BRQS Borqs Technologies Inc

ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION

The following selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The selected consolidated statements of operations data for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2022, and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2021 and 2022, are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements and notes which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP.

The Company completed its sale of the Mobile Virtual Network Operator Business Unit (“MVNO BU”) as of October 29, 2020. Due to this transaction, the Company’s financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020 for comparison purposes, are presented with the MVNO BU as discontinued operations. The Company opted for the rule that only three years of operating results are required to be presented in accordance with the applicable regulations of the British Virgin Islands.

Holu Hou Energy LLC (“HHE”), which identified the innovative clean energy business, a separate segment was reclassified as held for sale as of December 31, 2021 and 2022, for the carrying amounts will be recovered principally through a sale, and revenues and expenses related to HHE have been reclassified as discontinued operations from October 19, 2021 to December 31, 2021, and for the year ended December 31, 2022 until it has been deconsolidated.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Summary Risk Factors

The principal factors and uncertainties that make investing in our ordinary shares risky, include, among others:

Risks Related to the COVID-19 pandemic

Risks Related to our Business and Industry

Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Doing Business in China

Risks Related to Our Securities

Investing in our ordinary shares involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below, as well as the other information in this report, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” before deciding whether to invest in our ordinary shares. The occurrence of any of the events or developments described below could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. In such an event, the market price of our ordinary shares could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe are not material may also impair our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

Risks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have experienced and expect to continue to experience unpredictable reductions in demand for certain of our products and services, and adverse effects on our operations, supply chains and financing possibilities.

Since February 2020, we have experienced reductions and cancellations of orders due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand from certain of our customers. COVID-19 has had an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our revenue for the year 2020 was negatively impacted by the pandemic by as much as a reduction of 73.0% as compared to 2019; and our ability to obtain debt financing or raise equity-based capital may not be adequate for the Company’s current operations. As the assessable risks due to COVID-19 change in India and China, our operations can be affected, including due to the restrictions from accessing office facilities and limitations on domestic travels which can hamper our ability to efficiently manage the manufacturing of products since our contracted factories are located over various cities in China.

As our sales were negatively impacted by the pandemic in 2020, we cut back our operational costs by reduction of approximately 20% of our workforce in India and 40% of our headcount in China. We constantly evaluate our financial position according to changes in the international business environment and depending on forecast of orders from our customers in the near future, we may further reduce staffing as necessary.

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has since abated, the extent to which COVID-19 may continue to negatively impact our business is highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted. Although our revenues in 2022 improved to $52.5 million as compared to $26.8 million in 2020 and $29.6 million in 2021, the impact of the COVID-19 or any other possible pandemic in the future may cause our revenues in future periods to decline.

Risks Related to our Business and Industry

Summary of Risks Associated with Our Business Due to Changing PRC Rules and Regulations

Our business is subject to a number of risks, including risks that may prevent us from achieving our business objectives or may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects that you should consider before making a decision to invest in our ordinary share and warrants, including risks and uncertainties, among others, the following:

1) Cryptocurrency mining and coin offerings

2) Social media and cyber security

3) Online gaming

4) Ride-hailing

5) Extra-curriculum education and tutoring

6) Variable interest entity structures

The Company does not participate in any of the above six categories, and particularly our division that operated a MVNO business under a variable interest entity structure in China was sold as of October 29, 2020. Also, as indicated in this 2022 Annual Report filed on Form 20-F, our revenues recognized from activities in China represent 30.1%, 21.8% and 1.6% of our total net revenues for the years 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. However, as the rules and regulations in China continue to evolve, the Company may become affected in future periods causing the public market valuation of our shares to decline.

We incurred losses and total cash outflows from operations, and we had a deteriorated net current assets position. There is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

As of December 31, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $11.3 million and generated a net loss from continuing operations of approximately $29.0 million and cash inflows of approximately $3.4 million for the year then ended. We cannot anticipate when, if ever, we will become profitable. Although we have improved the efficiency of our networks and operations and adopted related cost reduction measures, we cannot assure you that we will continue to achieve such efficiency or sustain such cost reductions. If we are unable to generate revenues that significantly exceed our costs and expenses, we will continue to incur losses in the future.

Our ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon our continued operations, which in turn is dependent upon our ability to meet our financial requirements. Our ability to meet the working capital requirements is subject to the risks relating to the demand for and prices of our services in the market, the economic conditions in our target markets, the successful operation of our connected solution, timely collection of payment from our customers and the availability of additional funding. In the next 12 months, we will use the cash inflows including short-term supply chain financing, advances from customers and financing possibilities from financial institutions. However, there is no guarantee such financing mechanism will be available at terms acceptable to us.

The audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 20-F were prepared on the basis of our continuing as a going concern. Facts and circumstances including recurring losses, net cash outflows and deteriorated net current assets position raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. If we become unable to continue as a going concern, we may have to liquidate our assets, and the value we receive for our assets in liquidation or dissolution could be significantly lower than the values reflected in our audited consolidated financial statements. Our lack of cash resources and our potential inability to continue as a going concern may materially and adversely affect the price of our shares and our ability to raise new capital or to continue our operations.

Although our previously defaulted loans were completely paid off as of February 17, 2021, we may become in default with loans in the future and the following risks will reappear.

Covenants governing our loan facilities restrict, among other things, our ability to:

Our ability to comply with these provisions may be affected by events beyond our control. Any defaults under our future loan agreements could adversely affect our growth, our financial condition, our results of operations and our ability to make payments on our debt. The ability to make payments of principal and interest on indebtedness will depend on our financial condition, which is subject to general economic conditions, industry cycles and financial, business and other factors affecting our operations, many of which are beyond our control. If sufficient cash flow is not generated from operations to service such debt, we may be required, among other things, to:

Such measures might be insufficient to service the indebtedness. In addition, any such financing, refinancing or sale of assets may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If funds are not available when needed, or available on acceptable terms, we may be required to delay, scale back or eliminate some of our obligations, including reduction of operations and deliveries of products to our customers. In addition, we may not be able to grow market share, take advantage of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated requirements, which could negatively impact our business, operating results and financial condition.

The Company entered into agreements on December 14, 2020 with PFG and LMFA Financing LLC (“LMFA”), a Florida limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of LM Funding America, Inc. (Nasdaq: LMFA), in which LMFA will purchase approximately $18 million of debt in tranches. As of February 10, 2021, LMFA completed the purchase of $17.87 million of principal, accrued interest and applicable fees (the “Debt”), converted into and sold all 22.73 million shares of the Company’s ordinary shares by February 10, 2021. With the Company settling another $1.27 million of Debt directly with the senior lender by the issuance of 1.51 million shares on February 17, 2021 which the senior lender subsequently sold, the Company’s defaulted Debts with the senior lender totaling $19.14 million have been eliminated since then.

We have more current liabilities than current assets as of December 31, 2022.

On our balance sheet as of December 31, 2022, there were current assets of $28.0 million and current liabilities of $37.9 million. Although profit margin improvements coupled with better financing facilities in future periods may reverse this situation, there is no assurance of how long this situation may remain or if we can ever achieve healthier liquidity ratios. If this situation persists for too long, it will hamper the Company’s ability to operate effectively and will likely create pressure on the market price of our ordinary shares.

If alternative mobile operating system platforms become more widely used or accepted, or mobile chipset manufacturers, mobile device Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEMs” and each an “OEM”) and mobile operators do not continue to make product and service offerings compatible with the Android platform, our business could be materially harmed.

The mobile operating system platform industry is intensely competitive and characterized by rapid technological changes, which often result in shifts in market share among the industry’s participants as one operating system may become more widely used than others. For example, in the past the Symbian mobile operating system platform, or Symbian, from Nokia Corporation, or Nokia, dominated market share for consumer products and the BlackBerry mobile operating system platform, or BlackBerry, from Research in Motion Limited, or RIM, dominated market share for enterprise products. In the past five years, with the rise of the iOS mobile operating system platform, or iOS, from Apple Inc., or Apple, and the Android platform, both the Symbian and Blackberry platforms have experienced a substantial decline. There can be no assurance that the Android platform will continue to compete effectively with alternative mobile operating system platforms, such as the iOS platform or Windows Mobile operating system platform, or Windows Mobile, from Microsoft Corporation. If these or other mobile operating system platforms become more widely used or accepted, such as operating system platforms being developed by Baidu, Inc., or Baidu, and Alibaba.com Ltd., or Alibaba, in China, the market appeal of the Android platform and our Android+ software and service platform solutions could be diminished, which could materially adversely affect our business and financial performance.

Furthermore, the competitiveness of our Android+ software and service platform solutions is dependent upon the continued compatibility of the Android platform with the offerings of our customers. If these customers choose not to continue to adopt the Android platform or they are unable to retain or increase their market share, the demand for our Android+ software and service platform solutions may be diminished, which could materially adversely affect our business and financial performance.

We generate a significant portion of our net revenues from a small number of major customers and key projects and any loss of business from these customers or key projects could reduce our net revenues and significantly harm our business.

We have derived and believe that in the foreseeable future we will continue to derive, a significant portion of our net revenues from a small number of major customers and key projects. Our top five customers accounted for 88.2%, 87.8% and 86.4% of our net revenues in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Our ability to maintain close relationships with our major customers is essential to the growth and profitability of our business. However, the volume of work performed for a specific customer is likely to vary from year-to-year and project-to-project, especially since we are generally not the exclusive Android platform software and service solutions provider for our customers, some of our customers have in-house research and development capabilities and we do not have long-term purchase commitments from any of our customers. A major customer in one year may not provide the same level of net revenues for us in any subsequent year. The products we provide to our customers, and the net revenues and income from those products may decline or vary as the type and quantity of products changes over time. In addition, reliance on any individual customer for a significant portion of our net revenues may give that customer a degree of pricing leverage when negotiating contracts and terms of service with us. In addition, a number of factors not within our control could cause the loss of, or reduction in, business or revenues from any customer, and these factors are not predictable. These factors include, among others, a customer’s decision to re-negotiate the royalty payment of a contract if the volume of unit sales exceeds original expectations, pricing pressure from competitors, a change in a customer’s business strategy, or failure of a mobile chipset manufacturer or mobile device OEM to develop competitive products. Our customers may also choose to pursue alternative technologies and develop alternative products in addition to, or in lieu of, our products, either on their own or in collaboration with others, including our competitors. The loss of any major customer or key project, or a significant decrease in the volume of customer demand or the price, at which we sell our products to customers, could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We have limited experience with our current product offerings, which makes it difficult to predict our future operating results.

From our inception in 2007 through 2014, we focused primarily on providing our Android+ software platform solutions to mobile chipset manufacturers, mobile device OEMs and mobile operators as well as complete product solutions of mobile connected devices for enterprise and consumer applications. In 2014, after acquiring Yuantel, we entered into the MVNO business. However, the success of these businesses depends on many factors, including timely and successful research and development, pricing, market and consumer acceptance of such new products and the product offerings of our competitors. If new product offerings are not successful, our revenue growth will suffer and our results of operations may be harmed. In November 2018, our board of directors approved the sale of the MVNO business unit, and we entered into agreements with buyers in February 2019 to sell all of the Consolidated VIEs that hold the MVNO operation. Due to an investigation into several individuals employed by the MVNO business unit as described in “Item 4. Information on the Company” below, only partial sales proceeds were received in 2019. The Company executed a new agreement with the buyers of the MVNO business unit as of September 1, 2020 and the balance of the sales proceeds was received by October 29, 2020 and the sale was deemed completed on the same date.

We operate in multiple rapidly evolving industries. If we fail to keep up with technological developments and changing requirements of our customers, business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

The mobile industry is rapidly evolving and subject to continuous technological developments. Our success depends on our ability to keep up with these technological developments and the resulting changes in customers’ demands. There may also be changes in the industry landscape as different types of platforms compete with one another for market share. If we do not adapt our Android+ software and service platform solutions to such changes in an effective and timely manner as more mobile operating system platforms become available in the future, we may suffer a loss in market share. Given that we operate in a rapidly evolving industry, we also need to continuously invest significant resources in research and development in order to enhance our existing products and to respond to changes in customer preference, new challenges and industry changes in a timely and effective manner. If we fail to keep up with technological developments and continue to innovate to meet the needs of our customers, our Android+ software and service platform solutions may become less attractive to customers, which in turn may adversely affect our reputation, competitiveness, results of operations and prospects.

We face intense competition from onshore and offshore third party software providers in the Android platform and software market, and, if we are unable to compete effectively, we may lose customers and our revenues may decline.

The Android platform and software market is highly fragmented and competitive, and we expect competition to persist and intensify from both existing competitors and new market entrants. We believe that the principal competitive factors in our industry are reliability and efficiency, performance, product features and functionality, development complexity and time-to-market, price, support for multiple architectures and processors, interoperability with other systems, support for emerging industry and customer standards and protocols and levels of training, technical services and customer support.

Our business model is to provide a full suite of Android+ software and service platform solutions to a broad range of customers, including mobile chipset manufacturers, mobile device OEMs and mobile operators. As of the date of this report, we are not aware of any significant independent competitor that provides a full range of Android platform software and service solutions as we do to the range of customers it has, although we have a number of competitors that provide one or several Android platform software and/or service solutions to one or more of our range of customers. See “Business — Competition.”

In addition, we face competition from companies seeking to compete with the Android platform by developing their own operating systems, such as Baidu and Alibaba in China, and major mobile device OEMs, such as Foxconn Technology Group and BYD Electronic (International) Company Limited, which are able to develop low-level software for mobile chipsets, as well as Huawei, GTE and Xiaomi.

We believe that we presently compete favorably with respect to each segment identified above. However, the market for Android platform software and service solutions is still rapidly evolving, and we may not be able to compete successfully against current and potential competitors in the future. In addition, some of our independent competitors are more focused on one or several particular segments of the value chain and may deliver better services in those segments than we do. Furthermore, some of our competitors may have significantly greater financial, technical, marketing, sales and other resources and significantly greater name recognition than we have. If we are unable to compete successfully on the principal competitive factors described above or otherwise, our business could be harmed.

We may undertake acquisitions, investments, joint ventures or other strategic alliances in the future, which could expose us to new operational, regulatory and market risks. In addition, such future and past undertakings may not be successful, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

We intend to grow both organically by expanding our current business lines and geographic coverage and through acquisitions, investments, joint ventures or other strategic alliances if the appropriate opportunities arise. These potential business plans, acquisitions, investments, joint ventures and strategic alliances may expose us to new operational, regulatory and market risks, as well as risks associated with additional capital requirements. In addition, we may not be able to identify suitable future acquisition or investment candidates or joint venture or alliance partners. Even if we identify suitable candidates or partners, we may be unable to complete an acquisition, investment or alliance on terms commercially acceptable to us.

In addition, our ability to successfully integrate acquired companies and their operations may be adversely affected by a number of factors, including, among others, the ability to capitalize on anticipated synergies, diversion of resources and management’s attention, difficulties in retaining personnel of the acquired companies, unanticipated problems or legal liabilities and tax and accounting issues. If we fail to integrate any acquired company efficiently, our earnings, revenues, gross margins, operating margins and business operations could be adversely affected. The integration of acquired companies is a complex, time-consuming and expensive process.

We are dependent upon the Android platform and, if Google determines to no longer develop the Android platform and our further development is not taken up by reliable alternative sources, our business could be materially harmed.

Our business model is dependent upon the Android platform, which is a free and fully open source mobile software platform developed by Google. The Android platform has been updated frequently since our original release and the development of the Android platform is an ongoing process which we do not control. If Google determines to no longer develop the Android platform or our further development is not taken up by reliable alternative sources, such as another third party or the open source community, demand for our Android+ software and service platform solutions could decline significantly and our revenue and financial condition could be materially harmed.

If our customers move more research and development work in-house, lower demand for our solutions could reduce our net revenues and harm our business.

Collaboration with customers is essential to the growth and profitability of our business. However, our customers may elect to move more research and development work in-house, and reduce collaboration with us for Android platform projects. There are many factors beyond our control that could cause our customers to move their work in-house, such as spending reductions due to a challenging economic environment, corporate restructuring, cost control, pricing pressure and concerns regarding the protection of technology know-how, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights. If our customers decide to change their strategy by moving more research and development work in-house, our net revenues may decline, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Our yearly results may fluctuate significantly and may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business.

Our yearly operating results, including the levels of our revenue, gross margin, profitability, cash flow and deferred revenue, may vary significantly in the future, and period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful. Accordingly, the results of any one year should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance. Our yearly financial results may fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control and, as a result, may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business. Fluctuations in yearly results may negatively impact the value of our ordinary shares. Factors that may cause fluctuations in our yearly financial results include, but are not limited to:

If we fail to effectively manage our technical operations infrastructure, our customers may experience service outages and delays in the further deployment of our services, which may adversely affect our business.

We have experienced significant growth in the number of users and the amount of data that our operations infrastructure supports. We seek to maintain sufficient excess capacity in our operations infrastructure to meet the needs of all of our customers. We also seek to maintain excess capacity to facilitate the rapid provisioning of new customer deployments and the expansion of existing customer deployments. In addition, we need to properly manage our technological operations infrastructure in order to support version control, changes in hardware and software parameters and the evolution of our services. However, the provision of new hosting infrastructure requires significant lead-time. We have experienced, and may in the future experience, website disruptions, outages and other performance problems. These problems may be caused by a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors, viruses, security attacks, fraud, spikes in customer usage and denial of service issues. In some instances, we may not be able to identify the cause or causes of these performance problems within an acceptable period of time, which may harm our reputation and operating results. Furthermore, if we do not accurately predict our infrastructure requirements, our existing customers may experience service outages that may subject us to financial penalties, financial liabilities and customer losses. If our operations infrastructure fails to keep pace with increased sales, customers may experience delays as we seek to obtain additional capacity, which could adversely affect our reputation and our revenue.

Most of our engagements with customers are for a specific project only and do not provide for subsequent engagements. If we are unable to generate a substantial number of new engagements for projects on a continuing basis, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.

Our customers generally retain us on a project-by-project basis in connection with specific projects rather than on a recurring basis under long-term contracts. Historically, a significant portion of our net revenues has been comprised of software fees, relating to one-time research and engineering work performed for customers. For 2020, 2021 and 2022, our net revenues from software fees were $10.6 million, $10.7 million and $13.1 million, respectively, representing 39.5%, 36.3% and 24.9% of total net revenues, respectively. Although a significant amount of our net revenues are generated from repeat business, which we define as revenues from a customer who also contributed to our revenues during the prior fiscal year, our engagements with our customers are typically for individual projects that are often on a non-exclusive, project-by-project basis. In addition, a majority of our customer contracts from which we generate product fees can be terminated by customers with or without cause. There are many factors outside of our control that might lead customers to terminate a contract or project with us, including, among others:

Furthermore, some of our customer contracts specify that if a change of control occurs during the term of the contract, the customer has the right to terminate the contract upon advance notice. If our customers terminate our contracts before completion or choose not to renew their contracts, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Therefore, we have to continuously seek new engagements while our current engagements are being performed or are completed or terminated, and we are constantly seeking to expand our business with existing customers and secure new customers. If we are unable to generate a substantial number of new engagements on a continuing basis, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.

Because of the characteristics of open source software, there may be fewer technology barriers to entry in the Android platform and software market in which we compete, and it may be relatively easy for competitors, some of which may have greater resources than we have, to enter our markets and compete with us.

One of the characteristics of open source software is that anyone can modify and redistribute the existing open source software and use it to compete against us. Such competition can develop without the degree of overhead and lead time required by traditional proprietary software companies. It is possible for new competitors with greater resources than us to develop their own Android platform software and service solutions, potentially reducing the demand for, and putting pricing pressure on, our Android+ software and service platform solutions. In addition, some competitors make their open source software available for free download and use on an ad hoc basis, or may position their open source software as a loss leader in order to win customers. There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully against current and future competitors or that competitive pressure and/or the availability of open source software will not result in price reductions, reduced operating margins and loss of market share, any of which could seriously harm our business.

Security and privacy breaches may expose us to liability and harm our reputation and business.

As part of our business we receive and process information about our employees, customers and partners, and we may store (or contract with third parties to store) our customers’ data. There are numerous laws governing privacy and the storage, sharing, use, disclosure and protection of personally identifiable information and user data. Specifically, personally identifiable and other confidential information is increasingly subject to legislation and regulations in numerous domestic and international jurisdictions. The regulatory framework for privacy protection in China and worldwide is currently evolving and is likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. We could be adversely affected if legislation or regulations in China and elsewhere on the world where we have business operations are expanded to require changes in business practices or privacy policies, or if the relevant governmental authorities in China and elsewhere on the world where we have business operations interpret or implement their legislation or regulations in ways that negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, in November 2016, China released the Cybersecurity Law, which took effect in June 2017. The Cybersecurity Law requires network operators to perform certain functions related to cybersecurity protection and the strengthening of network information management. For instance, under the Cybersecurity Law, network operators of key information infrastructure, including network operators of key information infrastructures in public communications and information industry, generally shall, during their operations in the PRC, store the personal information and important data collected and produced within the territory of the PRC and their purchase of network products and services that may affect national securities shall be subject to national cybersecurity review. While we take security measures relating to our Android+ software and service platform solutions, specifically, and our operations (including MVNO business unit), generally, those measures may not prevent security breaches that could harm our business and we cannot assure you that the measures we have taken or will take are adequate under the Cybersecurity Law and other relevant laws and regulations. Advances in computer capabilities, inadequate technology or facility security measures or other factors may result in a compromise or breach of our systems and the data we store and process. Our security measures may be breached as a result of actions by third parties or employee error or malfeasance. A party who is able to circumvent our security measures or exploit inadequacies in our security measures, could, among other things, misappropriate proprietary information (including information about our employees, customers and partners and our customers’ information), cause the loss or disclosure of some or all of this information, cause interruptions in our operations or our customers’ or expose our customers to computer viruses or other disruptions or vulnerabilities.

Any compromise of our systems or the data it stores or processes could result in a loss of confidence in the security of our Android+ software and service platform solutions, damage our reputation, disrupt our business, lead to legal liability and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, a compromise of our systems could remain undetected for an extended period of time, exacerbating the impact of that compromise. Actual or perceived vulnerabilities may lead to claims against us by our customers, partners or other third parties, which could be material. While our customer agreements typically contain provisions that seek to limit our liability, there is no assurance these provisions will be enforceable and effective under applicable law. In addition, the cost and operational consequences of implementing further data protection measures could be significant.

We are vulnerable to technology infrastructure failures, which could harm our reputation and business.

We rely on our technology infrastructure for many functions, including selling our Android+ software and service platform solutions, supporting our customers and billing, collecting and making payments. We also rely on our own technology infrastructure, which is located on a third-party site, as well as the technology infrastructure of third parties, to provide some of our back-end services. This technology infrastructure may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from natural disasters, power loss, telecommunication failures, terrorist attacks, computer intrusions and viruses, software errors, computer denial-of-service attacks and other events. A significant number of the systems making up this infrastructure are not redundant, and our disaster recovery planning is not sufficient for every eventuality. This technology infrastructure is also subject to break-ins, sabotage and intentional acts of vandalism by internal employees, contractors and third parties. Despite any precautions we or our third-party partners may take, such problems could result in, among other consequences, interruptions in our services and loss of data, which could harm our reputation, business and financial condition. We do not carry business interruption insurance sufficient to protect us from all losses that may result from interruptions in our services as a result of technology infrastructure failures or to cover all contingencies. Any interruption in the availability of our websites and on-line interactions with customers and partners would create a large volume of questions and complaints that would need to be addressed by our support personnel. If our support personnel cannot meet this demand, customer and partner satisfaction levels may fall, which in turn could cause additional claims, reduced revenue, reputation damage or loss of customers.

We may not be able to continue to use or adequately protect our intellectual property rights, which could harm our business reputation and competitive position.

Although Android is an open source mobile software platform for mobile devices, we are not required to share the source code for our Android software, which we have invested significant resources to develop. Accordingly, we believe that patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyright, software registration and other intellectual property we use are important to our business. We rely on a combination of patent, trademark, copyright, software registration and trade secret protection laws in China and other jurisdictions, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property and brand name. Any failure by us to maintain or protect our intellectual property rights, including any unauthorized use of our intellectual property by third parties or use of “Borqs” as a company name to conduct software or services business, may adversely affect our current and future revenues and our reputation.

In addition, the validity, enforceability and scope of protection available under intellectual property laws with respect to the mobile and Internet industries in China, where a significant part of our business and operations are located, are uncertain and still evolving. Implementation and enforcement of PRC intellectual property-related laws have historically been deficient, ineffective and hampered by corruption and local protectionism. Accordingly, protection of intellectual property rights in China may not be as effective as in the United States or other countries. Furthermore, policing unauthorized use of proprietary technology is difficult and expensive, and we may need to resort to litigation to enforce or defend patents issued to us or to determine the enforceability, scope and validity of our proprietary rights or those of others. Such litigation and an adverse determination in any such litigation, if any, could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention, which could harm our business and competitive position.

We also may be required to enter into license agreements with certain third parties to use their intellectual property for our business operations. If such third parties fail to perform under these license agreements or if the agreements are terminated for any reason, our business and results of operations may be negatively impacted. Furthermore, if we are deemed to be using third parties’ intellectual property without due authorization, we may become subject to legal proceedings or sanctions, which may be time-consuming and costly to defend, divert management attention and resources or require us to enter into licensing agreements, which may not be available on commercial terms, or at all.

The international nature of our business exposes it to risks that could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We conduct our business throughout the world in multiple locations. Our corporate structure also spans multiple jurisdictions, with our parent holding company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and intermediate and operating subsidiaries incorporated in China, Hong Kong, India and Brazil, with branch offices in Japan and South Korea. In addition, one of our growth strategies is to further expand our business in Europe and into the United States. As a result, we are exposed to risks typically associated with conducting business internationally, many of which are beyond our control. These risks include, among others:

The occurrence of any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Furthermore, we are in the process of implementing policies and procedures designed to facilitate compliance with laws and regulations in various jurisdictions applicable to us, but there can be no assurance that our employees, contractors or agents will not violate such laws and regulations or our policies. Any such violations could, individually or in the aggregate, materially and adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

We may not be able to manage our anticipated growth and our current and planned resources may not be adequate to support our expanding operations; consequently, our business, results of operations and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

We have experienced rapid growth since we commenced operations. Our rapid expansion may expose us to new challenges and risks. To manage the further expansion of our business and the growth of our operations and personnel, we need to continuously expand and enhance our infrastructure and technology, and improve our operational and financial systems and procedures and controls, and enlarge our financing resources. For example, we currently manage all of our human resources functions manually and expect that we will need to upgrade our current system as we continue to increase our headcount. We also need to expand, train and manage our growing employee base. In addition, our management will be required to obtain, maintain or expand relationships with mobile chipset manufacturers, mobile device OEMs and mobile operators, as well as other third-party business partners. We cannot assure you that our current and planned personnel, infrastructure, systems, procedures and controls will be adequate to support our expanding operations. If we fail to manage our expansion effectively, our business, results of operations and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Due to intense competition for highly skilled personnel, we may fail to attract and retain qualified personnel to support our research and development operations; as a result, our ability to bid for and obtain new projects may be adversely affected and our net revenues could decline.

The mobile industry relies on the talents and efforts of highly skilled personnel, and our success depends to a significant extent on our ability to recruit, train, develop, retain and motivate qualified personnel for all areas of our organization. Competition in our industry for qualified employees, especially technical employees, is intense, and our competitors directly target our employees from time to time. We have also experienced employees leaving us to start competing businesses or to join the in-house research and development teams of our customers. The loss of the technical knowledge and industry expertise of any of these individuals could seriously impede our success. Moreover, the loss of these individuals, particularly to a competitor, some of which are in a position to offer greater compensation, and any resulting loss of customers or trade secrets and technological expertise could further lead to a reduction in our market share and adversely affect our business. If we are required to increase the compensation payable to our qualified employees to compete with certain competitors with greater resources than we have or to discourage employees from leaving us to start competing businesses, our operating expenses will increase which, in turn, will adversely affect our results or operations.

As mandated by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), we must terminate our ownership in Holu Hou Energy LLC.

On December 13, 2022, Borqs Technologies received a letter from the Department of the Treasury on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) stating that the Company is required to fully divest its ownership interests and rights in HHE due to HHE’s solar energy storage system and EnergyShare technology for Multi-Dwelling Residential Units being deemed a potential national security risk.

On December 31, 2022, the Company resolved that in order to comply fully with the requirements of the CFIUS Letter which involve multiple steps that the Company must adhere to, including: (i) Entering into a National Security Agreement with various departments of the US government with a plan that is effective, monitorable and verifiable to divest Borqs’ investment interests and rights in HHE; (ii) Selection of a trustee and entering into a Divestment Trust Agreement, and assigning the Company’s interest in HHE to the trustee; and, (iii) Selection of a nationally recognized investment bank as the exclusive agent for the divestment of HHE. Besides, the Group also resolved that as of December 31, 2022, terminate its control of HHE by (i) removal of all of the Group’s representatives from HHE’s Board of Directors, (ii) relinquishment of Class A Membership Unit voting rights, and (iii) reduction of the Group’s ownership of HHE from 51% down to 49% by assigning 2% of the ownership back to HHE. By taking above actions, the Company no longer has a controlling interest in HHE and result in deconsolidation of HHE as of December 31, 2022.

On March 16, 2023, the Company and HHE entered into a National Security Agreement (“NSA”) with the Department of Defense and Department of Treasury. The NSA provides that the divestment shall occur within six months unless extended by the U.S. Government. The NSA also contains standstill provisions which provide that the Company shall not acquire any additional ownership interest in HHE, merge with or into HHE, effect any changes to the rights held by the Company, except as necessary to effect its obligations under the NSA, or acquire or take possession of any assets of HHE. Further, upon the completion of the Divestment, the Company shall terminate or irrevocably waive any information, consent, board appointment, board observer, or other governance rights held by the Company, except for any and all rights that are determined by the U.S. Government to be necessary to effect the provisions of the NSA. The NSA outlines the steps to be taken with respect to the Divestment: engaging a nationally recognized investment bank with experience in administering competitive sales and auction processes; assigning and hiring of security and monitoring personnel to directly communicate with the U.S. Government; removing all of Borqs’ administrative and technical influence over HHE; and creating a plan to divest all of Borqs’ investment interests and rights in HHE. Pursuant to the requirement of the NSA, Borqs has assigned its interests in HHE into a Divestment Trust according to a Divestment Trust Agreement (“DTA”) dated March 20, 2023 entered into between Borqs, HHE and a trustee.

In May 2023, the Company engaged Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor Fitzgerald”) as its exclusive financial advisor with respect to the divestment of the Company’s ownership in HHE. In the event that a transaction is not consummated within the timeframe mandated by CFIUS, the Company’s ownership in HHE will continue to remain in the trust.

Our success depends substantially on the continuing efforts of our senior executives and other key personnel, and our business may be severely disrupted if we lose their services.

Our future success heavily depends upon the continued services of our senior executives and other key employees. In particular, we rely on the expertise, experience, customer relationships and reputation of Pat Chan, our founder, chairman and chief executive officer. We currently do not maintain key man life insurance for any of the senior members of our 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 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 executive and key employees in the future, in which case our business may be severely disrupted, and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

If any of our senior executives or key employees joins a competitor or forms a competing company, it may lose customers, know-how and other key employees and staff members to them. Also, if any of our business development managers, who generally keep a close relationship with our customers, joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose customers, and our net revenues may be materially and adversely affected. Additionally, there could be unauthorized disclosure or use of our technical knowledge, practices or procedures by such employees. All of our executives and key employees have entered into employment agreements with us that contain non-competition provisions, non-solicitation and nondisclosure covenants. However, if any dispute arises between our executive officers or key employees and us, such non-competition, non-solicitation and nondisclosure provisions might not provide effective protection to us, especially in China, where most of these executive officers and key employees reside, in light of the uncertainties with China’s legal system. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Doing Business in China — Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could harm us.”

We are subject to various anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act, and PRC and Indian anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws; any determination that we have violated such laws could damage our business and reputation, limit our ability to bid for certain business opportunities, and subject us to significant criminal and civil penalties, civil litigation (such as shareholder derivative suits), and commercial liabilities.

We are subject to anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws in the United States, United Kingdom, China, and India that prohibit certain improper payments made directly or indirectly to government departments, agencies, and instrumentalities; officials of those government departments, agencies, and instrumentalities; political parties and their officials; candidates for political office; officials of public international organizations; persons acting on behalf of the foregoing; and commercial counterparties. These laws include the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, the PRC Criminal Law, the PRC Anti-Unfair Competition Law, the Indian Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, the Indian Penal Code and anti-corruption laws in various Indian states.

We are engaged in business in a number of countries that are regarded as posing significant risks of corruption. Of particular note, we conduct operations, have agreements with state-controlled enterprises and other third parties and make sales in the PRC, and we have research and development activities in India, each of which may be exposed to corruption risk. It is our policy to implement safeguards and procedures to prohibit these practices by our employees, officers, directors, or by third parties acting on our behalf. However, we cannot rule out the risk that any of our employees, officers, directors, or third parties acting on our behalf may engage in breaches of our policies or anti-corruption laws, for which we might be held responsible.

Allegations of violations of these anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws, and investigation into such allegations, could negatively affect our reputation, business, operating results, and financial condition. The violation of these laws may result in substantial monetary and even criminal sanctions, follow-on civil litigation (such as shareholder derivative suits), and monitoring of our compliance program by the United States or other governments, each of which could negatively affect our reputation, business, operating results, and financial condition. In addition, the United States or other governments may seek to hold us liable for violations of these laws committed by companies in which we invest or acquire.

There can be no assurance that our securities, including our ordinary shares, will continue to be listed on Nasdaq or, if listed, that we will be able to comply with the continued listing standards of Nasdaq, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

To continue listing our ordinary shares on Nasdaq, we are required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, particularly the requirement to maintain a minimum $1.00 bid price per share. On August 18, 2021, we received a letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Staff (“Nasdaq”) notifying us that we were not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Nasdaq’s rules for continued listing on the Nasdaq. Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) requires listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of US$1.00 per share, and Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A) provides that a failure to meet the minimum bid price requirement exists if the deficiency continues for a period of 30 consecutive business days. Based on the closing bid price of our ordinary shares for the 30 consecutive business days from July 7, 2021 to August 17, 2021, we did not meet the minimum bid price requirement. The letter did not impact our listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market and, in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we were provided 180 calendar days, or until February 14, 2022, to regain compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). On February 15, 2022, we received a letter from the Staff informing us that we are eligible for another 180-day period, or until August 15, 2022 to regain compliance with the minimum $1 bid price requirement. We provided written notice, as required by Nasdaq, of our intention to cure the deficiency during the second compliance period by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary. Compliance can be attained during this additional time period if the closing bid price of our ordinary shares is at least $1 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days. If during the compliance period the ordinary shares have a closing bid price of $0.10 or less for 10 consecutive trading days, Nasdaq’s Listing Qualifications Department shall issue a Staff Delisting Determination. On June 27, 2022, the Company completed a reverse stock split of the Company’s common shares at the ratio of one-for-sixteen to enable the Company to regain compliance with Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5550(a)(2) and maintain its listing on Nasdaq.

On October 28, 2022, the Company received written notification from the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, notifying the Company that it is not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Nasdaq’s rules for continued listing on the Nasdaq and that the Company’s listed securities did not maintain a minimum market value of listed securities of $35 million (“MVLS”) for a period of 30 consecutive business days and that the Company did not meet the MVLS requirement set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2) for continued listing on the Nasdaq. Based on the closing bid price of the Company’s ordinary shares for the 30 consecutive business days from September 16, 2022 to October 27, 2022, the Company no longer meets the minimum bid price requirement. To regain compliance under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2), the Company’s ordinary shares must have a closing bid price of at least US$1.00 for a minimum of 10 consecutive trading days. In the event the Company does not regain compliance by April 26, 2023, the Company may be eligible for additional time to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement and MLVS requirement or may face delisting. If during any compliance period the ordinary shares have a closing bid price of $0.10 or less for 10 consecutive trading days, Nasdaq’s Listing Qualifications Department shall issue a Staff Delisting Determination regarding the minimum bid price requirement.

To regain compliance under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2), the Company’s MVLS had to close at $35 million or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive trading days for Nasdaq to provide the Company a written confirmation of compliance and deem the matter closed. The Company had until April 26, 2023 to regain compliance with the MLVS requirement. On March 14, 2023, the Company received written notification from Nasdaq notifying the Company that Nasdaq had determined that for the 10 consecutive trading days, from February 28 through March 13, 2023, the Company’s MVLS had been $35 million or greater. Accordingly, the Company has regained compliance with the Rule.

On May 3, 2023, the Company received written notification from the Listing Qualifications Staff of Nasdaq indicating that the Company has not regained compliance with the minimum bid price of $1 required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market. The Company has engaged the firm of Donohoe Advisory Associates LLC to request a hearing which will stay the suspension or delisting action pending the hearing and the expiration of any extension period granted by the Panel following the hearing. Consequently, the Company’s ordinary shares are expected to remain listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market at least until the Panel renders a decision following the hearing. There can be no assurance that the Panel will determine to continue the Company’s listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market or that the Company will timely evidence compliance with the terms of any extension that may be granted by the Panel following the hearing.

Our business operations are not affected by the receipt of these notices. We intend to monitor the closing bid price of our ordinary shares and may, if appropriate, consider implementing available options, including, but not limited to, implementing a reverse share split of its outstanding ordinary shares, financing and issuing additional ordinary shares, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price and maintain compliance with the minimum market value requirement under the Nasdaq Listing Rules.

Additionally, we cannot assure you that we will be able to meet Nasdaq’s other continued listing standards. If our ordinary shares are delisted by Nasdaq, and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, then, as with our public warrants, which have been delisted from Nasdaq and are trading on the OTC Markets, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” If our ordinary shares remain listed on Nasdaq, our ordinary shares will be covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. If our securities were no longer listed on Nasdaq and therefore not “covered securities”, we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.

Global economic and political conditions may adversely impact our business, operating results and financial condition.

Economic conditions, market and political instability, trade disputes among the United State, China, India and European countries and political conflicts, such as between Russia and Ukraine, could adversely affect our business relationships with customers and suppliers. Any adverse financial or economic impact to our customers may impact their ability to pay timely or result in their inability to pay. It may also impact their ability to fund future purchases or increase the sales cycles which could lead to a reduction in revenue and accounts receivable. Our suppliers may increase their prices or may be unable to supply needed raw materials on a timely basis due to global supply change interruptions which could result in our inability to meet customers’ demand or affect our gross margins. Our suppliers may also impose more stringent payment terms on us. The timing and nature of any recovery from the effects of adverse economic conditions or market and political instability on credit and financial markets is uncertain, and there can be no assurance that market conditions will improve in the near future or that our results will not be materially and adversely affected.

We may, from time to time, be involved in future litigation in which substantial monetary damages are sought.

We may from time to time be involved in future litigation in which substantial monetary damages are sought. Litigation claims may relate to intellectual property, contracts, employment, securities and other matters arising out of the conduct of our current and past business activities. Any claims, whether with or without merit, could be time consuming, expensive to defend, and could divert management’s attention and resources. We maintain insurance against some, but not all, of these potential claims, and the levels of insurance we do maintain may not be adequate to fully cover any and all losses. Nonetheless, the results of any future litigation or claims are inherently unpredictable, and such outcomes could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, cash from operating activities or financial condition.

We were in arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (“Samsung”) to resolve a dispute regarding royalties payable to the Company under a software license agreement the Company had with Samsung. Samsung alleged that, for the period starting the fourth quarter of 2010 through mid-2012, the Company was overpaid royalties in the amount of approximately $1.67 million due to a clerical error in Samsung’s accounting department that enabled the Company to receive royalties on sales of Samsung handsets that did not contain its software. Samsung was seeking repayment of the $1.67 million plus accrued interest of 12% per annum and as well as reimbursements of reasonable fees including attorney fees and arbitration costs.

After arbitration hearings held in May 2018, on November 27, 2018, the International Chamber of Commerce notified the Company of its decision and issuance of an arbitration award (the “Award”), which the Company received on November 29, 2018. Pursuant to the Award, the Company was obligated to pay Samsung an aggregate of $2,546,401 plus an interest of 9% per annum starting May 16, 2018 until full payment is paid. Samsung was also awarded its attorney’s fees and expenses in the aggregate amount of approximately $1.73 million. The Company has reached an agreement with Samsung for settling the payments due to Samsung by making 24 monthly payments beginning in April 2019. The Company has pledged $5 million worth of ordinary shares in escrow as security for the payments and in the event that the Company is in default of the scheduled payments, Samsung has the right to seize the escrow shares. If we fail to make timely payments to Samsung, we may be subject to additional potential litigation damages resulting in a material adverse impact to the Company. Due to cash flow constraints resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not made payments to Samsung in the years 2020 and 2021. Beginning in June 2022, the Company has been making monthly payments to Samsung with the anticipation that all of the Award including accrued interests will be completely paid off by December 2023.

We are in arbitration with Shanghai Kadi Technologies Limited (“KADI”) and its owners due to KADI’s breach of contract according to the Share Purchase Agreement dated December 15, 2018 (the “KADI Agreement”) signed between Borqs and KADI.

We have initiated arbitration proceeding in February 2022 in Hong Kong against KADI and its owners for breach of contract according to the KADI Agreement, seeking from KADI of i) a payment of $600,000 in cash previously paid to KADI, ii) the return of 1,043,550 ordinary shares of Borqs previously issued to the owners of KADI, and iii) payment in cash for loss of profit from KADI’s projected business in the amount of $5.3 million. As of the filing of this annual report, the arbitration is still on-going and there is no assurance that the outcome of the proceedings will be in favor of Borqs.

If we fail to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our ordinary shares may be adversely impacted.

We are required to evaluate the effectiveness of disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. As defined in standards established by the United States Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, a “material weakness” is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis; and a “significant deficiency” is less severe than a material weakness in that it is unlikely to have a material impact on financial statements but is important enough to merit attention by those responsible for oversight of the company’s financial reporting. Based on that evaluation, our management concluded that these controls were ineffective as of December 31, 2022. In the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we did not maintain sufficient controls over financial reporting processes due to an insufficient number of financial reporting personnel with an appropriate level of knowledge and experience in U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements and financial reporting programs to properly address complex U.S. GAAP accounting issues and to prepare and review our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures to fulfill U.S. GAAP and SEC financial reporting requirements. This deficiency constitutes as a material weakness of our internal control over financial reporting.

In 2019 the Company identified a qualified external professional consultant for a senior financial and reporting role and the individual officially joined the Company as a financial director in January 2019. We have taken multiple steps to implement measures designed to improve our internal control over financial reporting to remediate the material weakness and hence our management concluded that the material weakness was being mitigated as of December 31, 2019 by multiple factors including: (a) hiring of a financial director with over 15 years of US GAAP audit experience in 2019 to help set up workflows for the strengthening of internal controls and preserving accuracy in preparing consolidated financial statements, (b) since December 2018, our Chairperson of the Audit Committee, a member of the Washington State board of Accountancy since the year 1989, has been regularly providing the Company with advice on procedures and interpretation of US GAAP rules and regulations. In addition, we plan to take a number of other measures to strengthen our internal control over financial reporting, including (i) continuing to hire additional qualified professionals with experience in U.S. GAAP accounting and SEC reporting to lead accounting and financial reporting matters; (ii) organizing regular training for our accounting staffs, especially the trainings related to U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements; and (iii) establishing effective oversight and clarifying reporting requirements for non-recurring and complex transactions to ensure consolidated financial statements and related disclosures are accurate, complete and in compliance with U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements. In October 2021, the Company hired a seasoned Chief Financial Officer with significant U.S. financial reporting experiences handling all periodic financial reporting and filing requirements with the SEC.

We are a public company in the United States subject to the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, or Section 404, requires us to include a report from management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form 20-F. Our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting is not effective. In addition, once we cease to be an “emerging growth company” as such term is defined in the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue an adverse opinion if it is not satisfied with our internal controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. In addition, our reporting obligations may place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. We may be unable to timely complete our evaluation testing and any required remediation.

During the course of documenting and testing our internal control procedures, in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, we may identify other weaknesses and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. In addition, if we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, 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. Moreover, our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect all errors and -fraud. A control system, no matter how well it is designed and operated cannot provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.

We believe that the Company’s financial reporting persons possess significant US GAAP experience to be a valuable resource for us with respect to financial reporting work. We believe we have adequate personnel with knowledge and experience with US GAAP for the preparation of our annual report for the year 2022. Since December 2018, our Chairperson of the Audit Committee has been regularly providing the Company with advice on procedures and interpretation of US GAAP rules and regulations. The Chairperson of the Audit Committee has been a member of the Washington State Board of Accountancy since the year 1989. However, if we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, we could suffer material misstatements in our financial statements and fail to meet our reporting obligations, which would likely cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. This could in turn limit our access to capital markets, harm our results of operations, and lead to a decline in the market price of our ordinary shares. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which we list, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions. We may also be required to restate our financial statements from prior periods.

Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Doing Business in China

The Chinese government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we may conduct our business activities, and if we are unable to substantially comply with any PRC rules and regulations, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

The Chinese government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. Our ability to operate in China may be harmed by changes in its laws and regulations, including those relating to taxation, environmental regulations, land use rights, property and other matters. The central or local governments of these jurisdictions may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations. Accordingly, government actions in the future, including any decision not to continue to support recent economic reforms and to return to a more centrally planned economy or regional or local variations in the implementation of economic policies, could have a significant effect on economic conditions in China or particular regions thereof, and could require us to divest ourselves of any interest we then hold in Chinese properties.

As such, our business operations and the industries we operate in may be subject to various government and regulatory interference in the provinces in which they operate. We could be subject to regulation by various political and regulatory entities, including various local and municipal agencies and government sub-divisions. We may incur increased costs necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply. In the event that we are not able to substantially comply with any existing or newly adopted laws and regulations, our business operations may be materially adversely affected and the value of our ordinary shares may significantly decrease.

The recent PRC government intervention into business activities by U.S.-listed Chinese companies may indicate an expansion of the PRC’s authority that could negatively impact our existing and future operations in Hong Kong and China.

Recently, the Chinese government announced that it would exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers. Under the new measures, China will improve regulation of cross-border data flows and security, police illegal activity in the securities market and punish fraudulent securities issuances, market manipulation and insider trading. China will also monitor sources of funding for securities investment and control leverage ratios. The Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) has also opened a cybersecurity probe into several large U.S.-listed technology companies focusing on anti-monopoly and financial technology regulation and, more recently with the passage of the Data Security Law, how companies collect, store, process and transfer data. If we are subject to such a probe or if we are required to comply with stepped-up supervisory requirements, valuable time from our management and money may be expended in complying and/or responding to the probe and requirements, thus diverting valuable resources and attention away from our operations. This may, in turn, negatively impact our operations.

Borqs is incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands with our principal headquarters in Hong Kong. We are not a mainland Chinese firm, and we are not required to obtain permission from the government of the PRC to issue our ordinary shares to foreign investors. However, as a company with limited operations in Hong Kong and the PRC, and given the Chinese government’s significant oversight authority over the conduct of business in Hong Kong and the PRC, there is always a risk that the Chinese government may seek to affect operations of any company with any level of operations in mainland China or Hong Kong, including its ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, list its securities on a U.S. or other foreign exchange, conduct its business or accept foreign investment. In light of China’s recent expansion of authority in Hong Kong, there are risks and uncertainties which we cannot foresee for the time being, and rules and regulations in China can change quickly with little or no advance notice. The Chinese government may intervene or influence our current and future operations in Hong Kong and China at any time, or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in issuers likes ourselves.

If any or all of the foregoing were to occur, this could result in a material change in our Company’s operations and/or the value of our ordinary shares and/or significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

Changes in China’s economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

All of our manufacturing operations are located in China. Accordingly, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be influenced to a significant degree by political, economic and social conditions in China generally and by continued economic growth in China as a whole.

The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Although the Chinese government has implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in China is still owned by the government. In addition, the Chinese government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies and change of enforcement practice of such rules and policies can change quickly with little advance notice. The Chinese government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through allocating resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy, and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.

While the Chinese economy has experienced significant growth over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. The Chinese government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall Chinese economy but may have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations. Any prolonged slowdown in the Chinese economy may reduce the demand for our products and materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Uncertainties and quick change in the interpretation and enforcement of Chinese laws and regulations with little advance notice could result in a material and negative impact our business operation, decrease the value of our ordinary shares and limit the legal protections available to us. 

The PRC legal system is based on written statutes, and prior court decisions have limited value as precedents. Since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involves uncertainties. The enforcement of laws and that rules and regulations in China can change quickly with little advance notice and the risk that the Chinese government may intervene or influence our operations at any time, or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our ordinary shares.

We cannot rule out the possibility that the PRC government will institute a licensing regime or pre-approval requirement covering our industry at some point in the future. If such a licensing regime or approval requirement were introduced, we cannot assure you that we would be able to obtain any newly required license in a timely manner, or at all, which could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

From time to time, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce our legal rights. However, since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal systems. Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published in a timely manner or at all) that may have retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property) and procedural rights, could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the interpretation and implementation of any new PRC laws, rules and regulations relating to foreign investment and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and our business operations.

On March 15, 2019, the National People’s Congress promulgated the Foreign Investment Law, which came into effect on January 1, 2020 and replaced the three existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. The existing foreign-invested enterprises, or FIEs, established prior to the effectiveness of the Foreign Investment Law may keep their corporate forms within five years. The Foreign Investment Law stipulates that China implements the management system of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list to foreign investment, and the government generally will not expropriate foreign investment, except under certain special circumstances, in which case it will provide fair and reasonable compensation to foreign investors. Foreign investors are barred from investing in prohibited industries on the negative list and must comply with the specified requirements when investing in restricted industries on such list. On December 26, 2019, the State Council promulgated the Implementing Regulations of the Foreign Investment Law, which came into effect on January 1, 2020 and further requires that FIEs and domestic enterprises be treated equally with respect to policy making and implementation.

Pursuant to the Foreign Investment Law, “foreign investment” means any foreign investor’s direct or indirect investment in the PRC, including: (i) establishing FIEs in the PRC either individually or jointly with other investors; (ii) obtaining stock shares, stock equity, property shares, other similar interests in Chinese domestic enterprises; (iii) investing in new project in the PRC either individually or jointly with other investors; and (iv) making investment through other means provided by laws, administrative regulations or State Council provisions. Although the Foreign Investment Law does not explicitly classify the contractual arrangements, as a form of foreign investment, it contains a catch-all provision under the definition of “foreign investment,” which includes investments made by foreign investors in China through other means stipulated by laws or administrative regulations or other methods prescribed by the State Council without elaboration on the meaning of “other means.” However, the Implementing Regulations of the Foreign Investment Law still does not specify whether foreign investment includes contractual arrangements.

If the Chinese government were to impose new requirements for permission or approval from the PRC Authorities including China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) or CAC, or any other entity that is required to approve the listing of our shares on Nasdaq, to issue our ordinary shares to foreign investors or list on a foreign exchange, such action could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

As of the date of annual report, we and our PRC subsidiaries, (1) are not required to obtain permissions from any PRC authorities to operate or issue our Ordinary Shares to foreign investors, (2) are not subject to permission requirements from the CSRC, CAC or any other entity that is required to approve of our PRC subsidiaries’ operations, and (3) have not received or were denied such permissions by any PRC authorities. Nevertheless, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the “Opinions on Severely Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities According to Law,” or the Opinions, which were made available to the public on July 6, 2021. The Opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities, and the need to strengthen the supervision over overseas listings by Chinese companies. Given the current PRC regulatory environment, it is uncertain when and whether we or our PRC subsidiaries, will be required to obtain permission from the PRC government to list on U.S. exchanges in the future, and even when such permission is obtained, whether it will be denied or rescinded.

Further, since these statements and regulatory actions are new, it is highly uncertain how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operation, the ability to accept foreign investments and list on an U.S. exchange. If, (i) we inadvertently conclude that such approvals or permissions are not required, or (ii) applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change and we are required to obtain such approvals and permissions in the future, and we are unable to obtain such approvals and permissions, Borqs will not be able to perform R&D and manufacturing in China, our revenues will be adversely affected and we will have to expand our R&D activities in India and relocate our manufacturing activities outside China to India or other Asian countries. Also, if applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change, and we are required to obtain permission or approval from the PRC authority for the offering and listing of our Ordinary Shares in the U.S. in the future, and if any of such permission or approval were not received maintained, or subsequently rescinded, it may significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to list our shares or cause the value of our Ordinary Shares to significantly decline or become worthless.

Risks related to a future determination that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) is unable to inspect or investigate our auditor completely.

The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCA Act, was enacted on December 18, 2020. The HFCA Act states if the SEC determines that a company has filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for three consecutive years beginning in 2021, the SEC shall prohibit such ordinary shares from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the U.S.

On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCA Act. A company will be required to comply with these rules if the SEC identifies it as having a “non-inspection” year under a process to be subsequently established by the SEC. The SEC is assessing how to implement other requirements of the HFCA Act, including the listing and trading prohibition requirements described above. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“AHFCAA”), which has since been signed into law, amending the HFCA Act and requiring the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three consecutive years.

On September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a final rule implementing the HFCAA, which provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCA Act, whether the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.

On December 2, 2021, the SEC announced the adoption of amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCA Act. The rules apply to registrants the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate (Commission-Identified Issuers). The final amendments require Commission-Identified Issuers to submit documentation to the SEC establishing that, if true, it is not owned or controlled by a governmental entity in the public accounting firm’s foreign jurisdiction. The amendments also require that a Commission-Identified Issuer that is a “foreign issuer,” as defined in Exchange Act Rule 3b-4, provide certain additional disclosures in its annual report for itself and any of its consolidated foreign operating entities. Further, the adopting release provides notice regarding the procedures the SEC has established to identify issuers and to impose trading prohibitions on the securities of certain Commission-Identified Issuers, as required by the HFCAA. A Commission-Identified Issuer will be required to comply with the submission and disclosure requirements in the annual report for each year in which it was identified. If a registrant is identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer based on its annual report for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2021, the registrant will be required to comply with the submission or disclosure requirements in its annual report filing covering the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2022. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a Determination Report which found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in: (1) mainland China, and (2) Hong Kong.

The audit report included in our Form 20-F for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2021 and 2022, were issued by Yu Certified Public Accountant P.C. (“Yu CPA”), an independent registered public accounting firm with the PCAOB, and as an auditor of publicly traded companies in the U.S., is subject to laws in the U.S. pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards. Our auditor is headquartered in New York, NY, and has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis. The PCAOB currently has access to inspect the working papers of our auditor.

However, the recent developments would add uncertainties to our listing and we cannot assure you whether Nasdaq or regulatory authorities would apply additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures and quality control procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of resources, geographic reach or experience as it relates to the audit of our financial statements.

The SEC may propose additional rules or guidance that could impact us if our auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspection. For example, on August 6, 2020, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, or the PWG, issued the Report on Protecting United States Investors from Significant Risks from Chinese Companies to the then President of the United States. This report recommended the SEC implement five recommendations to address companies from jurisdictions that do not provide the PCAOB with sufficient access to fulfil its statutory mandate. Some of the concepts of these recommendations were implemented with the enactment of the HFCA Act. However, some of the recommendations were more stringent than the HFCA Act. For example, if a company’s auditor was not subject to PCAOB inspection, the report recommended that the transition period before a company would be delisted would end on January 1, 2022.

The SEC has announced that the SEC staff is preparing a consolidated proposal for the rules regarding the implementation of the HFCA Act and to address the recommendations in the PWG report. It is unclear when the SEC will complete its rulemaking and when such rules will become effective and what, if any, of the PWG recommendations will be adopted. The implications of this possible regulation in addition to the requirements of the HFCA Act are uncertain. Such uncertainty could cause the market price of our ordinary shares to be materially and adversely affected, and our securities could be delisted or prohibited from being traded on the national securities exchange earlier than would be required by the HFCA Act. If our Ordinary Shares are unable to be listed on another securities exchange by then, such a delisting would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our Ordinary Shares when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with a potential delisting would have a negative impact on the price of our Ordinary Shares.

There are significant legal and other obstacles to obtaining information needed for shareholder investigations or litigation outside China or otherwise with respect to foreign entities.

We conduct a significant part of our business operations in China, and some of our directors and senior management are based in China, which is an emerging market. The SEC, U.S. Department of Justice and other authorities often have substantial difficulties in bringing and enforcing actions against non-U.S. companies and non-U.S. persons, including company directors and officers, in certain emerging markets, including China. Additionally, our public shareholders may have limited rights and few practical remedies in emerging markets where we operate, as shareholder claims that are common in the United States, including class action securities law and fraud claims, generally are difficult to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in many emerging markets, including China. For example, in China, there are significant legal and other obstacles to obtaining information needed for shareholder investigations or litigation outside China or otherwise with respect to foreign entities. Although the local authorities in China may establish a regulatory cooperation mechanism with the securities regulatory authorities of another country or region to implement cross-border supervision and administration, the regulatory cooperation with the securities regulatory authorities in the Unities States has not been efficient in the absence of a mutual and practical cooperation mechanism. According to Article 177 of the PRC Securities Law which became effective in March 2020, no foreign securities regulator is allowed to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within the territory of the PRC. Accordingly, without the consent of the competent PRC securities regulators and relevant authorities, no organization or individual may provide the documents and materials relating to securities business activities to foreign securities regulators.

As a result, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States.

China’s economic, political and social conditions, as well as changes in any government policies, laws and regulations, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

A substantial portion of our operations are conducted in China, and a significant portion of our net revenues are derived from customers where the contracting entity is located in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects and certain transactions we may undertake are subject, to a significant extent, to economic, political and legal developments in China.

China’s economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. While the PRC economy has experienced significant growth in the past two to three decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. Demand for our services and products depend, in large part, on economic conditions in China. Any slowdown in China’s economic growth may cause our potential customers to delay or cancel their plans to purchase our services and products, which in turn could reduce our net revenues.

Although China’s economy has been transitioning from a planned economy to a more market-oriented economy since the late 1970s, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The PRC government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through allocating resources, controlling the incurrence and payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. Changes in any of these policies, laws and regulations could adversely affect the economy in China and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage foreign investment and sustainable economic growth and to guide the allocation of financial and other resources, which have for the most part had a positive effect on our business growth. However, we cannot assure you that the PRC government will not repeal or alter these measures or introduce new measures that will have a negative effect on us. China’s social and political conditions may also not be as stable as those of the United States and other developed countries. Any sudden changes to China’s political system or the occurrence of widespread social unrest could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

In the year ended December 31, 2020, we derived about 20.3% of our revenues from customers located in India. In recent years, skirmishes occurred over the Sino-Indian border and the relationship between the two countries has been in distress. Although there had been no official statements from either governments that directly affected commercial activities between the two countries, tension may escalate in the future to have a negative impact on our businesses.

Due to social unrest in Hong Kong SAR throughout 2019 which also extended into 2020, China passed a new national security law for Hong Kong which became effective on June 30, 2020. In reaction, the United States has imposed sanctions against Hong Kong’s chief executive and ten other senior officials. Although the U.S. sanctions so far do not implicate any commercial activities involving Hong Kong, it is an area of concern if more sanctions from the U.S. may impact our Company’s ability to maintain a sound business relationship with our customers in the U.S.

Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could harm us.

Our operations in China are governed by PRC government laws and regulations. The PRC legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike common law systems, prior court decisions have limited precedential value. Borqs Beijing is generally subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investments in China and, in particular, laws applicable to wholly foreign-owned enterprises, and our other wholly-owned subsidiaries in China may be subject to certain laws and regulations in connection with investments made by foreign-invested enterprises.

Since 1979, PRC legislation and regulations have significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. However, China has not developed a fully integrated legal system and recently-enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China. In particular, because these laws and regulations are relatively new, and because of the limited volume of published decisions and their nonbinding nature, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. In addition, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all) that may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. Moreover, some regulatory requirements issued by certain PRC government authorities may not be consistently applied by other government authorities, including local government authorities, thus making strict compliance with all regulatory requirements impractical, or in some circumstances, impossible. Any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.

Additionally, some of the PRC laws and regulations governing our business operations in China are vague and their official interpretation and enforcement may involve substantial uncertainty. These include, but are not limited to, laws and regulations governing our business and the enforcement and performance of our contractual arrangements in the event of the imposition of statutory liens, death, bankruptcy and criminal proceedings. Despite their uncertainty, we will be required to comply.

Recent trade policy initiatives announced by the United States administration against the PRC may adversely affect our business.

On January 15, 2020, the United States and China executed an enforceable agreement on a Phase One trade deal that requires structural reforms and other changes to China’s economic and trade regime in the areas of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreign exchange. The Phase One agreement also includes a commitment by China that it will make substantial additional purchases of U.S. goods and services in the coming years. Importantly, the agreement establishes a strong dispute resolution system that ensures prompt and effective implementation and enforcement. The United States agreed to modify its Section 301 tariff actions in a significant way. The United States first imposed tariffs on imports from China based on the findings of the Section 301 investigation on China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation. The United States will be maintaining 25 percent tariffs on approximately $250 billion of Chinese imports, along with 7.5 percent tariffs on approximately $120 billion of Chinese imports.

In addition, political tensions between the United States and China have escalated due to, among other things, trade disputes, the COVID-19 outbreak, tensions over Taiwan sanctions imposed by the U.S. Department of Treasury on certain officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the PRC central government, the executive orders issued by former U.S. President Donald J. Trump in August 2020 that prohibit certain transactions with certain Chinese companies, and various restrictions related to the Chinese semiconductor industry imposed by the U.S. government. Against this backdrop, China has implemented, and may further implement, measures in response to the changing trade policies, treaties, tariffs and sanctions and restrictions against Chinese companies initiated by the U.S. government.

Our subsidiaries in China are subject to restrictions on making dividends and other payments to it or any other affiliated company.

We are a holding company and may rely on dividends paid by our PRC subsidiaries for our cash needs, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders to the extent we choose to do so, to service any debt it may incur and to pay our operating expenses. Current PRC regulations permit our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our PRC subsidiaries are required to set aside at least 10% of our after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a statutory reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of our registered capital. Appropriations to the employee welfare funds are at the discretion of the board of directors of Borqs Beijing. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends.

In addition, under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, which became effective on January 1, 2008, dividends paid to us by our PRC subsidiaries are subject to withholding tax. Currently, the withholding tax rate is 10.0% (subject to reductions by the relevant tax treaties, if applicable).

Furthermore, if our PRC subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us.

To date, our PRC subsidiaries have not paid dividends to us out of their accumulated profits. In the future, we do not expect to receive dividends from our PRC subsidiaries because the accumulated profits of these PRC subsidiaries are expected to be used for their own business or expansions. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to distribute dividends or other payments to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our businesses, pay dividends or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

The discontinuation of any of the preferential tax treatments currently available to our PRC subsidiaries could materially increase our tax liabilities.

Preferential tax treatments and incentives granted to our PRC subsidiaries by PRC governmental authorities are subject to review and may be adjusted or revoked at any time in the future. The discontinuation or revocation of any preferential tax treatments and incentives currently available to them will cause their effective tax rate to materially increase, which will decrease our net income and may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We face uncertainty with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises by their non-PRC holding companies.

On February 3, 2015, the State Administration of Taxation (the “SAT”) issued a Public Notice Regarding Certain Enterprise Income Tax Matters on Indirect Transfer of Properties by Non-Tax Resident Enterprises, or Public Notice 7, where a non-resident enterprise transfers taxable assets, through the offshore transfer of a foreign intermediate holding company, the non-resident enterprise, being the transferor, maybe subject to PRC enterprise income tax, if the indirect transfer is considered to be an arrangement which does not have a reasonable commercial purpose to circumvent enterprise income tax payment obligations. In addition, Public Notice 7 further provides certain criteria on how to assess reasonable commercial purposes and has introduced safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and sale of equity through a public securities market. Public Notice 7 also brings challenges to both the foreign transferor and transferee (or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer) of the taxable assets. Where a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring the taxable assets indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, the non-resident enterprise being the transferor, or the transferee, or the PRC entity which directly owned the taxable assets may report to the relevant tax authority such indirect transfer. Using a “substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may re-characterize such indirect transfer as a direct transfer of the equity interests in the PRC tax resident enterprise and other properties in China. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of up to 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise. Both the transferor and the transferee may be subject to penalties under PRC tax laws if the transferee fails to withhold the taxes and the transferor fails to pay the taxes.

On October 17, 2017, the SAT issued the Announcement on Issues Relating to Withholding at Source of Income Tax of Non-Resident Enterprises, or Announcement 37, which became effective on December 1, 2017. The Announcement 37 further clarifies the practice and procedure of the withholding of non-resident enterprise income tax.

We face uncertainties with respect to the reporting and consequences of private equity financing transactions, share exchange or other transactions involving the transfer of our ordinary shares by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises, or sale or purchase of shares in other non-PRC resident companies or other taxable assets by us. We and other non-resident enterprises in our group may be subject to filing obligations or being taxed if we and other non-resident enterprises affiliated with us are transferors in such transactions, and may be subject to withholding obligations if we and other non-resident enterprises affiliated with us are transferees in such transactions, under Public Notice 7 and Announcement 37. For the transfer of shares in us by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises, our PRC subsidiaries may be requested to assist in the filing under Public Notice 7 and Announcement 37. As a result, we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Public Notice 7 and Announcement 37 or to request the relevant transferors from whom we purchase taxable assets to comply with these circulars, or to establish that we and other non-resident enterprises affiliated with us should not be taxed under these circulars. The PRC tax authorities have the discretion under Public Notice 7 and Announcement 37 to make adjustments to the taxable capital gains based on the difference between the fair value of the taxable assets transferred and the cost of investment. If the PRC tax authorities make adjustments to the taxable income of the transactions under Public Notice 7 and Announcement 37, our income tax costs associated with such transactions will be increased in the event that we are a transferee of such transactions, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Heightened scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may also have a negative impact on potential acquisitions we may pursue in the future.

We may not be able to obtain certain treaty benefits on dividends paid by our PRC subsidiary to us through our Hong Kong Subsidiary.

Under the EIT Law, dividends generated from retained earnings after January 1, 2008 from a PRC company to a foreign parent company are subject to a withholding tax rate of 10.0% unless the foreign parent’s jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a preferential withholding arrangement. Pursuant to the Arrangement between Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income or the Hong Kong Tax Treaty, which became effective on August 21, 2006, a company incorporated in Hong Kong, such as Borqs Hong Kong, will be subject to withholding income tax at a rate of 5% on dividends it receives from our PRC subsidiary if it holds a 25.0% or more interest in that particular PRC subsidiary at all times within the 12-month period immediately preceding the distribution of dividends and be a “beneficial owner” of the dividends. In February 2018, the SAT issued the Announcement on Issues Relating to Beneficial Owners under Tax Treaties, or the SAT Announcement 9, which became effective from April 1, 2018 and supersedes the Notice on Interpretation and Determination of Beneficial Owners under Tax Treaties issued by the SAT on October 27, 2009 (or the Circular 601) and the Announcement Regarding Recognition of Beneficial Owners under Tax Treaties released by the SAT on June 29, 2012 (or the Announcement 30). Pursuant to Announcement 9, applicants who intend to prove their status of the “beneficial owner” shall submit the relevant documents to the relevant tax bureau according to the Announcement on Issuing the Measures for the Administration of Non-Resident Taxpayers’ Enjoyment of the Treatment under Tax Agreements and the SAT Announcement 9. “Beneficial Owners” are residents who have ownership and the right to dispose of the income or the rights and properties giving rise to the income. These rules also set forth certain adverse factors against the recognition of a “Beneficial Owner”, such as not carrying out substantive business activities. Whether a non-resident enterprise may obtain tax benefits under the relevant tax treaty will be subject to approval of the relevant PRC tax authority and will be determined by the PRC tax authority on a case-by-case basis. SAT Announcement 9 further provides that a comprehensive analysis should be made when determining the beneficial owner status based on various factors that supported by various types of documents including the articles of association, financial statements, records of cash movements, board meeting minutes, board resolutions, staffing and materials, relevant expenditures, functions and risk assumption as well as relevant contracts and other information.

In August 2015, the SAT promulgated the Administrative Measures for Non-Resident Taxpayers to Enjoy Treatments under Tax Treaties, or SAT Circular 60, which became effective on November 1, 2015. SAT Circular 60 provides that non-resident enterprises are not required to obtain pre-approval from the relevant tax authority in order to enjoy the reduced withholding tax rate. Instead, non-resident enterprises may, if they determine by self-assessment that the prescribed criteria to enjoy the tax treaty benefits are met, directly apply for the reduced withholding tax rate, and file necessary forms and supporting documents when performing tax filings, which will be subject to post-filing examinations by the relevant tax authorities.

As a result, although our PRC subsidiary, Borqs Beijing, is currently wholly owned by Borqs Hong Kong, we cannot assure you that we would be entitled to the tax treaty benefits and enjoy the favorable 5.0% rate applicable under the Hong Kong Tax on dividends. If Borqs Hong Kong cannot be recognized as the beneficial owner of the dividends to be paid by our PRC subsidiaries to us, such dividends will be subject to a normal withholding tax of 10% as provided by the EIT Law.

Restrictions on foreign currency may limit our ability to receive and use our revenue effectively.

The PRC government imposes controls on the conversion of the Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of foreign currency out of China. We receive part of our revenue in Renminbi. Under our current corporate structure, our British Virgin Islands holding company primarily relies on dividend payments from our PRC and Hong Kong subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”), by complying with certain procedural requirements. Specifically, under the existing exchange restrictions, without prior approval of SAFE, accumulated after-tax profits generated from the operations of Borqs Beijing in China may be used to pay dividends to us. However, approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities is required where Renminbi is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. As a result, we need to obtain approval from SAFE to use cash generated from the operations of our PRC subsidiaries to pay off any debt in a currency other than Renminbi owed to entities outside China, or to make other capital expenditure payments outside China in a currency other than Renminbi. The PRC government may at our discretion restrict access to foreign currencies for current account transactions in the future. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders.

Fluctuations in the value of the RMB may have a material adverse effect on your investment.

The value of the RMB against the U.S. Dollar and other currencies is affected by, among other things, changes in China’s political and economic conditions and China’s foreign exchange policies. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its policy of pegging the value of the Renminbi to the U.S. Dollar, and the RMB appreciated more than 20.0% against the U.S. Dollar over the following three years. However, the People’s Bank of China regularly intervenes in the foreign exchange market to limit fluctuations in Renminbi exchange rates and achieve policy goals. During the period between July 2008 and June 2010, the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. Dollar had been stable and traded within a narrow band. However, the Renminbi fluctuated significantly during that period against other freely traded currencies, in tandem with the U.S. Dollar. Since June 2010, the Renminbi has fluctuated against the U.S. Dollar, at times significantly and unpredictably, and in recent months the RMB has depreciated significantly against the U.S. Dollar. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. Dollar in the future.

Approximately half of our revenues and costs are denominated in RMB. Any significant revaluation of RMB may materially and adversely affect our cash flows, revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ordinary shares in U.S. dollars. For example, an appreciation of RMB against the U.S. dollar would make any new RMB denominated investments or expenditures more costly to us, to the extent that it needs to convert U.S. dollars into RMB for such purposes. An appreciation of RMB against the U.S. dollar would also result in foreign currency translation losses for financial reporting purposes when we translate our U.S. dollar denominated financial assets into RMB, as RMB is our reporting currency. Conversely, a significant depreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce the U.S. dollar equivalent of our earnings, which in turn could adversely affect the price of our ordinary shares. Furthermore, a significant depreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may have a material adverse impact on our cash flow in the event we need to convert our RMB into U.S. dollars to repay our U.S. dollar denominated payment obligations.

PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore holding companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiaries to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us, or may otherwise adversely affect us.

The SAFE issued the Notice on Issues Relating to the Administration of Foreign Exchange in Fund-Raising and Round-Trip Investment Activities of Domestic Residents Conducted via Offshore Special Purpose Companies on October 26, 2005, or Circular 75, requiring PRC residents, including PRC resident individuals and PRC companies, to register with the local SAFE branch before establishing or controlling any company outside of China for the purpose of capital financing with assets or equities of PRC companies owned by such PRC residents, referred to in the notice as an “offshore special purpose vehicle.” The PRC resident individuals include not only PRC citizens, but also foreign natural persons who habitually reside in China due to economic interests. SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or Circular 37, on July 4, 2014, which replaced the Circular 75. Circular 37 requires PRC residents to register with local branches of SAFE in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity, for the purpose of overseas investment and financing, with such PRC residents’ legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests, referred to in Circular 37 as a “special purpose vehicle.” Under Circular 37, a PRC resident who is a foreign nature person is not required to complete the registration if he/she uses assets outside China or equity interests in offshore entities to special purpose vehicles. The term “control” under Circular 37 is broadly defined as the operation rights, beneficiary rights or decision-making rights acquired by the PRC residents in the offshore special purpose vehicles or PRC companies by such means as acquisition, trust, proxy, voting rights, repurchase, convertible bonds or other arrangements. Circular 37 further requires amendment to the registration in the event of any changes with respect to the basic information of the special purpose vehicle, such as changes in a PRC resident individual shareholder, name or operation period; or any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle, such as increase or decrease of capital contributed by PRC individuals, share transfer or exchange, merger, division or other material event. If the shareholders of the offshore holding company who are PRC residents do not complete their registration with the local SAFE branches, the PRC subsidiaries may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to the offshore company, and the offshore company may be restricted in our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries. Moreover, failure to comply with SAFE registration and amendment requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions. On February 28, 2015, SAFE promulgated a Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving Foreign Exchange Administration Policy on Direct Investment, or Circular 13, which became effective on June 1, 2015. In accordance with Circular 13, entities and individuals are required to apply for foreign exchange registration of foreign direct investment and overseas direct investment, including those required under the Circular 37, with qualified banks, instead of SAFE. The qualified banks, under the supervision of SAFE, directly examine the applications and conduct the registration.

We requested all of our current shareholders and/or beneficial owners to disclose whether they or their shareholders or beneficial owners fall within the ambit of Circular 37 and Circular 13 and to register with the local SAFE branch as required under Circular 37 and Circular 13 as applicable. As of the date of this report, we are aware that a few of our natural person shareholders who are not PRC citizens may otherwise be deemed as PRC residents pursuant to the definitions under the SAFE regulations, but we are not aware that any of them uses assets inside China or equity interest in PRC companies to invest in the Company. Before the issuance of Circular 37, we had attempted to submit applications to the Beijing branch of SAFE for such individual shareholders in accordance with Circular 75, but those applications were not accepted by the Beijing branch of SAFE because those individuals are not PRC citizens. After Circular 37 became effective, we understand these individuals are not required to conduct the registrations since they do not use assets within China or equity interests in PRC companies to invest in the Company. We cannot assure you, however, that the SAFE’s opinion will be the same as our opinion and all of these individuals can successfully complete required filings or updates on a timely manner, or at all in the event these individuals required to conduct the filings. Besides, we have issued and may in future issue shares to certain PRC citizens for the purpose of acquisition of other companies and we have or will request them to register with the local SAFE branch as required under Circular 37 and Circular 13. We cannot assure you, however, that the all of these individuals can successfully complete required filings or updates on a timely manner, or at all. Furthermore, as there is uncertainty concerning the reconciliation of the new regulations with other approval requirements, it is unclear how these regulations, and any further regulation concerning offshore or cross-border transactions, will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant government authorities. We can provide no assurance that we currently are, and we will in the future continue to be, fully informed of identities of all our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents, and we cannot provide any assurance that all of our shareholders and beneficial owners who are PRC residents will comply with our request to make, obtain or update any applicable registrations or comply with other requirements required by Circular 37 and Circular 13 or other related rules in a timely manner. Any failure or inability by any of our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents to comply with SAFE regulations may subject them to fines or other legal sanctions, such as potential liability for our PRC subsidiaries and, in some instances, for their legal representatives and other liable individuals, as well as restrictions on our ability to contribute additional capital into our PRC subsidiaries or our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to, or obtain foreign-exchange-denominated loans from our offshore holding companies. As a result, our business operations and our ability to make distributions to you could be materially and adversely affected.

Failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for employee stock incentive plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.

In December 2006, the People’s Bank of China promulgated the Administrative Measures of Foreign Exchange Matters for Individuals, which set forth the respective requirements for foreign exchange transactions by individuals (both PRC or non-PRC citizens) under either the current account or the capital account. In January 2007, SAFE issued implementing rules for the Administrative Measures of Foreign Exchange Matters for Individuals, which, among other things, specified approval requirements for certain capital account transactions such as a PRC citizen’s participation in the employee stock ownership plans or stock option plans of an overseas publicly-listed company. In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plans of Overseas Publicly-Listed Companies, or the Stock Option Rules, which replaced the Application Procedures of Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Employee Stock Ownership Plans or Stock Option Plans of Overseas Publicly-Listed Companies issued by SAFE in March 2007. Under these rules, PRC residents who participate in stock incentive plans in an overseas publicly-listed company are required to register with SAFE or our local branches and complete certain other procedures. Participants of a stock incentive plan who are PRC residents must retain a qualified PRC agent, which could be a PRC subsidiary of such overseas publicly-listed company or another qualified institution selected by such PRC subsidiary, to conduct the SAFE registration and other procedures with respect to the stock incentive plan on behalf of our participants. Such participants must also retain an overseas entrusted institution to handle matters in connection with their exercise of stock options, the purchase and sale of corresponding stocks or interests and fund transfers. In addition, the PRC agent is required to amend the SAFE registration with respect to the stock incentive plan if there is any material change to the stock incentive plan, the PRC agent or the overseas entrusted institution or other material changes.

We and our PRC resident employees who participate in our employee stock incentive plans are subject to these regulations. If we or our PRC option grantees fail to comply with these regulations, we or our PRC option grantees may be subject to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions. We started to process the SAFE application for our employee stock option plan during fiscal year 2021. The application is still pending as of December 31, 2022.

PRC regulations establish complex procedures for some acquisitions conducted by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in China.

The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, adopted by six PRC regulatory agencies in August 2006 and amended in June 2009, among other things, established additional procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex. In addition, the Implementing Rules Concerning Security Review on the Mergers and Acquisitions by Foreign Investors of Domestic Enterprises, issued by the Ministry of Commerce in August 2011, specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors involved in “an industry related to national security” are subject to strict review by the Ministry of Commerce, and prohibit any activities attempting to bypass such security review, including by structuring the transaction through a proxy or contractual control arrangement. We believe that our business is not in an industry related to national security, but it cannot preclude the possibility that the Ministry of Commerce or other government agencies may publish explanations contrary to our understanding or broaden the scope of such security reviews in the future, in which case our future acquisitions in the PRC, including those by way of entering into contractual control arrangements with target entities, may be closely scrutinized or prohibited. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law requires that the Ministry of Commerce be notified in advance of any concentration of undertaking if certain filing thresholds are triggered. We may grow our business in part by directly acquiring complementary businesses in China. Complying with the requirements of the laws and regulations mentioned above and other PRC regulations to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the Ministry of Commerce, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share. Our ability to expand our business or maintain or expand our market share through future acquisitions would as such be materially and adversely affected.

Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of draft PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.

The Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) published a discussion draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law in January 2015 aiming to, upon its enactment, replace the trio of existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. The draft Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected PRC regulatory trend to rationalize its foreign investment regulatory regime in line with prevailing international practice and the legislative efforts to unify the corporate legal requirements for both foreign and domestic investments. A draft Foreign Investment Law drafted by the MOFCOM and the National Development and Reform Commission, or the NDRC, has been included in the list of draft laws submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for deliberation under the 2018 Legislation Plan of the State Council. However, it is uncertain when the draft would be signed into law and whether the draft version submitted for deliberation or the final version would have any substantial changes from the draft version published by the MOFCOM. The draft Foreign Investment Law, if enacted as proposed, may materially impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations in many aspects.

Among other things, the draft Foreign Investment Law expands the definition of foreign investment and introduces the principle of “actual control” in determining whether a company should be treated as a foreign-invested enterprise, or a FIE. According to the definition set forth in the draft Foreign Investment Law, FIEs refer to enterprises established in China pursuant to PRC law that are solely or partially invested by foreign investors. The draft Foreign Investment Law specifically provides that entities established in China (without direct foreign equity ownership) but “controlled” by foreign investors, through contract or trust for example, will be treated as FIEs. Once an entity falls within the definition of FIE, it may be subject to foreign investment “restrictions” or “prohibitions” set forth in a “negative list” to be separately issued by the State Council later. If a FIE proposes to conduct business in an industry subject to foreign investment “restrictions” in the “negative list,” the FIE must go through a market entry clearance by the Ministry of Commerce before being established. A FIE is prohibited from conducting business in an industry subject to foreign investment “prohibitions” in the “negative list”. However, a FIE, during the market entry clearance process, may apply in writing to be treated as a PRC domestic enterprise if its foreign investor(s) is/are ultimately “controlled” by PRC government authorities and its affiliates and/or PRC citizens. In this connection, “control” is broadly defined in the draft law to cover the following summarized categories: (i) holding 50% or more of the voting rights of the subject entity; (ii) holding less than 50% of the voting rights of the subject entity but having the power to secure at least 50% of the seats on the board or other equivalent decision making bodies, or having the voting power to exert material influence on the board, the shareholders’ meeting or other equivalent decision making bodies; or (iii) having the power to exert decisive influence, via contractual or trust arrangements, over the subject entity’s operations, financial matters or other key aspects of business operations.

The “variable interest entity” structure, or VIE structure, has been adopted by many PRC-based companies, including us with respect to our MVNO business, to obtain necessary licenses and permits in the industries that are currently subject to foreign investment restrictions in China. Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, variable interest entities that are controlled via contractual arrangement would also be deemed as FIEs, if they are ultimately “controlled” by foreign investors. Therefore, for any companies with a VIE structure in an industry category that is included in the “negative list” as restricted industry, the VIE structure may be deemed legitimate only if the ultimate controlling person(s) is/are of PRC nationality (either PRC government authorities and its affiliates or PRC citizens). Conversely, if the actual controlling person(s) is/are of foreign nationalities, then the variable interest entities will be treated as FIEs and any operation in the industry category on the “negative list” without market entry clearance may be considered as illegal.

The draft Foreign Investment Law has not taken a position on what actions shall be taken with respect to the existing companies with a VIE structure, whether or not these companies are controlled by Chinese parties, while it is soliciting comments from the public on this point. Moreover, it is uncertain whether the telecommunication business, in which our variable interest entity operates, will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in the “negative list” to be issued. If the enacted version of the Foreign Investment Law and the final “negative list” mandate further actions, such as Ministry of Commerce market entry clearance, to be completed by companies with existing VIE structure like us, we face uncertainties as to whether such clearance can be timely obtained, or at all.

The draft Foreign Investment Law, if enacted as proposed, may also materially impact our corporate governance practice and increase our compliance costs. For instance, the draft Foreign Investment Law imposes stringent ad hoc and periodic information reporting requirements on foreign investors and the applicable FIEs.

Aside from investment implementation report and investment amendment report that are required at each investment and alteration of investment specifics, an annual report is mandatory, and large foreign investors meeting certain criteria are required to report on a quarterly basis. Any company found to be non-compliant with this information reporting obligations may potentially be subject to fines and/or administrative or criminal liabilities, and the persons directly responsible may be subject to criminal liabilities.

The enforcement of the labor laws and other labor-related regulations in the PRC may adversely affect our results of operations.

On June 29, 2007, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China enacted the Labor Contract Law, which became effective on January 1, 2008 and was revised on December 28, 2012. The Labor Contract Law introduces specific provisions related to fixed-term employment contracts, part-time employment, probation, consultation with labor union and employee assemblies, employment without a written contract, dismissal of employees, severance, and collective bargaining, which together represent enhanced enforcement of labor laws and regulations. According to the Labor Contract Law, an employer is obliged to sign an unlimited-term labor contract with any employee who has worked for the employer for ten consecutive years. Further, if an employee requests or agrees to renew a fixed-term labor contract that has already been entered into twice consecutively, the resulting contract must have an unlimited term, with certain exceptions. The employer must pay severance to an employee where a labor contract is terminated or expires, with certain exceptions. In addition, the government has continued to introduce various new labor-related regulations after the effectiveness of the Labor Contract Law. Among other things, it is required that that annual leave ranging from five to 15 days be made available to employees and that the employee be compensated for any untaken annual leave days in the amount of three times of the employee’s daily salary, subject to certain exceptions. As a result of these regulations designed to enhance labor protection and increasing labor costs in China, our labor costs have increased. In addition, as the interpretation and implementation of these new regulations are still evolving, we cannot assure you that our employment practice will at all times be deemed in compliance with the new regulations. If we are subject to severe penalties or incur significant liabilities in connection with labor disputes or investigations, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Our failure to make adequate contributions to various employee benefit plans as required by PRC regulations may subject us to penalties.

Companies operating in China are required to participate in various government sponsored employee benefit plans, including certain social insurance, housing funds and other welfare-oriented payment obligations. Our failure to make contributions to various employee benefit plans and to comply with applicable PRC labor-related laws may subject us to late payment penalties. If we are subject to such penalties in relation to the underpaid employee benefits, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

If the custodians or authorized users of our controlling non-tangible assets, including corporate chops and seals, fail to fulfill their responsibilities or misappropriate or misuse those assets, our business and operations could be materially and adversely affected.

In China, a company chop or seal serves as the legal representation of the company towards third parties even when unaccompanied by a signature. Under PRC law, legal documents for corporate transactions, including contracts and leases that our business relies upon, are executed using “corporate chops,” which are instruments that contain either the official seal of the signing entity or the signature of a legal representative whose designation is registered and filed with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, or SAIC.

Our PRC subsidiaries generally execute legal documents with corporate chops. One or more of our corporate chops may be used to, among other things, execute commercial sales or purchase contracts, procurement contracts and office leases, open bank accounts, issue checks and to issue invoices. We believe that it has sufficient controls in place over access to and use of the chops. Our chops, or chops, including the chops at headquarters level and of each PRC subsidiary, are kept securely at our legal department under the direction of the executive officers at vice president level or higher. Use of chops requires proper approvals in accordance with our internal control procedures. The custodian at our legal department also maintains a log to keep a detailed record or each use of the chops.

However, we cannot assure you that unauthorized access to or use of those chops can be prevented. Our designated employees who hold the corporate chops could abuse their authority by, for example, binding us to contracts against our interests or intentions, which could result in economic harm, disruption or our operations or other damages to them as a result of any contractual obligations, or resulting disputes, that might arise. If the party contracting with us asserted that we did not act in good faith under such circumstances, then we could incur costs to nullify such contracts. Such corporate or legal action could involve significant time and resources, while distracting management from our operations. In addition, we may not be able to recover corporate assets that are sold or transferred out of our control in the event of such a misappropriation if a transferee relies on the apparent authority of the representative and acts in good faith.

If a designated employee uses a chop in an effort to obtain control over one or more of our PRC subsidiaries, we would need to take legal action to seek the return of the applicable chop(s), apply for a new chop(s) with the relevant authorities or otherwise seek legal redress for the violation of their duties. During any period where we lose effective control of the corporate activities of one or more of our PRC subsidiaries as a result of such misuse or misappropriation, the business activities of the affected entity could be disrupted and we could lose the economic benefits of that aspect of our business. To the extent those chops are stolen or are used by unauthorized persons or for unauthorized purposes, the corporate governance of these entities could be severely and adversely compromised and the operations of those entities could be significantly and adversely impacted.

Risks Related to Our Securities

If equity research analysts publish unfavorable commentary or downgrade our ordinary shares, the price and trading volume of our ordinary shares could decline.

The trading market for our ordinary shares could be affected by whether equity research analysts publish research or reports about us and our business. We cannot predict at this time whether any research analysts will publish research and reports on us and our ordinary shares. If one or more equity analysts do cover us and our ordinary shares and publish research reports about us, the price of our stock could decline if one or more securities analysts downgrade our stock or if those analysts issue other unfavorable commentary or cease publishing reports about us or our business.

If any of the analysts who elect to cover us downgrades our stock, our stock price could decline rapidly. If any of these analysts ceases coverage of us, we could lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause our ordinary shares price or trading volume to decline and our ordinary shares to be less liquid.

Future equity issuances could result in dilution, which could cause our ordinary shares price to decline.

We are generally not restricted from issuing additional ordinary shares, and there is no limit to the number of ordinary shares that we are authorized to issue by our memorandum and articles of association. We may issue additional ordinary shares in the future pursuant to current or future equity compensation plans, upon conversions of preferred shares or debt, upon exercise of warrants or in connection with future acquisitions or financings. If we choose to raise capital by selling our ordinary shares for any reason, the issuance would have a dilutive effect on the holders of our ordinary shares and could have a material negative effect on the market price of our ordinary shares.

Future sales of our ordinary shares by existing shareholders may cause our ordinary shares price to decline.

If our existing shareholders sell, or indicate an intent to sell, amounts of our ordinary shares in the public market after the contractual lock-up and other legal restrictions on resale lapse, the trading price of our ordinary shares could decline.

We may issue additional preferred shares in the future, which could make it difficult for another company to acquire us or could otherwise adversely affect holders of our ordinary shares, which could depress the price of our ordinary shares.

Our board also has the power, without shareholder approval, to set the terms of any series of preferred shares that may be issued, including voting rights, dividend rights and preferences over our ordinary shares with respect to dividends or in the event of a dissolution, liquidation or winding up and other terms. In the event that we issue preferred shares in the future that have preference over our ordinary shares with respect to payment of dividends or upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, or if we issue preferred shares with voting rights that dilute the voting power of our ordinary shares, the rights of the holders of our ordinary shares or the market price of our ordinary shares could be adversely affected. In addition, the ability of our Board to issue preferred shares without any action on the part of our shareholders may impede a takeover of us and prevent a transaction perceived to be favorable to our shareholders.

Global economic uncertainty and financial market volatility caused by political instability, changes in international trade relationships and conflicts, such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, could make it more difficult for us to access financing and could adversely affect our business and operations.

Our abilities to raise capital and operate our business are subject to the risk of adverse changes in the market value of our securities. Periods of macroeconomic weakness or recession and heightened market volatility caused by adverse geopolitical developments could increase these risks, potentially resulting in adverse impacts on our ability to raise further capital on favorable terms. The impact of geopolitical tension, such as a deterioration in the relationships among the US, China, India and European countries or an escalation in conflict between Russia and Ukraine, including any resulting sanctions, export controls or other restrictive actions that may be imposed by the US and/or other countries against governmental or other entities in, for example, Russia, also could lead to disruption, instability and volatility in global trade patterns, which may in turn impact our ability to source necessary reagents, raw materials and other inputs for our operations.

We may be classified as a passive foreign investment company, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequence to U.S. holders of our ordinary shares.

We have not made a determination as to whether we would be classified as a “passive foreign investment company,” or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for our preceding taxable year nor can we assure you that we will not be a PFIC for our current taxable year or any future taxable year. A foreign (non-U.S) corporation will be considered a PFIC for any taxable year if either (1) at least 75% of its gross income is passive income or (2) or least 50% of the value of its assets (generally based on an average of the quarterly values of the assets during a taxable year) is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income. PFIC status depends on the composition of our assets and income and the value of our assets (including, among others, a pro rata portion of the income and assets of each subsidiary in which we own, directly or indirectly, at least 25% (by value) of the equity interest) from time to time. Depending on the amount of cash or cash equivalents we currently hold, which are generally treated as passive assets, and because the calculation of the value of our assets may be based in part on the value of our ordinary shares, which is likely to fluctuate, we may be a PFIC for any taxable year. If we were treated as a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section entitled “Taxation – U.S. Federal Income Taxation – General”) held an ordinary share or warrant, certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences could apply to such U.S. Holder. For more information, see “Taxation – U.S. Federal Income Taxation – U.S. Holders – Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”