GLOB Globant SA

ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION

A. Selected Financial Data

The following selected consolidated financial and other data of Globant S.A. should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified by reference to, "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects" and our audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere in this annual report. The selected consolidated financial data as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 and for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 have been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements of Globant S.A. included elsewhere in this annual report and should be read in conjunction with those audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. The selected consolidated financial data as of and for the year ended December 31, 2016 set forth below have been derived from our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 and for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 filed with the SEC on April 13, 2018 in our annual report for the year ended December 31, 2017 and which are not included in this annual report. The selected consolidated financial data as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 set forth below have been derived from our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 and for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 filed with the SEC on April 29, 2016 in our annual report for the year ended December 31, 2015 and which are not included in this annual report.

Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Financial Data

Overview

To supplement our financial measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, we use certain non-IFRS financial measures including (i) adjusted diluted earnings per share ("EPS"), (ii) adjusted net income, (iii) adjusted gross profit, (iv) adjusted selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses, and (v) adjusted profit from operations. These measures do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS, and other companies may use similarly titled non-IFRS financial measures that are calculated differently from the way we calculate such measures. Accordingly, our non-IFRS financial measures may not be comparable to similar non-IFRS measures presented by other companies. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on such non-IFRS measures, but instead to consider them with the most directly comparable IFRS measures. Non-IFRS financial measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation. They should be considered as a supplement to, not a substitute for, or superior to, the corresponding measures calculated in accordance with IFRS.

The reconciliations of these non-IFRS measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS are shown in the tables below. We use these non-IFRS measures as key measures in the evaluation of our performance and our consolidated financial results. We believe these non-IFRS measures may be useful to investors in their assessment of our operating performance and the valuation of our company. In addition, these non-IFRS measures address questions we routinely receive from analysts and investors and, in order to assure that all investors have access to similar data, we have determined that it is appropriate to make this data available to all investors.

Adjusted Gross Profit and Adjusted SG&A Expenses

We utilize non-IFRS measures of adjusted gross profit and adjusted SG&A expenses as supplemental measures for period-to-period comparisons. Adjusted gross profit and adjusted SG&A expenses are most directly comparable to the IFRS measures of gross profit and selling, general and administrative expenses, respectively. Our non-IFRS measures of adjusted gross profit and adjusted SG&A expenses exclude the impact of certain items, such as depreciation and amortization expense, share-based compensation expense and, only with respect to adjusted SG&A expenses, acquisition-related charges.

Adjusted Profit from Operations

We utilize the non-IFRS measure of adjusted profit from operations as a supplemental measure for period-to-period comparisons. Adjusted profit from operations is most directly comparable to the IFRS measure of profit from operations. Adjusted profit from operations excludes the impact of certain items, such as share-based compensation expense, impairment of assets, net of recoveries, and acquisition-related charges.

Adjusted Diluted EPS and Adjusted Net Income

We utilize non-IFRS measures of adjusted diluted EPS and adjusted net income for strategic decision making, forecasting future results and evaluating current performance. Adjusted diluted EPS and adjusted net income are most directly comparable to the IFRS measures of EPS and net income, respectively. Our non-IFRS measures of adjusted diluted EPS and adjusted net income exclude the impact of certain items, such as acquisition-related charges, impairment of assets, net of recoveries, share-based compensation expense, expenses related to the secondary share offering in the United States of our common shares held by WPP Luxembourg Gamma Three S.àr.l. ("WPP") (see note 22 to our consolidated financial statements) and expense related to the U.S. settlement agreement.

(1)         Acquisition-related charges, net, include, when applicable, amortization of purchased intangible assets included in the depreciation and amortization expense line on our consolidated statements of operations, external deal costs, acquisition-related retention bonuses, integration costs, changes in the fair value of contingent consideration liabilities, charges for impairment of acquired intangible assets and other acquisition-related costs.

(2)        Impairment of assets, net of recoveries includes, when applicable, charges for impairment of intangible assets, charges for impairment of investments in associates and charges for impairment of tax credits, net of recoveries.

(3)       Expenses related to secondary share offering include expenses related to the secondary offering in the United States of our common shares held by WPP Luxembourg Gamma Three S.àr.l.

B. Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable.

C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

Risk Factors

You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with the other information contained in this annual report, before making any investment decision. Any of the following risks and uncertainties could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition. The market price of our common shares could decline due to any of these risks and uncertainties, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risks described below are those that we currently believe may materially affect us.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

If we are unable to maintain current resource utilization rates and productivity levels, our revenues, profit margins and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Our profitability and the cost of providing our services are affected by our utilization rate of the Globers in our Studios. If we are not able to maintain appropriate utilization rates for our professionals, our profit margin and our profitability may suffer. Our utilization rates are affected by a number of factors, including:

Our revenue could also suffer if we misjudge demand patterns and do not recruit sufficient employees to satisfy demand. Employee shortages could prevent us from completing our contractual commitments in a timely manner and cause us to pay penalties or lose contracts or clients. In addition, we could incur increased payroll costs, which would negatively affect our utilization rates and our business.

If we are unable to manage attrition and attract and retain highly-skilled IT professionals, our operating efficiency and productivity may decrease, and we may not have the necessary resources to maintain client relationships and expand our business.

Our business is labor intensive and, accordingly, our success depends upon our ability to attract, develop, motivate, retain and effectively utilize highly-skilled IT professionals. We believe that there is significant competition for technology professionals in Latin America, the United States, Europe, Asia and elsewhere who possess the technical skills and experience necessary to deliver our services, and that such competition is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. As a result, the technology industry generally experiences a significant rate of turnover of its workforce. Our business plan is based on hiring and training a significant number of additional technology professionals each year in order to meet anticipated turnover and increased staffing needs. Our ability to properly staff projects, to maintain and renew existing engagements and to win new business depends, in large part, on our ability to hire and retain qualified IT professionals.

The total attrition rate among our Globers was 18.2%, 18.0% and 19.3% for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. If our attrition rate were to increase, our operating efficiency and productivity may decrease. We compete for talented individuals not only with other companies in our industry but also with companies in other industries, such as software services, engineering services and financial services companies, among others, and there is a limited pool of individuals who have the skills and training needed to help us grow our company. High attrition rates of qualified personnel could have an adverse effect on our ability to expand our business, as well as cause us to incur greater personnel expenses and training costs.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to recruit and train a sufficient number of qualified professionals or that we will be successful in retaining current or future employees. Increased hiring by technology companies, particularly in Latin America, the United States, Asia and Europe, and increasing worldwide competition for skilled technology professionals may lead to a shortage in the availability of qualified personnel in the locations where we operate and hire. Failure to hire and train or retain qualified technology professionals in sufficient numbers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

If the pricing structures we use for our client contracts are based on inaccurate expectations and assumptions regarding the cost and complexity of performing our work, our contracts could be unprofitable, which could adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows from operation.

We perform our services primarily under time-and-materials contracts. We charge out the services performed by our Globers under these contracts at hourly rates that are agreed to at the time the contract is entered into. The hourly rates and other pricing terms negotiated with our clients are highly dependent on the complexity of the project, the mix of staffing we anticipate using on it, internal forecasts of our operating costs and predictions of increases in those costs influenced by wage inflation and other marketplace factors. Our predictions are based on limited data and could turn out to be inaccurate. Typically, we do not have the ability to increase the hourly rates established at the outset of a client project in order to pass through to our client increases in salary costs driven by wage inflation and other marketplace factors.

Because we conduct a substantial part of our operations through our operating subsidiaries located in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and India, we are subject to the effects of wage inflation and other marketplace factors in these countries, which have increased significantly in recent years. If increases in salary and other operating costs at those subsidiaries exceed our internal forecasts, the hourly rates established under our time-and-materials contracts might not be sufficient to recover those increased operating costs, which would make those contracts unprofitable for us, thereby adversely affecting our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows from operations.

In addition to our time-and-materials contracts, we undertake engagements on a fixed-price basis. Revenues from our fixed-price contracts represented approximately 17.4%, 8.9% and 7.9% of total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Our pricing in a fixed-price contract depends on our assumptions and forecasts about the costs we will incur to complete the related project, which are based on limited data and could turn out to be inaccurate. Any failure by us to accurately estimate the resources and time required to complete a fixed-price contract on time and on budget or any unexpected increase in the cost of our Globers assigned to the related project, office space or materials could expose us to risks associated with cost overruns and could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, any unexpected changes in economic conditions that affect any of the foregoing assumptions and predictions could render contracts that would have been favorable to us when signed unfavorable.

If we are unable to achieve anticipated growth, our revenues, results of operations, business and prospects may be adversely affected.

We intend to continue our expansion in the foreseeable future and to pursue existing and potential market opportunities. As we add new Studios, introduce new services or enter into new markets, we may face new market, technological and operational risks and challenges with which we are unfamiliar, and we may not be able to mitigate these risks and challenges to successfully grow those services or markets. We may not be able to achieve our anticipated growth, which could materially adversely affect our revenues, results of operations, business and prospects.

If we are unable to effectively manage the rapid growth of our business, our management personnel, systems and resources could face significant strains, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

We have experienced, and continue to experience, rapid growth in our headcount, operations and revenues, which has placed, and will continue to place, significant demands on our management and operational and financial infrastructure. Additionally, the longer-term transition in our delivery mix from Argentina-based staffing to increasingly decentralized staffing in Latin America, the United States and India has also placed additional operational and structural demands on our resources. Our future growth depends on recruiting, hiring and training technology professionals, growing our international operations, expanding our delivery capabilities, adding effective sales staff and management personnel, adding service offerings, maintaining existing clients and winning new business. Effective management of these and other growth initiatives will require us to continue to improve our infrastructure, execution standards and ability to expand services. Failure to manage growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on the quality of the execution of our engagements, our ability to attract and retain IT professionals and our business, results of operations and financial condition. 

If we were to lose the services of our senior management team or other key employees, our business operations, competitive position, client relationships, revenues and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Our future success heavily depends upon the continued services of our senior management team and other key employees. We currently do not maintain key man life insurance for any of our founders, members of our senior management team or other key employees. If one or more of our senior executives or key employees are unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, it could disrupt our business operations, and we may not be able to replace them easily, on a timely basis or at all. In addition, competition for senior executives and key employees in our industry is intense, and we may be unable to retain our senior executives and key employees or attract and retain new senior executives and key employees in the future, in which case our business may be severely disrupted.

If any of our senior management team or key employees joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose clients, suppliers, know-how and key IT professionals and staff members to them. Also, if any of our sales executives or other sales personnel, who generally maintain a close relationship with our clients, joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose clients to that company, and our revenues may be materially adversely affected. Additionally, there could be unauthorized disclosure or use of our technical knowledge, practices or procedures by such personnel. If any dispute arises between any members of our senior management team or key employees and us, any noncompetition, non-solicitation and nondisclosure agreements we have with our founders, senior executives or key employees might not provide effective protection to us in light of legal uncertainties associated with the enforceability of such agreements.

If we do not continue to innovate and remain at the forefront of emerging technologies and related market trends, we may lose clients and not remain competitive, which could cause our revenues and results of operations to suffer.

Our success depends on creating software products that emotionally connect our customers with consumers and employees, leveraging the latest technologies and methodologies in the digital and cognitive space to drive increased revenues and effective communication with customers. Technological advances and innovation are constant in the technology services industry. As a result, we must continue to invest significant resources in research and development to stay abreast of technology developments so that we may continue to deliver software products that our clients will wish to purchase. If we are unable to anticipate technology developments, enhance our existing services or develop and introduce new services to keep pace with such changes and meet changing client needs, we may lose clients and our revenues and results of operations could suffer. Our results of operations would also suffer if our innovations are not responsive to the needs of our clients, are not appropriately timed with market opportunities or are not effectively brought to market. Our competitors may be able to offer engineering, design and innovation services that are, or that are perceived to be, substantially similar or better than those we offer. This may force us to compete on other fronts in addition to the quality of our services and to expend significant resources in order to remain competitive, which we may be unable to do.

If any of our largest clients terminates, decreases the scope of, or fails to renew its business relationship or short-term contract with us, our revenues, business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

We generate a significant portion of our revenues from our ten largest clients. During the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, our largest customers based on revenues, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online in 2018 and 2017, and Southwest Airlines Co. in 2016, accounted for 11.3%, 10.2% and 9.7% of our revenues, respectively. During the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, our ten largest clients accounted for 44.0%, 41.9% and 46.5% of our revenues, respectively.

Our ability to maintain close relationships with these and other major clients is essential to the growth and profitability of our business. However, most of our client contracts are limited to short-term, discrete projects without any commitment to a specific volume of business or future work, and the volume of work performed for a specific client is likely to vary from year to year, especially since we are generally not our clients' exclusive technology services provider. A major client in one year may not provide the same level of revenues for us in any subsequent year. The technology services we provide to our clients, and the revenues and income from those services, may decline or vary as the type and quantity of technology services we provide changes over time. In addition, our reliance on any individual client for a significant portion of our revenues may give that client a certain degree of pricing leverage against us when negotiating contracts and terms of service.

In addition, a number of factors, including the following, other than our performance could cause the loss of or reduction in business or revenues from a client and these factors are not predictable:

The loss or diminution in business from any of our major clients could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and results of operations.

Worsening general economic conditions in the United States, Europe or globally could materially adversely affect our revenues, margins, results of operations and financial condition.

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from clients located in the United States, Latin America and Europe. The technology services industry is particularly sensitive to the economic environment, and tends to decline during general economic downturns. If the U.S. or European economies weaken or slow, pricing for our services may be depressed and our clients may reduce or postpone their technology spending significantly, which may, in turn, lower the demand for our services and negatively affect our revenues and profitability.

The current U.S. administration has called for changes to domestic and foreign policy, including but not limited to changes to existing trade agreements, import and export regulations, immigration, tariffs and customs duties, tax regulations, environmental regulations and other areas that become subject to significant changes. We cannot predict the impact, if any, the policies adopted by the current U.S. administration will have on our business. Such policies, should they be adopted, could result in general business interruptions, delays from difficulties in obtaining import and/or export licenses for certain technology, tariffs and other barriers and restrictions, longer payment cycles, increased taxes, restrictions on the repatriation of funds and the burdens of complying with a variety of foreign laws, any of which could ultimately have a material adverse effect on our business.

The economic situation in Europe is still recovering and economic performance remains uncertain. There is still some concern that certain European countries may default in payments due on their national debt obligations and from related European financial restructuring efforts. If such defaults were to occur, or if European financial restructuring efforts create their own instability, the global credit markets may become less stable. Continued financial instability in Europe could adversely affect our European operations and, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, if the U.K.'s referendum to exit from the E.U., known as Brexit, is implemented, its effects on us will depend on the resulting agreements regarding trade and travel made between the United Kingdom and European Union.

If we are unable to successfully anticipate changing economic and political conditions affecting the markets in which we operate, we may be unable to effectively plan for or respond to those changes, and our results of operations could be adversely affected.

We face intense competition from technology and IT services providers, and an increase in competition, our inability to compete successfully, pricing pressures or loss of market share could materially adversely affect our revenues, results of operations and financial condition.

The market for technology and IT services is intensely competitive, highly fragmented and subject to rapid change and evolving industry standards and we expect competition to intensify. We believe that the principal competitive factors that we face are the ability to innovate; technical expertise and industry knowledge; end-to-end solution offerings; reputation and track record for high-quality and on-time delivery of work; effective employee recruiting; training and retention; responsiveness to clients' business needs; scale; financial stability; and price.

We face competition primarily from large global consulting and outsourcing firms, digital agencies and design firms, traditional technology outsourcing providers, and the in-house product development departments of our clients and potential clients. Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and marketing resources and greater name recognition than we do. As a result, they may be able to compete more aggressively on pricing or devote greater resources to the development and promotion of technology and IT services. Companies based in some emerging markets also present significant price competition due to their competitive cost structures and tax advantages.

In addition, there are relatively few barriers to entry into our markets and we have faced, and expect to continue to face, competition from new technology services providers. Further, there is a risk that our clients may elect to increase their internal resources to satisfy their services needs as opposed to relying on a third-party vendor, such as our company. The technology services industry is also undergoing consolidation, which may result in increased competition in our target markets in the United States and Europe from larger firms that may have substantially greater financial, marketing or technical resources, may be able to respond more quickly to new technologies or processes and changes in client demands, and may be able to devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their services than we can. Increased competition could also result in price reductions, reduced operating margins and loss of our market share. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully with existing or new competitors or that competitive pressures will not materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business depends on a strong brand and corporate reputation, and if we are not able to maintain and enhance our brand, our ability to expand our client base will be impaired and our business and operating results will be adversely affected.

Since many of our specific client engagements involve highly tailored solutions, our corporate reputation is a significant factor in our clients' and prospective clients' determination of whether to engage us. We believe the Globant brand name and our reputation are important corporate assets that help distinguish our services from those of our competitors and also contribute to our efforts to recruit and retain talented IT professionals. However, our corporate reputation is susceptible to damage by actions or statements made by current or former employees or clients, competitors, vendors, adversaries in legal proceedings and government regulators, as well as members of the investment community and the media. There is a risk that negative information about our company, even if based on false rumor or misunderstanding, could adversely affect our business. In particular, damage to our reputation could be difficult and time-consuming to repair, could make potential or existing clients reluctant to select us for new engagements, resulting in a loss of business, and could adversely affect our recruitment and retention efforts. Damage to our reputation could also reduce the value and effectiveness of our Globant brand name and could reduce investor confidence in us and result in a decline in the price of our common shares.

We are seeking to expand our presence in the United States, which entails significant expenses and deployment of employees on-site with our clients. If we are unable to manage our operational expansion into the United States, it may adversely affect our business, results of operations and prospects.

A key element of our strategy is to expand our delivery footprint, including by increasing the number of employees that are deployed onsite at our clients or near client locations. In particular, we intend to focus our recruitment efforts on the United States. Client demands, the availability of high-quality technical and operational personnel at attractive compensation rates, regulatory environments and other pertinent factors may vary significantly by region and our experience in the markets in which we currently operate may not be applicable to other regions. As a result, we may not be able to leverage our experience to expand our delivery footprint effectively into our target markets in the United States. If we are unable to manage our expansion efforts effectively, if our expansion plans take longer to implement than expected or if our costs for these efforts exceed our expectations, our business, results of operations and prospects could be materially adversely affected.

Our revenues are dependent on a limited number of industries, and any decrease in demand for technology services in these industries could reduce our revenues and adversely affect our results of operations.

A substantial portion of our clients are concentrated in the following industries: media and entertainment; banks, financial services and insurance; travel and hospitality; and, technology and telecommunications which industries, in the aggregate, constituted 77.4%, 78.3% and 75.0% of our total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Our business growth largely depends on continued demand for our services from clients in these industries and other industries that we may target in the future, as well as on trends in these industries to purchase technology services or to move such services in-house.

A downturn in any of these or our targeted industries, a slowdown or reversal of the trend to spend on technology services in any of these industries could result in a decrease in the demand for our services and materially adversely affect our revenues, financial condition and results of operations. For example, a worsening of economic conditions in the media and entertainment industry and significant consolidation in that industry may reduce the demand for our services and negatively affect our revenues and profitability.

Other developments in the industries in which we operate may also lead to a decline in the demand for our services in these industries, and we may not be able to successfully anticipate and prepare for any such changes. For example, consolidation in any of these industries or acquisitions, particularly involving our clients, may adversely affect our business. Our clients may experience rapid changes in their prospects, substantial price competition and pressure on their profitability. This, in turn, may result in increasing pressure on us from clients in these key industries to lower our prices, which could adversely affect our revenues, results of operations and financial condition.

We have a relatively short operating history and operate in a rapidly evolving industry, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects, may increase the risk that we will not continue to be successful and, accordingly, increases the risk of your investment.

Our company was founded in 2003 and, therefore, has a relatively short operating history. In addition, the technology services industry itself is continuously evolving. Competition, fueled by rapidly changing consumer demands and constant technological developments, renders the technology services industry one in which success and performance metrics are difficult to predict and measure. Because services and technologies are rapidly evolving and each company within the industry can vary greatly in terms of the services it provides, its business model, and its results of operations, it can be difficult to predict how any company's services, including ours, will be received in the market. While enterprises have been willing to devote significant resources to incorporate emerging technologies and related market trends into their business models, enterprises may not continue to spend any significant portion of their budgets on our services in the future. Neither our past financial performance nor the past financial performance of any other company in the technology services industry is indicative of how our company will fare financially in the future. Our future profits may vary substantially from those of other companies, and those we have achieved in the past, making investment in our company risky and speculative. If our clients' demand for our services declines, as a result of economic conditions, market factors or shifts in the technology industry, our business would suffer and our results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected.

We are investing substantial cash in new facilities and physical infrastructure, and our profitability and cash flows could be reduced if our business does not grow proportionately.

We have made and continue to make significant contractual commitments related to capital expenditures on construction or expansion of our delivery centers. We may encounter cost overruns or project delays in connection with opening new, or expanding existing, facilities. These expansions will likely increase our fixed costs and if we are unable to grow our business and revenues proportionately, our profitability and cash flows may be negatively affected.

If we cause disruptions in our clients' businesses or provide inadequate service, our clients may have claims for substantial damages against us, which could cause us to lose clients, have a negative effect on our corporate reputation and adversely affect our results of operations.

If our Globers make errors in the course of delivering services to our clients or fail to consistently meet service requirements of a client, these errors or failures could disrupt the client's business, which could result in a reduction in our revenues or a claim for substantial damages against us. In addition, a failure or inability to meet a contractual requirement could seriously damage our corporate reputation and limit our ability to attract new business.

The services we provide are often critical to our clients' businesses. Certain of our client contracts require us to comply with security obligations including maintaining network security and backup data, ensuring our network is virus-free, maintaining business continuity planning procedures, and verifying the integrity of employees that work with our clients by conducting background checks. Any failure in a client's system or breach of security relating to the services we provide to the client could damage our reputation or result in a claim for substantial damages against us. Any significant failure of our equipment or systems, or any major disruption to basic infrastructure like power and telecommunications in the locations in which we operate, could impede our ability to provide services to our clients, have a negative impact on our reputation, cause us to lose clients, and adversely affect our results of operations.

Under our client contracts, our liability for breach of our obligations is in some cases limited pursuant to the terms of the contract. Such limitations may be unenforceable or otherwise may not protect us from liability for damages. In addition, certain liabilities, such as claims of third parties for which we may be required to indemnify our clients, are generally not limited under our contracts. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us in amounts greater than those covered by our current insurance policies could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Even if such assertions against us are unsuccessful, we may incur reputational harm and substantial legal fees.

We may face losses or reputational damage if our software solutions turn out to contain undetected software defects.

A significant amount of our business involves developing software solutions for our clients as part of our provision of technology services. We are required to make certain representations and warranties to our clients regarding the quality and functionality of our software. Any undetected software defects could result in liability to our clients under certain contracts as well as losses resulting from any litigation initiated by clients due to any losses sustained as a result of the defects. Any such liability or losses could have an adverse effect on our financial condition as well as on our reputation with our clients and in the technology services market in general.

Our client relationships, revenues, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected if we experience disruptions in our Internet infrastructure, telecommunications or IT systems.

Disruptions in telecommunications, system failures, Internet infrastructure or computer virus attacks could damage our reputation and harm our ability to deliver services to our clients, which could result in client dissatisfaction and a loss of business and related reduction of our revenues. We may not be able to consistently maintain active voice and data communications between our various global operations and with our clients due to disruptions in telecommunication networks and power supply, system failures or computer virus attacks. Any significant failure in our ability to communicate could result in a disruption in business, which could hinder our performance and our ability to complete projects on time. Such failure to perform on client contracts could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

If our computer system is or becomes vulnerable to security breaches, or if any of our employees misappropriates data, we may face reputational damage, lose clients and revenues, or incur losses.

Our business is heavily dependent on the security of our IT networks and those of our clients. We often have access to or are required to collect and store confidential client and customer data. Internal or external attacks on our IT networks or those of our clients could disrupt the normal operations of our engagements and impede our ability to provide critical services to our clients, thereby subjecting us to liability under our contracts. Additionally, our business involves the use, storage and transmission of confidential information and data about our employees, our vendors and our clients. While we take measures to protect the security of, and unauthorized access to, our systems, as well as the privacy of confidential information and data, our security controls over our systems, or the security controls over the systems of our clients with which we operate and rely upon, as well as any other security practices we follow, may not prevent the improper access to or the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, including any personally identifiable or proprietary information. Many of our client contracts do not limit our potential liability for breaches of confidentiality. If any person, including any of our Globers or former Globers, penetrates our network security or misappropriates data or code that belongs to us, our clients, or our clients' customers, we could be subject to significant liability from our clients or from our clients' customers for breaching contractual confidentiality provisions or privacy laws.

Unauthorized disclosure of confidential client and customer data, whether through breach of our computer systems, systems failure, loss or theft of confidential information or intellectual property belonging to our clients or our clients' customers, or otherwise, could damage our reputation, cause us to lose clients and revenues, and result in financial and other potential losses by us, as well as require us to expend significant resources to protect against further breaches and to rectify problems caused by these events. Any such access, unauthorized disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under applicable laws, and regulatory penalties and could adversely affect our business, revenues and competitive position.

Our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by the various conflicting and/or onerous legal and regulatory requirements imposed on us by the countries where we operate.  

We have a presence in many countries and plan to continue expanding our international operations, which may subject us to increased business and economic risks that could affect our financial results.

Since we provide services to clients throughout the world, we are subject to numerous, and sometimes conflicting legal requirements. Compliance with complex international and U.S. laws and regulations that apply to our international operations increases our cost of doing business. These numerous and sometimes conflicting laws and regulations include, among others, import/export controls, content requirements, trade restrictions, tariffs, taxation, anti-corruption laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, whistle blowing, internal control and disclosure rules, data protection and privacy requirements. Our failure to comply with these regulations in the conduct of our business could result in fines, penalties, criminal sanctions against us or our officers, disgorgement of profits, prohibitions on doing business and adverse impact on our brand and reputation. In addition, our failure to comply with these regulations in the context of our obligations to our clients could also result in liability for monetary damages, unfavorable publicity and allegations by our clients that we have not performed our contractual obligations. Due to the varying degree of development of the legal systems of the countries in which we operate, local laws might be insufficient to defend us and preserve our rights.

In addition, because we operate from a number of cities in Latin America, the United States, Europe and India, we are also subject to risks relating to compliance with a variety of national and local labor laws including, employee health safety and wages and benefits laws. We may, from time to time, be subject to litigation or administrative actions resulting from claims against us by current or former Globers individually or as part of class actions, including claims of wrongful terminations, discrimination, misclassification or other violations of labor law or other alleged conduct. We may also, from time to time, be subject to litigation resulting from claims against us by third parties, including claims of breach of non-compete and confidentiality provisions of our employees' former employment agreements with such third parties. Our failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may not be able to prevent unauthorized use of our intellectual property and our intellectual property rights may not be adequate to protect our business, competitive position, results of operations and financial condition.

Our success depends in part on certain methodologies, practices, tools and technical expertise our company utilizes in designing, developing, implementing and maintaining applications and other proprietary intellectual capital. In order to protect our rights in this intellectual capital, we rely upon a combination of nondisclosure and other contractual arrangements as well as trade secret, patent, copyright and trademark laws. We also generally enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees, consultants, clients and potential clients and limit access to and distribution of our proprietary information.

We hold several trademarks and intend to submit additional U.S. federal and foreign trademark applications for developments relating to additional service offerings in the future. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in maintaining existing or obtaining future intellectual property rights or registrations. There can be no assurance that the laws, rules, regulations and treaties in the countries in which we operate in effect now or in the future or the contractual and other protective measures we take are adequate to protect us from misappropriation or unauthorized use of our intellectual capital or that such laws, rules, regulations and treaties will not change.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property and take appropriate steps to enforce our rights or that any such steps will be successful. We cannot assure you that we have taken all necessary steps to enforce our intellectual property rights in every jurisdiction in which we operate and we cannot assure you that the intellectual property laws of any jurisdiction in which we operate are adequate to protect our interest or that any favorable judgment obtained by us with respect thereto will be enforced in the courts. Misappropriation by third parties of, or other failure to protect, our intellectual property, including the costs of enforcing our intellectual property rights, could have a material adverse effect on our business, competitive position, results of operations and financial condition.

If we incur any liability for a violation of the intellectual property rights of others, our reputation, business, financial condition and prospects may be adversely affected.

Our success largely depends on our ability to use and develop our technology, tools, code, methodologies and services without infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties, including patents, copyrights, trade secrets and trademarks. We may be subject to litigation involving claims of patent infringement or violation of other intellectual property rights of third parties. In such cases, litigation may be necessary to determine the scope, enforceability and validity of third-party proprietary rights or to establish our proprietary rights. However, given that litigation could be costly an time consuming and could divert the attention of management and key personnel from our business operations, we may elect to settle these claims from time to time.

We typically indemnify clients who purchase our services and solutions against potential infringement of intellectual property rights, which subjects us to the risk of indemnification claims. These claims may require us to initiate or defend protracted and costly litigation on behalf of our clients, regardless of the merits of these claims and are often not subject to liability limits or exclusion of consequential, indirect or punitive damages. If any of these claims succeed, we may be forced to pay damages on behalf of our clients, redesign or cease offering our allegedly infringing services or solutions, or obtain licenses for the intellectual property such services or solutions allegedly infringe. If we cannot obtain all necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms, our clients may stop using our services or solutions.

Further, our current and former Globers could challenge our exclusive rights to the software they have developed in the course of their employment. In certain countries in which we operate, an employer is deemed to own the copyright work created by its employees during the course, and within the scope, of their employment, but the employer may be required to satisfy additional legal requirements in order to make further use and dispose of such works. While we believe that we have complied with all such requirements, and have fulfilled all requirements necessary to acquire all rights in software developed by our independent contractors, these requirements are often ambiguously defined and enforced. As a result, we cannot assure you that we would be successful in defending against any claim by our current or former Globers or independent contractors challenging our exclusive rights over the use and transfer of works those Globers or independent contractors created or requesting additional compensation for such works.

We are subject to additional risks as a result of our recent and possible future acquisitions and the hiring of new employees who may misappropriate intellectual property from their former employers. The developers of the technology that we have acquired or may acquire may not have appropriately created, maintained or enforced intellectual property rights in such technology. Indemnification and other rights under acquisition documents may be limited in term and scope and may therefore provide little or no protection from these risks. Parties making infringement claims may be able to obtain an injunction to prevent us from delivering our services or using technology involving the allegedly infringing intellectual property. Intellectual property litigation is expensive and time-consuming and could divert management's attention from our business. A successful infringement claim against us, whether with or without merit, could, among others things, require us to pay substantial damages, develop substitute non-infringing technology, or rebrand our name or enter into royalty or license agreements that may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all, and would require us to cease making, licensing or using products that have infringed a third party's intellectual property rights. Protracted litigation could also result in existing or potential clients deferring or limiting their purchase or use of our software product development services or solutions until resolution of such litigation, or could require us to indemnify our clients against infringement claims in certain instances. Any intellectual property claim or litigation, whether we ultimately win or lose, could damage our reputation and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to recognize revenues in the period in which our services are performed and the costs of those services are incurred, which may cause our margins to fluctuate.

We perform our services primarily under time-and-materials contracts and, to a lesser extent, fixed-price contracts. All revenues are recognized pursuant to applicable accounting standards.

Unlike our time-and-materials contracts, for which revenue is recognized as services are provided, our fixed-priced contracts require the use of certain accounting estimates. We utilize the input and output methods, depending on the nature of the project and the agreement with the customer, to account for these contracts. Under the input method, as labor costs represent the primary cost component under such contracts, we estimate each of our fixed-price contract's total labor cost to date as a proportion of its total expected labor cost. Under the output method, we recognize revenue on the basis of direct measurements of the value of the services transferred to date relative to the remaining services promised under the contract. We monitor these factors and continuously revise and refine our estimates during the term of our fixed-price contracts.

Uncertainty about the project completion or receipt of payment for our services or our failure to meet all the acceptance criteria, or otherwise meet a client's expectations, may result in us having to record the cost related to the performance of services in the period that services were rendered, but delay the timing of revenue recognition to a future period in which all acceptance criteria have been met, which may cause our margins to fluctuate.

Our cash flows and results of operations may be adversely affected if we are unable to collect on billed and unbilled receivables from clients.

Our business depends on our ability to successfully obtain payment from our clients of the amounts they owe us for work performed. We evaluate the financial condition of our clients and usually bill and collect on relatively short cycles. We maintain provisions against receivables. Actual losses on client balances could differ from those that we currently anticipate and, as a result, we may need to adjust our provisions. We cannot assure you that we will accurately assess the creditworthiness of our clients. Macroeconomic conditions, such as a potential credit crisis in the global financial system, could also result in financial difficulties for our clients, including limited access to the credit markets, insolvency or bankruptcy. Such conditions could cause clients to delay payment, request modifications of their payment terms, or default on their payment obligations to us, all of which could increase our receivables balance. Timely collection of fees for client services also depends on our ability to complete our contractual commitments and subsequently bill for and collect our contractual service fees. If we are unable to meet our contractual obligations, we might experience delays in the collection of or be unable to collect our client balances, which could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. In addition, if we experience an increase in the time required to bill and collect for our services, our cash flows could be adversely affected, which could affect our ability to make necessary investments and, therefore, our results of operations.

If the current effective income tax rate payable by us in any country in which we operate is increased or if we lose any country-specific tax benefits, then our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

We conduct business globally and file income tax returns in multiple jurisdictions. Our consolidated effective income tax rate could be materially adversely affected by several factors, including changes in the amount of income taxed by or allocated to the various jurisdictions in which we operate that have differing statutory tax rates; changing tax laws, regulations and interpretations of such tax laws in multiple jurisdictions; and the resolution of issues arising from tax audits or examinations and any related interest or penalties.

We report our results of operations based on our determination of the amount of taxes owed in the various jurisdictions in which we operate. We have transfer pricing arrangements among our subsidiaries in relation to various aspects of our business, including operations, marketing, sales and delivery functions. Transfer pricing regulations require that any international transaction involving associated enterprises be on arm's-length terms. We consider the transactions among our subsidiaries to be on arm's-length terms. The determination of our consolidated provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities requires estimation, judgment and calculations where the ultimate tax determination may not be certain. Our determination of tax liability is always subject to review or examination by authorities in various jurisdictions.

Under Argentina's Law No. 25,922 ( Ley de Promoción de la Industria de Software ), as amended by Law No. 26,692 and Decree No. 95/2018 (the "Software Promotion Law"), our operating subsidiaries in Argentina benefit from a 60% reduction in their corporate income tax rate (as applied to income from promoted software activities) and a tax credit of up to 70% of amounts paid for certain social security taxes (contributions) that may be offset against value-added tax liabilities. Law No. 26,692, the 2011 amendment to the Software Promotion Law ("Law No. 26,692"), also allows such tax credits to be applied to reduce our Argentine subsidiaries' corporate income tax liability by a percentage not higher than the subsidiaries' declared percentage of exports and extends the tax benefits under the Software Promotion Law until December 31, 2019.

The Software Promotion Law remains in effect until December 31, 2019. In March 2019, a draft bill was introduced for its treatment by the Argentine Congress consisting of a promotional Knowledge Economy regime. The regime contains tax benefits similar to the ones provided by the Software Promotion Law and is addressed to software companies, as well as other companies involved in biotechnology, audiovisual production, exportable professional services, robotic automation, aerospace and satellite industry, among others. The bill has not yet been passed.

Our subsidiary in Uruguay, Sistemas Globales Uruguay S.A., which is situated in a tax-free zone, benefits from a 0% income tax rate and an exemption from value-added tax. Additionally, our software development services are exempt from income tax in Uruguay. The exemption applies to software development services as long as they are exported and utilized abroad.

In India, under the Special Economic Zones Act of 2005, the services provided by export-oriented companies within Special Economic Zones (each, an "SEZ") are eligible for a deduction of 100% of the profits or gains derived from the export of services for the first five years from the financial year in which the company commenced the provision of services, and 50% of such profits or gains for the five years thereafter. Some locations of our Indian subsidiary are located in a SEZ and have completed the SEZ registration process. Consequently, we started receiving the tax benefit on August 2, 2018.

In Belarus, a Hi-Tech Park (the “HTP”) was established in Minsk in 2005 to promote the IT industry. The HTP has a special legal and fiscal regime in effect until 2042.

For further discussion of the Argentine, Uruguay, India and Belarus tax benefits, see "Business Overview  — Our Delivery Model — Government Support and Incentives". If these tax incentives in Argentina, Uruguay, India and Belarus are changed, terminated, not extended or made unavailable, or comparable new tax incentives are not introduced, we expect that our effective income tax rate and/or our operating expenses would increase significantly, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. See "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — Operating Results — Certain Income Statement Line Items — Income Tax Expense".

On December 22, 2017, the United States enacted legislation referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("2017 Tax Act"), which instituted fundamental changes to the taxation of multinational corporations. As of the date of this annual report, certain provisions of the 2017 Tax Act do not currently apply to us, including those designed to (i) tax global intangible low-tax income ("GILTI"); (ii) establish a deduction for foreign derived intangible income ("FDII"); (iii) eliminate the intercompany payment deduction under Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax provision ("BEAT"); and (iv) establish new limitations on certain executive compensation. One or more of these provisions may apply to us in the future and any additional taxation may have an adverse impact on our results of operations and cash flows.

If we are faced with immigration or work permit restrictions in any country where we currently have personnel onsite at a client location or would like to expand our delivery footprint, then our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.

A key part of our strategy is to expand our delivery footprint, including by increasing the number of employees that are deployed onsite at our clients or near client locations. Therefore, we must comply with the immigration, work permit and visa laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate or plan to operate. Our future inability to obtain or renew sufficient work permits and/or visas due to the impact of these regulations, including any changes to immigration, work permit and visa regulations in jurisdictions such as the United States and Europe, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

If we are unable to maintain favorable pricing terms with current or new suppliers, our results of operations would be adversely affected.

We rely to a limited extent on suppliers of goods and services. In some cases, we have contracts with such parties guaranteeing us favorable pricing terms. We cannot guarantee our ability to maintain such pricing terms beyond the date that pricing terms are fixed pursuant to a written agreement. Furthermore, should economic circumstances change, such that suppliers find it beneficial to change or attempt to renegotiate such pricing terms in their favor, we cannot assure you that we would be able to withstand an increase or achieve a favorable outcome in any such negotiation. Any change in our pricing terms would increase our costs and expenses, which would have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

If our current insurance coverage is or becomes insufficient to protect against losses incurred, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.

We provide technology services that are integral to our clients' businesses. If we were to default in the provision of any contractually agreed-upon services, our clients could suffer significant damages and make claims upon us for those damages. Although we believe that we have adequate processes in place to protect against defaults in the provisions of services, errors and omissions may occur. We currently carry errors and omissions liability coverage for all of the services we provide. To the extent client damages are deemed recoverable against us in amounts substantially in excess of our insurance coverage, or if our claims for insurance coverage are denied by our insurance carriers for any reason including, but not limited to our failure to provide insurance carrier-required documentation or our failure to follow insurance carrier-required claim settlement procedures, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Strategic acquisitions to complement and expand our business have been and will likely remain an important part of our competitive strategy. If we fail to acquire companies whose prospects, when combined with our company, would increase our value, or if we acquire and fail to efficiently integrate such other companies, then our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be adversely affected.

We have expanded, and may continue to expand, our operations through strategically targeted acquisitions focused on deepening our relationships with key clients, extending our technological capacities including services over platforms, broadening our service offering and expanding the geographic footprint of our delivery centers, including beyond Latin America. We completed two acquisitions in 2008, one in 2011, two in 2012, one in 2013, one in 2014, two in 2015, three in 2016, two in 2017 and one in 2018. Financing of any future acquisition could require the incurrence of indebtedness, the issuance of equity or a combination of both. There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify, acquire or profitably manage additional businesses or successfully integrate any acquired businesses without substantial expense, delays or other operational or financial risks and problems. Furthermore, acquisitions may involve a number of special risks, including diversion of management's attention, failure to retain key acquired personnel, unanticipated events or legal liabilities and amortization of acquired intangible assets. In addition, any client satisfaction or performance problems within an acquired business could have a material adverse impact on our company's corporate reputation and brand. We cannot assure you that any acquired businesses would achieve anticipated revenues and earnings. Any failure to manage our acquisition strategy successfully could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have incurred significant share-based compensation expense in the past, and may in the future continue to incur share-based compensation expense, which could adversely impact our profits or the trading price of our common shares.

On July 3, 2014, our board of directors and shareholders approved and adopted the 2014 Equity Incentive Plan, which was amended by our board of directors to increase the number of common shares that may be issued as stock awards from 1,666,667 to up to 3,666,667 on May 9, 2016, and from 3,666,667 to up to 5,666,667 on February 13, 2019.

From the adoption of the plan until the date of this annual report we have granted to members of our senior management and certain other employees 30,000 stock awards, options to purchase 2,277,434 common shares and 770,849 restricted stock units, net of any cancelled and/or forfeited awards. Most of the options and restricted stock units were granted with a vesting period of four years, 25% of each grant becoming exercisable on each anniversary of the grant date. The remaining options and restricted stock units were granted with a vesting period agreed with those employees. Share-based compensation expense for awards of equity instruments is determined based on the fair value of the awards at the grant date. Each of our employee share options is exercisable for one of our common shares, and each of our restricted stock units is settled, automatically upon its vesting, with one of our common shares. No amounts are paid or payable by the recipient on receipt of an option or restricted stock unit. Neither the options nor the restricted stock units carry rights to dividends or voting rights. Options may be exercised at any time from the date of vesting to the date of their expiration (ten years after the grant date).

For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, we recorded $12.9, $14.5 and $3.6 million, respectively, of share-based compensation expense related to the grant of options and restricted stock units.

The expenses associated with share-based compensation may reduce the attractiveness of issuing equity awards under our equity incentive plan. However, if we do not grant equity awards, or if we reduce the number of equity awards we grant, we may not be able to attract and retain key personnel. If we grant more equity awards to attract and retain key personnel, the expenses associated with such additional equity awards could materially adversely affect our results of operations and the trading price of our common shares.

Our ability to expand our business and procure new contracts or enter into beneficial business arrangements could be affected to the extent we enter into agreements with clients containing noncompetition clauses.

Some of our services agreements restrict our ability to perform similar services for certain of our clients' competitors under specific circumstances. We may in the future enter into additional agreements with clients that restrict our ability to accept assignments from, or render similar services to, those clients' customers, require us to obtain our clients' prior written consent to provide services to their customers or restrict our ability to compete with our clients, or bid for or accept any assignment for which those clients are bidding or negotiating. These restrictions may hamper our ability to compete for and provide services to other clients in a specific industry in which we have expertise and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The terms of our credit facility place restrictions on our operating and financial flexibility.

In November 2018, Globant LLC, our U.S. subsidiary (the “Borrower”) entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the “A&R Credit Agreement”) with the financial institutions listed therein, as lenders, and HSBC Bank USA, N.A., as administrative agent, issuing bank and swingline lender. The A&R Credit Agreement amends and restates the Credit Agreement dated as of August 3, 2017, which provided for a secured revolving credit facility under which the Borrower could borrow up to $40.0 million in advances. Under the A&R Credit Agreement, the Borrower may borrow (i) up to $50.0 million in a single borrowing on or prior to May 1, 2019 under a delayed-draw term loan facility and (ii) up to $150.0 million under a revolving credit facility. In addition, the Borrower may request increases of the maximum amount available under the revolving facility in an aggregate amount not to exceed $100.0 million. The maturity date of each of the facilities is October 31, 2023, and interest on the loans extended thereunder shall accrue at a rate per annum equal to LIBOR plus 1.75%. The Borrower’s obligations under the A&R Credit Agreement are guaranteed by us and our subsidiary, Globant España S.A., and are secured by substantially all of the Borrower’s now owned and after-acquired assets. The A&R Credit Agreement also contains certain customary negative and affirmative covenants. . Compliance with these covenants may limit our flexibility in operating our business and our ability to take actions that might be advantageous to us and our shareholders.

As of December 31, 2018 and as of the date of this annual report, no amounts were outstanding under this facility.

Indebtedness under our credit facility bears interest based on LIBOR, which may be subject to regulatory guidance and/or reform that could cause interest rates under our current or future debt agreements to perform differently than in the past or cause other unanticipated consequences.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, has announced that it intends to stop encouraging or requiring banks to submit LIBOR rates after 2021, and it is unclear if LIBOR will cease to exist or if new methods of calculating LIBOR will evolve. If LIBOR ceases to exist or if the methods of calculating LIBOR change from their current form, interest rates on our current or future indebtedness may be adversely affected or we may need to renegotiate the terms of our credit agreement to replace LIBOR with the new standard that is established, if any, or to otherwise agree with the trustees or agents under such facilities or instruments on a new means of calculating interest.

Risks Related to Operating in Latin America.

Our two largest operations are based in Argentina and Colombia, and we have subsidiaries in other countries of Latin America, such as Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Mexico and Brazil. There are significant risks to operating in those countries that should be carefully considered before making an investment decision.

Latin America

Latin America has experienced adverse economic conditions that may impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business is dependent to a certain extent upon the economic conditions prevalent in Argentina and Colombia as well as the other Latin American countries in which we operate. Latin American countries have historically experienced uneven periods of economic growth, as well as recession, periods of high inflation and economic instability. As a consequence of adverse economic conditions in global markets and diminishing commodity prices, the economic growth rates of the economies of many Latin American countries have slowed and some have entered mild recessions. Adverse economic conditions in any of these countries could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Latin American governments have exercised and continue to exercise significant influence over the economies of the countries where we operate, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Historically, governments in Latin America have frequently intervened in the economies of their respective countries and have occasionally made significant changes in policy and regulations. Governmental actions to control inflation and other policies and regulations have often involved, among others, price controls, currency devaluations, capital controls and tariffs. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be adversely affected by:

Inflation, and government measures to curb inflation in Latin America, may adversely affect the economies in the countries where we operate in Latin America, our business and results of operations.

Some of the countries in which we operate in Latin America have experienced, or are currently experiencing, high rates of inflation. Although inflation rates in some of these countries (other than Argentina, as further explained in "Our results of operations may be adversely affected by high and possibly increasing inflation in Argentina") have been relatively low in the recent past, we cannot assure you that this trend will continue. The measures taken by the governments of these countries to control inflation have often included maintaining a tight monetary policy with high interest rates, thereby restricting the availability of credit and retarding economic growth. Inflation, measures to combat inflation and public speculation about possible additional actions have also contributed significantly to economic uncertainty in many of these countries and to heightened volatility in their securities markets. Periods of higher inflation may also slow the growth rate of local economies. Inflation is also likely to increase some of our costs and expenses, which we may not be able to fully pass on to our clients, which could adversely affect our operating margins and operating income.

Our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates (most notably between the U.S. dollar and the Argentine peso).

We conduct a substantial portion of our operations outside the United States, and our businesses may be impacted by significant fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Our consolidated financial statements and those of most of our subsidiaries are presented in U.S. dollars, whereas some of our subsidiaries' operations are performed in local currencies. Therefore, the resulting exchange differences arising from the translation to our presentation currency are recognized in the finance gain or expense item or as a separate component of equity depending on the functional currency for each subsidiary. Fluctuations in exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar could impair the comparability of our results from period to period and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

In addition, our results of operations and financial condition are particularly sensitive to changes in the Argentine peso, Mexican peso and Colombian peso/U.S. dollar exchange rates because a significant part of our operations are conducted in these countries where our costs are incurred, for the most-part, in Argentine pesos, Mexican pesos and Colombian pesos, while the substantial portion of our revenues generated outside of these countries are in U.S. dollars. Consequently, appreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to the Argentine peso, Mexican peso and Colombian peso, to the extent not offset by inflation in these countries, could result in favorable variations in our operating margins and, conversely, depreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to the Argentine peso, Mexican peso and Colombian peso could impact our operating margins negatively.

In recent years, the Argentine peso has suffered significant devaluations against the U.S. dollar and has continued to devaluate against the U.S. dollar. As a result of this economic instability, Argentina's foreign debt rating has been downgraded on multiple occasions based upon concerns regarding economic conditions and rising fears of increased inflationary pressures. This uncertainty may also adversely impact Argentina's ability to attract capital.

The increasing level of inflation in Argentina has generated pressure for further depreciation of the Argentine peso. After several years of relatively moderate variations in the nominal exchange, the Argentine peso depreciated against the U.S. dollar by 31.2% in 2014, 52.1% in 2015, 21.9% in 2016, 18.4% in 2017 and 102.2% in 2018, based on the official exchange rates published by the Argentine Central Bank. Due to several factors, including but not limited to the raising of the interest rate by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the inability of the Argentine government to perform structural changes and reduce the fiscal deficit, the Argentine government’s increasing need for international financing, the increase of the Argentine government’s inflation goals for 2018, a historical drought that affected the crops production (main export of Argentina), and the Turkish crisis, during 2018 the Argentine Peso suffered depreciation of 102.2%. This sharp depreciation again fostered inflation and created strong volatility in the U.S. dollar exchange rate that gave rise to concerns about further depreciations of the Argentine peso, the control of the inflation levels, and the potential for a new financial crisis.

The significant restrictions on the purchase of foreign currency beginning in late 2011 gave rise to the development of an implied rate of exchange, as reflected in the quotations of Argentine securities that trade in foreign markets, compared to the corresponding quotations in the local markets in Argentine pesos. See "— Item 4.B Business Overview — Regulatory Overview — Foreign Exchange Controls — Argentina." Almost all foreign exchange restrictions have been lifted since December 2015 and, as a result, the gap between the official rate and the implied rate derived from securities transactions has substantially decreased compared to the previous years. However, the implied rate of exchange may increase or decrease in the future. We cannot predict future fluctuations in the Argentine peso/U.S. dollar exchange rate. Because a significant part of our operations are located in Argentina, large variations in the comparative value of the Argentine peso and the U.S. dollar may adversely affect our business.

Despite the positive effects of the depreciation of the Argentine peso on the competitiveness of certain sectors of the Argentine economy, including our business, it has also had a negative impact on the financial condition of many Argentine businesses and individuals. The devaluation of the Argentine peso has had a negative impact on the ability of certain Argentine businesses to honor their foreign currency-denominated debt, and has also led to very high inflation initially and significantly reduced real wages. The devaluation has also negatively impacted businesses whose success is dependent on domestic market demand, and adversely affected the Argentine government's ability to honor its foreign debt obligations. If the Argentine peso is significantly devalued, the Argentine economy and our business could be adversely affected.

A significant appreciation of the Argentine peso against the U.S. dollar could also adversely affect the Argentine economy as well as our business. Our results of operations are sensitive to changes in the Argentine peso/U.S. dollar exchange rate because a significant portion of our operations are conducted in Argentina where our costs are incurred, for the most-part, in Argentine pesos. In the short term, a significant appreciation of the Argentine peso against the U.S. dollar would adversely affect exports and the desire of foreign companies to purchase services from Argentina. Our business is dependent to a certain extent on maintaining our labor and other costs competitive with those of companies located in other regions around the world from which technology and IT services may be purchased by clients in the United States and Europe. We periodically evaluate the need for hedging strategies with our board of directors, including the use of such instruments to mitigate the effect of foreign exchange rate fluctuations. During the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, our Argentine operating subsidiaries, Sistemas Globales S.A. and IAFH Global S.A., entered into foreign exchange contracts for the purpose of hedging the risk of exposure to fluctuations in the Argentine peso against the U.S. dollar. If we do not hedge such exposure or we do not do so effectively, an appreciation of the Argentine peso against the U.S. dollar may raise our costs, which would increase the prices of our services to our customers, which, in turn, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We face the risk of political and economic crises, instability, terrorism, civil strife, expropriation and other risks of doing business in Latin America, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We conduct our operations primarily in Latin America. Economic and political developments in Latin America, including future economic changes or crises (such as inflation, currency devaluation or recession), government deadlock, political instability, terrorism, civil strife, changes in laws and regulations, restrictions on the repatriation of dividends or profits, expropriation or nationalization of property, restrictions on currency convertibility, volatility of the foreign exchange market and exchange controls could impact our operations or the market value of our common shares and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Argentina

Government intervention in the Argentine economy could adversely affect the economy and our results of operations or financial condition.

During recent years, the Argentine government has frequently intervened in the Argentine economy, including through the implementation of expropriation policies or nationalizations.

For example, in April 2012, the Argentine government provided for the nationalization of YPF S.A., the main Argentine oil company. In February 2014, the Argentine government and Repsol, from whom YPF was expropriated, announced that they had reached an agreement on the terms of the compensation payable to Repsol for the expropriation of the YPF shares, which settled the claim filed by Repsol with International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (the "ICSID"). Such compensation amounted to US$5 billion, payable in the form of Argentine sovereign bonds with various maturities.

There are other examples of government intervention. In December 2012 and August 2013, the Argentine Congress established new regulations relating to domestic capital markets. Such regulations generally provided for increased intervention in the capital markets by the government, authorizing, for example, the Argentine Securities Commission ( Comisión Nacional de Valores or "CNV") to appoint observers with the ability to veto the decisions of the board of directors of companies admitted to the public offering regime in Argentina under certain circumstances and suspend the board of directors for a period of up to 180 days. On May 9, 2018, however, the Argentine Congress passed the Productive Financing Law No. 27,440, which reformed, among others, the Capital Markets Law No. 26,831 abrogating this power granted to the CNV and generally modernizing the entire regulatory framework applicable to the Argentine capital market, by incorporating current international practices to contribute to its development.

Expropriations and other interventions by the Argentine government such as the one relating to YPF can have an adverse impact on the level of foreign investment in Argentina, the access of Argentine companies to the international capital markets and Argentina's commercial and diplomatic relations with other countries and, consequently, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The continuity of the Macri administration and of the current economic and political environment of Argentina is uncertain.

Argentine presidential, congressional, municipal and state government elections were held in October 2015. Presidential elections were won by the opposing political party, led by Mauricio Macri. The president of Argentina and the Argentine Congress each have considerable power to determine governmental policies and actions that relate to the Argentine economy and, consequently, could affect our results of operations or financial condition. The current administration, in office since December 10, 2015, has announced and adopted several significant economic and policy reforms, including the following:

Some of the measures proposed by the current Argentine administration have generated political and social opposition. In addition, political parties opposed to the government retained a majority of the seats in the Argentine Congress, which may in turn prevent the government from adopting such measures as proposed.

Moreover, Argentine presidential, congressional, municipal and state government elections will be held in October, 2019. We can offer no assurances or predictions on the continuity of the Macri administration or that the policies that may be implemented by the Argentine government in office will not adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Our results of operations may be adversely affected by high and possibly increasing inflation in Argentina.

Inflation has materially undermined the Argentine economy and the government's ability to create conditions that would permit stable growth. High inflation may also undermine Argentina's foreign competitiveness in international markets and adversely affect economic activity and employment, as well as our business and results of operation. In particular, the margin on our services is impacted by the increase in our costs in providing those services, which is influenced by wage inflation in Argentina, as well as other factors.

The Argentine National Institute of Statistics and Census ( Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos ) (“INDEC”) implemented certain methodological reforms and adjusted certain indexes based on these reforms. The lack of accuracy in the INDEC's indexes could result in a further decrease in confidence in Argentina's economy, which could, in turn, have an adverse effect on our ability to access the international credit markets at market rates to finance our operations and growth. See " The credibility of several Argentine economic indexes has been called into question, which may lead to a lack of confidence in the Argentine economy and may in turn limit our ability to access the credit and capital markets. "

According to data published by the INDEC, the CPI increased 21.7% in 2014 and 11.9% as of October 2015 (for the first nine months of year 2015). In November 2015, the INDEC suspended the publication of the CPI. According to the publicly available information based on data from the Province of San Luis, the CPI grew by 31.6% in 2015 and 31.4% in 2016. According to the publicly available information based on data from the City of Buenos Aires, the CPI grew by 29.6% in 2015 and 41.0% in 2016. After implementing certain methodological reforms and adjusting certain macroeconomic statistics based on these reforms, in June 2016 the INDEC resumed its publication of the CPI. According to the INDEC, Argentina's rate of inflation between May and December 2016 was 16.9%, in the year 2017 was 24.8% and in the year 2018 was 47.6% based on the CPI. The official estimation of CPI increase for 2019 is 29%, while private sources predict a CPI increase of 35% for the same period.

Recent factors, including but not limited to the raising of the interest rate by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the inability of the Argentine government to perform structural changes and reduce the fiscal deficit, the Argentine government’s increasing need for international financing, the increase of the Argentine government’s inflation goals for 2018, a historical drought that affected crop production (main export of Argentina), and the Turkish crisis, provoked a sharp depreciation of 102.2% of the Argentine Peso during 2018. This sharp depreciation has fostered inflation in 2018 and created strong volatility in the U.S. dollar exchange rate that gave rise to concerns about further depreciation of the Argentine peso, the control of the inflation levels, and the possibility of a new financial crisis. Uncertainty surrounding future inflation rates may have an adverse impact for Argentina in the long-term credit market. In order to control the foreign exchange crisis the Argentine government adopted a series of measures, including the execution of a financing agreement with the IMF for US$57.1 billion, and the Argentine Central Bank defined foreign exchange intervention and non-intervention zones for the U.S. dollar exchange rate and increased the pesos interest rates. As of the date of this annual report, these and other measures adopted by the Argentine government and the Argentine Central Bank caused a deepening recession (the IMF projected a GDP decrease of 2.6% for 2018 and 1.7% for 2019), increasing unemployment and medium and small companies failures, while high inflation and foreign exchange instability continues. In addition, in October 2019, Argentina will hold presidential elections, and there is a large amount of uncertainty and speculation on the re-election of Mauricio Macri or his potential successor that also contributes to the economic instability.

Inflation rates could continue escalating, and there is uncertainty regarding the effects that the measures taken, or that may be taken, by the Argentine government to control inflation could have in the medium term. If inflation remains high or continues to increase, Argentina's economy may be negatively impacted and our results of operations could be materially affected.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund has approved a three-year Stand-By Arrangement for Argentina amounting to US$57.1 billion, following an agreement on an economic plan to be implemented by the Argentine authorities; however, there can be no assurance that such plan will meet its objectives in supporting the Argentine government’s economic priorities, nor are we able to predict what the future consequences will be for the Argentine economy in general or our business in particular.

The Argentine government requested IMF financial support in late May 2018 to help strengthen the Argentine economy in light of the recent financial market turbulence. In early June 2018, Argentina and IMF staff reached an agreement on an economic plan that could be supported by IMF financing in the form of a Stand-By Arrangement for $50.0 billion, and on June 20, 2018, the IMF’s Executive Board approved such plan and the consequent three-year Stand-By Arrangement, and on June 21, 2018, the IMF made the first disbursement of US$15 billion.

On September 2018 the Argentine government negotiated an extension to the Stand-By Arrangement from $50.0 billion to $57.1 billion.

By the end of October 2018, the IMF made the second disbursement of $5.7 billion and by the end of December made a third disbursement of $7.6 billion. It is expected that the IMF would make additional disbursements in 2019 for US$22.8 billion.

The purpose of the Stand-By Arrangement is to support the Argentine government’s economic priorities, which include strengthening the Argentine economy and protecting the living standards of the Argentine people.

The Argentine government has stated that it intends to take measures to accelerate the pace at which the federal government’s fiscal deficit is reduced. This measure is expected to ultimately lessen the government’s financing needs and put public debt on a downward path.

In addition, the Argentine government’s economic plan intended to put in place measures to offer opportunity and support to the less well-off members of Argentine society. The authorities have committed to ensuring that spending on social assistance, as a share of gross domestic product, will not decline during the next three years.

As of the date of this annual report, we cannot guarantee that the financing package will be sufficient to enable the Argentine government to achieve the goals of its economic plan, nor are we able to predict what the future consequences will be for the Argentine economy in general or our business in particular.

The credibility of several Argentine economic indexes has been called into question, which may lead to a lack of confidence in the Argentine economy and may in turn limit our ability to access the credit and capital markets.

Between 2007 and 2014, the inflation index has been extensively discussed in the Argentine economy. The intervention of the former Argentine government in the INDEC in 2007 and the change in the way the inflation index was measured have resulted in disagreements between the former Argentine government and private consultants as to the actual annual inflation rate. The former Argentine government imposed fines on private consultants reporting inflation rates higher than the INDEC data. As a result, private consultants typically shared their data with Argentine lawmakers who opposed the previous government, who released such data from time to time. This resulted in a decrease in confidence in Argentina's economy.

In February 2014, the INDEC released a new inflation index, known as National Urban Consumer Price Index ( Índice de Precios al Consumidor Nacional Urbano ) that measured the prices of goods across the country and replaces the previous index that only measured inflation in the urban sprawl of the City of Buenos Aires. Pursuant to these calculations, such new consumer price index rose 21.7% in 2014 and 11.9% during the ten-month period ended October 31, 2015. Even though the new methodology brought inflation statistics closer to those estimated by private sources, material differences between recent official inflation data and private estimates remained during 2015.

However, during December 2015 and January 2016, the new administration declared the national statistical system and the INDEC to be in a state of administrative emergency through December 31, 2016. Accordingly, the new head of the INDEC announced the temporary suspension of the publication of official data of prices, poverty, unemployment and GDP until the completion of a full review of INDEC's policies. Shortly thereafter, the new administration released an alternative CPI index based on data from the City of Buenos Aires and the Province of San Luis. The INDEC resumed its publication of the CPI in June 2016, after implementing certain methodological reforms and adjusting certain macroeconomic statistics on the basis of those reforms. As a consequence of these reforms, on November 9, 2016, the IMF lifted its censure on Argentina, noting that Argentina had resumed the publication of data in a manner consistent with its obligations under the Articles of Agreement with the IMF. Still, uncertainty remains as to whether official data and measurement procedures sufficiently reflect inflation in the country, and what effect these reforms will have on the Argentine economy. In March 2018, the Argentine government announced a draft bill to provide INDEC with total autonomy and to transform it into an entity that will facilitate greater statistical independence of the main macroeconomic indicators.

As of the date of this annual report, the impact that these measures and any future measures taken by the current administration with respect to the INDEC will have on the Argentine economy and investors' perception of the country cannot be predicted.

Argentina's ability to obtain financing from international markets may be limited, which may in turn impair its ability to implement reforms and public policies and foster economic growth and could impact the ability of Argentine companies to obtain financing outside of Argentina.

Argentina's 2001 sovereign default and its failure to fully restructure its sovereign debt and negotiate with the holdout creditors has limited and may continue to limit Argentina's ability to access international financing. In 2005, Argentina completed the restructuring of a substantial portion of its indebtedness and settled all of its debt with the IMF. Additionally, in June 2010, Argentina completed the restructuring of a significant portion of the defaulted bonds that were not exchanged in the 2005 restructuring. As a result of debt exchanges carried out in 2005 and 2010, Argentina restructured approximately 93% of its defaulted debt that was eligible for restructuring. However, holdout bondholders that declined to participate in the restructuring, filed lawsuits against Argentina in several countries, including the United States. Since late 2012, rulings from courts in the United States favorable to holdout bondholders aggravated investors' concerns regarding investment in the country.

In November 2012, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in re: "NML Capital, Ltd. v. Republic of Argentina", ratified and amended the injunction order issued in February 2012, which held that Argentina violated the pari passu clause with respect to the bondholders that had not participated in the sovereign debt restructuring in 2005 and 2010. Pursuant to such ruling, Argentina was required to pay 100% of the amounts due to the plaintiffs, simultaneously with the payment of the amounts due on the next maturity date of the bonds to the bondholders who participated in the debt restructuring. In June 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Argentina's petition for a writ of certiorari of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling affirming the U.S. District Court's judgment. Later that month, the U.S. District Court ruled that funds deposited with the Bank of New York Mellon, the trustee which manages bond payments for Argentina's bonds issued in the 2005 and 2010 debt restructuring, should not be delivered to the holders of restructured debt in the absence of a prior agreement with the holdout bondholders (the plaintiffs in this case). In June 2015, the U.S. District Court granted partial summary judgment to a group of "me-too" plaintiffs in 36 separate lawsuits, finding that, consistent with the previous ruling of such court, Argentina violated the pari passu clause in the bonds issued to the "me-too" bondholders.

In February 2016, the current Argentine administration entered into settlement agreements with certain holdout bondholders to settle these claims, which were subject to the approval of the Argentine Congress and the lifting of the pari passu injunctions. In March 2016, after the U.S. District Court agreed to vacate the pari passu injunctions subject to certain conditions, the Argentine Congress ratified these settlement agreements through Law No. 27,249 and repealed the provisions of the so called Lock Law No. 26,017 and the Sovereign Payment Law No. 26,984, which prohibited Argentina from offering holdout bondholders more favorable terms than those offered in the 2005 and 2010 debt restructuring. The Argentine government has reached settlement agreements with holders of a significant portion of the defaulted bonds and has repaid the majority of the holdout creditors with the proceeds of a US$16.5 billion international offering of 3-year, 5-year, 10-year and 30-year bonds on April 22, 2016. Although the size of the claims involved has decreased significantly, litigation initiated by bondholders that have not accepted Argentina's settlement offer continues in several jurisdictions.

Additionally, foreign shareholders of several Argentine companies have filed claims with the ICSID alleging that the emergency measures adopted by the Argentine government since the crisis in 2001 and 2002 differ from the just and equal treatment standards set forth in several bilateral investment treaties to which Argentina is a party. ICSID has ruled against Argentina with respect to many of these claims.

Litigation involving holdout creditors, claims with ICSID and other claims against the Argentine Government, resulted and may result in material judgments against the government, lead to attachments of or injunctions relating to Argentina's assets, or could cause Argentina to default under its other obligations, and such events may prevent Argentina from obtaining favorable terms or interest rates when accessing international capital markets or from accessing international financing at all. Our ability to obtain U.S. dollar-denominated financing has been adversely impacted by these factors. During 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, it became increasingly difficult for Argentine companies to obtain financing in U.S. dollars, and loans in the local currency carried significantly higher interest rates. The termination of the injunctions issued by the United States courts preventing bondholders from receiving their interest payments on the bonds issued pursuant to the 2005 and 2010 exchange offers, and the related subsequent events, have paved the way for the Argentine Government to regain access to the international capital markets. Nonetheless, Argentina's ability to obtain international or multilateral private financing or direct foreign investment may be limited, which may in turn impair its ability to implement reforms and public policies to foster economic growth. In addition, Argentina's ongoing litigation with the remaining holdout creditors as well as ICSID and other claims against the Argentine Government, or any future defaults of its financial obligations, may prevent us from accessing the international capital markets or cause the terms of any such transactions less favorable than those provided to companies in other countries in the region, potentially impacting our financial condition.

In addition, other endogenous and exogenous factors are limiting the access of emerging countries and particularly Argentina to international financing. See "—Our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates (most notably between the U.S. dollar and the Argentine peso)” and “—Our results of operations may be adversely affected by high and possibly increasing inflation in Argentina.”

Lack of access to international or domestic financial markets could affect the projected capital expenditures for our operations in Argentina, which, in turn, may have an adverse effect on the results of our operations and on the market price of our common shares.

A continued decline in the global prices of Argentina's main commodity exports could have an adverse effect on Argentina's economic growth.

High commodity prices have contributed significantly to the increase in Argentine exports since 2002 as well as in governmental revenues from export taxes. However, relying on the export of certain commodities, such as soy, has made the Argentine economy more vulnerable to fluctuations in the prices of commodities. Since the beginning of 2015, international commodity prices of Argentina's primary commodity exports have declined, which has had an adverse effect on Argentina's economic growth. If international commodity prices continue to decline, the Argentine economy could be adversely affected. In addition, adverse weather conditions can affect the production of commodities by the agricultural sector, which account for a significant portion of Argentina's export revenues.

These circumstances would have a negative impact on the levels of government revenues, available foreign exchange and the government's ability to service its sovereign debt, and could either generate recessionary or inflationary pressures, depending on the government's reaction. Either of these results would adversely impact Argentina's economic growth and, therefore, our financial condition and results of operations.

Argentine exchange controls and restrictions on capital inflows and outflows have limited, and may continue to limit, the availability of international credit and access to capital markets, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and business.

Since 2001, Argentina imposed exchange controls and transfer restrictions substantially limiting the ability of enterprises to retain or obtain foreign currency or make payments or distributions abroad. See "Information on the Company — Business Overview — Foreign Exchange Controls" .

Notwithstanding the measures adopted by the current Argentine administration since December 2015, which lifted all exchange and capital controls, the Argentine government may impose or increase exchange controls or transfer restrictions in the future in response to capital flight or a significant depreciation of the Argentine peso. Additional controls could have a negative effect on the ability of Argentine entities to access the international credit or capital markets, the Argentine economy and our financial condition and business.

The Argentine government may order salary increases to be paid to employees in the private sector, which could increase our operating costs and adversely affect our results of operations.

In the past, the Argentine government has passed laws, regulations and decrees requiring companies in the private sector to increase wages and provide specified benefits to employees, and may do so again in the future. Argentine employers, both in the public and private sectors, have experienced significant pressure from their employees and labor organizations to increase wages and to provide additional employee benefits. Due to the high levels of inflation, employees and labor organizations are demanding significant wage increases. The Argentine government increased the minimum salary to 3,600 Argentine pesos in January 2014, to 4,400 Argentine pesos in September 2014, to 4,716 Argentine pesos in January 2015, to 5,588 Argentine pesos in August 2015, to 6,060 Argentine pesos in January 2016, to 6,810 Argentine pesos in June 2016, to 7,560 Argentine pesos in September 2016, to 8,860 Argentine pesos in July 2017, to 10,700 Argentine pesos in September 2018, and to 11,300 Argentine Pesos in December 2018. The Argentine government confirmed that the minimum salary will be increased to 12,500 Argentine pesos by June 2019. Recently, the INDEC published data regarding the evolution of salaries in the private and public sectors, which reflects approximately 26.7% and 25.26% salary increase in the private and public sectors, respectively, for the period from January 2017 through December 2017, and approximately 28.7% salary increase in both private and public sectors, from the period from January 2018 to November 2018.

Due to high levels of inflation and full employment in the high tech industry, we expect to raise salaries in line with the market. During the year ended December 31, 2018, labor unions agreed with employers´ associations on annual salary increases between 30% and 40%. In addition, on November 12, 2018, the Argentine government issued a decree imposing the payment of an extraordinary non-remuneratory bonus of Argentine pesos 5,000 to all workers in the private sector, payable in two installments in December 2018 and February 2019. If future salary increases in the Argentine peso exceed the pace of the devaluation of the Argentine peso, such salary increases could have a material and adverse effect on our expenses and business, results of operations and financial condition and, thus, on the trading prices for our common shares.

Our operating cash flows may be adversely affected if there is a delay in obtaining reimbursement of value-added tax credits from AFIP.

During the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, our Argentine operating subsidiary IAFH Global S.A. recognized an aggregate of $3.8 million in value-added tax credits. These tax credits may be monetized by way of cash reimbursement from AFIP. Obtaining this cash reimbursement requires submission of a written request to AFIP, which is subject to its approval. In the event that AFIP delays its approval of the request for reimbursement of these value-added tax credits, our ability to monetize the value of those credits would be delayed, which could adversely affect our cash flows.

Transactions with bonds acquired as proceeds from the capitalization of our Argentine subsidiaries increase our exposure to fluctuations in the value of the Argentine peso, which, in turn, could have an adverse effect on our operations and the market price of our common shares. The imposition in the future of regulations on proceeds collected outside Argentina for capitalization of our Argentine subsidiaries could also have an adverse effect on us.

During the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, our Argentine subsidiaries, through cash received from capital contributions, acquired Argentine sovereign bonds, including BODEN and Bonos Argentinos ("BONAR"), in the U.S. market denominated in U.S. dollars.

After acquiring these bonds and after holding them for a certain period of time, our Argentine subsidiaries sold those bonds in the Argentine market. The fair value of these bonds in the Argentine market (in Argentine pesos) during the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 was higher than its quoted price in the U.S. market (in U.S dollars) converted at the official exchange rate prevailing in Argentina, which is the rate used to convert these transactions in foreign currency into our Argentine subsidiaries' functional currency, thus, as a result, we recognized a gain when remeasuring the fair value of the bonds in Argentine pesos into U.S. dollars at the official exchange rate prevailing in Argentina.

During the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, we did not engage in the above described transactions. Although, as of the date of this annual report, we are not obliged to settle proceeds received from capitalizations abroad through the FX Market, if in the future we decide to make additional capital contributions to our Argentine subsidiaries and acquire bonds, we cannot assure you that the quoted price of the BODEN and/or BONAR in Argentine pesos in the Argentine markets will be higher than the quoted price in the U.S. debt markets in U.S. dollars converted at the official exchange rate prevailing in Argentina or that the Argentine government will not require Argentine companies to repatriate such proceeds through the FX Market, or make any other legislative, judicial, or administrative changes or interpretations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The imposition in the future of restrictions on transfers of foreign currency and the repatriation of capital from Argentina may impair our ability to receive dividends and distributions from, and the proceeds of any sale of, our assets in Argentina.

Beginning in December 2001, the Argentine government implemented a number of monetary and foreign exchange control measures that included restrictions on the free disposition of funds deposited with banks and on the transfer of funds abroad without prior approval by the Argentine Central Bank, which have been lifted. See "Information on the Company — Business Overview — Foreign Exchange Controls" .

Although the transfer of funds abroad by local companies in order to pay annual dividends only to foreign shareholders does not require formal approval by the Argentine Central Bank, in the past, the decrease in availability of U.S. dollars in Argentina has led the Argentine government to impose informal restrictions on certain local companies and individuals for purchasing foreign currency for the purpose of making payments abroad, such as dividends, capital reductions, and payment for importation of goods and services.

Although the current Argentine administration has lifted the foreign exchange restrictions, the imposition of future exchange controls could impair or prevent the conversion of anticipated dividends, distributions, or the proceeds from any sale of equity holdings in Argentina, as the case may be, from Argentine pesos into U.S. dollars and the remittance of the U.S. dollars abroad. These restrictions and controls could interfere with the ability of our Argentine subsidiaries to make distributions in U.S. dollars to us and thus our ability to pay dividends in the future. The domestic revenues of our Argentine subsidiaries (excluding intercompany revenues to other Globant subsidiaries, which are eliminated in consolidation) were $23.8 million in 2018, $13.3 million in 2017 and $10.2 million in 2016, representing 4.6%, 3.2% and 3.2% of our annual consolidated revenues, respectively.

The Argentine government could adopt restrictive measures again in the future. If that were the case, a foreign shareholder, such as ourselves, may be prevented from converting the Argentine pesos it receives in Argentina into U.S. dollars. If the exchange rate fluctuates significantly during a time when we cannot convert the foreign currency, we may lose some or all of the value of the dividend distribution or sale proceeds.

These restrictions and requirements could adversely affect our financial condition and the results of our operations, or the market price of our common shares.

The imposition or re-imposition in the future of regulations on proceeds from the export of services collected outside of Argentina for services rendered to non-Argentine residents or of export duties and controls could have an adverse effect on us.

In December 30, 2016, by means of Communication "A" 6137 (later replaced by Communication "A" 6244, which became effective as of July 1, 2017), the Argentine Central Bank eliminated the requirement to repatriate and exchange funds obtained from the exportation of services into pesos through the FX Market. Consequently, we are not required to repatriate or exchange the foreign currency proceeds received from services rendered to non-Argentine residents outside of Argentina (which are proceeds from our exportations held in off-shore accounts, such as the collections of services fees in U.S. dollars). Additionally, the applicable regulations do not prohibit or regulate the receipt of in-kind payments by an exporter.

However, in the past, Argentine law (including Communication "A" 5264 of the Argentine Central Bank, as amended), required Argentine residents to transfer the foreign currency proceeds received for services rendered to non-Argentine residents into a local account with a domestic financial institution and to convert those proceeds into Argentine pesos through the FX Market.

We cannot assure you that the Argentine government will not in the future require again Argentine residents to convert the foreign currency proceeds received for services rendered to non-Argentine residents into Argentine pesos through the FX Market, restrict exporters from receiving in-kind payments, require them to repatriate those payments received through the FX Market, or make any other legislative, judicial, or administrative changes or interpretations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The imposition of duties on export services could adversely affect our results of operations.

On December 4, 2018, Argentina approved the budget bill for year 2019 through Law 27,467, which amended the Customs Code to allow for duties to be applied to the exportation of services (and not only goods). In addition, the executive branch was allowed to impose export duties of up to 30% until December 31, 2020. However, in case of services and goods that were not subject to export duties before September 2, 2018, the maximum rate is 12%. On January 2, 2019, the executive branch issued Decree No. 1201/2018, which established an export duty on exportation of services at a rate of 12% with a maximum limit of Argentine pesos (ARS) 4 per each U.S. dollar of the amount arising from the invoice or equivalent document.

A service is considered “exported” when it is rendered in Argentina but it is effectively used or exploited off shore. Such utilization or exploitation is effective upon the first utilization or act of disposal of the service by the recipient even when, if appropriate, the latter intends such service for consumption.

If an increase of the current rates for exportation duties was approved or additional duties were imposed on the exportation of services, the results of our operations could be adversely affected.

Changes in Argentine tax laws may adversely affect the results of our operations, financial condition and cash flow s.

In 2012, the Argentine government terminated its treaties with Spain for the avoidance of double taxation. As a result, the exemption from personal assets tax that was available pursuant to such treaty for equity interests in local companies owned by Spanish residents no longer applies. The new double taxation treaty with Spain, which was adopted on December 23, 2013 and applied retroactively from January 1, 2013, does not include a similar exemption. Under the new treaty, the tax applicable on dividends distributed by our Argentine subsidiaries to the Spain Holdco is limited to 10% of the gross amount of dividends distributed, and income tax withholding on financial interest is limited to 12%.

Argentine companies are required to pay the personal assets tax corresponding to Argentine resident individuals, foreign individuals and foreign entities for holding equity interests in such companies as of December 31 of each year. The applicable tax rate is 0.25% and the tax is levied on the equity stated in the latest financial statements. Although the new double taxation treaty with Spain does not include an exemption on such tax, Law No. 27,260, which was enacted by the Argentine government on July 21, 2016, introduced benefits for compliant taxpayers that include an exemption from the personal assets tax until December 31, 2018.

On December 29, 2017, the Argentine government enacted Law No. 27,430, which reduced the corporate income tax rate to 30% for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2018 and 25% for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2020. The distribution of dividends is now subject to a 7% tax rate for the distribution of dividends related to financial results from fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2018 and 13% tax rate for the distribution of dividends related to financial results from fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2020.

Exposure to multiple provincial and municipal legislation and regulations could adversely affect our business or results of operations.

Argentina is a federal country with 23 provinces and one autonomous city (City of Buenos Aires), each of which, under the Argentine national constitution, has full power to enact legislation concerning taxes and other matters. Likewise, within each province, municipal governments have broad powers to regulate such matters. Due to the fact that our delivery centers are located in multiple provinces, we are also subject to multiple provincial and municipal legislation and regulations. Although we have not experienced any material adverse effects from this, future developments in provincial and municipal legislation concerning taxes, provincial regulations or other matters may adversely affect our business or results of operations.

Colombia

Colombia has experienced several periods of internal security issues that could affect the economy and impact our business, and our results from operations.

Colombia has suffered from periods of criminal violence over the past four decades, primarily due to the activities of guerrilla groups such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ( Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia ) (“FARC”), paramilitary groups and drug cartels and criminal bands known as Bacrim. In regions of the country with limited governmental presence, these groups have exerted influence over the local population and funded their activities by protecting and rendering services to drug traffickers. In response, the Colombian government has implemented various security measures and has strengthened its military and police forces by creating specialized units. In 2012, the Colombian government began peace negotiations with FARC. The peace agreement between the Colombian government and the guerrilla group, which was signed in 2016, was subject to a national referendum but was not approved by a majority of the voters. The parties re-negotiated certain aspects of the original agreement and the new agreement was approved by Congress in 2016.

Pursuant to the peace agreements negotiated between FARC and the Colombian government, FARC occupies five seats in the Colombian Senate and five seats in the Colombian House of Representatives. We cannot predict which policies will be adopted by the Colombian government and whether the policies would have a negative impact on the Colombian economy or our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Despite efforts by the Colombian government, drug-related crime, guerrilla paramilitary activity and criminal bands continue to exist in Colombia, and allegations have surfaced regarding members of the Colombian congress and other government officials having ties to guerilla and paramilitary groups. Although the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (“ELN”) have been in talks since February 2017 to end a five-decade war, the Colombian government has suspended the negotiations after a series of rebel attacks. On January 17, 2019, a car with explosives burst through the gates at a police academy in Bogotá resulting in 21 people dead and many injured. The Colombian Defense Minister confirmed that the terrorist attack was perpetrated by the ELN.  Any possible escalation in the violence associated with this terrorist attack and/or these activities may have a negative impact on the Colombian economy. In addition, given that the peace protocols to be applied in the event of a suspension of peace negotiations were entered into by the prior administration, the current administration has not honored these protocols, on the grounds that these protocols are only binding to the administration that agreed to them. This situation could result in escalated violence by the ELN and may have a negative impact on the credibility of the Colombian government which could in turn have a negative impact on the Colombian economy and may adversely affect our business or results of operations in Colombia.

Any further downgrade in the credit rating of Colombia could adversely affect the Colombian economy.

The outlook of Colombia’s credit rating was changed to negative by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”) and Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”) in 2016 and by Moody’s Corporation (“Moody’s”) in February 2018. In December 2017, S&P downgraded the rating of Colombia’s long-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on Colombia from “BBB” to “BBB-.” Additionally, on February 22, 2018 Moody’s changed Colombia’s rating outlook from stable to negative. Currently, Colombia’s long-term debt denominated in foreign currency is rated “Baa2” by Moody’s, “BBB-” by S&P and “BBB” by Fitch. Any further downgrade of Colombia’s credit rating could adversely affect the Colombian economy and our results of operations. We cannot assure as to whether there will be further deterioration of the Colombian economy particularly due to the fiscal deficit and Colombia’s public debt. If the condition of the Colombian economy were to deteriorate, we would likely be adversely affected.

Any additional taxes resulting from changes to tax regulations or the interpretation thereof in could adversely affect our consolidated results.

Colombia underwent tax reforms in 2018, 2016 and 2014. The latest tax reform enacted by the Colombian congress in 2018 introduced substantial changes to the then-existing tax legal framework. As a result, income tax withholding rates resulting from payments made to foreign entities were increased by 5% to a general rate of 20%, except for foreign indebtedness exceeding one year, where the applicable income tax withholding remains at 15%. Dividends paid out of profits that were subject to corporate income tax became subject to a withholding tax of 7.5% (resulting in an increase of 2.5% from the current 5%) and dividends paid out of profits that were not subject to corporate income tax became subject to a withholding tax of 33% for 2019, with a progressive reduction of the tax rate by 1% for each upcoming year, until 2020 (in which year the tax rate is stabilized in 30%) plus the foregoing 7.5%, which applies to the balance after the withholding is applied. The tax reform of 2018 introduced a new equity tax applicable to: (i) Colombian resident individuals (ii) non-resident individuals on their Colombian assets, (iii) non-distributed inheritance of non-residents and (iv) foreign non-resident entities owning assets in Colombia different from shares, account receivables and portfolio investments; whose net equity in Colombia as of January 1, 2019 is COP $5,000 million or higher. The equity tax would be triggered in January 1, 2019, 2020, and 2021 at rate of 1%.

We cannot assure you that Colombian tax laws will not change or may be interpreted differently by authorities, and any change could result in the imposition of additional taxes. Additional tax regulations could negatively affect our results of operations and cash flow. In addition, national or local taxing authorities may not interpret tax regulations in the same way that we do. Differing interpretations could result in future tax litigation and associated costs.

The Colombian government and the Colombian central bank exercise significant influence on the Colombian economy, which could have an impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The Colombian government and the Colombian central bank could intervene in Colombia’s economy and make changes in monetary, fiscal and regulatory policy, which could result in currency devaluation and the changes in international reserves.

Although the Colombian government has not imposed foreign exchange restrictions since 1990, Colombia’s foreign currency markets have historically been extremely regulated. Colombian law permits the Colombian central bank to impose foreign exchange controls to regulate the remittance of dividends and/or foreign investments in the event that the foreign currency reserves of the Colombian central bank fall below a level equal to the value of three months of imports of goods and services into Colombia. An intervention that precludes us from possessing, utilizing or remitting dollars would impair our financial condition and results of operations.

The Colombian government has considerable power to shape the Colombian economy and, consequently, affect the operations and financial performance of businesses. The Colombian government may seek to implement new policies aimed at controlling further fluctuation of the Colombian peso against the U.S. dollar and fostering domestic price stability. The president of Colombia has considerable power to determine governmental policies and actions relating to the economy and may adopt policies that are inconsistent with those of the prior government or that negatively affect us.

If the United States imposes sanctions on Colombia in the future, our business may be adversely affected.

Colombia is among several nations whose eligibility to receive foreign aid from the United States is dependent on its progress in stemming the production and transit of illegal drugs, which is subject to an annual review. Although Colombia is currently eligible for such aid, Colombia may not remain eligible in the future. A finding by the United States that Colombia has failed demonstrably to meet its obligations under international counter-narcotic agreements may result in the imposition of economic and trade sanctions on Colombia which could result in adverse economic consequences in Colombia and could further heighten the political and economic risks associated with our operations there.

Risks Related to the Company and the Ownership of Our Common Shares

The price of our common shares may be highly volatile.

The market price of our common shares may be volatile and may be influenced by many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:

In addition, the equity markets in general have experienced substantial price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies affected. These broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our common shares, regardless of our operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of certain companies' securities, securities class action litigation has been instituted against these companies. This litigation, if instituted against us, could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

Holders of our common shares may experience losses due to increased volatility in the U.S. capital market s.

The U.S. capital markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies. These fluctuations often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance or results of operations of those companies. These broad market fluctuations, as well as general economic, political and market conditions such as recessions, interest rate changes or international currency fluctuations, as well as volatility in international capital markets, may cause the market price of our common shares to decline.

In addition, downgrades to the U.S. government's sovereign credit rating by any rating agency, as well as negative changes to the perceived creditworthiness of U.S. government-related obligations, could have a material adverse impact on financial markets and economic conditions in the United States and worldwide. Any volatility in the capital markets in the United States or in other developed countries, whether resulting from a downgrade of the sovereign credit rating of U.S. debt obligations or otherwise, may have an adverse effect on the price of our common shares.

We may be classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a "passive foreign investment company" (a "PFIC"), which may result in adverse tax consequences for U.S. investors.

We believe that we will not be a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for our current taxable year and do not expect to become one in the foreseeable future. However, because PFIC status depends upon the composition of our income and assets and the market value of our assets (including, among others, less than 25% owned equity investments) from time to time, there can be no assurance that we will not be considered a PFIC for any taxable year. Because we have valued goodwill based on the market value of our equity for purposes of taxation, a decrease in the price of our common shares may also result in us becoming a PFIC. The composition of our income and our assets will also be affected by how, and how quickly, we spend the cash. Under circumstances where the cash is not deployed for active purposes, our risk of becoming a PFIC may increase. If we were treated as a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. investor held common shares, certain adverse tax consequences could apply to such U.S. investor. See "Additional Information — Taxation — U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations — Passive foreign investment company rules."

We may need additional capital and we may not be able to obtain it.

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents and cash flows from operations, including the cash available under our revolving line of credit, will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs for at least the next 12 months. We may, however, require additional cash resources due to changed business conditions or other future developments, including any investments or acquisitions we may decide to pursue. If these resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain another credit facility or expand the existing one. The sale of additional equity securities could result in dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could require us to agree to additional operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations.

Our ability to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms is subject to a variety of uncertainties, including:

Concentration of ownership among our existing executive officers, directors and principal shareholders may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions or adversely affect the trading price of our common shares.

As of March 15, 2019, our directors and executive officers, entities affiliated with them and greater than 5% shareholders, beneficially own an aggregate of approximately 30.37% of our outstanding common shares, of which 1.40% represents common shares subject to options that currently are exercisable or will be exercisable within 60 days of March 15, 2019 as well as common shares issuable upon settlement of restricted stock units that have vested or will vest within 60 days of March 15, 2019. As a result, these shareholders may exercise significant influence over matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions, and may have significant influence over our management and policies. This concentration of influence could be disadvantageous to other shareholders with interests different from those of our officers, directors and principal shareholders. For example, our officers, directors and principal shareholders could delay or prevent an acquisition or merger even if the transaction would benefit other shareholders. In addition, this concentration of share ownership may adversely affect the trading price of our common shares because investors often perceive disadvantages in owning shares in companies with principal shareholders.

Our business and results of operations may be adversely affected by the increased strain on our resources from complying with the reporting, disclosure, and other requirements applicable to public companies in the United States and in Luxembourg.

Compliance with existing, new and changing corporate governance and public disclosure requirements adds uncertainty to our compliance policies and increases our costs of compliance. Changing laws, regulations and standards include those relating to accounting, corporate governance and public disclosure; these include but are not limited to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, new SEC regulations and NYSE listing guidelines that result out of the NYSE listing, and Regulation (EU) 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 16, 2014 on market abuse, together with the related implementing and delegated regulations of the European Commission and guidelines published by the European Securities and Market Authority and the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, the Luxembourg law of January 11, 2008 on transparency requirements for issuers, as amended, and in particular the annual financial and non-financial reporting rules that apply as a result of our shares being listed and admitted to trading on the regulated market operated by the Lux SE. These laws, regulations and guidelines may lack specificity and are subject to varying interpretations. Their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. In particular, our efforts to comply with certain sections of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ("Section 404") and the related regulations regarding required assessment of internal controls over financial reporting and our external auditor's audit of that assessment requires the commitment of significant financial and managerial resources. Testing and maintaining internal controls can divert our management's attention from other matters that are important to the operation of our business. We also expect the regulations to increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified officers and members of our board of directors, particularly to serve on our audit committee, and make some activities more difficult, time consuming and costly.

Existing, new and changing corporate governance and public disclosure requirements could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs of compliance as a result of ongoing revisions to such governance standards. Our efforts to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards have resulted in, and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. In addition, new laws, regulations and standards regarding corporate governance may make it more difficult for our company to obtain director and officer liability insurance. Further, our board members and senior management could face an increased risk of personal liability in connection with their performance of duties. As a result, we may face difficulties attracting and retaining qualified board members and senior management, which could harm our business. If we fail to comply with new or changed laws or regulations and standards differ, our business and reputation may be harmed.

Failure to establish and maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section 404 could have a material adverse effect on our business and common share price.

As a public company, we are required to document and test our internal control procedures in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, which will require management assessments and certifications of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. During the course of our testing, we may identify deficiencies that we may not be able to remedy in time to meet our deadline for compliance with Section 404. We may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm is required to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting but may not be able or willing to issue an unqualified report. If we conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective, we cannot be certain as to the timing of remediation actions and testing or their effect on our operations because there is presently no precedent available by which to measure compliance adequacy.

If we are unable to conclude that we have effective internal control over financial reporting, our independent auditors are unable to provide us with an unqualified report as required by Section 404, or we are required to restate our financial statements, we may fail to meet our public reporting obligations and investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our common shares.

Our exemption as a "foreign private issuer" from certain rules under the U.S. securities laws may result in less information about us being available to investors than for U.S. companies, which may result in our common shares being less attractive to investors.

As a "foreign private issuer" in the United States, we are exempt from certain rules under the U.S. securities laws and are permitted to file less information with the SEC than U.S. companies. As a "foreign private issuer," we are exempt from certain rules under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), that impose certain disclosure obligations and procedural requirements for proxy solicitations under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. In addition, our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and "short-swing" profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules under the Exchange Act with respect to their purchases and sales of our common shares. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as companies that are not foreign private issuers whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act. In addition, we are not required to comply with Regulation FD, which restricts the selective disclosure of material information. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to information they may deem important, which may result in our common shares being less attractive to investors.

We do not plan to declare dividends, and our ability to do so will be affected by restrictions under Luxembourg law.

We have not declared dividends in the past and do not anticipate paying any dividends on our common shares in the foreseeable future. In addition, both our articles of association and the Luxembourg law of August 10, 1915 on commercial companies as amended ( loi du 10 août 1915 sur les sociétés commerciales telle que modifiée ) (the "Luxembourg Companies Law") require a general meeting of shareholders to approve any dividend distribution except as set forth below.

Our ability to declare dividends under Luxembourg law is subject to the availability of distributable earnings or available reserves, including share premium. Moreover, if we declare dividends in the future, we may not be able to pay them more frequently than annually. As permitted by Luxembourg Companies Law and subject to the provisions thereof, our articles of association authorize the declaration of dividends more frequently than annually by our board of directors in the form of interim dividends so long as the amount of such interim dividends does not exceed total net income made since the end of the last financial year for which the standalone annual accounts have been approved, plus any net income carried forward and sums drawn from reserves available for this purpose, less the aggregate of the prior year's accumulated losses, the amounts to be set aside for the reserves required by law or by our articles of association for the prior year, and the estimated tax due on such earnings.

We depend on the ability of our subsidiaries to distribute funds to us in order to satisfy our financial obligations and to make dividend payments, which they may not be able to do.

Our subsidiaries conduct all of our operations. We have no relevant assets other than the equity interests in our subsidiaries. As a result, our ability to make dividend payments depends on our subsidiaries and their ability to distribute funds to us. The ability of a subsidiary to make these distributions could be affected by covenants in our or their financing agreements or by the law of their respective jurisdictions of incorporation. If we are unable to obtain funds from our subsidiaries, we will be unable to distribute dividends. We do not intend to seek to obtain funds from other sources to pay dividends. See "— Risks Related to Operating in Latin America — Argentina — The imposition in the future of restrictions on transfers of foreign currency and the repatriation of capital from Argentina may impair our ability to receive dividends and distributions from, and the proceeds of any sale of, our assets in Argentina."

Our shareholders may have more difficulty protecting their interests than they would as shareholders of a U.S. corporation, which could adversely impact trading in our common shares and our ability to conduct equity financings.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our articles of association and the laws of Luxembourg, including the laws governing joint stock companies. The rights of our shareholders and the responsibilities of our directors and officers under Luxembourg law are different from those applicable to a corporation incorporated in the United States. There may be less publicly available information about us than is regularly published by or about U.S. issuers. In addition, Luxembourg law governing the securities of Luxembourg companies may not be as extensive as those in effect in the United States, and Luxembourg law and regulations in respect of corporate governance matters might not be as protective of minority shareholders as state corporation laws in the United States. Therefore, our shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in connection with actions taken by our directors and officers or our principal shareholders than they would as shareholders of a corporation incorporated in the United States.

Neither our articles of association nor Luxembourg law provides for appraisal rights for dissenting shareholders in certain extraordinary corporate transactions that may otherwise be available to shareholders under certain U.S. state laws. As a result of these differences, our shareholders may have more difficulty protecting their interests than they would as shareholders of a U.S. issuer.

Holders of our common shares may not be able to exercise their pre-emptive subscription rights and may suffer dilution of their shareholding in the event of future common share issuances.

Under Luxembourg Companies Law, our shareholders benefit from a pre-emptive subscription right on the issuance of common shares for cash consideration. However, in accordance with Luxembourg law, our articles of association authorize our board of directors to suppress, waive or limit any pre-emptive subscription rights of shareholders provided by Luxembourg law to the extent our board deems such suppression, waiver or limitation advisable for any issuance or issuances of common shares within the scope of our authorized share capital. Such common shares may be issued above, at or below market value as well as by way of incorporation of available reserves (including a premium). This authorization is valid from the date of the publication in the Luxembourg's official gazette ( Recueil Electronique des Sociétés et Associations ) of the decision of the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held on May 8, 2017, which publication occurred on May 19, 2017, and ends on May 19, 2022. In addition, a shareholder may not be able to exercise the shareholder's pre-emptive right on a timely basis or at all, unless the shareholder complies with Luxembourg Companies Law and applicable laws in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder is resident, particularly in the United States. As a result, the shareholding of such shareholders may be materially diluted in the event common shares are issued in the future. Moreover, in the case of an increase in capital by a contribution in kind, no pre-emptive rights of the existing shareholders exist.

We are organized under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and it may be difficult for you to obtain or enforce judgments or bring original actions against us or our executive officers and directors in the United States.

We are organized under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The majority of our assets are located outside the United States. Furthermore, the majority of our directors and officers and some experts named in this annual report reside outside the United States and a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. Investors may not be able to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these persons or to enforce judgments obtained against us or these persons in U.S. courts, including judgments in actions predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws. Likewise, it may also be difficult for an investor to enforce in U.S. courts judgments obtained against us or these persons in courts located in jurisdictions outside the United States, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws. It may also be difficult for an investor to bring an original action in a Luxembourg court predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us or these persons. Furthermore, Luxembourg law does not recognize a shareholder's right to bring a derivative action on behalf of the company except in limited cases.

As there is no treaty in force on the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters between the United States and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, courts in Luxembourg will not automatically recognize and enforce a final judgment rendered by a U.S. court. A valid judgment in civil or commercial matters obtained from a court of competent jurisdiction in the United States may be entered and enforced through a court of competent jurisdiction in Luxembourg, subject to compliance with the enforcement procedures ( exequatur ). The enforceability in Luxembourg courts of judgments rendered by U.S. courts will be subject prior any enforcement in Luxembourg to the procedure and the conditions set forth in the Luxembourg procedural code, which conditions may include the following as of the date of this annual report (which may change):

Under our articles of association and also pursuant to separate indemnification agreements, we indemnify our directors for and hold them harmless against all claims, actions, suits or proceedings brought against them, subject to limited exceptions. The rights and obligations among or between us and any of our current or former directors and officers are generally governed by the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and subject to the jurisdiction of the Luxembourg courts, unless such rights or obligations do not relate to or arise out of their capacities listed above. Although there is doubt as to whether U.S. courts would enforce such provision in an action brought in the United States under U.S. federal or state securities laws, such provision could make enforcing judgments obtained outside Luxembourg more difficult to enforce against our assets in Luxembourg or jurisdictions that would apply Luxembourg law.

Luxembourg insolvency laws may offer our shareholders less protection than they would have under U.S. insolvency laws.

As a company organized under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and with its registered office in Luxembourg, we are subject to Luxembourg insolvency laws in the event any insolvency proceedings are initiated against us including, among other things, Regulation (EU) No. 2015/848 of the European Parliament and the Council of May 20, 2015 on insolvency proceedings (recast). Should courts in another European country determine that the insolvency laws of that country apply to us in accordance with and subject to such EU regulations, the courts in that country could have jurisdiction over the insolvency proceedings initiated against us. Insolvency laws in Luxembourg or the relevant other European country, if any, may offer our shareholders less protection than they would have under U.S. insolvency laws and make it more difficult for them to recover the amount they could expect to recover in a liquidation under U.S. insolvency laws.