
without users’ consent, collect their personal information, and may
only collect users’ personal information necessary to provide their
services. Providers are also obliged to provide security
maintenance for their products and services and shall comply with
provisions regarding the protection of personal information as
stipulated under the relevant laws and regulations.
The
Civil Code of the PRC (issued by the PRC National People’s Congress
on May 28, 2020 and effective from January 1, 2021) provides legal
basis for privacy and personal information infringement claims
under the Chinese civil laws. PRC regulators, including the CAC,
the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or MIIT, and
the Ministry of Public Security, have been increasingly focused on
regulation in data security and data protection.
The
PRC regulatory requirements regarding cybersecurity are evolving.
For instance, various regulatory bodies in China, including the
CAC, the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration
for Market Regulation, or the SAMR (formerly known as State
Administration for Industry and Commerce, or the SAIC), have
enforced data privacy and protection laws and regulations with
varying and evolving standards and interpretations. In April 2020,
the Chinese government promulgated Cybersecurity Review Measures,
which came into effect on June 1, 2020, was amended on December 28,
2021, and will become effective on February 15, 2022. According to
the Cybersecurity Review Measures, (i) operators of critical
information infrastructure must pass a cybersecurity review when
purchasing network products and services which do or may affect
national security; (ii) online platform operators who are engaged
in data processing are also subject to the regulatory scope; (iii)
the CSRC is included as one of the regulatory authorities for
purposes of jointly establishing the state cybersecurity review
working mechanism; (iv) online platform operators holding more than
one million users/users’ individual information and seeking a
listing outside China shall file for cybersecurity review; (v) the
risks of core data, material data or large amounts of personal
information being stolen, leaked, destroyed, damaged, illegally
used or illegally transmitted to overseas parties and the risks of
critical information infrastructure, core data, material data or
large amounts of personal information being influenced, controlled
or used maliciously shall be collectively taken into consideration
during the cybersecurity review process.
Certain
internet platforms in China have been reportedly subject to
heightened regulatory scrutiny in relation to cybersecurity
matters. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not been
informed by any PRC governmental authority of any requirement that
we file for a cybersecurity review. However, if we are deemed to be
a critical information infrastructure operator or a company that is
engaged in data processing and holds personal information of more
than one million users, we could be subject to PRC cybersecurity
review.
As of
the date hereof, we are of the view that we are in compliance with
the applicable PRC laws and regulations governing the data privacy
and personal information in all material respects, including the
data privacy and personal information requirements of the
Cyberspace Administration of China, and we have not received any
complaints from any third party, or been investigated or punished
by any PRC competent authority in relation to data privacy and
personal information protection. However, as there remains
significant uncertainty in the interpretation and enforcement of
relevant PRC cybersecurity laws and regulations, we could be
subject to cybersecurity review, and if so, we may not be able to
pass such review in relation to this offering. In addition, we
could become subject to enhanced cybersecurity review or
investigations launched by PRC regulators in the future. Any
failure or delay in the completion of the cybersecurity review
procedures or any other non-compliance with the related laws and
regulations may result in fines or other penalties, including
suspension of business, website closure, removal of our app from
the relevant app stores, and revocation of prerequisite licenses,
as well as reputational damage or legal proceedings or actions
against us, which may have material adverse effect on our business,
financial condition or results of operations.
On
June 10, 2021, the SCNPC promulgated the PRC Data Security Law,
which took effect in September 2021. The PRC Data Security Law
imposes data security and privacy obligations on entities and
individuals carrying out data activities, and introduces a data
classification and hierarchical protection system based on the
importance of data in economic and social development, and the
degree of harm it will cause to national security, public
interests, or legitimate rights and interests of individuals or
organizations when such data is tampered with, destroyed, leaked,
illegally acquired or used. The PRC Data Security Law also provides
for a national security review procedure for data activities that
may affect national security and imposes export restrictions on
certain data an information.
As
uncertainties remain regarding the interpretation and
implementation of these laws and regulations, we cannot assure you
that we will comply with such regulations in all respects and we
may be ordered to rectify or terminate any actions that are deemed
illegal by regulatory authorities. We may also become subject to
fines and/or other sanctions which may have material adverse effect
on our business, operations and financial condition.
While
we take various measures to comply with all applicable data privacy
and protection laws and regulations, our current security measures
and those of our third-party service providers may not always be
adequate for the protection of our customer, employee or company
data. We may be a target for computer hackers, foreign governments
or cyber terrorists in the future.
Unauthorized
access to our proprietary internal and customer data may be
obtained through break-ins, sabotage, breach of our secure network
by an unauthorized party, computer viruses, computer
denial-of-service attacks, employee theft or misuse, breach of the
security of the networks of our third-party service providers, or
other misconduct. Because the techniques used by computer
programmers who may attempt to penetrate and sabotage our
proprietary internal and customer data change frequently and may
not be recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable
to anticipate these techniques.
Unauthorized
access to our proprietary internal and customer data may also be
obtained through inadequate use of security controls. Any of such
incidents may harm our reputation and adversely affect our business
and results of operations. In addition, we may be subject to
negative publicity about our security and privacy policies,
systems, or measurements. Any failure to prevent or mitigate
security breaches, cyber-attacks or other unauthorized access to
our systems or disclosure of our customers’ data, including their
personal information, could result in loss or misuse of such data,
interruptions to our service system, diminished customer
experience, loss of customer confidence and trust, impairment of
our technology infrastructure, and harm our reputation and
business, resulting in significant legal and financial exposure and
potential lawsuits.
We must remit the offering proceeds to China before they may be
used to benefit our business in China, the process of which may be
time-consuming, and we cannot assure that we can finish all
necessary governmental registration processes in a timely
manner.
The
proceeds of this offering may be sent back to the PRC, and the
process for sending such proceeds back to the PRC may be
time-consuming after the closing of this offering. We may be unable
to use these proceeds to grow our business until our PRC
subsidiaries receive such proceeds in the PRC. Any transfer of
funds by us to our PRC subsidiaries, either as a shareholder loan
or as an increase in registered capital, are subject to approval by
or registration or filing with relevant governmental authorities in
China. Any foreign loans procured by our PRC subsidiaries is
required to be registered with China’s State Administration of
Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”) or its local branches or satisfy relevant
requirements, and our PRC subsidiaries may not procure loans which
exceed the difference between their respective total project
investment amount and registered capital or 2 times (which may be
varied year by year due to the change of PRC’s national
macro-control policy) of the net worth of our PRC subsidiary.
According to the relevant PRC regulations on foreign-invested
enterprises in China, capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries
are subject to the approval of or filing with State Administration
for Market Regulation in its local branches, the Ministry of
Commerce in its local branches and registration with a local bank
authorized by SAFE.
To
remit the proceeds of the offering, we must take the steps legally
required under the PRC laws, for example, we will open a special
foreign exchange account for capital account transactions, remit
the offering proceeds into such special foreign exchange account
and apply for settlement of the foreign exchange. The timing of the
process is difficult to estimate because the efficiencies of
different SAFE branches can vary materially.
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 by us to our PRC subsidiary or with respect
to future capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiary. If we
fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our
ability to use the proceeds from this offering and to capitalize or
otherwise fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which
could materially and adversely affect our liquidity, our ability to
fund and expand our business and our Common Shares.
U.S. regulators’ ability to conduct investigations or enforce rules
in China is limited.
The majority of our operations conducted outside of the U.S. As a
result, it may not be possible for the U.S. regulators to conduct
investigations or inspections, or to effect service of process
within the U.S. or elsewhere outside China on us, our subsidiaries,
officers, directors and shareholders, and others, including with
respect to matters arising under U.S. federal or state securities
laws. China does not have treaties providing for reciprocal
recognition and enforcement of judgments of courts with the U.S.
and many other countries. As a result, recognition and enforcement
in China of these judgments in relation to any matter, including
U.S. securities laws and the laws of the Cayman Islands, may be
difficult or impossible.
You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal
process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing original actions
in China against us or Hong Kong or other foreign laws, and the
ability of U.S. authorities to bring actions in China may also be
limited.
We are an exempted company with limited liability incorporated
under the laws of the British Virgin Island, we conduct a
significant portion of our operations in China and the majority of
our assets are located in China. In addition, all of our directors,
officers or senior management other than Yunhao Chen, are located
in China. As a result, it may be more difficult for our
Shareholders to enforce liabilities and enforce judgments on those
individuals. Our PRC legal counsel has advised us that China does
not have treaties providing for the reciprocal recognition and
enforcement of judgments of courts with the Cayman Islands and many
other countries and regions. Therefore, recognition and enforcement
in China of judgments of a court in any of these non-PRC
jurisdictions in relation to any matter not subject to a binding
arbitration provision may be difficult or impossible.
On
July 14, 2006, Hong Kong and the PRC entered into the Arrangement
on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and
Commercial Matters by the Courts of the PRC and of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region Pursuant to Choice of Court
Agreements Between Parties Concerned, or the 2006 Arrangement,
pursuant to which a party with a final court judgment rendered by a
Hong Kong court requiring payment of money in a civil and
commercial case pursuant to a choice of court agreement in writing
may apply for recognition and enforcement of the judgment in the
PRC. Similarly, a party with a final judgment rendered by a PRC
court requiring payment of money in a civil and commercial case
pursuant to a choice of court agreement in writing may apply for
recognition and enforcement of the judgment in Hong Kong. A choice
of court agreement in writing is defined as any agreement in
writing entered into between parties after the effective date of
the 2006 Arrangement in which a Hong Kong court or a PRC court is
expressly designated as the court having sole jurisdiction for the
dispute. Therefore, it is not possible to enforce a judgment
rendered by a Hong Kong court in the PRC if the parties in dispute
have not agreed to enter into a choice of court agreement in
writing. The 2006 Arrangement became effective on August 1,
2008.
Subsequently
on January 18, 2019, Hong Kong and the PRC entered into the
Arrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments
in Civil and Commercial Matters between the Courts of the Mainland
and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, or the
Arrangement, pursuant to which, among other things, the scope of
application was widened to cover both monetary and non-monetary
judgments in most civil and commercial matters, including effective
judgments on civil compensation in criminal cases. In addition, the
requirement of a choice of court agreement in writing has been
removed. It is no longer necessary for parties to agree to enter
into a choice of court agreement in writing, as long as it can be
shown that there is a connection between the dispute and the
requesting place, such as place of the defendant’s residence, place
of the defendant’s business or place of performance of the contract
or tort. The 2019 Arrangement shall apply to judgments in civil and
commercial matters made on or after its effective date by the
courts of both sides. The 2006 Arrangement shall be terminated on
the same day when the 2019 Arrangement comes into effect. If a
“written choice of court agreement” has been signed by parties
according to the 2006 Arrangement prior to the effective date of
the 2019 Arrangement, the 2006 Arrangement shall still apply.
Although the 2019 Arrangement has been signed, its effective date
has yet to be announced. Therefore, there are still uncertainties
about the outcomes and effectiveness of enforcement or recognition
of judgments under the 2019 Arrangement.
Furthermore,
shareholder claims that are common in the U.S., including
securities law class actions and fraud claims, generally are
difficult to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in China.
For example, in China, there are significant legal and other
obstacles to obtaining information needed for shareholder
investigations or litigation outside China or otherwise with
respect to foreign entities. Although the local authorities in
China may establish a regulatory cooperation mechanism with the
securities regulatory authorities of another country or region to
implement cross-border supervision and administration, such
regulatory cooperation with the securities regulatory authorities
in the U.S. have not been efficient in the absence of mutual and
practical cooperation mechanism. According to Article 177 of the
PRC Securities Law which became effective in March 2020, no
overseas securities regulator is allowed to directly conduct
investigation or evidence collection activities within the
territory of the PRC. Accordingly, without the consent of the
competent PRC securities regulators and relevant authorities, no
organization or individual may provide the documents and materials
relating to securities business activities to overseas
parties.
We face uncertainty regarding the PRC tax reporting obligations and
consequences for certain indirect transfers of the stock of our
operating company.
Pursuant
to the Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income
Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises issued by
the PRC State Administration of Taxation (“SAT”) on December 10,
2009, or Circular 698, where a foreign investor transfers the
equity interests of a PRC resident enterprise indirectly by way of
the sale of equity interests of an overseas holding company, or an
Indirect Transfer, and such overseas holding company is located in
a tax jurisdiction that: (i) has an effective tax rate less than
12.5% or (ii) does not tax foreign income of its residents, the
foreign investor should report such Indirect Transfer to the
competent tax authority of the PRC resident enterprise.
On
February 3, 2015, the SAT issued the Announcement of the State
Administration of Taxation on Several Issues Concerning the
Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Property Transfer by Non-Resident
Enterprises, or SAT Bulletin 7. SAT Bulletin 7 supersedes the rules
with respect to the Indirect Transfer under SAT Circular 698. SAT
Bulletin 7 has introduced a new tax regime that is significantly
different from the previous one under SAT Circular 698. SAT
Bulletin 7 extends the PRC’s tax jurisdiction to not only Indirect
Transfers set forth under SAT Circular 698 but also transactions
involving transfer of other taxable assets through offshore
transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company. In addition,
SAT Bulletin 7 provides clearer criteria than SAT Circular 698 for
assessment of reasonable commercial purposes and has introduced
safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and
sale of equity through a public securities market. SAT Bulletin 7
also brings challenges to both foreign transferor and transferee
(or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer) of
taxable assets. Where a non-resident enterprise transfers taxable
assets indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an
overseas holding company, which is an Indirect Transfer, the
non-resident enterprise, being the transferor, or the transferee,
or the PRC entity that directly owns the taxable assets, may report
such Indirect Transfer to the relevant tax authority. Using a
“substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may
disregard the existence of the overseas holding company if it lacks
a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose
of reducing, avoiding or deferring PRC tax. As a result, gains
derived from such Indirect Transfer may be subject to PRC
enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who is
obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the
applicable taxes, currently at a rate of 10% for the transfer of
equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise. Both the transferor
and the transferee may be subject to penalties under PRC tax laws
if the transferee fails to withhold the taxes and the transferor
fails to pay the taxes.
On
October 17, 2017, the SAT issued the Announcement of the State
Administration of Taxation on Matters Concerning Withholding of
Income Tax of Non-resident Enterprises at Source, or SAT Bulletin
37, which, among others, repealed the SAT Circular 698 on December
1, 2017. SAT Bulletin 37 further details and clarifies the tax
withholding methods in respect of income of non-resident
enterprises under SAT Circular 698. And certain rules stipulated in
SAT Bulletin 7 are replaced by SAT Bulletin 37. Where the
non-resident enterprise fails to declare the tax payable pursuant
to Article 39 of the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, the tax
authority may order it to pay the tax due within required time
limits, and the non-resident enterprise shall declare and pay the
tax payable within such time limits specified by the tax authority;
however, if the non-resident enterprise voluntarily declares and
pays the tax payable before the tax authority orders it to do so
within required time limits, it shall be deemed that such
enterprise has paid the tax in time.
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. Our company may be
subject to filing obligations or taxed if our company is transferor
in such transactions, and may be subject to withholding obligations
if our company is transferee in such transactions, under SAT
Bulletin 7 and SAT Bulletin 37. For transfer of shares in our
company by investors who are non-PRC resident enterprises, our PRC
subsidiary may be requested to assist in the filing under SAT
Bulletin 7 and SAT Bulletin 37. As a result, we may be required to
expend valuable resources to comply with SAT Bulletin 7 and SAT
Bulletin 37 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.
PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special
purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident
shareholders to personal liability and limit our ability to acquire
PRC companies or to inject capital into our PRC subsidiary, limit
our PRC subsidiary ability to distribute profits to us, or
otherwise materially and adversely affect us.
In
July 2014, SAFE has 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, to replace the Notice on
Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for
Domestic Residents’ Financing and Roundtrip Investment Through
Offshore Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 75, which
ceased to be effective upon the promulgation of SAFE Circular 37.
SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents (including PRC individuals
and PRC corporate entities as well as foreign individuals that are
deemed as PRC residents for foreign exchange administration
purpose) to register with SAFE or its local branches in connection
with their direct or indirect offshore investment activities. SAFE
Circular 37 further requires amendment to the SAFE registrations in
the event of any changes with respect to the basic information of
the offshore special purpose vehicle, such as change of a PRC
individual shareholder, name and operation term, or any significant
changes with respect to the offshore special purpose vehicle, such
as increase or decrease of capital contribution, share transfer or
exchange, or mergers or divisions. SAFE Circular 37 is applicable
to our shareholders who are PRC residents and may be applicable to
any offshore acquisitions that we make in the future.
If
any PRC shareholder who makes direct or indirect investments in
offshore special purpose vehicles, or SPV, fails to make the
required registration or to update the previously filed
registration, the subsidiaries of such SPV in China may be
prohibited from distributing its profits or the proceeds from any
capital reduction, share transfer or liquidation to the SPV, and
the SPV may also be prohibited from making additional capital
contribution into its subsidiary in China. On February 28, 2015,
the SAFE promulgated a Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving
Foreign Exchange Administration Policy on Direct Investment, or
SAFE Notice 13, which became effective on June 1, 2015. Under SAFE
Notice 13, applications for foreign exchange registration of
inbound foreign direct investment and outbound overseas direct
investment, including those required under the SAFE Circular 37,
will be filed with qualified banks instead of the SAFE. The
qualified banks will directly examine the applications and accept
registrations under the supervision of the SAFE.
Of
our current shareholders, five pre-IPO shareholders are individual
Chinese residents to whom Notice 37 applies. The remaining pre-IPO
shareholders are enterprises and Hong Kong residents, to whom
Notice 37 does not apply; provided, however, that to the extent the
shareholders of such enterprises are themselves Chinese residents,
Notice 37 would apply to such individuals. As of the date hereof,
none of the shareholders who are Chinese residents who hold such
shares directly or through a Hong Kong enterprise has submitted
registration under Notice 37. Although such individuals have
promised to complete registration at the time they pay the
company’s capital contribution prior to completion of this
offering, there can be no assurance such registration will be
completed in a timely manner. We have requested PRC residents whom
we know hold direct or indirect interests in our company to make
the necessary applications, filings and amendments as required
under Notice 37 and other related rules. However, we cannot assure
you that the registration will be duly and timely completed with
the local SAFE branch or qualified banks. In addition, we may not
be informed of the identities of all of the PRC residents holding
direct or indirect interests in our company. As a result, we cannot
assure you that all of our shareholders or beneficial owners who
are PRC residents or entities have complied with, and will in the
future make or obtain any applicable registrations or approvals
required by, SAFE regulations. Failure by such shareholders or
beneficial owners to comply with SAFE regulations, or failure by us
to amend the foreign exchange registrations of our PRC subsidiary,
could subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our overseas
or cross-border investment activities, limit our subsidiaries’
ability to make distributions or pay dividends or affect our
ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and
prospects.
Furthermore,
as the interpretation and implementation of these foreign exchange
regulations has been constantly evolving, it is unclear how these
regulations, and any future regulation concerning offshore or
cross-border transactions, will be interpreted, amended and
implemented by the relevant governmental authorities. For example,
we may be subject to a more stringent review and approval process
with respect to our foreign exchange activities, such as remittance
of dividends and foreign-currency-denominated borrowings, which may
adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, if we decide to acquire a PRC domestic company, we
cannot assure you that we or the owners of such company, as the
case may be, will be able to obtain the necessary approvals or
complete the necessary filings and registrations required by the
foreign exchange regulations. This may restrict our ability to
implement our acquisition strategy and could adversely affect our
business and prospects.
We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity
paid by our subsidiaries, including those based in the PRC, for our
cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on
the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make payments to us could
have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our
business.
As a holding company, we rely principally on dividends and other
distributions on equity from our subsidiaries, including those
based in China, for our cash requirements, including for services
of any debt we may incur.
Our PRC Subsidiaries’ ability to
distribute dividends is based upon their distributable earnings.
Current PRC regulations permit our PRC Subsidiaries to pay
dividends to their respective shareholders only out of their
accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC
accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our PRC
Subsidiaries, as a Foreign Invested Enterprise, or FIE, is required
to draw 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a
common reserve, and it may stop drawing its after-tax profits if
the aggregate balance of the common reserve has already accounted
for over 50 percent of its registered capital. These reserves are
not distributable as cash dividends. In addition, if our PRC
Subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the
instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay
dividends or make other payments to us. Any limitation on the
ability of our PRC Subsidiaries to distribute dividends or other
payments to their respective shareholders could materially and
adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or
acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay
dividends or otherwise fund and conduct our business. Currently, we
have installed cash management policies or procedures in place that
dictate how funds are transferred, under an umbrella of corporate
policies and financial reporting policies. Even though our policies
do not specifically address the limitations, as discussed above, on
the amount of funds the Company can transfer out of China, if we
decide to transfer cash out of China in the future, all relevant
transfers will be conducted in compliance with such limitations. As
of the date of this prospectus, none of the PRC Subsidiaries has
made any dividends or distributions to Dogness.
PRC regulation of loans and direct investment by offshore holding
companies to PRC entities may delay or prevent us from using the
proceeds of this Offering to make loans or additional capital
contributions to our PRC subsidiary, which could materially and
adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand
our business.
We
are an offshore holding company conducting our operations in China
through our subsidiaries established in China and Hong Kong. We may
make loans to our PRC subsidiaries subject to the approval from
governmental authorities and limitation of amount, or we may make
additional capital contributions to our wholly foreign-owned
subsidiaries in China.
Any
loans to our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries in China, which are
treated as foreign-invested enterprises under PRC law, are subject
to PRC regulations and foreign exchange loan registrations. For
example, loans by us to our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries in
China to finance their activities must be registered with the local
counterpart of SAFE. In addition, a foreign invested enterprise
shall use its capital pursuant to the principle of authenticity and
self-use within its business scope. The capital of a foreign
invested enterprise shall not be used for the following purposes:
(i) directly or indirectly used for payment beyond the business
scope of the enterprises or the payment prohibited by relevant laws
and regulations; (ii) directly or indirectly used for investment in
securities or investments other than banks’ principal-secured
products unless otherwise provided by relevant laws and
regulations; (iii) the granting of loans to non-affiliated
enterprises, except where it is expressly permitted in the business
license; and (iv) paying the expenses related to the purchase of
real estate that is not for self-use (except for the
foreign-invested real estate enterprises).
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 SAFE
Circular 19, effective June 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, the Notice from the State
Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues Concerning
Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Exchange Businesses,
and the Circular on Further Clarification and Regulation of the
Issues Concerning the Administration of Certain Capital Account
Foreign Exchange Businesses. According to SAFE 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 banks loans that have been transferred to
a third party. Although SAFE Circular 19 allows RMB capital
converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a
foreign-invested enterprise to be used for equity investments
within China, 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. 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 SAFE Circular 16, effective on June 9, 2016, which
reiterates some of the rules set forth in SAFE 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 issue loans to
non-associated enterprises. Violations of SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE
Circular 16 could result in administrative penalties. SAFE Circular
19 and SAFE Circular 16 may significantly limit our ability to
transfer any foreign currency we hold, including the net proceeds
from this offering, to our PRC subsidiaries, which may adversely
affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our
business in China. On October 23, 2019, the SAFE promulgated the
Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further
Promoting the Convenience of Cross-border Trade and Investment, or
the SAFE Circular 28, which, among other things, allows all
foreign-invested companies to use Renminbi converted from foreign
currency-denominated capital for equity investments in China, as
long as the equity investment is genuine, does not violate
applicable laws, and complies with the negative list on foreign
investment. However, since the SAFE Circular 28 is newly
promulgated, it is unclear how SAFE and competent banks will carry
this out in practice.
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 subsidiaries or future capital
contributions by us to our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries in
China. As a result, uncertainties exist as to our ability to
provide prompt financial support to our PRC subsidiaries when
needed. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such
approvals, our ability to use the proceeds we expect to receive
from this offering 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.
Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability
to use our revenues effectively and the ability of our PRC
subsidiaries to obtain financing.
The
PRC government imposes control on the convertibility of the RMB
into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of
currency out of China. We receive a majority of our revenues in
Renminbi, which currently is not a freely convertible currency.
Restrictions on currency conversion imposed by the PRC government
may limit our ability to use revenues generated in Renminbi to fund
our expenditures denominated in foreign currencies or our business
activities outside China. Under China’s existing foreign exchange
regulations, Renminbi may be freely converted into foreign currency
for payments relating to current account transactions, which
include among other things dividend payments and payments for the
import of goods and services, by complying with certain procedural
requirements. Our PRC subsidiaries are able to pay dividends in
foreign currencies to us without prior approval from SAFE, by
complying with certain procedural requirements. Our PRC
subsidiaries may also retain foreign currency in their respective
current account bank accounts for use in payment of international
current account transactions. However, we cannot assure you that
the PRC government will not at its discretion take measures in the
future to restrict access to foreign currencies for current account
transactions.
Conversion
of Renminbi into foreign currencies, and of foreign currencies into
Renminbi, for payments relating to capital account transactions,
which principally includes investments and loans, generally
requires the approval of SAFE and other relevant PRC governmental
authorities. Restrictions on the convertibility of the Renminbi for
capital account transactions could affect the ability of our PRC
subsidiaries to make investments overseas or to obtain foreign
currency through debt or equity financing, including by means of
loans or capital contributions from us. We cannot assure you that
the registration process will not delay or prevent our conversion
of Renminbi for use outside of China.
We may be classified as a “resident enterprise” for PRC enterprise
income tax purposes; such classification could result in
unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC
shareholders.
The
Enterprise Income Tax Law provides that enterprises established
outside of China whose “de facto management bodies” are located in
China are considered PRC tax resident enterprises and will
generally be subject to the uniform 25% PRC enterprise income tax
rate on their global income. In 2009, the SAT issued the Circular
of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues Concerning the
Identification of Chinese-Controlled Overseas Registered
Enterprises as Resident Enterprises in Accordance with the Actual
Standards of Organizational Management, known as SAT Circular 82,
which was partially amended by Announcement on Issues concerning
the Determination of Resident Enterprises Based on the Standards of
Actual Management Institutions issued by SAT on January 29, 2014,
and further partially amended by Decision on Issuing the Lists of
Invalid and Abolished Tax Departmental Rules and Taxation Normative
Documents issued by SAT on December 29, 2017. SAT Circular 82, as
amended, provides certain specific criteria for determining whether
the “de facto management body” of a Chinese-controlled
offshore-incorporated enterprise is located in China, which include
all of the following conditions: (i) the location where senior
management members responsible for an enterprise’s daily operations
discharge their duties; (ii) the location where financial and human
resource decisions are made or approved by organizations or
persons; (iii) the location where the major assets and corporate
documents are kept; and (iv) the location where more than half
(inclusive) of all directors with voting rights or senior
management have their habitual residence. SAT Circular 82 further
clarifies that the identification of the “de facto management body”
must follow the substance over form principle. In addition, SAT
issued SAT Bulletin 45 on July 27, 2011, effective from September
1, 2011 and partially amended on April 17, 2015, June 28, 2016, and
June 15, 2018, respectively, providing more guidance on the
implementation of SAT Circular 82. SAT Bulletin 45 clarifies
matters including resident status determination, post-determination
administration and competent tax authorities. Although both SAT
Circular 82 and SAT Bulletin 45 only apply to offshore enterprises
controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those
controlled by PRC individuals or foreign individuals, the
determining criteria set forth in SAT Circular 82 and SAT Bulletin
45 may reflect SAT’s general position on how the “de facto
management body” test should be applied in determining the tax
resident status of offshore enterprises, regardless of whether they
are controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups or by
PRC or foreign individuals.
Currently,
there are no detailed rules or precedents governing the procedures
and specific criteria for determining de facto management bodies
which are applicable to our company or our overseas subsidiaries.
We do not believe that Dogness meets all of the conditions required
for PRC resident enterprise. The Company is a company incorporated
outside the PRC. As a holding company, its key assets are its
ownership interests in its subsidiaries, and its key assets are
located, and its records (including the resolutions of its board of
directors and the resolutions of its shareholders) are maintained,
outside the PRC. For the same reasons, we believe our other
entities outside of China are not PRC resident enterprises either.
However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to
determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain
with respect to the interpretation of the term “de facto management
body.” There can be no assurance that the PRC government will
ultimately take a view that is consistent with ours.
However,
if the PRC tax authorities determine that Dogness is a PRC resident
enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, we may be required
to withhold a 10% withholding tax from dividends we pay to our
shareholders that are non-resident enterprises. Such 10% tax rate
could be reduced by applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements
between China and the jurisdiction of our shareholders. For
example, for shareholders eligible for the benefits of the tax
treaty between China and Hong Kong, the tax rate is reduced to 5%
for dividends if relevant conditions are met. In addition,
non-resident enterprise shareholders may be subject to a 10% PRC
tax on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of Common
Shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within the PRC.
It is unclear whether our non-PRC individual shareholders would be
subject to any PRC tax on dividends or gains obtained by such
non-PRC individual shareholders in the event we are determined to
be a PRC resident enterprise. If any PRC tax were to apply to such
dividends or gains, it would generally apply at a rate of 20%
unless a reduced rate is available under an applicable tax treaty.
However, it is also unclear whether non-PRC shareholders of the
Company would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties
between their country of tax residence and the PRC in the event
that the Company is treated as a PRC resident
enterprise.
Provided
that our British Virgin Islands holding company, Dogness, is not
deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise, our shareholders who are
not PRC residents will not be subject to PRC income tax on
dividends distributed by us or gains realized from the sale or
other disposition of our shares. However, under Circular 7, where a
non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by
transferring taxable assets, including, in particular, equity
interests in a PRC resident enterprise, indirectly by disposing of
the equity interests of an overseas holding company, the
non-resident enterprise, being the transferor, or the transferee or
the PRC entity which directly owned such taxable assets may report
to the relevant tax authority such indirect transfer. Using a
“substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may
disregard the existence of the overseas holding company if it lacks
a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose
of reducing, avoiding or deferring PRC tax. As a result, gains
derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC
enterprise income tax, and the transferee would be obligated to
withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of 10% for the
transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise. We and
our non-PRC resident investors may be at risk of being required to
file a return and being taxed under Circular 7, and we may be
required to expend valuable resources to comply with Bulletin 37,
or to establish that we should not be taxed under Circular 7 and
Bulletin 37.
In
addition to the uncertainty in how the new resident enterprise
classification could apply, it is also possible that the rules may
change in the future, possibly with retroactive effect. If we are
required under the Enterprise Income Tax law to withhold PRC income
tax on our dividends payable to our foreign shareholders, or if you
are required to pay PRC income tax on the transfer of our shares
under the circumstances mentioned above, the value of your
investment in our shares may be materially and adversely affected.
These rates may be reduced by an applicable tax treaty, but it is
unclear whether, if we are considered a PRC resident enterprise,
holders of our shares would be able to claim the benefit of income
tax treaties or agreements entered into between China and other
countries or areas. Any such tax may reduce the returns on your
investment in our shares.
Any failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the
registration requirements for employee stock incentive plans may
subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or
administrative sanctions.
In
February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning
the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals
Participating in Stock Incentive Plans of Overseas Publicly-Listed
Companies, replacing earlier rules promulgated in March 2007.
Pursuant to these rules, PRC citizens and non-PRC citizens who
reside in China for a continuous period of not less than one year
who participate in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly
listed company, subject to a few exceptions, are required to
register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could
be the PRC subsidiary of such overseas-listed company, and complete
certain other procedures. In addition, an overseas-entrusted
institution must be retained to handle matters in connection with
the exercise or sale of stock options and the purchase or sale of
shares and interests. We and our executive officers and other
employees who are PRC citizens or who have resided in the PRC for a
continuous period of not less than one year and who are granted
options or other awards under our equity incentive plan will be
subject to these regulations when our company becomes an overseas
listed company upon the completion of this offering. Failure to
complete the SAFE registrations may subject them to fines and legal
sanctions and may also limit our ability to contribute additional
capital into our PRC subsidiary and limit our PRC subsidiary’
ability to distribute dividends to us. We also face regulatory
uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt additional
incentive plans for our directors, executive officers and employees
under PRC law. .”
In
addition, SAT has issued certain circulars concerning employee
share options and restricted shares. Under these circulars, our
employees working in China who exercise share options or are
granted restricted shares will be subject to PRC individual income
tax. Our PRC subsidiaries have obligations to file documents
related to employee share options or restricted shares with
relevant tax authorities and to withhold individual income taxes of
those employees who exercise their share options. If our employees
fail to pay or we fail to withhold their income taxes according to
relevant laws and regulations, we may face sanctions imposed by the
tax authorities or other PRC government authorities.
Failure to make adequate contributions to various mandatory social
security plans as required by PRC regulations may subject us to
penalties.
Under
the PRC Social Insurance Law and the Administrative Measures on
Housing fund, We are required 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. If the local governments deem our contribution to be not
sufficient, we may be subject to late contribution fees or fines in
relation to any underpaid employee benefits, our financial
condition and results of operations may be adversely
affected.
Currently,
certain of our affiliated entities are making contributions to the
plans based on the basic salary of our employees which may not be
adequate in strict compliance with the relevant regulations. As of
the prospectus date, the accumulated impact in this regard was
immaterial to our financial condition and results of operations. We
have not received any order or notice from the local authorities
nor any claims or complaints from our current and former employees
regarding our current practice in this regard. As the
interpretation of implementation of labor-related laws and
regulations are still involving, we cannot assure you that our
practice in this regard will not be violate any labor-related laws
and regulations regarding including those relating to the
obligations to make social insurance payments and contribute to the
housing funds and other welfare-oriented payments. If we deemed to
have violated relevant labor laws and regulations, we could be
required to provide additional compensation to our employees and
subject to penalties, and our business, financial condition and
results of operations will be adversely affected.
Enforcement of stricter labor laws and regulations may increase our
labor costs as a result.
China’s
overall economy and the average wage have increased in recent years
and are expected to continue to grow. The average wage level for
our employees has also increased in recent years. We expect that
our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will
continue to increase. Unless we are able to pass on these increased
labor costs to our customers who pay for our services, our
profitability and results of operations may be materially and
adversely affected. The PRC Labor Contract Law and its implementing
rules impose requirements concerning contracts entered into between
an employer and its employees and establishes time limits for
probationary periods and for how long an employee can be placed in
a fixed-term labor contract. We cannot assure you that our
employment policies and practices do not, or will not, violate the
Labor Contract Law or its implementing rules and that we will not
be subject to related penalties, fines or legal fees. If we are
subject to large penalties or fees related to the Labor Contract
Law or its implementing rules, our business, financial condition
and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected
In addition, according to the Labor Contract Law and its
implementing rules, if we intend to enforce the non-compete
provision with an employee in a labor contract or non-competition
agreement, we have to compensate the employee on a monthly basis
during the term of the restriction period after the termination or
ending of the labor contract, which may cause extra expenses to us.
Furthermore, the Labor Contract Law and its implementation rules
require certain terminations to be based upon seniority rather than
merit, which significantly affects the cost of reducing workforce
for employers. In the event we decide to significantly change or
decrease our workforce in the PRC, the Labor Contract Law could
adversely affect our ability to enact such changes in a manner that
is most advantageous to our circumstances or in a timely and cost
effective manner, thus our results of operations could be adversely
affected.
If the chops of our PRC subsidiaries are not kept safely, are
stolen or are used by unauthorized persons or for unauthorized
purposes, the corporate governance of these entities could be
severely and adversely compromised.
In
China, a company chop or seal serves as the legal representation of
the company towards third parties even when unaccompanied by a
signature. Each legally registered company in China is required to
maintain a company chop, which must be registered with the local
Public Security Bureau. In addition to this mandatory company chop,
companies may have several other chops which can be used for
specific purposes. The chops of our PRC subsidiaries are generally
held securely by personnel designated or approved by us in
accordance with our internal control procedures. To the extent
those chops are not kept safely, are stolen or are used by
unauthorized persons or for unauthorized purposes, the corporate
governance of these entities could be severely and adversely
compromised and those corporate entities may be bound to abide by
the terms of any documents so chopped, even if they were chopped by
an individual who lacked the requisite power and authority to do
so. In addition, if the chops are misused by unauthorized persons,
we could experience disruption to our normal business operations.
We may have to take corporate or legal action, which could involve
significant time and resources to resolve while distracting
management from our operations.
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED
CHARGES
Our
ratio of earnings to fixed charges for each of the five (5) most
recently completed fiscal years and any required interim periods
will each be specified in a prospectus supplement or in a document
we file with the SEC and incorporate by reference pertaining to the
issuance, if any, by us of debt securities in the
future.
CAPITALIZATION AND
INDEBTEDNESS
The
table below sets forth our capitalization as of June 30,
2021.
Short-term debt (including
current maturities of long term loans and debt) |
|
$ |
1,500,862 |
|
Long-term loans |
|
$ |
6,557,608 |
|
Total shareholders’ equity |
|
$ |
64,902,405 |
|
Total liabilities and shareholders’
equity |
|
$ |
93,845,408 |
|
USE OF PROCEEDS
Except
as otherwise provided in a prospectus supplement, we expect to use
the net proceeds from the sale of securities offered pursuant to
this prospectus for general corporate purposes, including for our
research and development needs for current and future products,
expansion of marketing efforts, and possible acquisitions of
complementary assets or businesses. When a particular series of
securities is offered, the prospectus supplement relating to that
offering will set forth our intended use of the net proceeds
received from the sale of those securities.
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We
may sell the securities described in this prospectus through
underwriters or dealers, through agents, or directly to one or more
purchasers or through a combination of these methods. The
applicable prospectus supplement will describe the terms of the
offering of the securities, including:
|
● |
the
name or names of any underwriters, if any, and if required, any
dealers or agents, and the amount of securities underwritten or
purchased by each of them, if any; |
|
|
|
|
● |
the
public offering price or purchase price of the securities from us
and the net proceeds to us from the sale of the
securities; |
|
|
|
|
● |
any
underwriting discounts and other items constituting underwriters’
compensation; |
|
|
|
|
● |
any
discounts or concessions allowed or re-allowed or paid to dealers;
and |
|
|
|
|
● |
any
securities exchange or market on which the securities may be
listed. |
We
may distribute the securities from time to time in one or more
transactions at:
|
● |
a
fixed price or prices, which may be changed; |
|
|
|
|
● |
market
prices prevailing at the time of sale; |
|
|
|
|
● |
varying
prices determined at the time of sale related to such prevailing
market prices; or |
|
|
|
|
● |
negotiated
prices. |
Only
underwriters named in the prospectus supplement will be
underwriters of the securities offered by the prospectus
supplement.
If we
use underwriters in the sale, the underwriters will either acquire
the securities for their own account and may resell the securities
from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed public
offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale,
or sell the Shares on a “best efforts, minimum/maximum basis” when
the underwriters agree to do their best to sell the securities to
the public. We may offer the securities to the public through
underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or by
underwriters without a syndicate. Any public offering price and any
discounts or concessions allowed or re-allowed or paid to dealers
may change from time to time.
If we
use a dealer in the sale of the securities being offered pursuant
to this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, the securities
will be sold directly to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may
then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be
determined by the dealer at the time of resale.
Our
Class A Common Shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market.
Unless otherwise specified in the related prospectus supplement,
all securities we offer, other than Common Shares, will be new
issues of securities with no established trading market. Any
underwriter may make a market in these securities, but will not be
obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any
time without notice. We may apply to list any series of warrants or
other securities that we offer on an exchange, but we are not
obligated to do so. Therefore, there may not be liquidity or a
trading market for any series of securities.
We
may sell the securities directly or through agents we designate
from time to time. We will name any agent involved in the offering
and sale of securities and we will describe any commissions we may
pay the agent in the applicable prospectus supplement.
We
may authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers by
institutional investors to purchase securities from us at the
public offering price set forth in the prospectus supplement
pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and
delivery on a specified date in the future. We will describe the
conditions to these contracts and the commissions we must pay for
solicitation of these contracts in the applicable prospectus
supplement.
In
connection with the sale of the securities, underwriters, dealers
or agents may receive compensation from us or from purchasers of
the securities for whom they act as agents in the form of
discounts, concessions or commissions. Underwriters may sell the
securities to or through dealers, and those dealers may receive
compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions
from the underwriters or commissions from the purchasers for whom
they may act as agents. Underwriters, dealers and agents that
participate in the distribution of the securities, and any
institutional investors or others that purchase securities directly
and then resell the securities, may be deemed to be underwriters,
and any discounts or commissions received by them from us and any
profit on the resale of the securities by them may be deemed to be
underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities
Act.
We
may provide agents and underwriters with indemnification against
particular civil liabilities, including liabilities under the
Securities Act, or contribution with respect to payments that the
agents or underwriters may make with respect to such liabilities.
Agents and underwriters may engage in transactions with, or perform
services for, us in the ordinary course of business.
In
addition, we may enter into derivative transactions with third
parties (including the writing of options), or sell securities not
covered by this prospectus to third parties in privately negotiated
transactions. If the applicable prospectus supplement indicates, in
connection with such a transaction, the third parties may, pursuant
to this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, sell
securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus
supplement. If so, the third party may use securities borrowed from
us or others to settle such sales and may use securities received
from us to close out any related short positions. We may also loan
or pledge securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable
prospectus supplement to third parties, who may sell the loaned
securities or, in an event of default in the case of a pledge, sell
the pledged securities pursuant to this prospectus and the
applicable prospectus supplement. The third party in such sale
transactions will be an underwriter and will be identified in the
applicable prospectus supplement or in a post-effective
amendment.
To
facilitate an offering of a series of securities, persons
participating in the offering may engage in transactions that
stabilize, maintain, or otherwise affect the market price of the
securities. This may include over-allotments or short sales of the
securities, which involves the sale by persons participating in the
offering of more securities than have been sold to them by us. In
those circumstances, such persons would cover such over-allotments
or short positions by purchasing in the open market or by
exercising the over-allotment option granted to those persons. In
addition, those persons may stabilize or maintain the price of the
securities by bidding for or purchasing securities in the open
market or by imposing penalty bids, whereby selling concessions
allowed to underwriters or dealers participating in any such
offering may be reclaimed if securities sold by them are
repurchased in connection with stabilization transactions. The
effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the
market price of the securities at a level above that which might
otherwise prevail in the open market. Such transactions, if
commenced, may be discontinued at any time. We make no
representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of
any effect that the transactions described above, if implemented,
may have on the price of our securities.
MARKET FOR OUR SHARES
Our
Common Shares have been listed on the NASDAQ Global Market since
December 18, 2017 under the symbol “DOGZ.” The table below shows,
for the periods indicated, the high and low market prices for our
shares.
|
|
Market Price Per Share |
|
|
|
High |
|
|
Low |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2020 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth
quarter |
|
$ |
3.42 |
|
|
$ |
1.04 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2021 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
quarter |
|
$ |
4.85 |
|
|
$ |
1.48 |
|
Second
quarter |
|
$ |
2.54 |
|
|
$ |
1.30 |
|
July |
|
$ |
2.43 |
|
|
$ |
1.63 |
|
August |
|
$ |
2.46 |
|
|
$ |
2.86 |
|
September |
|
$ |
2.92 |
|
|
$ |
2.28 |
|
October |
|
$ |
4.75 |
|
|
$ |
2.83 |
|
November |
|
$ |
5.71 |
|
|
$ |
3.21 |
|
December |
|
$ |
8.43 |
|
|
$ |
4.05 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2022 (through
February 1, 2022) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First quarter |
|
$ |
8.74 |
|
|
$ |
2.24 |
|
Second quarter |
|
$ |
6.50 |
|
|
$ |
1.82 |
|
July (through July 5, 2022) |
|
$ |
1.84 |
|
|
$ |
1.72
|
|
DILUTION
If
required, we will set forth in a prospectus supplement the
following information regarding any material dilution of the equity
interests of investors purchasing securities in an offering under
this prospectus:
|
● |
the
net tangible book value per share of our equity securities before
and after the offering; |
|
● |
the
amount of the increase in such net tangible book value per share
attributable to the cash payments made by purchasers in the
offering; and |
|
● |
the
amount of the immediate dilution from the public offering price
which will be absorbed by such purchasers. |
EXPENSES RELATING TO THIS
OFFERING
Set
forth below is an itemization of the total expenses, excluding
underwriting discounts and commissions, that we expect to incur in
connection with this offering. With the exception of the SEC
registration fee, all amounts are estimates.
Securities and Exchange
Commission Registration Fee |
|
$ |
23,175 |
|
Legal Fees and Expenses |
|
|
* |
|
Accounting Fees and Expenses |
|
|
* |
|
Miscellaneous
Expenses |
|
|
* |
|
Total
Expenses |
|
$ |
* |
|
*To
be determined
DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL AND OTHER
SECURITIES
Dogness
was incorporated on July 11, 2016 under the BVI Companies Act, 2004
as a company limited by shares. Our company has 100,0000,000
authorized shares of US$0.002 par value each, consisting of (a)
90,931,000 authorized Class A Common Shares, of which 30,205,259
Class A Common Shares are issued and outstanding as of July 5,
2022, (b) 9,069,000 authorized Class B Common Shares, all of which
are issued and outstanding. Mr. Chen, through Fine victory holding
company Limited, is the only holder of Class B Common Shares. Our
Class B Common Shares have three votes per share, and our Class A
Common Shares have one vote per share; however, Class A and Class B
Common Shares have identical economic rights.
Common
Shares
General
All
of our outstanding Common Shares are fully paid and non-assessable.
Our Common Shares are issued in registered form and are issued when
registered in our register of members. Our shareholders who are
non-residents of the British Virgin Islands may freely hold and
vote their Common Shares. Our Memorandum and Articles of
Association do not permit us to issue bearer shares. As of July 5,
2022, the Company had an aggregate of 39,274,259 Common Shares
outstanding, consisting of 30,205,259 Class A Common Shares and
9,069,000 Class B Common Shares.
Listing
Our
Common Shares are listed on The NASDAQ Global Market under the
symbol “DOGZ.”
Transfer
Agent and Registrar
The
transfer agent and registrar for our Class A Common Shares is
TranShare Corporation, Bayside Center 117755 North US Highway 19,
Suite # 140, Clearwater FL 33764.
Distributions
The
holders of our Common Shares are entitled to such dividends as may
be declared by our board of directors subject to the BVI Business
Companies Act.
Voting
rights
Any
action required or permitted to be taken by the shareholders must
be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of the
shareholders entitled to vote on such action and may be effected by
a resolution in writing. At each general meeting, each Class A
Holder who is present in person or by proxy (or, in the case of a
shareholder being a corporation, by its duly authorized
representative) will have one vote for each Class A Common Share
which such shareholder holds and each Class B Holder who is present
in person or by proxy (or, in the case of a shareholder being a
corporation, by its duly authorized representative) will have three
votes for each Class B Common Share which such shareholder
holds.
Election
of directors
Delaware
law permits cumulative voting for the election of directors only if
expressly authorized in the certificate of incorporation. The laws
of the British Virgin Islands, however, do not specifically
prohibit or restrict the creation of cumulative voting rights for
the election of our directors. Cumulative voting is not a concept
that is accepted as a common practice in the British Virgin
Islands, and we have made no provisions in our Memorandum and
Articles of Association to allow cumulative voting for elections of
directors.
Warrants
On
December 18, 2017, we completed an initial public offering of
10,913,631 Class A Common Shares. The offering was completed at an
issuance price of $5.00 per share. Prior to the offering, the
Company had 15,000,000 issued and outstanding shares, and after the
offering, the Company had 25,913,631 issued and outstanding shares.
The Company issued to the placement agent in the initial public
offering, warrants to purchase up to a total of 545,681 Common
Shares for an exercise price of $6.25 per share. The placement
agent’s warrants have a term of three years.
On
July 15, 2021, the Company and certain institutional investors
entered into a securities purchase agreement in connection with an
offering, pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell to investors
an aggregate of 2,178,120 Class A Common Shares. The common share
purchase price was $1.82 per share. After payment of expenses, the
Company received approximately $3.4 million in net proceeds from
the sale of the common shares. Additionally, the Company also
issued warrants to purchase 174,249 common shares to the placement
agent exercisable at $1.82 per share.
On
January 15, 2021, the Company and certain institutional investors
entered into a securities purchase agreement in connection with an
offering, pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell to investors
an aggregate of 3,455,130 Class A Common Shares and investor
warrants to initially purchase an aggregate of 1,727,565 Class A
Common Shares. The common share purchase price was $2.15 per Class
A Common Share; and the investor warrants are initially exercisable
at $2.70 per share. The aggregate gross proceeds from the sale of
the Class A Common Shares, before deducting fees to the Placement
Agent and other estimated offering expenses payable by the Company
was approximately $7.4 million. This amount did not include any
proceeds from warrant exercises.
On July 15, 2021, the Company
and certain institutional investors entered into a securities
purchase agreement in connection with an offering, pursuant to
which the Company agreed to sell to investors an aggregate of
2,178,120 Class A Common Shares. The common share purchase price
was $1.82 per share. The aggregate gross proceeds from the sale of
the Class A Common Shares, before deducting fees to the placement
agent and other estimated offering expenses payable by the Company
was approximately $3.96 million. Additionally, the Company also
issued to the placement agent placement agent warrants to purchase
174,249 Class A Common Shares, at an exercise price of $1.82 per
share. The placement agent warrants shall expire three (3) years
after issuance and shall have no anti-dilution protection other
than adjustments based on stock splits, stock dividends,
combinations of shares and similar recapitalization
transactions.
On June 1, 2022, the Company
and certain institutional investors entered into a securities
purchase agreement a registered direct offering of approximately
$12 million of Class A Common Shares and warrants at a price of
$3.30 per unit. The units will each consist of one Class A Common
Share and 0.6 warrant to purchase one Class A Common Share. The
units do not trade and separated into Class A Common Shares and
warrants. The Company issued (i) an aggregate of 3,636,365 Class A
Common Shares and (ii) warrants to purchase an aggregate of
2,181,819 Class A Common Shares to the investors. The aggregate
gross proceeds from the sale of the securities, before deducting
fees payable to the placement agent and other estimated offering
expenses payable by the Company was approximately $12 million. This
amount did not include any proceeds from the exercise of the
warrants being offered.
Description
of Warrants
The
following description, together with the additional information we
may include in any applicable prospectus supplements, summarizes
the material terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer
under this prospectus and the related warrant agreements and
warrant certificates. While the terms summarized below will apply
generally to any warrants that we may offer under this prospectus,
we will describe the particular terms of any series of warrants
that we may offer in more detail in the applicable prospectus
supplement. If we indicate in the prospectus supplement, the terms
of any warrants offered under that prospectus supplement may differ
from the terms described below. However, no prospectus supplement
shall fundamentally change the terms that are set forth in this
prospectus or offer a security that is not registered and described
in this prospectus at the time of its effectiveness. Specific
warrant agreements will contain additional important terms and
provisions and will be incorporated by reference as an exhibit to
the registration statement that includes this prospectus or as an
exhibit to a report filed under the Exchange Act.
General
We
may issue warrants that entitle the holder to purchase Class A
Common Shares, debt securities or any combination thereof. We may
issue warrants independently or together with Class A Common
Shares, debt securities or any combination thereof, and the
warrants may be attached to or separate from these
securities.
We
will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of
the series of warrants, including:
|
● |
the
offering price and aggregate number of warrants
offered; |
|
|
|
|
● |
the
currency for which the warrants may be purchased, if not United
States dollars; |
|
|
|
|
● |
if
applicable, the designation and terms of the securities with which
the warrants are issued and the number of warrants issued with each
such security or each principal amount of such
security; |
|
|
|
|
● |
if
applicable, the date on and after which the warrants and the
related securities will be separately transferable; |
|
|
|
|
● |
in
the case of warrants to purchase Class A Common Shares, the number
of Class A Common Shares purchasable upon the exercise of one
warrant and the price at which these shares may be purchased upon
such exercise; |
|
|
|
|
● |
in
the case of warrants to purchase debt securities, the principal
amount of debt securities purchasable upon exercise of one warrant
and the price at, and currency, if not United States dollars, in
which, this principal amount of debt securities may be purchased
upon such exercise; |
|
|
|
|
● |
the
effect of any merger, consolidation, sale or other disposition of
our business on the warrant agreement and the warrants; |
|
|
|
|
● |
the
terms of any rights to redeem or call the warrants; |
|
|
|
|
● |
any
provisions for changes to or adjustments in the exercise price or
number of securities issuable upon exercise of the
warrants; |
|
|
|
|
● |
the
dates on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and
expire; |
|
|
|
|
● |
the
manner in which the warrant agreement and warrants may be
modified; |
|
● |
federal
income tax consequences of holding or exercising the
warrants; |
|
|
|
|
● |
the
terms of the securities issuable upon exercise of the warrants;
and |
|
|
|
|
● |
any
other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of or
restrictions on the warrants. |
Before
exercising their warrants, holders of warrants will not have any of
the rights of holders of the securities purchasable upon such
exercise, including:
|
● |
in
the case of warrants to purchase debt securities, the right to
receive payments of principal of, or premium, if any, or interest
on, the debt securities purchasable upon exercise or to enforce
covenants in the applicable indenture; or |
|
|
|
|
● |
in
the case of warrants to purchase our Class A Common Shares, the
right to receive dividends, if any, or, payments upon our
liquidation, dissolution or winding up or to exercise voting
rights, if any. |
Exercise
of Warrants
Each
warrant will entitle the holder to purchase the securities that we
specify in the applicable prospectus supplement at the exercise
price that we describe in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus
supplement, holders of the warrants may exercise the warrants at
any time up to the specified time on the expiration date that we
set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close
of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will
become void.
Holders
of the warrants may exercise the warrants by delivering the warrant
certificate representing the warrants to be exercised together with
specified information, and paying the required amount to the
warrant agent in immediately available funds, as provided in the
applicable prospectus supplement. We will set forth on the reverse
side of the warrant certificate and in the applicable prospectus
supplement the information that the holder of the warrant will be
required to deliver to the warrant agent.
Upon
receipt of the required payment and the warrant certificate
properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office
of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the
applicable prospectus supplement, we will issue and deliver the
securities purchasable upon such exercise. If fewer than all of the
warrants represented by the warrant certificate are exercised, then
we will issue a new warrant certificate for the remaining amount of
warrants. If we so indicate in the applicable prospectus
supplement, holders of the warrants may surrender securities as all
or part of the exercise price for warrants.
Enforceability
of Rights by Holders of Warrants
Each
warrant agent will act solely as our agent under the applicable
warrant agreement and will not assume any obligation or
relationship of agency or trust with any holder of any warrant. A
single bank or trust company may act as warrant agent for more than
one issue of warrants. A warrant agent will have no duty or
responsibility in case of any default by us under the applicable
warrant agreement or warrant, including any duty or responsibility
to initiate any proceedings at law or otherwise, or to make any
demand upon us. Any holder of a warrant may, without the consent of
the related warrant agent or the holder of any other warrant,
enforce by appropriate legal action its right to exercise, and
receive the securities purchasable upon exercise of, its
warrants.
Warrant
Agreement Will Not Be Qualified Under Trust Indenture
Act
No
warrant agreement will be qualified as an indenture, and no warrant
agent will be required to qualify as a trustee, under the Trust
Indenture Act. Therefore, holders of warrants issued under a
warrant agreement will not have the protection of the Trust
Indenture Act with respect to their warrants.
Modification
of the Warrant Agreement
The
warrant agreements may permit us and the warrant agent, if any,
without the consent of the warrant holders, to supplement or amend
the agreement in the following circumstances:
|
● |
to
cure any ambiguity; |
|
|
|
|
● |
to
correct or supplement any provision which may be defective or
inconsistent with any other provisions; or |
|
|
|
|
● |
to
add new provisions regarding matters or questions that we and the
warrant agent may deem necessary or desirable and which do not
adversely affect the interests of the warrant holders. |
Description
of Debt Securities
As
used in this prospectus, debt securities means the debentures,
notes, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness that we may issue
from time to time. The debt securities may be either secured or
unsecured and will either be senior debt securities or subordinated
debt securities. The debt securities will be issued under one or
more separate indentures between us and a trustee to be specified
in an accompanying prospectus supplement. Senior debt securities
will be issued under a new senior indenture. Subordinated debt
securities will be issued under a subordinated indenture. Together,
the senior indentures and the subordinated indentures are sometimes
referred to in this prospectus as the indentures. This prospectus,
together with the applicable prospectus supplement, will describe
the terms of a particular series of debt securities.
The
statements and descriptions in this prospectus or in any prospectus
supplement regarding provisions of the indentures and debt
securities are summaries thereof, do not purport to be complete and
are subject to, and are qualified in their entirety by reference
to, all of the provisions of the indentures (and any amendments or
supplements we may enter into from time to time which are permitted
under each indenture) and the debt securities, including the
definitions therein of certain terms.
General
Unless
otherwise specified in a prospectus supplement, the debt securities
will be direct unsecured obligations of the Company. The senior
debt securities will rank equally with any of our other senior and
unsubordinated debt. The subordinated debt securities will be
subordinate and junior in right of payment to any senior
indebtedness.
Unless
otherwise specified in a prospectus supplement, the indentures do
not limit the aggregate principal amount of debt securities that we
may issue and provide that we may issue debt securities from time
to time at par or at a discount, and in the case of the new
indentures, if any, in one or more series, with the same or various
maturities. Unless indicated in a prospectus supplement, we may
issue additional debt securities of a particular series without the
consent of the holders of the debt securities of such series
outstanding at the time of the issuance. Any such additional debt
securities, together with all other outstanding debt securities of
that series, will constitute a single series of debt securities
under the applicable indenture.
Each
prospectus supplement will describe the terms relating to the
specific series of debt securities being offered. These terms will
include some or all of the following:
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the
title of the debt securities and whether they are subordinated debt
securities or senior debt securities; |
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any
limit on the aggregate principal amount of the debt
securities; |
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the
ability to issue additional debt securities of the same
series; |
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the
price or prices at which we will sell the debt
securities; |
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the
maturity date or dates of the debt securities on which principal
will be payable; |
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the
rate or rates of interest, if any, which may be fixed or variable,
at which the debt securities will bear interest, or the method of
determining such rate or rates, if any; |
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the
date or dates from which any interest will accrue or the method by
which such date or dates will be determined; |
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the
right, if any, to extend the interest payment periods and the
duration of any such deferral period, including the maximum
consecutive period during which interest payment periods may be
extended; |
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whether
the amount of payments of principal of (and premium, if any) or
interest on the debt securities may be determined with reference to
any index, formula or other method, such as one or more currencies,
commodities, equity indices or other indices, and the manner of
determining the amount of such payments; |
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the
dates on which we will pay interest on the debt securities and the
regular record date for determining who is entitled to the interest
payable on any interest payment date; |
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the
place or places where the principal of (and premium, if any) and
interest on the debt securities will be payable, where any
securities may be surrendered for registration of transfer,
exchange or conversion, as applicable, and notices and demands may
be delivered to or upon us pursuant to the indenture; |
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if we
possess the option to do so, the periods within which and the
prices at which we may redeem the debt securities, in whole or in
part, pursuant to optional redemption provisions, and the other
terms and conditions of any such provisions; |
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our
obligation, if any, to redeem, repay or purchase debt securities by
making periodic payments to a sinking fund or through an analogous
provision or at the option of holders of the debt securities, and
the period or periods within which and the price or prices at which
we will redeem, repay or purchase the debt securities, in whole or
in part, pursuant to such obligation, and the other terms and
conditions of such obligation; |
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the
denominations in which the debt securities will be issued, if other
than denominations of $1,000 and integral multiples of
$1,000; |
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the
portion, or methods of determining the portion, of the principal
amount of the debt securities which we must pay upon the
acceleration of the maturity of the debt securities in connection
with an event of default (as described below), if other than the
full principal amount; |
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the
currency, currencies or currency unit in which we will pay the
principal of (and premium, if any) or interest, if any, on the debt
securities, if not United States dollars; |
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provisions,
if any, granting special rights to holders of the debt securities
upon the occurrence of specified events; |
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any
deletions from, modifications of or additions to the events of
default or our covenants with respect to the applicable series of
debt securities, and whether or not such events of default or
covenants are consistent with those contained in the applicable
indenture; |
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any
limitation on our ability to incur debt, redeem shares, sell our
assets or other restrictions; |
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the
application, if any, of the terms of the indenture relating to
defeasance and covenant defeasance (which terms are described
below) to the debt securities; |
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whether
the subordination provisions summarized below or different
subordination provisions will apply to the debt
securities; |
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the
terms, if any, upon which the holders may convert or exchange the
debt securities into or for our Class A Common Shares or other
securities or property; |
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whether
any of the debt securities will be issued in global form and, if
so, the terms and conditions upon which global debt securities may
be exchanged for certificated debt securities; |
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any
change in the right of the trustee or the requisite holders of debt
securities to declare the principal amount thereof due and payable
because of an event of default; |
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the
depository for global or certificated debt securities; |
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any
special tax implications of the debt securities; |
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any
foreign tax consequences applicable to the debt securities,
including any debt securities denominated and made payable, as
described in the prospectus supplements, in foreign currencies, or
units based on or related to foreign currencies; |
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any
trustees, authenticating or paying agents, transfer agents or
registrars, or other agents with respect to the debt
securities; |
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any
other terms of the debt securities not inconsistent with the
provisions of the indentures, as amended or
supplemented; |
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to
whom any interest on any debt security shall be payable, if other
than the person in whose name the security is registered, on the
record date for such interest, the extent to which, or the manner
in which, any interest payable on a temporary global debt security
will be paid if other than in the manner provided in the applicable
indenture; |
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if
the principal of or any premium or interest on any debt securities
of the series is to be payable in one or more currencies or
currency units other than as stated, the currency, currencies or
currency units in which it shall be paid and the periods within and
terms and conditions upon which such election is to be made and the
amounts payable (or the manner in which such amount shall be
determined); |
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the
portion of the principal amount of any securities of the series
which shall be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the
maturity of the debt securities pursuant to the applicable
indenture if other than the entire principal amount;
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if
the principal amount payable at the stated maturity of any debt
security of the series will not be determinable as of any one or
more dates prior to the stated maturity, the amount which shall be
deemed to be the principal amount of such securities as of any such
date for any purpose, including the principal amount thereof which
shall be due and payable upon any maturity other than the stated
maturity or which shall be deemed to be outstanding as of any date
prior to the stated maturity (or, in any such case, the manner in
which such amount deemed to be the principal amount shall be
determined). |
Unless
otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the
debt securities will not be listed on any securities exchange and
will be issued in fully-registered form without coupons.
Debt
securities may be sold at a substantial discount below their stated
principal amount, bearing no interest or interest at a rate which
at the time of issuance is below market rates. The applicable
prospectus supplement will describe the federal income tax
consequences and special considerations applicable to any such debt
securities. The debt securities may also be issued as indexed
securities or securities denominated in foreign currencies,
currency units or composite currencies, as described in more detail
in the prospectus supplement relating to any of the particular debt
securities. The prospectus supplement relating to specific debt
securities will also describe any special considerations and
certain additional tax considerations applicable to such debt
securities.
Subordination
The
prospectus supplement relating to any offering of subordinated debt
securities will describe the specific subordination provisions.
However, unless otherwise noted in the prospectus supplement,
subordinated debt securities will be subordinate and junior in
right of payment to any existing senior indebtedness.
Unless
otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, under
the subordinated indenture, “senior indebtedness” means all amounts
due on obligations in connection with any of the following, whether
outstanding at the date of execution of the subordinated indenture,
or thereafter incurred or created:
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the
principal of (and premium, if any) and interest due on our
indebtedness for borrowed money and indebtedness evidenced by
bonds, notes, debentures or similar instruments or letters of
credit (or reimbursement agreements in respect
thereof); |
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all
of our capital lease obligations or attributable debt (as defined
in the indentures) in respect of sale and leaseback
transactions; |
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all
obligations representing the balance deferred and unpaid of the
purchase price of any property or services, which purchase price is
due more than six months after the date of placing such property in
service or taking delivery and title thereto, except any such
balance that constitutes an accrued expense or trade payable or any
similar obligation to trade creditors; |
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all
of our obligations in respect of interest rate swap agreements
(whether from fixed to floating or from floating to fixed),
interest rate cap agreements and interest rate collar agreements;
other agreements or arrangements designed to manage interest rates
or interest rate risk; and other agreements or arrangements
designed to protect against fluctuations in currency exchange rates
or commodity prices; |
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all
obligations of the types referred to above of other persons for the
payment of which we are responsible or liable as obligor, guarantor
or otherwise; and |
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all
obligations of the types referred to above of other persons secured
by any lien on any property or asset of ours (whether or not such
obligation is assumed by us). |
However,
senior indebtedness does not include:
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any
indebtedness which expressly provides that such indebtedness shall
not be senior in right of payment to the subordinated debt
securities, or that such indebtedness shall be subordinated to any
other of our indebtedness, unless such indebtedness expressly
provides that such indebtedness shall be senior in right of payment
to the subordinated debt securities; |
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any
of our obligations to our subsidiaries or of a subsidiary guarantor
to us or any other of our other subsidiaries; |
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any
liability for federal, state, local or other taxes owed or owing by
us or any subsidiary guarantor, |
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any
accounts payable or other liability to trade creditors arising in
the ordinary course of business (including guarantees thereof or
instruments evidencing such liabilities); |
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any
obligations with respect to any capital stock; |
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any
indebtedness incurred in violation of the indenture, provided that
indebtedness under our credit facilities will not cease to be
senior indebtedness under this bullet point if the lenders of such
indebtedness obtained an officer’s certificate as of the date of
incurrence of such indebtedness to the effect that such
indebtedness was permitted to be incurred by the indenture;
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any
of our indebtedness in respect of the subordinated debt
securities. |
Senior
indebtedness shall continue to be senior indebtedness and be
entitled to the benefits of the subordination provisions
irrespective of any amendment, modification or waiver of any term
of such senior indebtedness.
Unless
otherwise noted in an accompanying prospectus supplement, if we
default in the payment of any principal of (or premium, if any) or
interest on any senior indebtedness when it becomes due and
payable, whether at maturity or at a date fixed for prepayment or
by declaration or otherwise, then, unless and until such default is
cured or waived or ceases to exist, we will make no direct or
indirect payment (in cash, property, securities, by set-off or
otherwise) in respect of the principal of or interest on the
subordinated debt securities or in respect of any redemption,
retirement, purchase or other requisition of any of the
subordinated debt securities.
In
the event of the acceleration of the maturity of any subordinated
debt securities, the holders of all senior debt securities
outstanding at the time of such acceleration, subject to any
security interest, will first be entitled to receive payment in
full of all amounts due on the senior debt securities before the
holders of the subordinated debt securities will be entitled to
receive any payment of principal (and premium, if any) or interest
on the subordinated debt securities.
If
any of the following events occurs, we will pay in full all senior
indebtedness before we make any payment or distribution under the
subordinated debt securities, whether in cash, securities or other
property, to any holder of subordinated debt securities:
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any
dissolution or winding-up or liquidation or reorganization of
Dogness (International) Corporation, whether voluntary or
involuntary or in bankruptcy, |
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insolvency
or receivership; |
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any
general assignment by us for the benefit of creditors;
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any
other marshaling of our assets or liabilities. |
In
such event, any payment or distribution under the subordinated debt
securities, whether in cash, securities or other property, which
would otherwise (but for the subordination provisions) be payable
or deliverable in respect of the subordinated debt securities, will
be paid or delivered directly to the holders of senior indebtedness
in accordance with the priorities then existing among such holders
until all senior indebtedness has been paid in full. If any payment
or distribution under the subordinated debt securities is received
by the trustee of any subordinated debt securities in contravention
of any of the terms of the subordinated indenture and before all
the senior indebtedness has been paid in full, such payment or
distribution will be received in trust for the benefit of, and paid
over or delivered and transferred to, the holders of the senior
indebtedness at the time outstanding in accordance with the
priorities then existing among such holders for application to the
payment of all senior indebtedness remaining unpaid to the extent
necessary to pay all such senior indebtedness in full.
The
subordinated indenture does not limit the issuance of additional
senior indebtedness.
Events
of Default, Notice and Waiver
Unless
an accompanying prospectus supplement states otherwise, the
following shall constitute “events of default” under the indentures
with respect to each series of debt securities:
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we
default for 30 consecutive days in the payment when due of interest
on the debt securities; |
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we
default in the payment when due (at maturity, upon redemption or
otherwise) of the principal of, or premium, if any, on the debt
securities; |
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our
failure to observe or perform any other of our covenants or
agreements with respect to such debt securities for 60 days after
we receive notice of such failure; |
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certain
events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization of the Dogness
(International) Corporation; or |
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any
other event of default provided with respect to securities of that
series. |
Unless
an accompanying prospectus supplement states otherwise, if an event
of default with respect to any debt securities of any series
outstanding under either of the indentures shall occur and be
continuing, the trustee under such indenture or the holders of at
least 25% (or at least 10%, in respect of a remedy (other than
acceleration) for certain events of default relating to the payment
of dividends) in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities
of that series outstanding may declare, by notice as provided in
the applicable indenture, the principal amount (or such lesser
amount as may be provided for in the debt securities of that
series) of all the debt securities of that series outstanding to be
due and payable immediately; provided that, in the case of an event
of default involving certain events in bankruptcy, insolvency or
reorganization, acceleration is automatic; and, provided further,
that after such acceleration, but before a judgment or decree based
on acceleration, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal
amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may, under
certain circumstances, rescind and annul such acceleration if all
events of default, other than the nonpayment of accelerated
principal, have been cured or waived. Upon the acceleration of the
maturity of original issue discount securities, an amount less than
the principal amount thereof will become due and payable. Reference
is made to the prospectus supplement relating to any original issue
discount securities for the particular provisions relating to
acceleration of maturity thereof.
Any
past default under either indenture with respect to debt securities
of any series, and any event of default arising therefrom, may be
waived by the holders of a majority in principal amount of all debt
securities of such series outstanding under such indenture, except
in the case of (1) default in the payment of the principal of (or
premium, if any) or interest on any debt securities of such series
or (2) certain events of default relating to the payment of
dividends.
The
trustee is required within 90 days after the occurrence of a
default (which is known to the trustee and is continuing), with
respect to the debt securities of any series (without regard to any
grace period or notice requirements), to give to the holders of the
debt securities of such series notice of such default.
The
trustee, subject to its duties during default to act with the
required standard of care, may require indemnification by the
holders of the debt securities of any series with respect to which
a default has occurred before proceeding to exercise any right or
power under the indentures at the request of the holders of the
debt securities of such series. Subject to such right of
indemnification and to certain other limitations, the holders of a
majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of
any series under either indenture may direct the time, method and
place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the
trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee
with respect to the debt securities of such series, provided that
such direction shall not be in conflict with any rule of law or
with the applicable indenture and the trustee may take any other
action deemed proper by the trustee which is not inconsistent with
such direction.
No
holder of a debt security of any series may institute any action
against us under either of the indentures (except actions for
payment of overdue principal of (and premium, if any) or interest
on such debt security or for the conversion or exchange of such
debt security in accordance with its terms) unless (1) the holder
has given to the trustee written notice of an event of default and
of the continuance thereof with respect to the debt securities of
such series specifying an event of default, as required under the
applicable indenture, (2) the holders of at least 25% in aggregate
principal amount of the debt securities of that series then
outstanding under such indenture shall have requested the trustee
to institute such action and offered to the trustee indemnity
reasonably satisfactory to it against the costs, expenses and
liabilities to be incurred in compliance with such request; (3) the
trustee shall not have instituted such action within 60 days of
such request and (4) no direction inconsistent with such written
request has been given to the trustee during such 60-day period by
the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt
securities of that series. We are required to furnish annually to
the trustee statements as to our compliance with all conditions and
covenants under each indenture.
Discharge,
Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance
We
may discharge or defease our obligations under the indenture as set
forth below, unless otherwise indicated in the applicable
prospectus supplement.
We
may discharge certain obligations to holders of any series of debt
securities issued under either the senior indenture or the
subordinated indenture which have not already been delivered to the
trustee for cancellation by irrevocably depositing with the trustee
money in an amount sufficient to pay and discharge the entire
indebtedness on such debt securities not previously delivered to
the trustee for cancellation, for principal and any premium and
interest to the date of such deposit (in the case of debt
securities which have become due and payable) or to the stated
maturity or redemption date, as the case may be, and we or, if
applicable, any guarantor, have paid all other sums payable under
the applicable indenture.
If
indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may elect
either (1) to defease and be discharged from any and all
obligations with respect to the debt securities of or within any
series (except in all cases as otherwise provided in the relevant
indenture) (“legal defeasance”) or (2) to be released from our
obligations with respect to certain covenants applicable to the
debt securities of or within any series (“covenant defeasance”),
upon the deposit with the relevant indenture trustee, in trust for
such purpose, of money and/or government obligations which through
the payment of principal and interest in accordance with their
terms will provide money in an amount sufficient to pay the
principal of (and premium, if any) or interest on such debt
securities to maturity or redemption, as the case may be, and any
mandatory sinking fund or analogous payments thereon. As a
condition to legal defeasance or covenant defeasance, we must
deliver to the trustee an opinion of counsel to the effect that the
holders of such debt securities will not recognize income, gain or
loss for federal income tax purposes as a result of such legal
defeasance or covenant defeasance and will be subject to federal
income tax on the same amounts and in the same manner and at the
same times as would have been the case if such legal defeasance or
covenant defeasance had not occurred. Such opinion of counsel, in
the case of legal defeasance under clause (i) above, must refer to
and be based upon a ruling of the Internal Revenue Service or a
change in applicable federal income tax law occurring after the
date of the relevant indenture. In addition, in the case of either
legal defeasance or covenant defeasance, we shall have delivered to
the trustee (1) if applicable, an officer’s certificate to the
effect that the relevant debt securities exchange(s) have informed
us that neither such debt securities nor any other debt securities
of the same series, if then listed on any securities exchange, will
be delisted as a result of such deposit and (2) an officer’s
certificate and an opinion of counsel, each stating that all
conditions precedent with respect to such legal defeasance or
covenant defeasance have been complied with.
We
may exercise our defeasance option with respect to such debt
securities notwithstanding our prior exercise of our covenant
defeasance option.
Modification
and Waiver
Under
the indentures, unless an accompanying prospectus supplement states
otherwise, we and the applicable trustee may supplement the
indentures for certain purposes which would not materially
adversely affect the interests or rights of the holders of debt
securities of a series without the consent of those holders. We and
the applicable trustee may also modify the indentures or any
supplemental indenture in a manner that affects the interests or
rights of the holders of debt securities with the consent of the
holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the
outstanding debt securities of each affected series issued under
the indenture. However, the indentures require the consent of each
holder of debt securities that would be affected by any
modification which would:
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reduce
the principal amount of debt securities whose holders must consent
to an amendment, supplement or waiver; |
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reduce
the principal of or change the fixed maturity of any debt security
or, except as provided in any prospectus supplement, alter or waive
any of the provisions with respect to the redemption of the debt
securities; |
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reduce
the rate of or change the time for payment of interest, including
default interest, on any debt security; |
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waive
a default or event of default in the payment of principal of or
interest or premium, if any, on, the debt securities (except a
rescission of acceleration of the debt securities by the holders of
at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then
outstanding debt securities and a waiver of the payment default
that resulted from such acceleration); |
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make
any debt security payable in money other than that stated in the
debt securities; |
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make
any change in the provisions of the applicable indenture relating
to waivers of past defaults or the rights of holders of the debt
securities to receive payments of principal of, or interest or
premium, if any, on, the debt securities; |
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waive
a redemption payment with respect to any debt security (except as
otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus
supplement); |
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except
in connection with an offer by us to purchase all debt securities,
(1) waive certain events of default relating to the payment of
dividends or (2) amend certain covenants relating to the payment of
dividends and the purchase or redemption of certain equity
interests; |
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make
any change to the subordination or ranking provisions of the
indenture or the related definitions that adversely affect the
rights of any holder; or |
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make
any change in the preceding amendment and waiver
provisions. |
The
indentures permit the holders of at least a majority in aggregate
principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series
issued under the indenture which is affected by the modification or
amendment to waive our compliance with certain covenants contained
in the indentures.
Payment
and Paying Agents
Unless
otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement,
payment of interest on a debt security on any interest payment date
will be made to the person in whose name a debt security is
registered at the close of business on the record date for the
interest.
Unless
otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement,
principal, interest and premium on the debt securities of a
particular series will be payable at the office of such paying
agent or paying agents as we may designate for such purpose from
time to time. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at our option, payment
of any interest may be made by check mailed to the address of the
person entitled thereto as such address appears in the security
register.
Unless
otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, a
paying agent designated by us will act as paying agent for payments
with respect to debt securities of each series. All paying agents
initially designated by us for the debt securities of a particular
series will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement. We
may at any time designate additional paying agents or rescind the
designation of any paying agent or approve a change in the office
through which any paying agent acts, except that we will be
required to maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for
the debt securities of a particular series.
All
moneys paid by us to a paying agent for the payment of the
principal, interest or premium on any debt security which remain
unclaimed at the end of two years after such principal, interest or
premium has become due and payable will be repaid to us upon
request, and the holder of such debt security thereafter may look
only to us for payment thereof.
Denominations,
Registrations and Transfer
Unless
an accompanying prospectus supplement states otherwise, debt
securities will be represented by one or more global certificates
registered in the name of a nominee for The Depository Trust
Company, or DTC. In such case, each holder’s beneficial interest in
the global securities will be shown on the records of DTC and
transfers of beneficial interests will only be effected through
DTC’s records.
A
holder of debt securities may only exchange a beneficial interest
in a global security for certificated securities registered in the
holder’s name if:
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we
deliver to the trustee notice from DTC that it is unwilling or
unable to continue to act as depository or that it is no longer a
clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act and, in either
case, a successor depositary is not appointed by us within 120 days
after the date of such notice from DTC; |
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we in
our sole discretion determine that the debt securities (in whole
but not in part) should be exchanged for definitive debt securities
and deliver a written notice to such effect to the trustee;
or |
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there
has occurred and is continuing a default or event of default with
respect to the debt securities. |
If
debt securities are issued in certificated form, they will only be
issued in the minimum denomination specified in the accompanying
prospectus supplement and integral multiples of such denomination.
Transfers and exchanges of such debt securities will only be
permitted in such minimum denomination. Transfers of debt
securities in certificated form may be registered at the trustee’s
corporate office or at the offices of any paying agent or trustee
appointed by us under the indentures. Exchanges of debt securities
for an equal aggregate principal amount of debt securities in
different denominations may also be made at such
locations.
Governing
Law
The
indentures and debt securities will be governed by, and construed
in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without
regard to its principles of conflicts of laws, except to the extent
the Trust Indenture Act is applicable or as otherwise agreed to by
the parties thereto.
Trustee
The
trustee or trustees under the indentures will be named in any
applicable prospectus supplement.
Conversion
or Exchange Rights
The
prospectus supplement will describe the terms, if any, on which a
series of debt securities may be convertible into or exchangeable
for our Class A Common Shares or other debt securities. These terms
will include provisions as to whether conversion or exchange is
mandatory, at the option of the holder or at our option. These
provisions may allow or require the number of shares of our Class A
Common Shares or other securities to be received by the holders of
such series of debt securities to be adjusted. Any such conversion
or exchange will comply with applicable British Virgin Islands law
and our Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Description
of Units
We
may issue units comprising one or more of the other securities
described in this prospectus in any combination. Each unit will be
issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each
security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have
the rights and obligations of a holder of each included security.
The unit agreement under which a unit is issued may provide that
the securities included in the unit may not be held or transferred
separately, at any time or at any time before a specified date or
occurrence.
The
applicable prospectus supplement may describe:
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the
designation and terms of the units and of the securities comprising
the units, including whether and under what circumstances those
securities may be held or transferred separately; |
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any
provisions for the issuance, payment, settlement, transfer or
exchange of the units or of the securities comprising the units;
and |
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whether
the units will be issued in fully registered or global
form. |
The
applicable prospectus supplement will describe the terms of any
units. The preceding description and any description of units in
the applicable prospectus supplement does not purport to be
complete and is subject to and is qualified in its entirety by
reference to the unit agreement and, if applicable, collateral
arrangements and depository arrangements relating to such
units.
Description
of Share Purchase Contracts and Share Purchase Units
We
may issue share purchase contracts, including contracts obligating
holders to purchase from us, and obligating us to sell to the
holders, a specified number of Class A Common Shares or other
securities registered hereunder at a future date or dates, which we
refer to in this prospectus as “share purchase contracts.” The
price per share of the securities and the number of shares of the
securities may be fixed at the time the share purchase contracts
are issued or may be determined by reference to a specific formula
set forth in the share purchase contracts.
The
share purchase contracts may be issued separately or as part of
units consisting of a share purchase contract and debt securities,
warrants, other securities registered hereunder or debt obligations
of third parties, including U.S. treasury securities, securing the
holders’ obligations to purchase the securities under the share
purchase contracts, which we refer to herein as “share purchase
units.” The share purchase contracts may require holders to secure
their obligations under the share purchase contracts in a specified
manner. The share purchase contracts also may require us to make
periodic payments to the holders of the share purchase units or
vice versa, and those payments may be unsecured or refunded on some
basis.
The
share purchase contracts, and, if applicable, collateral or
depositary arrangements, relating to the share purchase contracts
or share purchase units, will be filed with the SEC in connection
with the offering of share purchase contracts or share purchase
units. The prospectus supplement relating to a particular issue of
share purchase contracts or share purchase units will describe the
terms of those share purchase contracts or share purchase units,
including the following:
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if
applicable, a discussion of material tax considerations;
and |
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any
other information we think is important about the share purchase
contracts or the share purchase units. |
Description
of Rights
We
may issue rights to purchase Class A Common Shares that we may
offer to our security holders. The rights may or may not be
transferable by the persons purchasing or receiving the rights. In
connection with any rights offering, we may enter into a standby
underwriting or other arrangement with one or more underwriters or
other persons pursuant to which such underwriters or other persons
would purchase any offered securities remaining unsubscribed for
after such rights offering. Each series of rights will be issued
under a separate rights agent agreement to be entered into between
us and a bank or trust company, as rights agent, that we will name
in the applicable prospectus supplement. The rights agent will act
solely as our agent in connection with the rights and will not
assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or
with any holders of rights certificates or beneficial owners of
rights.
The
prospectus supplement relating to any rights that we offer will
include specific terms relating to the offering, including, among
other matters:
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the
date of determining the security holders entitled to the rights
distribution; |
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the
aggregate number of rights issued and the aggregate number of Class
A Common Shares purchasable upon exercise of the
rights; |
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the
exercise price; |
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the
conditions to completion of the rights offering; |
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the
date on which the right to exercise the rights will commence and
the date on which the rights will expire; and |
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applicable
tax considerations. |
Each
right would entitle the holder of the rights to purchase for cash
the principal amount of debt securities or Class A Common Shares at
the exercise price set forth in the applicable prospectus
supplement. Rights may be exercised at any time up to the close of
business on the expiration date for the rights provided in the
applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on
the expiration date, all unexercised rights will become
void.
If
less than all of the rights issued in any rights offering are
exercised, we may offer any unsubscribed securities directly to
persons other than our security holders, to or through agents,
underwriters or dealers or through a combination of such methods,
including pursuant to standby arrangements, as described in the
applicable prospectus supplement.
LEGAL MATTERS
Unless
otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, the
validity of the securities registered and certain legal matters as
to British Virgin Islands law in connection with this offering will
be passed upon for us by Campbells, British Virgin Islands counsel
to our Company. Additional legal matters may be passed on for us,
or any underwriters, dealers or agents, by counsel that we will
name in the applicable prospectus supplement.
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements of our Company appearing in
our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended June 30, 2020 and
2019 have been audited by Friedman LLP; for the year ended
June 30, 2021 has been audited by Prager Metis CPAs, LLC,
independent registered public accounting firms, as set forth in the
reports thereon included therein and incorporated herein by
reference.
Such
consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by
reference in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of
such firms as experts in accounting and auditing.
ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES
UNDER UNITED STATES FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS AND OTHER
MATTERS
We
are incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands with
limited liability. We are incorporated in the British Virgin
Islands because of certain benefits associated with being a British
Virgin Islands business company, such as political and economic
stability, an effective judicial system, a favorable tax system,
the absence of exchange control or currency restrictions and the
availability of professional and support services. However, the
British Virgin Islands has a less developed body of securities laws
as compared to the United States and provides protections for
investors to a lesser extent. In addition, British Virgin Islands
companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of
the United States.
Substantially
all of our assets are located outside the United States. In
addition, a majority of our directors and officers are nationals
and/or residents of countries other than the United States, and all
or a substantial portion of such persons’ assets are located
outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for
investors to effect service of process within the United States
upon us or such persons or to enforce against them or against us,
judgments obtained in United States courts, including judgments
predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities
laws of the United States or any state thereof.
In addition, all of our directors, officers or senior management
other than Yunhao Chen, are located in China. As a result, it may
be more difficult for our Shareholders to enforce liabilities and
enforce judgments on those individuals.
We
have appointed CT Corporation System as our agent to receive
service of process with respect to any action brought against us in
the United States District Court for the Southern District of New
York under the federal securities laws of the United States or of
any State of the United States or any action brought against us in
the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the County of New
York under the securities laws of the State of New York.
Jincheng
Tongda & Neal Law Firm, our counsel as to Chinese law, has
advised us that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of
China would (1) recognize or enforce judgments of United States
courts obtained against us or such persons predicated upon the
civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United
States or any state thereof, or (2) be competent to hear original
actions brought in each respective jurisdiction, against us or such
persons predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or
any state thereof.
Jincheng
Tongda & Neal Law Firm has advised us that the recognition and
enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the Chinese
Civil Procedure Law. Chinese courts may recognize and enforce
foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the
Chinese Civil Procedure Law based either on treaties between China
and the country where the judgment is made or in reciprocity
between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other
agreements with the British Virgin Islands or the United States
that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of
foreign judgments. Notwithstanding the absence of a bilateral
agreement with the United States, a provincial intermediate court
in China has recognized and enforced a US court judgment. As a
result of the absence of treaties and recent changes in court
rulings, it is uncertain whether a Chinese court would enforce a
judgment rendered by a court in either of these two
countries.
We
have been advised by Campbells, our counsel as to British Virgin
Islands law, that although there is no statutory enforcement in the
British Virgin Islands of judgments obtained in U.S. federal or
state courts, the courts of the British Virgin Islands will
recognize such a foreign judgment and treat it as a cause of action
in itself which may be sued upon as a debt at common law so that no
retrial of the issues would be necessary if fresh proceedings are
brought in the British Virgin Islands to enforce that judgment,
provided however that such judgment: (i) is not in respect of
penalties, fines, taxes or similar fiscal or revenue obligations of
the Company; (ii) is final and for a liquidated sum; (iii) was not
obtained in a fraudulent manner; (iv) is not of a kind the
enforcement of which is contrary to the public policy in the
British Virgin Islands; (v) is not contrary to the principles of
natural justice; and (vi) provided that the U.S. federal or state
courts had jurisdiction in the matter and the Company either
submitted to such jurisdiction or was resident or carrying on
business within such jurisdiction and was duly served with process.
Non-money judgments from a foreign court are not directly
enforceable in the British Virgin Islands. However, it is possible
for a non-money judgment from a foreign court to be indirectly
enforced by means of a claimant bringing an identical action in the
courts of the British Virgin Islands in respect of which a
non-money judgment has been made by a foreign court. In appropriate
circumstances, the courts of the British Virgin Islands may give
effect to issues and causes of action determined by the foreign
court, such that those matters need not be retried.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE
INFORMATION
We
are a reporting company and file annual, quarterly and current
reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. This
prospectus does not contain all of the information set forth in the
registration statement or the exhibits that are a part of the
registration statement. You may read and copy the registration
statement and any document we file with the SEC at the public
reference room maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E.,
Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation
of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.
Our filings with the SEC are also available to the public through
the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov.
INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY
REFERENCE
The
SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” into this prospectus
the information we file with them. The information we incorporate
by reference into this prospectus is an important part of this
prospectus. Any statement in a document we have filed with the SEC
prior to the date of this prospectus and which is incorporated by
reference into this prospectus will be considered to be modified or
superseded to the extent a statement contained in this prospectus
or any other subsequently filed document that is incorporated by
reference into this prospectus modifies or supersedes that
statement. The modified or superseded statement will not be
considered to be a part of this prospectus, except as modified or
superseded.
We
incorporate by reference into this prospectus the information
contained in the following documents that we have filed with the
SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
(the “Exchange Act”), which is considered to be a part of this
prospectus:
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our
Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended June 30, 2021, filed
on October 29, 2021; |
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our
Reports on Form 6-K filed on December 15, 2021, February 24, 2022,
March 29, 2022, May 9, 2022, May 26, 2022, June 2, 2022, and June
3, 2022; |
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the
description of the Common Shares, $0.002 par value per share,
contained in the Registrant’s registration statement on Form F-1
filed with the Commission on September 20, 2017 (File Number
333-220547) and declared effective by the Commission on December
07, 2017, and any amendment or report filed with the Commission for
purposes of updating such description. |
In
addition, we may incorporate by reference into this prospectus our
reports on Form 6-K filed after the date of this prospectus (and
before the time that all of the securities offered by this
prospectus have been sold or de-registered) if we identify in the
report that it is being incorporated by reference in this
prospectus.
Certain
statements in and portions of this prospectus update and replace
information in the above listed documents incorporated by
reference. Likewise, statements in or portions of a future document
incorporated by reference in this prospectus may update and replace
statements in and portions of this prospectus or the above listed
documents.
We
also incorporate by reference all additional documents that we file
with the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the
Exchange Act that are filed (i) after the filing date of the
registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and prior
to effectiveness of that registration statement or (ii) after the
effective date of the registration statement of which this
prospectus is a part and prior to the termination of the offering
of securities offered pursuant to this prospectus. We are not,
however, incorporating, in each case, any documents or information
that we are deemed to “furnish” and not file in accordance with SEC
rules.
You
may obtain a copy of these filings by accessing them pursuant to
the directions described above in the section titled “Where You Can
Find More Information.” You may also obtain a copy of these
filings, without charge, by writing or calling us at:
Dogness
(International) Corporation
No.
16 N. Dongke Road
Tongsha
Industrial Zone
Dongguan,
Guangdong 523217
People’s
Republic of China
Attention:
Investor Relations
$250,000,000

DOGNESS
(INTERNATIONAL) CORPORATION
Class
A Common Shares
Share
Purchase Contracts
Share
Purchase Units
Warrants
Debt
Securities
Rights
Units
PROSPECTUS
_______________,
2022
No
dealer, salesperson, or other person has been authorized to give
any information or to make any representation not contained in this
prospectus, and, if given or made, such information and
representation should not be relied upon as having been authorized
by us. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities offered by
this prospectus in any jurisdiction or to any person to whom it is
unlawful to make such offer or solicitation. Neither the delivery
of this prospectus nor any sale made hereunder shall under any
circumstances create an implication that there has been no change
in the facts set forth in this prospectus or in our affairs since
the date hereof.
PART
II
INFORMATION
NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item
8. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
British
Virgin Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s
memorandum and articles of association may provide for
indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any
such provision may be held by the British Virgin Islands courts to
be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification
against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a
crime.
Under
our memorandum and articles of association, we may indemnify our
directors, officers and liquidators against all expenses, including
legal fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in
settlement and reasonably incurred in connection with civil,
criminal, administrative or investigative proceedings to which they
are party or are threatened to be made a party by reason of their
acting as our director, officer or liquidator. To be entitled to
indemnification, these persons must have acted honestly and in good
faith with a view to the best interest of the company and, in the
case of criminal proceedings, they must have had no reasonable
cause to believe their conduct was unlawful. Such limitation of
liability does not affect the availability of equitable remedies
such as injunctive relief or rescission. These provisions will not
limit the liability of directors under United States federal
securities laws.
We
may indemnify any of our directors or anyone serving at our request
as a director of another entity against all expenses, including
legal fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in
settlement and reasonably incurred in connection with legal,
administrative or investigative proceedings. We may only indemnify
a director if he or she acted honestly and in good faith with the
view to our best interests and, in the case of criminal
proceedings, the director had no reasonable cause to believe that
his or her conduct was unlawful. The decision of our board of
directors as to whether the director acted honestly and in good
faith with a view to our best interests and as to whether the
director had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct
was unlawful, is in the absence of fraud sufficient for the
purposes of indemnification, unless a question of law is involved.
The termination of any proceedings by any judgment, order,
settlement, conviction or the entry of no plea does not, by itself,
create a presumption that a director did not act honestly and in
good faith and with a view to our best interests or that the
director had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct
was unlawful. If a director to be indemnified has been successful
in defense of any proceedings referred to above, the director is
entitled to be indemnified against all expenses, including legal
fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in
settlement and reasonably incurred by the director or officer in
connection with the proceedings.
We
may purchase and maintain insurance in relation to any of our
directors or officers against any liability asserted against the
directors or officers and incurred by the directors or officers in
that capacity, whether or not we have or would have had the power
to indemnify the directors or officers against the liability as
provided in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of
association.
Insofar
as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act
of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers or persons
controlling the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions,
the Registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the
Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against
public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore
unenforceable.
Item
9. Exhibits
A
list of exhibits filed with this registration statement on Form F-3
is set forth on the Exhibit Index and is incorporated herein by
reference.
Item
10. Undertakings
(a)
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1)
To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made,
a post-effective amendment to this registration
statement:
(i)
To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the
Securities Act of 1933;
(ii)
To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the
effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent
post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the
aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set
forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the
total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that
which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of
the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form
of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if,
in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more
than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price
set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the
effective registration statement; and
(iii)
To include any material information with respect to the plan of
distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement
or any material change to such information in the registration
statement;
provided,
however, that paragraphs (1)(i), (1)(ii) and (1)(iii) do not apply
if the information required to be included in a post-effective
amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or
furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section
13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are
incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is
contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)
that is part of the registration statement.
(2)
That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be
deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the
securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at
that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
thereof.
(3)
To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment
any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.
(4)
To file a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement to
include any financial statements required by Item 8.A. of Form 20-F
at the start of any delayed offering or throughout a continuous
offering. Financial statements and information otherwise required
by Section 10(a)(3) of the Act need not be furnished, provided that
the registrant includes in the Prospectus, by means of a
post-effective amendment, financial statements required pursuant to
this paragraph (a)(4) and other information necessary to ensure
that all other information in the Prospectus is at least as current
as the date of those financial statements. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, a post-effective amendment need not be filed to include
financial statements and information required by Section 10(a)(3)
of the Act or Item 8.A. of Form 20-F if such financial statements
and information are contained in periodic reports filed with or
furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section
13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are
incorporated by reference in this registration
statement.
(5)
That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities
Act of 1933 to any purchaser:
(i)
Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the
date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the
registration statement; and
(ii)
Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2),
(b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance
on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule
415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the
information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933
shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration
statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is
first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of
sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As
provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any
person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be
deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement
relating to the securities in the registration statement to which
that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at
that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made