UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Amendment No. 1)
(Mark One)
| REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
OR
| ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For
the fiscal year ended
OR
| TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from ___________ to ___________
OR
| SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
Date of event requiring this shell company report _________________________
Commission
file number:
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Not Applicable
(Translation of Registrant’s Name Into English)
(Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
Tel:
Fax:
(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of Each Class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of Each Exchange On Which Registered | ||
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act.
None
(Title of Class)
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act.
None
(Title of Class)
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report (December 31, 2021): ordinary shares, no par value
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐
If
this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section
13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2)
has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule
405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer, “accelerated filer,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large Accelerated Filer ☐ | Accelerated Filer ☐ | Emerging
growth company |
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered
public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.
Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:
| International Financial Reporting ☐ | Other ☐ | |||
| Standards as issued by the International | ||||
| Accounting Standards Board |
If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow. ☐ Item 17 ☐ Item 18
If
this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange
Act). Yes ☐
EXPLANATORY NOTE
In addition, pursuant to Rule 12b-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Amendment also contains new certifications by the principal executive officer and the principal financial officer in Exhibits 12.1, 12.2, 13.1 and 13.2 as required by Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Except as specifically described above, this Amendment does not reflect events occurring after the filing of the Original Annual Report, nor does it modify or update disclosures therein in any way other than as required to reflect the revisions described above. Among other things, forward-looking statements made in the Original Annual Report have not been revised to reflect events that occurred or facts that became known to us after the filing of the Original Annual Report, and any such forward looking statements should be read in their historical context. Accordingly, this Amendment should be read in conjunction with the Original Annual Report.
Annual Report on Form 20-F
Year Ended December 31, 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| i |
INTRODUCTORY NOTES
Use of Certain Defined Terms
Except as otherwise indicated by the context and for the purposes of this report only, references in this report to:
| ● | “Taoping” or “the Company” are to Taoping Inc., a British Virgin Islands holding company, which has no business operations of its own; | |
| ● | “We,” “us,” “our” and “our company” are to the combined business of Taoping and its subsidiaries; | |
| ● | “Taoping Holdings” are to Taoping Holdings Limited, a BVI subsidiary of Taoping; | |
| ● | “Taoping Group” and “IST HK” are to Taoping Group (China) Ltd., a Hong Kong company; | |
| ● | “TopCloud” are to TopCloud Software Co., Ltd., a PRC company; | |
| ● | “IST” are to Information Security Tech. (China) Co., Ltd., a PRC company; | |
| ● | “ISIOT” are to Information Security IoT Tech. Co., Ltd., a PRC company; | |
| ● | “iASPEC” are to iASPEC Technology Co., Ltd, a PRC company; | |
| ● | “Geo” are to Wuda Geoinformatics Co., Ltd., a PRC company; | |
| ● | “Biznest” are to Biznest Internet Technology Co., Ltd., a PRC company; | |
| ● | “Bocom” are to iASPEC Bocom IoT Technology Co. Ltd., a PRC company; | |
| ● | “BVI” are to the British Virgin Islands; | |
| ● | “Hong Kong” are to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China; | |
| ● | “PRC” and “China” are to the People’s Republic of China; | |
| ● | “SEC” are to the Securities and Exchange Commission; | |
| ● | “Exchange Act” are to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; | |
| ● | “Securities Act” are to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; | |
| ● | “Renminbi” and “RMB” are to the legal currency of China; and | |
| ● | “U.S. dollars,” “dollars” and “$” are to the legal currency of the United States. |
On July 30, 2020, we completed a share combination of our ordinary shares at a ratio of one-for-six, which decreased our outstanding ordinary shares to approximately 7,332,434 shares. This share combination did not change our authorized amount of shares or the par value of our ordinary shares. Accordingly, except as otherwise indicated, all share and per share information contained in this annual report has been restated to retroactively show the effect of the share combination.
Forward-Looking Information
In addition to historical information, this annual report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including “anticipates,” “believes,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “should,” or “will” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Such statements include, among others, those concerning market and industry segment growth and demand and acceptance of new and existing products; any projections of sales, earnings, revenue, margins or other financial items; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; and any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, as well as all assumptions, expectations, predictions, intentions or beliefs about future events. You are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions, which, if they were to ever materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the Company’s potential inability to achieve or sustain profitability or reasonably predict its future results due to the Company’s limited operating history of providing blockchain technology and smart cloud services, the effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the emergence of additional competing technologies, changes in domestic and foreign laws, regulations and taxes, uncertainties related to China’s legal system and economic, political and social events in China, the volatility of the securities markets; and other risks including, but not limited to, those that we discussed or referred to in Item 3 “Key information—D. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this annual report.
Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in this report and our other filings with the SEC. These reports attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and prospects. The forward-looking statements made in this report speak only as of the date hereof and we disclaim any obligation, except as required by law, to provide updates, revisions or amendments to any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in our expectations or future events.
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PART I
Taoping is not an operating company but rather a holding company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. Because Taoping has no business operations of its own, we conduct our business through Taoping’s operating subsidiaries, primarily in Hong Kong, mainland China and Kazakhstan. This structure involves unique risks to investors and you may never directly hold equity interests in Taoping’s operating entities. You are specifically cautioned that there are significant legal and operational risks associated with being based in or having the majority of operations in China, including that changes in the legal, political and economic policies of the Chinese government, the relations between China and the United States, or Chinese or United States regulations may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and the market price of Taoping’s securities. Moreover, the Chinese government may exercise significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our business and may intervene in or influence our operations at any time, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of Taoping’s securities or could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer Taoping securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. For a detailed description of risks related to the holding corporate structure, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China”.
ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION
Taoping was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands under the BVI Act on June 18, 2012. Taoping is not an operating company but rather a holding company conducting its operations through Taoping’s operating subsidiaries, primarily in Hong Kong, mainland China and Kazakhstan. This structure involves unique risks to investors and you may never directly hold equity interests in Taoping’s operating entities. Between July 2007 and September 2021, Taoping employed a variable interest entity structure where the operating entities were controlled and consolidated based on contractual agreements, rather than direct ownership, due to restrictions on foreign investment in value-added telecommunication business in China. Taoping dissolved such variable interest entity structure in September 2021 and ceased the e-commerce and related businesses which had constituted an insignificant portion of its consolidated revenue prior to such dissolution. See “—Regulatory Permissions to Operate Business” below for more information. Since then, Taoping has been owning all of the operating entities through one or more subsidiaries. While the variable interest entity structure was in place, Taoping did not experience any difficulty in controlling the operating entities through contractual arrangements and the terms of the contractual agreements relating to the variable interest entity structure had been complied with by the parties of such agreements
You are specifically cautioned that there are significant legal and operational risks associated with being based in or having the majority of operations in China. Specifically, the PRC government recently initiated a series of regulatory actions and made a number of public statements on the regulation of business operations in China, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, enhancing supervision over China-based companies listed overseas using a variable interest entity structure, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. We do not believe that our subsidiaries in Hong Kong or mainland China are directly subject to these regulatory actions or statements, as we have not carried out any monopolistic behavior and our business does not involve the collection of personal information or implicate national security. We also have dissolved the variable interest entity structure in 2021 as our business does not involve any type of restricted industry. However, since these statements and regulatory actions by the PRC government are newly published and detailed official guidance and related implementation rules have not been issued or taken effect, uncertainties exist as to how soon the regulatory bodies in China will finalize implementation measures, and the impacts the modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operation, the ability to accept foreign investments and list the Company’s securities on an U.S. or other foreign exchange. For a detailed description of various risks related to doing business in China, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China”.
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In addition, pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCA Act”) enacted in 2020, if the auditor of a U.S. listed company’s financial statements is not subject to Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) inspections for three consecutive “non-inspection” years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) is required to prohibit the securities of such issuer from being traded on a U.S. national securities exchange, such as NYSE and Nasdaq, or in U.S. over-the-counter markets. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which if enacted into law would amend the HFCA Act and require the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive “non-inspection” years instead of three. The PCAOB issued a Determination Report on December 16, 2021 which found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong because of a position taken by one or more authorities in such jurisdictions. In addition, the PCAOB’s report identified specific registered public accounting firms which are subject to these determinations. Our current registered public accounting firm, PKF Littlejohn LLP (“PKF”), or our former registered public accounting firm, UHY LLP, is not headquartered in mainland China or Hong Kong and was not identified in this report as a firm subject to the PCAOB’s determination. They both are subject to full inspection by the PCAOB and the PCAOB is able to inspect the audit workpapers of our China subsidiaries, as such workpapers are electronic files possessed by our registered public accounting firms. However, if the PCAOB determines in the future that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor at such future time, trading in the Company’s securities would be prohibited under the HFCA Act. See “Risk Factor—Risks Related to Doing Business in China— The increased regulatory scrutiny focusing on U.S.-listed companies with significant operations in China in the U.S. could add uncertainties to our business operations, share price and reputation. Although our former auditor, UHY LLP, and current auditor, PKF, are both subject to inspection by the PCAOB, trading in the Company’s securities may be prohibited under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB subsequently determines our audit work is performed by auditors that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely, and as a result, U.S. national securities exchanges, such as the Nasdaq, may determine to delist the Company’s securities. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which, if enacted, would amend the HFCA Act and require the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to the PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three.”
Cash is transferred through our organization in the following manner:
| ● | Our equity structure is a direct holding structure, that is, Taoping, the British Virgin Islands entity listed in the U.S., controls its operating subsidiaries in Hong Kong, mainland China and Kazakhstan, through Taoping Holdings, a British Virgin Islands subsidiary of Taoping. See Item 4. “Information of the Company – A. History and Development of the Company – Corporate Structure” for more details. | |
| ● | As of the date of this report, neither Taoping nor any of its subsidiaries have paid dividends or made distributions to U.S. investors. | |
| ● | Within our direct holding structure, the cross-border transfer of funds from Taoping to its Chinese subsidiaries is legal and compliant with the laws and regulations of China. Taoping is permitted to provide funding to its subsidiaries in mainland China in the form of shareholder loans or capital contributions, subject to satisfaction of applicable government registration, approval and filing requirements of the respective jurisdiction. There are no quantity limits on Taoping’s ability to make capital contributions to its subsidiaries in mainland China under the PRC regulations. Historically, cash proceeds raised from overseas financing activities by Taoping have been first transferred to its BVI subsidiary, Taoping Holdings. Whenever we need to make capital contributions to either of our PRC subsidiaries by contributing any of such net proceeds, and convert the contributed proceeds into RMB, we will need to increase the PRC subsidiary’s registered capital by registering and/or filing the increase with the Ministry of Commerce or one of its local branches, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”) or one of its local branches, or an authorized bank. If we transfer any of the proceeds to one of our PRC subsidiaries through loans, under current PRC law we will also need to register such loans with the SAFE or one of its local branches, and the amount that we may convert into RMB and loan to one of these entities will be limited by applicable SAFE regulations, in the case of a loan to one of our PRC subsidiaries, to the greater of (i) the difference between the subsidiary’s approved total investment and the subsidiary’s total registered capital and (ii) two times the PRC subsidiary’s net assets. | |
| ● | As a holding company, Taoping relies on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by its operating subsidiaries in Hong Kong, mainland China and Kazakhstan for cash requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to its shareholders or to any service expenses it may incur. For operating subsidiaries in mainland China, they will first transfer funds to Taoping Group in accordance with applicable laws and regulations of Hong Kong and mainland China, and then to Taoping through Taoping Holdings. Taoping will then distribute dividends to its shareholders in proportion to their respective shareholding, regardless of whether the shareholders are U.S. investors or investors in other countries or regions. As of the date of this report, none of our subsidiaries has made any transfers, dividends or other distributions to Taoping, the holding company. We intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to the development and growth of our business in China and do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. |
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| ● | The ability of our subsidiaries in mainland China to distribute dividends is based upon their distributable earnings. Current PRC regulations permit these subsidiaries to pay dividends to their respective shareholders only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our subsidiaries in mainland China is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a statutory reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of its registered capital. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. In addition, if any of our operating subsidiaries incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing such debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends to Taoping. We believe, other than above, current PRC regulations do not prohibit or limit using cash generated from one subsidiary to fund another subsidiary’s operations. We currently do not have our own cash management policy and procedures that dictate how funds are transferred. |
The table below presents the cash flows between our subsidiaries for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and 2021.
Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| Cash Flows Between Subsidiaries(1) | 2020 | 2021 | ||||||
| Advances between subsidiaries(2) | 973,558 | 11,396,890 | ||||||
| Settlement of trade credits between subsidiaries(3) | - | - | ||||||
| Additional paid-in capital by immediate parent company | - | 7,064,437 | ||||||
| Intercompany dividends or other distributions | - | - | ||||||
(1) For ease of comparison over the financial periods presented, the “subsidiaries” in the table above include consolidated VIE entities as to the years ended December 31, 2020 and the first nine months of 2021.
(2) Represent the sum of advances among offshore subsidiaries (including BVI subsidiary, Hong Kong subsidiaries and Kazakhstan subsidiaries), and between such offshore subsidiaries and PRC subsidiaries in mainland China. These advances were made in the ordinary course of business, payable on demand and interest free.
(3) The trade credits extended between subsidiaries primarily related to provision of technical services, sales of products, and sublease of office between PRC subsidiaries. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2021, the trade credits between subsidiaries amounted to $944,715 and $323,383, respectively. The Company’s subsidiaries only record but do not settle the trade credits in cash between them, which is allowed under the PRC laws.
Restrictions on Cash Transfers
We face various restrictions and limitations on foreign exchange, our ability to transfer cash between entities, across borders and to U.S. investors, and our ability to distribute earnings from our subsidiaries to Taoping and holders of our ordinary shares. If our subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing their debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends to us. In addition, our PRC subsidiaries are permitted to pay dividends to us only out of their retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Pursuant to laws applicable to entities incorporated in the PRC, our subsidiaries in the PRC must make appropriations from after-tax profit to non-distributable reserve funds. These reserve funds include one or more of the following: (i) a general reserve, (ii) an enterprise expansion fund and (iii) a staff bonus and welfare fund. Subject to certain cumulative limits, the general reserve fund requires an annual appropriation of 10% of after-tax profit (as determined under accounting principles generally accepted in the PRC at each year-end) until the accumulative amount of such reserve fund reaches 50% of its registered capital; the other fund appropriations are at the subsidiaries’ discretion. These reserve funds can only be used for the specific purposes of enterprise expansion, staff bonus and welfare, and are not distributable as cash dividends. Also, due to restrictions on the distribution of share capital from our PRC subsidiaries, the share capital of our PRC subsidiaries, is considered restricted.
Due to various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies, we may not be able to obtain the necessary government approvals or complete the necessary government registrations or other procedures on a timely basis, or at all, with respect to future loans or capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiaries. This may delay or prevent us from using our offshore funds to make loans or capital contribution to our PRC subsidiaries, and thus may restrict our ability to execute our business strategy, and materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
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Furthermore, due to restrictions on foreign exchange placed on our PRC subsidiaries by the PRC government under PRC laws and regulations, to the extent cash is located in the PRC or within a PRC domiciled entity and may need to be used to fund our operations outside of the PRC, the funds may not be available due to such limitations unless and until related approvals and registrations are obtained. Under regulations of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”) of China, the Renminbi is not convertible into foreign currencies for capital account items, such as loans, repatriation of investments and investments outside of China, unless the prior approval of the SAFE is obtained and prior registration with the SAFE is made.
Regulatory Permissions to Operate Business
The establishment, operation and management of corporate entities in mainland China are governed by the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China, or the China Company Law, which was adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (“SCNPC”) in December 1993, implemented in July 1994, and subsequently amended in December 1999, August 2004, October 2005, December 2013 and October 2018. Under the China Company Law, companies are generally classified into two categories: limited liability companies and companies limited by shares. The China Company Law also applies to foreign-invested limited liability companies and foreign-invested companies limited by shares. Pursuant to the China Company Law, where laws on foreign investment have other stipulations, such stipulations shall prevail. In December 2021, the SCNPC issued the draft amendment to the China Company Law for comment. The draft amended China Company Law has made roughly 70 substantive changes to the 13 chapters and 218 articles of the current Company Law (rev. 2018). It would (i) refine special provisions on state-funded companies; (ii) improve the company establishment and exit system; (iii) optimize corporate structure and corporate governance; (iv) optimize the capital structure; (v) tighten the responsibilities of controlling shareholders and management personnel; and (vi) strengthen corporate social responsibility.
Investment activities in mainland China by foreign investors are governed by the Guiding Foreign Investment Direction, which was promulgated by the State Council on February 11, 2002, and came into effect on April 1, 2002, and the latest Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access (2021), or the Negative List, which was promulgated by the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) and the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) on December 27, 2021, and took effect on January 1, 2022. The Negative List set out in a unified manner the restrictive measures, such as the requirements on shareholding percentages and management, for the access of foreign investments, and the industries that are prohibited for foreign investment. The Negative List covers 12 industries, and any field not falling in the Negative List shall be administered under the principle of equal treatment to domestic and foreign investment.
The Foreign Investment Law of the People’s Republic of China, or the Foreign Investment Law was promulgated by the NPC in March 2019 and become effective in January 2020. The investment activities of foreign natural persons, enterprises or other organizations (hereinafter referred to as foreign investors) directly or indirectly within the territory of mainland China are governed by the Foreign Investment Law, including: 1) establishing by foreign investors of foreign-invested enterprises in mainland China alone or jointly with other investors; 2) acquiring by foreign investors of shares, equity, property shares, or other similar interests of Chinese domestic enterprises; 3) investing by foreign investors in new projects in mainland China alone or jointly with other investors; and 4) other forms of investment prescribed by laws, administrative regulations or the State Council.
In December 2019, the State Council issued the Regulations on Implementing the Foreign Investment Law, which came into effect in January 2020. After the Regulations on Implementing the Foreign Investment Law came into effect, the Regulation on Implementing the Law on Sino-foreign Equity Joint Ventures, Provisional Regulations on the Duration of Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures, the Regulations on Implementing the Law on Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises and the Regulations on Implementing the Law on Sino-Foreign Cooperative Joint Ventures have been repealed simultaneously.
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In December 2019, the MOFCOM and the State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) issued the Measures for the Reporting of Foreign Investment Information, which came into effect in January 2020. After the Measures for the Reporting of Foreign Investment Information came into effect, the Interim Measures on the Administration of Filing for Establishment and Change of Foreign Invested Enterprises has been repealed simultaneously. Since January 1, 2020, for foreign investors carrying out investment activities directly or indirectly in mainland China, the foreign investors or foreign-invested enterprises shall submit investment information to the relevant commerce administrative authorities pursuant to these measures.
In light of the above restrictions and requirements, prior to the dissolution of our VIE structure in September 2021, we had conducted our value-added telecommunications businesses through our then consolidated VIEs. As a result of the dissolution of our VIE structure, we ceased the e-commerce and related businesses which had constituted a minor portion of our consolidated revenue. Based on the legal analysis of the Company’s in-house legal counsel, who is a licensed attorney in the PRC, we believe that none of our PRC subsidiaries’ current business is stipulated on the Negative List (2021 Version).
As a result, according to the laws and regulations currently in effect, our PRC subsidiaries are able to conduct their business without being subject to restrictions imposed by the foreign investment laws and regulations of the PRC and none of Taoping or our subsidiaries is required to obtain additional licenses or permits beyond a regular business license for each PRC subsidiary’s operations. Each of our PRC subsidiaries is required to obtain and has obtained such regular business license from the local branch of the SAMR. No application for any such license has been denied.
Enforceability of Civil Liabilities
British Virgin Islands
There is no statutory enforcement in the British Virgin Islands of judgments obtained in the U.S., however, the courts of the British Virgin Islands will in certain circumstances recognize such a foreign judgment and treat it as a cause of action in itself which may be sued upon as a debt at common law so that no retrial of the issues would be necessary, provided that:
| ● | the U.S. court issuing the judgment had jurisdiction in the matter and the company either submitted to such jurisdiction or was resident or carrying on business within such jurisdiction and was duly served with process; |
| ● | the judgment is final and for a liquidated sum; |
| ● | the judgment given by the U.S. court was not in respect of penalties, taxes, fines or similar fiscal or revenue obligations of the company; |
| ● | in obtaining judgment there was no fraud on the part of the person in whose favor judgment was given or on the part of the court; |
| ● | recognition or enforcement of the judgment in the British Virgin Islands would not be contrary to public policy; and |
| ● | the proceedings pursuant to which judgment was obtained were not contrary to natural justice. |
The British Virgin Islands courts are unlikely:
| ● | to recognise or enforce against the Company, judgments of courts of the U.S. predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the U.S.; and | |
| ● | to impose liabilities against the Company, predicated upon the certain civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the U.S. so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. |
Substantially all of our assets are located outside the United States. In addition, a majority of our directors and officers are nationals or residents of jurisdictions other than the United States and all or a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these persons.
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Hong Kong
Currently judgment of U.S. courts will not be directly enforced in Hong Kong. There are currently no treaties or other arrangements providing for reciprocal enforcement of foreign judgments between Hong Kong and the U.S. However, a judgment of a court in the U.S. predicated upon U.S. federal or state securities laws may be enforced in Hong Kong at common law by bringing an action in a Hong Kong court on that judgment for the amount due thereunder, and then seeking summary judgment on the strength of the foreign judgment, provided that the foreign judgment, among other things, is (1) for a debt or a definite sum of money (not being taxes or similar charges to a foreign government taxing authority or a fine or other penalty) and (2) final and conclusive on the merits of the claim, but not otherwise. Such a judgment may not, in any event, be so enforced in Hong Kong if (a) it was obtained by fraud; (b) the proceedings in which the judgment was obtained were opposed to natural justice; (c) its enforcement or recognition would be contrary to the public policy of Hong Kong; (d) the court of the United States was not jurisdictionally competent; or (e) the judgment was in conflict with a prior Hong Kong judgment.
Summary of Risk Factors
There are a number of risks that you should consider and understand before making an investment decision regarding the Company’s securities. You should carefully consider all of the information set forth in this report and, in particular, the specific factors set forth in the section titled “Risk Factors” below. These risks include, but are not limited to:
| ● | As of the date of this report, we believe that we are not required to obtain any approval or prior permission to offer securities to foreign investors from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”) or any other Chinese regulatory authority under the Chinese laws and regulations currently in effect. As of the date of this report, neither Taoping nor any of its subsidiaries has been informed by the CSRC, Cybersecurity Administration of China (the “CAC”) or any other Chinese regulatory authority of any requirements, approvals or permissions that we should obtain prior to any offering of Taoping’s securities in the future. Neither Taoping nor any of its subsidiaries has obtained the approval or clearance from either the CSRC or any other Chinese regulatory authority for the offering that we may make in the future. However, there remains significant uncertainty as to the enactment, interpretation and implementation of regulatory requirements related to overseas securities offerings and other capital markets activities. The PRC regulatory agencies, including the CSRC or the CAC, may not reach the same conclusion as us. If we do not receive or maintain the approvals, or we inadvertently conclude that such approvals are not required but the CSRC or other PRC regulatory body subsequently determines that we need to obtain the approval for an offering or if the CSRC or any other PRC government authorities promulgates any interpretation or implements rules subsequently that would require us to obtain CSRC or other governmental approvals for an offering, we may not be able to proceed with the offering, face adverse actions or sanctions by the CSRC or any other PRC regulatory agencies. In any such event, these regulatory agencies may impose fines and penalties on our operations in China, limit our operating privileges in China, delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from the offering into the PRC or take other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, the value of the Company’s securities, as well as the Company’s ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors or cause such securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless. The risks arising from the legal system in China include risks and uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws and that rules and regulations in China can change quickly with little, if any, advance notice. As a result, there can be no assurance that we will not be subject to such requirements, approvals or permissions in the future. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Our business is subject to complex and evolving laws and regulations regarding privacy and data protection. Compliance with China’s new Data Security Law, Cybersecurity Review Measures, Personal Information Protection Law, Regulations on Network Data Security (draft for public comments), as well as additional laws, regulations and guidelines that the Chinese government promulgates in the future may entail significant expenses and could materially affect our business” on pages 26-27 and “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in China—The approval of the CSRC or other Chinese regulatory agencies may be required in connection with our future overseas capital-raising activities under Chinese law” on pages 28-29. |
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| ● | There are significant legal and operational risks associated with having significant business operations in China, including that changes in the legal, political and economic policies of the Chinese government, the relations between China and the United States, or Chinese or United States regulations may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and the value of the Company’s securities. Any such changes may take place quickly and with very little notice and as a result, could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer Taoping’s securities to investors, and could cause the value of Taoping’s securities to significantly decline or become worthless. Recent statements made and regulatory actions undertaken by China’s government, such as those related to data security or anti-monopoly concerns and any other future laws and regulations may require us to incur significant expenses and could materially affect our ability to conduct our business or accept foreign investments. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Changes in U.S. and Chinese regulations or in relations between the United States and China may adversely impact our business, our operating results, our ability to raise capital and the value of the securities that we are registering. Any such changes may take place quickly and with very little notice” on pages 24-25 and “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Our business is subject to complex and evolving laws and regulations regarding privacy and data protection. Compliance with China’s new Data Security Law, Cybersecurity Review Measures, Personal Information Protection Law, Regulations on Network Data Security (draft for public comments), as well as additional laws, regulations and guidelines that the Chinese government promulgates in the future may entail significant expenses and could materially affect our business” on pages 26-27. | |
| ● | The increased regulatory scrutiny focusing on U.S.-listed companies with significant operations in China in the U.S. could add uncertainties to our business operations, share price and reputation. In recent years, as part of increased regulatory focus in the United States on access to audit information, the United States enacted the HFCA Act in December 2020. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which, if enacted, would amend the HFCA Act and require the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to the PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three. Pursuant to the HFCA Act, the PCAOB issued a Determination Report on December 16, 2021 which found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region and dependency of the PRC, because of a position taken by one or more authorities in such jurisdictions. In addition, the PCAOB’s report identified specific registered public accounting firms which are subject to these determinations. Our current registered public accounting firm, PKF, or our former registered public accounting firm, UHY LLP, is not headquartered in mainland China or Hong Kong and was not identified in this report as a firm subject to the PCAOB’s determination. They both are subject to full inspection by the PCAOB and the PCAOB is able to inspect the audit workpapers of our China subsidiaries, as such workpapers are electronic files possessed by our registered public accounting firms. However, if the PCAOB determines in the future that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor at such future time, trading in the Company’s securities would be prohibited under the HFCA Act. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—The increased regulatory scrutiny focusing on U.S.-listed companies with significant operations in China in the U.S. could add uncertainties to our business operations, share price and reputation. Although our former auditor, UHY LLP, and current auditor, PKF, are both subject to inspection by the PCAOB, trading in our securities may be prohibited under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB subsequently determines our audit work is performed by auditors that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely, and as a result, U.S. national securities exchanges, such as the Nasdaq, may determine to delist our securities. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which, if enacted, would amend the HFCA Act and require the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to the PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three” on pages 30-31. | |
| ● | 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, which could result in a material change in our operations and in the value of the Company’s securities. Any actions by the Chinese government to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—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, which could result in a material change in our operations and in the value of our securities. Any actions by the Chinese government to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers could significantly limit or completely hinder Taoping’s ability to offer or continue to offer its securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless” on pages 24. |
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| ● | There are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws, rules and regulations. For additional information. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—There are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws, rules and regulations” on pages 25. | |
| ● | The cryptocurrency mining market is highly competitive and fragmented with low barriers to entry. We face uncertainties and challenges as we enter into the new blockchain technology business. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—The cryptocurrency mining market is highly competitive and fragmented with low barriers to entry. We face uncertainties and challenges as we enter into the new blockchain technology business” on page 11. | |
| ● | If the market for cryptocurrency ceases to exist or diminishes significantly, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially harmed. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—If the market for cryptocurrency ceases to exist or diminishes significantly, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially harmed” on pages 11-12. | |
| ● | Any failure to obtain or renew any required approvals, licenses, permits or certifications for our cryptocurrency mining business could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—Any failure to obtain or renew any required approvals, licenses, permits or certifications for our cryptocurrency mining business could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations” on page 16. | |
| ● | We have a limited operating history of selling cloud-based products and services and may be unable to achieve or sustain profitability or reasonably predict our future results. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—We have a limited operating history of selling cloud-based products and services and may be unable to achieve or sustain profitability or reasonably predict our future results” on page 18. | |
| ● | Our independent registered auditors have expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business—Our independent registered auditors have expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern” on page 18. | |
| ● | If we fail to comply with the continued listing requirements of NASDAQ, we would face possible delisting, which would result in a limited public market for our shares and make obtaining future debt or equity financing more difficult for us. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Securities—If we fail to comply with the continued listing requirements of NASDAQ, we would face possible delisting, which would result in a limited public market for our shares and make obtaining future debt or equity financing more difficult for us” on pages 37-38. | |
| ● | The trading price of Taoping’s ordinary shares has been and likely continue to be highly volatile, which could result in significant losses to holders of the ordinary shares. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Securities—The trading price of the Company’s ordinary shares is highly volatile, leading to the possibility of their value being depressed at a time when you want to sell your holdings” on pages 39. | |
| ● | Because we do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future, you must rely on price appreciation of your shares for return on your investment. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Securities—We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future” on page 40. | |
| ● | You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under British Virgin Islands law and a significant majority of our current business operations are conducted in the PRC. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Securities—You may have difficulty enforcing judgments obtained against us or our directors and officers” on page 41 and “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Securities—As we were incorporated under the laws of the BVI, it may be more difficult for our shareholders to protect their rights than it would be for a shareholder of a corporation incorporated in another jurisdiction” on pages 42. |
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| ● | Taoping is a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Securities—We are a “foreign private issuer” and have disclosure obligations that are different than those of U.S. domestic reporting companies. Therefore, you should not expect to receive the same information about us as a U.S. domestic reporting company may provide. Furthermore, if we lose our status as a foreign private issuer, we would be required to fully comply with the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to U.S. domestic issuers and incur significant operational, administrative, legal, and accounting costs that we would not incur as a foreign private issuer” on pages 41. | |
| ● | As a foreign private issuer, Taoping is permitted to rely on exemptions from certain Nasdaq corporate governance standards applicable to domestic U.S. issuers. This may afford less protection to holders of Taoping’s securities. For additional information, see Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Securities—As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to rely on exemptions from certain NASDAQ corporate governance standards applicable to domestic U.S. issuers. This may afford less protection to holders of the Company’s securities” on page 41. |
A. [Reserved]
B. Capitalization and Indebtedness
Not applicable.
C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds
Not applicable.
D. Risk Factors
An investment in the Company’s securities involves a high degree of risk. INVESTORS PURCHASING OUR SECURITIES ARE PURCHASING SECURITIES OF TAOPING INC., THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS HOLDING COMPANY RATHER THAN SECURITIES OF TAOPING INC.’S SUBSIDIARIES THAT HAVE SUBSTANTIVE BUSINESS OPERATIONS IN CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIES. You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information included in this annual report, before making an investment decision. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer. In that case, the value of the Company’s securities could significantly decline or be worthless and you may lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to our Business
If the COVID-19 pandemic is not effectively controlled in a short period of time, our business operation and financial condition in the long-term may be materially and adversely affected as a result of any slowdown in economic growth, operation disruptions or other factors that we cannot predict.
With operations in China and other countries worldwide, we are subject to numerous risks outside of our control, including risks arising from natural disasters, such as fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, unusual weather conditions, pandemic outbreaks and other global health emergencies, terrorist acts or disruptive global political events, or similar disruptions that could materially adversely affect business and financial performance. The spread of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”), which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, has spread across many countries and is impacting worldwide economic activity. While we have seen gradual recovery of our overall business as well as the supply chain, project execution and cash collection resulting from improving health statistics in China since March 2020, the spread of COVID-19 may be prolonged and worsened, and we may be forced to scale back or even suspend our operations. As this outbreak persists, commercial activities throughout the world have been curtailed with decreased consumer spending, business operation disruptions, interrupted supply chain, difficulties in travel and reduced workforces. The duration and intensity of disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak is uncertain. It is unclear as to when the outbreak will be eventually contained, and we also cannot predict if the impact will be short-lived or long-lasting. The extent to which outbreak impacts our long-term financial results will depend on many factors beyond our control. Major factors include the extent of resurgences of the disease and its variants, vaccine distribution and other actions taken to contain the impact of COVID-19. The measures taken by the governments of countries affected could disrupt the demand from our customers, our sales efforts, the delivery of our products and services, reduce our customers’ ability to pay and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results, or results of operations. If the COVID-19 pandemic is not effectively controlled in a short period of time, our long-term business operation and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected as a result of any slowdown in economic growth, operation disruptions or other factors that we cannot predict.
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The cryptocurrency mining market is highly competitive and fragmented with low barriers to entry. We face uncertainties and challenges as we enter into the new blockchain technology business.
As part of our strategic business transformation, we established a blockchain technology business segment in 2021, which is dedicated to the research and application of blockchain technology and digital assets. We launched cryptocurrency mining operations, a blockchain related new business, as the first initiative of this new business segment in the first quarter of 2021. With multiple cloud data centers deployed outside of China mainland, the Company continues to improve computing power and create value for the encrypted digital currency industry. Due to our limited experience with cryptocurrency and the mining activities, we face challenges and uncertainties relating to the possibility of success of our new business. We cannot assure you that the introduction and development of this new line of business would not encounter significant difficulties or would achieve the profitability as we expect. Failure to successfully manage those risks in the development and implementation of any new lines of business or new products or services could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and prospects. For example, with respect to our plan to develop our cryptocurrency mining business, we may not be able to acquire cryptocurrency mining machines at a reasonable cost, or at all. In addition, although the market for the cryptocurrency mining operations is new and evolving, the barriers to entry are quite low. Therefore, if cryptocurrency mining remains profitable, we expect additional competitors to enter the market, some of whom may have greater resources than we do. If we fail to establish our strengths or maintain our competitiveness in this industry, our business prospects, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.
The price of cryptocurrency has historically been volatile. Sharp declines in the price of cryptocurrencies could adversely impact our results of operations and subject us to impairment charges.
Our cryptocurrency mining revenue is determined by the fair value of the cryptocurrency awards we receive, as is based upon the quoted price of the related cryptocurrency at the time of receipt. The demand for, and pricing of, the cryptocurrencies that we receive from our mining activities are subject to various factors and significant fluctuations. For example, the prevalence of such assets is a relatively recent trend, and their long-term adoption by investors, consumers and businesses is unpredictable. Moreover, their lack of a physical form, their reliance on technology for their creation, existence and transactional validation and their decentralization may subject their integrity to the threat of malicious attacks and technological obsolescence. Finally, the extent to which securities laws or other regulations apply or may apply in the future to such assets is unclear and may change in the future. We expect our results of operations to be affected by the prices of the cryptocurrencies as we generate an increasing amount of revenue from our mining activities. Our results of operations could be harmed if the prices of cryptocurrencies decrease significantly.
In addition, as we may hold part of the cryptocurrencies we receive from our mining activities, we may be subject to impairment charges that may be caused by reductions in the price of those cryptocurrencies. Digital assets are currently considered indefinite-lived intangible assets under applicable accounting rules, meaning that any decrease in their fair values below our carrying values for such assets at any time subsequent to their acquisition will require us to recognize impairment charges, whereas we may make no upward revisions for any market price increases until a sale, which may adversely affect our operating results in any period in which such impairment occurs. Moreover, there is no guarantee that future changes in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, would not require us to change the way we account for digital assets held by us. Various factors, mostly beyond our control, could impact the price of cryptocurrencies. If the price of cryptocurrencies drops, the expected economic return of cryptocurrency mining activities will diminish.
If the market for cryptocurrency ceases to exist or diminishes significantly, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially harmed.
If the market for cryptocurrencies ceases to exist or diminishes significantly, our efforts and investment in establishing and developing our cryptocurrency mining business may become futile. Several adverse factors may affect the market for cryptocurrencies. As there is no wide consensus with respect to the value and application of cryptocurrency, any future development may continue to affect the demand and the market for cryptocurrency.
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Decentralization, or the lack of control by a central authority, is a key reason that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have attracted many committed users. However, the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies is subject to growing discussion and skepticism. Some claim that most of the actual services and businesses built within the cryptocurrency ecosystem are in fact centralized since they are run by specific people, in specific locations, with specific computer systems, and that they are susceptible to specific regulations. Individuals, companies or groups, as well as cryptocurrency exchanges that own vast amounts of cryptocurrencies, can affect their market price. Furthermore, mining equipment production and mining pool locations are becoming centralized. Some argue that the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies is a fundamental flaw rather than a strength. The skepticism about the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency may cause loss of confidence in the prospect of the cryptocurrency industry, which in turn could adversely affect the market demand for cryptocurrencies and our business.
Substantial increases in the supply of mining machines connected to the cryptocurrency network would lead to an increase in network capacity, which in turn would increase mining difficulty and negatively affect the economic returns of cryptocurrency mining activities.
The difficulty of cryptocurrency mining, or the amount of computational resources required for a set amount of reward for recording a new block, directly affects the expected economic returns for cryptocurrency miners. Cryptocurrency mining difficulty is a measure of how much computing power is required to record a new block and it is affected by the total amount of computing power in the cryptocurrency network. The cryptocurrency algorithm is designed so that one block is generated, on average, every ten minutes, no matter how much computing power is in the network. Thus, as more computing power joins the network, and assuming the rate of block creation does not change (remaining at one block generated every ten minutes), the amount of computing power required to generate each block and hence the mining difficulty increases. In other words, based on the current design of the cryptocurrency network, cryptocurrency mining difficulty would increase with the total computing power available in the cryptocurrency network, which is in turn affected by the number of cryptocurrency mining machines in operation. As a result, a strong growth in the cryptocurrency mining industry can lead to growth in the total computing power in the network, thereby driving up the difficulty of cryptocurrency mining and resulting in downward pressure on the expected economic return of cryptocurrency mining.
Cryptocurrency mining computers and other necessary hardware are subject to malfunctions and normal wear and tear. In addition, we may face difficulty and increased cost in obtaining new hardware due to supply chain strains.
Our cryptocurrency miners are subject to malfunctions and normal wear and tear, and, at any point in time, a certain number of our cryptocurrency miners may be off-line for maintenance or repair. The physical degradation of our miners will require us to replace miners that are no longer functional. Any major cryptocurrency miner malfunction out of the typical range of downtime for normal maintenance and repair could cause significant economic damage to us.
Additionally, as technology evolves, we may need to acquire newer models of miners to remain competitive in the market. New miners can be costly and may be in short supply. Given the relatively long production period to manufacture and assemble cryptocurrency miners and the current global semiconductor chip shortage, there can be no assurance that we can acquire enough cryptocurrency mining computers or replacement parts on a cost-effective basis, if at all, for the maintenance and expansion of our cryptocurrency mining operations. We rely on our subsidiaries to purchase and assemble cryptocurrency miners and shortages of cryptocurrency miners or their component parts, material increases in cryptocurrency miner costs, or delays in delivery of the cryptocurrency miners to our overseas mining data centers, including due to trade restrictions and COVID-19 supply chain disruptions, could significantly interrupt our plans for expanding our cryptocurrency mining capacity in the near term and future.
This upgrading and replacement process requires capital investment and we may face challenges in doing so on a timely and cost-effective basis. Shortages of cryptocurrency mining computers could result in reduced cryptocurrency mining capacity and increased operating costs, which could materially delay the completion of our planned cryptocurrency mining capacity expansion and put us at a competitive disadvantage.
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Cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets, and to a lesser extent, the cryptocurrency network itself, are subject to substantial hacking and fraud risks, which may adversely affect the economic return of our cryptocurrency mining business.
Cryptocurrency transactions are entirely digital and, as with any virtual system, are at risk from hackers, malware and operational glitches. Hackers can target cryptocurrency exchanges and cryptocurrency transactions, to gain access to thousands of accounts and digital wallets where cryptocurrency are stored. Cryptocurrency transactions and accounts are not insured by any type of government program and all cryptocurrency transactions are permanent because there is no third party or payment processor. Cryptocurrency like bitcoin has suffered from hacking and cyber-theft as such incidents have been reported by several cryptocurrency exchanges and miners, highlighting concerns about the security of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and affecting their demand and price. Also, the price and exchange of cryptocurrency may be affected due to fraud risk. While cryptocurrency uses private key encryption to verify owners and register transactions, fraudsters and scammers may attempt to sell false cryptocurrencies. All of the above may adversely affect our operation and the economic return of our cryptocurrency mining business.
Currently, our cryptocurrencies received from the mining pools are stored in electronic wallets, which can only be exclusively transferred to the Company’s FTX trading account. It requires approval from signatories to transfer any cryptocurrency out of our FTX trading account. Four of our management level employees have been designated as the signatories of such transfer-out transactions, including the sales of cryptocurrency and the payment of related service fee in the form of cryptocurrency. Two cashiers have been assigned to simultaneously execute the sale/payment process. Each cashier holds a part of the electronic private key password. Any transfer out of the trading account would immediately trigger an email notice to each of the above-mentioned management employees. However, despite our efforts and measures to ensure the safety of our cryptocurrencies and the transactions, there can be no assurance that such efforts or measures will protect us from hacking or fraud incidents. We may suffer from cryptocurrency hacking and fraud and the economic return of our cryptocurrency mining business may be materially and adversely harmed if such risk occurs.
We may not be able to realize the benefits of forks, and forks in a digital asset network may occur in the future which may affect the value of cryptocurrency held by us.
To the extent that a significant majority of users and miners on a cryptocurrency network install software that changes the cryptocurrency network or properties of a cryptocurrency, including the irreversibility of transactions and limitations on the mining of new cryptocurrency, the cryptocurrency network would be subject to new protocols and software. However, if less than a significant majority of users and miners on the cryptocurrency network consent to the proposed modification, and the modification is not compatible with the software prior to its modification, a “fork” of the network would occur, with one prong of the network running the pre-modified software and the other running the modified software. The effect of such a fork would be the existence of two versions of the cryptocurrency running in parallel, yet lacking interchangeability and necessitating exchange-type transaction to convert currencies between the two forks. After a fork, it may be unclear which fork represents the original asset and which is the new asset.
If we hold cryptocurrency at the time of a hard fork into two cryptocurrencies, industry standards would dictate that we would be expected to hold an equivalent amount of the old and new assets following the fork. However, we may not be able to secure or realize the economic benefit of the new asset. Our business may be adversely impacted by forks in the cryptocurrency network.
Banks and other financial institutions may decline to provide bank accounts, banking or other financial services to cryptocurrency investors or businesses that engage in cryptocurrency-related activities or that accept cryptocurrency as payment.
A number of companies that engage in cryptocurrency-related activities have been unable to find banks or financial institutions that are willing to provide them with bank accounts and other services. Changing governmental regulations about the legality of transferring or holding cryptocurrency may prompt other banks and financial institutions to close existing bank accounts or discontinue banking or other financial services to such companies in the cryptocurrency industry, or even investors with accounts for transferring, receiving or holding their cryptocurrency. Specifically, China already restricts financial institutions from holding, trading or facilitating transactions in bitcoin, Ethereum, and among other cryptocurrencies. Similarly, other countries have proposed cryptocurrency legislation that could have a significant impact on the ability to utilize banking services in such countries for cryptocurrency.
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Should such rules and restrictions continue or proliferate, we may not be able to obtain or maintain these services for our business. The difficulty that many businesses that engage in cryptocurrency-related activities have and may continue to have in finding banks and financial institutions willing to provide them services may diminish the usefulness of cryptocurrency as a payment system and harm public perception of cryptocurrency. If we are unable to obtain or maintain banking services for our business as a result of our cryptocurrency-related activities, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
We do not maintain insurance for our digital assets, which may expose us to the risk of loss of our digital assets, and legal recourse available to us to recover our losses may be limited.
We do not maintain insurance for the digital assets held by us. Banking institutions do not accept our digital assets. We may suffer loss with respect to our digital assets which are not covered by insurance, and we may not be able to recover any of our carried value in these digital assets if they are lost or stolen or suffer significant and sustained reduction in conversion spot price. If we are not otherwise able to recover damages from a malicious actor in connection with these losses, our business, results of operations and share price may be adversely affected.
There has been limited precedent set for financial accounting of digital assets, and thus, it is unclear how we will be required to account for digital asset transactions.
While we record digital assets as indefinite-lived intangible assets in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, 350, there is currently no authoritative guidance under GAAP which specifically addresses the accounting for digital assets, including digital currencies.
We recognize cryptocurrency related revenue when cryptocurrency is earned. The receipt of cryptocurrency is generally recorded as revenue, using the spot price of a prominent exchange at the time of daily reward and cryptocurrencies are recorded on the balance sheet at their cost basis and are reviewed for impairment frequently.
A change in financial accounting standards or their interpretation could result in changes in accounting treatment applicable to our cryptocurrency business, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
As cryptocurrencies grow in both popularity and market size, governments around the world have reacted differently to them. Ongoing and future regulation and regulatory actions could significantly restrict or eliminate the market for or uses of cryptocurrencies and/or materially and adversely impact our results of operation and financial condition.
As cryptocurrencies generally have grown in both popularity and market size, governments around the world have reacted differently to them. Certain governments have deemed them illegal, while others have allowed their use and trade without restriction. Based on stated efforts to curtail energy usage on mining and to protect investors or to prevent criminal activity, regulations have proliferated recently. In March 2021, a new law was proposed in India to criminalize the mining, transfer or holding of cryptocurrencies, and current rules require extensive disclosure to the government of cryptocurrency holdings. Similarly, China has also limited certain mining and trading, although not possession, of cryptocurrency, to reduce energy usage. On April 16, 2021, Turkey imposed bans on the use of cryptocurrency as payment and now requires transactions of a certain size to be reported to a government agency in the wake of alleged fraud at one of Turkey’s largest exchanges. In addition, in May 2021, Iran announced a temporary ban on cryptocurrency mining as a way to reduce energy consumption amid power blackouts. Many jurisdictions, such as the United States, subject cryptocurrencies to extensive, and in some cases overlapping, unclear and evolving regulatory requirements. Further, in January 2021, Russia adopted legislation to identify cryptocurrency as a digital asset and legitimize its trading, but also prohibit its use as a payment method. Mining operations have also grown significantly in Russia since then. Such varying government regulations and pronouncements are likely to continue for the near future. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Congress and certain U.S. agencies (e.g., the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the SEC, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Treasury Department (“FinCEN”) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation) have begun to examine the operations of the cryptocurrency network, cryptocurrency users and the cryptocurrency exchange market.
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Compliance with increasing regulation and regulatory scrutiny may entail significant expenses, divert our management’s time and attention, and change aspects of our business. Moreover, ongoing and future regulations that ban the mining, use, transfer or possession of cryptocurrencies could significantly restrict or eliminate the market for cryptocurrencies and/or materially and adversely impact our results of operation and financial condition.
Acquisition, possession, ownership, sale or use of cryptocurrencies, participation in the blockchain, or transfer or use of digital assets may be or become illegal in China or the international markets where we plan to operate, which could materially negatively impact our operations.
Our blockchain and cryptocurrency mining business could be significantly affected by the regulatory and policy developments in mainland China, Hong Kong and international markets where we operate, such as Kazakhstan. Governmental authorities are likely to continue to issue new laws, rules and regulations governing the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry and enhance enforcement of existing laws, rules and regulations. For example, the People’s Bank of China (the “PBOC”), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, China Banking Regulatory Commission, CSRC and China Insurance Regulatory Commission issued the Announcement on Preventing Token Fundraising Risks on September 4, 2017, prohibiting all organizations and individuals from engaging in initial coin offering transactions. On May 21, 2021, the Financial Stability and Development Committee of the PRC State Council called for the need to resolutely control financial risks and crack down on bitcoin mining and trading activities. Furthermore, on June 21, 2021, the PBOC was reported to have held interviews with certain financial institutions in China, and stressed that banks and other financial institutions in China shall strictly implement the Guarding Against Bitcoin Risks and the Announcement on Preventing Token Fundraising Risks and other regulatory requirements, diligently fulfill their customer identification obligations, and shall not provide account opening, registration, trading, clearing, settlement and other services related to blockchain and cryptocurrency business.
Also, China restricts various uses of cryptocurrencies, including the use of cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange and the conversion between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies or between cryptocurrencies. In light of the regulatory restrictions in mainland China, we currently carry out substantially all of our cryptocurrency mining operations outside of mainland China. At present, we focus on the international markets for our cryptocurrency mining operations. In addition to Hong Kong, we plan to construct additional mining data centers in Kazakhstan to carry out operation and maintenance of cryptocurrency mining machines, and rent out excess operating capacity to third parties. We cannot assure you that the government authorities in the international markets will not adopt new laws and regulations in the future to restrict blockchain and cryptocurrency business.
In addition, cryptocurrencies may be used by market participants for black market transactions to conduct fraud, money laundering and terrorism-funding, tax evasion, economic sanction evasion or other illegal activities. As a result, governments may seek to regulate, restrict, control or ban the mining, use, holding and transferring of cryptocurrencies. We may not be able to eliminate all instances where other parties use cryptocurrencies mined by us to engage in money laundering or other illegal or improper activities. There is no assurance that we will successfully detect and prevent all money laundering or other illegal or improper activities which may adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, due to the environmental concerns related to the potential high demand for electricity to support cryptocurrency mining activity, political and other concerns, we may be required to cease mining operations in our locations without much or any prior notice by a national or local government’s formal or informal requirement or because of the anticipation of an impending requirement. Any such government action or anticipated action could have a negative impact not only on the value of existing miners owned by us, but on our ability to purchase new miners and their prices. Such government action or anticipated action could also have a deleterious impact on the price of cryptocurrencies. Such events could result in an increase in the volatility of the price of the cryptocurrencies and value of miners owned by us. Moreover, if we discontinue mining operations in one location in response to such government action or anticipated action, we likely would transfer miners to another location. However, this process would result in costs associated with the transfer to be incurred by us, as well as the transferred miners being off-line and not able to mine cryptocurrencies for some time. Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected by these adverse changes in the regulations and policies in the markets where we operate our blockchain and cryptocurrency mining operations.
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Any failure to obtain or renew any required approvals, licenses, permits or certifications for our cryptocurrency mining business could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We may be required to maintain various approvals, licenses, permits and certifications in order to operate our cryptocurrency mining business. Complying with such laws and regulations may require substantial expense, and any non-compliance may expose us to liability. Presently, substantially all of our cryptocurrency mining operations are carried outside of mainland China, and our operations in mainland China primarily involve the provision of administrative supports to our cryptocurrency mining business out of mainland China, as well as the provision of information technology services to our operating entities and mining pools outside mainland China. However, due to the complex and evolving nature of our industry and the regulatory regimes, we cannot assure you that we have obtained all the permits or licenses required for conducting our blockchain business in China or internationally or will be able to maintain our existing licenses or obtain any new licenses required under any new laws or regulations.
As we plan to establish cryptocurrency mining data centers in Kazakhstan, we will become subject to regulations applicable to operators of cryptocurrency mining business and data processing business in such jurisdiction. We will apply for relevant governmental approval and license required for our proposed data center operations in Kazakhstan. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain the required government approval, permit, licenses for our proposed operations on commercially reasonable terms and in a timely manner, or at all. Failure to obtain these government approvals, permits or licenses for our international operations will delay the establishment of our data centers and may subject us to regulatory investigations or legal proceedings and fines in such jurisdiction, which could disrupt our international operations and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
More broadly, we cannot assure you that we will be able to fulfill all the conditions necessary to obtain the required government approvals in the jurisdictions where we operate, or that the governmental authorities in these jurisdictions will always, if ever, exercise their discretion in our favor, or that we will be able to adapt to any new laws, regulations or policies. There may also be delays on the part of governmental authorities in reviewing our applications and granting approvals, whether due to the lack of administrative resources or the imposition of new rules, regulations, government policies, or for no discernible reason at all. If we are unable to obtain, or experience material delays in obtaining, necessary government approvals, our operations may be substantially disrupted, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If cryptocurrencies are determined to be investment securities and we hold a significant portion of our assets in such cryptocurrency, investment securities or non-controlling equity interests of other entities, we may inadvertently violate the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and we could incur substantial expenses to adjust our operations to avoid being registered as an investment company or to register as an investment company or could terminate operations altogether.
We believe that we are not engaged in the business of investing, reinvesting, or trading in securities, and we do not hold ourselves out as being engaged in those activities. However, under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), a company may be deemed an investment company under section 3(a)(1)(C) thereof if the value of its investment securities is more than 40% of its total assets (exclusive of government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. The cryptocurrency we own, acquire or mine may be deemed an investment security by the SEC, although we do not believe any of the cryptocurrencies we own, acquire or mine are securities. However, SEC rules and applicable law are subject to change, especially in the evolving world of cryptocurrency, and further, the Investment Company Act analysis may not be uniform across all forms of cryptocurrency that we might mine or hold.
An inadvertent investment company can avoid being classified as an investment company if it can rely on one of the exclusions under the Investment Company Act. One such exclusion, Rule 3a-2 under the Investment Company Act, allows an inadvertent investment company a grace period of one year from the earlier of (a) the date on which an issuer owns securities and/or cash having a value exceeding 50% of the issuer’s total assets on either a consolidated or unconsolidated basis and (b) the date on which an issuer owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of such issuer’s total assets (exclusive of government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. In that year, the company would be required to take actions to cause the investment securities held by it to be less than 40% of its total assets, which could include acquiring assets with its cash and/or cryptocurrency on hand, liquidating its investment securities or seeking a no-action letter from the SEC if it is unable to acquire sufficient assets or liquidate sufficient investment securities in a timely manner. Such actions could require significant cost, disruption to operations or growth plans and diversion of management time and attention. Further, the Rule 3a-2 exception is available to a company no more than once every three years.
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Current and future legislation and the SEC rulemaking and other regulatory developments, including interpretations released by a regulatory authority, may impact the manner in which cryptocurrencies are treated for classification and clearing purposes. The SEC’s July 25, 2017 Report expressed its view that digital assets may be securities depending on the facts and circumstances. As of the date hereof, we are not aware of any rules that have been proposed to regulate cryptocurrencies as securities. We cannot be certain as to how future regulatory developments will impact the treatment of cryptocurrency under the applicable U.S. laws. Such additional registrations may result in extraordinary, non-recurring expenses, thereby materially and adversely impacting our operations.
Classification as an investment company under the Investment Company Act requires registration with the SEC. If an investment company fails to register, it would have to stop doing almost all business, and its contracts would become voidable. Registration is time consuming and restrictive and would require a restructuring of operations, and it would be very constrained in the kind of business it could do as a registered investment company. Furthermore, such company would become subject to substantial regulation concerning management, operations, transactions with affiliated persons and portfolio composition, and would need to file reports under the Investment Company Act regime.
We need to access a large quantity of power at a reasonable cost in order to support our cryptocurrency mining operations, which may be adversely affected by legislative or regulatory changes relating to climate change and other energy consumption requirements.
We need to access a large quantity of power at a reasonable cost in order to support our cryptocurrency mining operations, but we do not have any long-term contract for the provision of power at specified prices. As competition in the area we operate increases, we may not be able to access power at reasonable costs or at all. Any shortage of electricity supply or increase in electricity cost in a jurisdiction may negatively impact the viability and the expected economic return for cryptocurrency mining activities in that jurisdiction.
In addition, a number of governments or governmental bodies have introduced or are contemplating legislative and regulatory changes in response to various climate change interest groups and the potential impact of climate change. Given the very significant amount of electrical power required to operate cryptocurrency miners, as well as the environmental impact of mining for the rare earth metals used in the production of mining servers, the cryptocurrency mining industry may become a target for future environmental and energy regulation. Legislation and increased regulation regarding climate change could impose significant costs on us and our suppliers, including costs related to increased energy requirements, capital equipment, environmental monitoring and reporting, and other costs to comply with such regulations. Any future climate change regulations could also negatively impact our ability to compete with companies situated in areas not subject to such limitations. Given the political significance and uncertainty around the impact of climate change and how it should be addressed, we cannot predict how legislation and regulation will affect our financial condition, operating performance and ability to compete. Furthermore, even without such regulation, increased awareness and any adverse publicity in the global marketplace about potential impacts on climate change by us or other companies in our industry could harm our reputation. Any of the foregoing could result in a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
We are subject to risks and disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including supply chain issues in semiconductors and other necessary mining components, which could significantly impact our operating performance and financial condition.
The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has and may continue to adversely affect the economies of many countries, resulting in an economic downturn that may have an adverse effect on financial markets, cryptocurrency prices, the demand for cryptocurrency and other factors that could impact the financial results of our digital assets segment.
Our suppliers and our subsidiaries have experienced disruption to operations caused by quarantines, restrictions on employees’ ability to work, office and factory temporary closures, disruptions to ports and other shipping infrastructure, border closures, or other travel or health-related restrictions. Depending on the magnitude of such effects on our supply chain, procurement of parts for our existing miners, as well as any new miners we purchase, may be delayed. As our miners require repair or become obsolete and require replacement, our ability to obtain adequate replacements or repair parts from miner manufacturers may therefore be hampered. Supply chain disruptions could therefore negatively impact our operations.
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In addition, multiple factors including some related to the COVID-19 pandemic have created a global semiconductor shortage. Since the inception of the pandemic, factory shutdowns and limitations due to employee illness or public health requirements have significantly slowed output, while global demand for products requiring chips increased. These 2020-2021 challenges worsened a pre-existing semiconductor and other supply shortage. Semiconductor supply has not yet rebounded, and manufacturers across all industries are waiting and driving up demand and costs. While we believe we will have sufficient cryptocurrency miners for our 2022 plans, any delay or disruption in deploying such miners, or future miners necessary for our success and growth, may have a material and negative impact on our results of operations.
We have a limited operating history of selling cloud-based products and services and may be unable to achieve or sustain profitability or reasonably predict our future results.
In early 2013, we made a strategic decision to transform our business from servicing the public sector to focusing on the private sector. Leveraging our experience and expertise in handling large-scale IT projects for the public sector, we started investing in research and development to develop software products for the private sector. In 2014, continuing our business transition from the public sector to the private sector, we identified and provided cloud-based ecosystem solutions to four core markets including new media, healthcare, education, and residential community management. Underpinning our ecosystems are our industry-specific integrated technology platform, resource exchange, and big data services. In 2014, we predominately sold our cloud-based solutions to the Chinese new media industry. Starting from 2015, we further expanded the customer base of cloud-based solutions to education, government, and residential community management. In 2016, we expanded our business from the industry-specific integrated technology platform, resource exchange, and big data services into the elevator IoT sectors. From May 2017, we have focused our business to provide products and services on Cloud-App-Terminal (CAT) and IoT technology based digital advertising distribution networks and new media resource sharing platforms in the out-of-home adverting market in China. As such, we have a limited operating history of selling our cloud-based products and professional services to the private sector, which makes it difficult to evaluate our current business and future prospects and may increase the risk of your investment. In 2021 and 2020, we generated approximately $18.8 million and $10.7 million in revenue respectively, from our cloud-based technology (CBT) segment for customers in the education, new media, and out-of-home advertising market sectors. We expect to have significant operating expenses in the future to further support and grow our business, including expanding the scope of our customer base, expanding our direct and indirect selling capabilities, pursuing acquisitions of complementary businesses, investing in our data storage and analysis infrastructure, and research and development, and increasing our international presence.
Our independent registered auditors have expressed substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
Our independent auditors have added an explanatory paragraph to their audit opinion issued in connection with our financial statements included in this report which states that the financial statements were prepared assuming that we would continue as a going concern.
As discussed elsewhere in this report, we reported net income as well as positive cash flows from operating activities in 2018 and 2017. However, due to the unfavorable macro-economic environment and the slowdown of the out-of-home advertising market in China, we incurred net loss of approximately $3.6 million in 2019, $18.3 million in 2020 and $9.6 million in 2021. As disclosed under Item 5, “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and notes to the consolidated financial statements, we will continue to execute the existing business strategies with focuses on selection of quality customers, collection of accounts receivable, maintaining proper inventory level, and managing accounts payable to enhance operating cash flows. In addition, the Company will aggressively develop domestic and international markets to develop new customers. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in achieving the goals set forth in our new business strategy and business model.
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Unfavorable economic conditions may affect the level of the out-of-home advertising and information technology spending by our customers which could cause the demand for our products and services to decline.
The revenue growth and profitability of our business rely on the overall demand by our customers for out-of-home digital advertising, display technology products, and internet related services. Our business is sensitive to the overall economy in China and the economic and business conditions within our respective product and service sectors. If there is an economic downturn, our existing and prospective customers may reassess their decisions to purchase our products and services. China’s economic slowdown or a reduction in out-of-home advertising and information technology spending by our customers could harm our business in many ways, including longer sales cycles and lower prices for our products and services. These events could have a material effect on our future revenues and earnings.
Our periodic operating results are difficult to predict and could fall below investors’ expectations or estimates by securities research analysts, which may cause the trading price of our ordinary shares to decline.
Our revenues and operating results can vary significantly from a filing period to the next due to a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, such as public health pandemic, fluctuations in the volume of purchase by our customers as a result of changes in their operations, their decisions to purchase our products and services, as well as currency fluctuations, in addition to the risks associated with our cryptocurrency mining operations. Our revenues and operating results could also be affected by delays or difficulties in expanding our geographical presence and infrastructure, changes to our pricing strategies due to a competitive business environment and underestimates of resources and time required to complete ongoing projects. Our first-quarter revenues may be relatively low compared to that of the other quarters due to the Chinese New Year holiday. Moreover, our operating and financial results may fluctuate as a result of our dependency on our customers’ budgets and spending patterns. Therefore, we may not be able to accurately forecast the demand for our products and services beyond the current calendar year, which could adversely affect our business, operating results, and financial condition. In addition, sales volumes from specific customers are likely to vary from year to year, and a major customer in one year may not remain as a major customer in the subsequent years.
These fluctuations are likely to continue in the future and operating results for any period may not be indicative of our performance in any future period. If our operating results for any filing period fall below investors’ expectations or estimates by securities research analysts, the trading price of our ordinary shares may decline.
We face risks associated with new businesses or assets acquired through mergers or acquisitions, and the acquired companies may not perform to our expectations, which may adversely affect our results of operations.
We face risks when we acquire other businesses. These risks include:
| ● | difficulties in the integration of acquired operations and retention of personnel, | |
| ● | unforeseen or hidden liabilities, | |
| ● | relevant tax, regulatory and accounting matters, and | |
| ● | inability to generate sufficient revenues to offset acquisition costs. |
Acquired companies may not perform to our expectations for various reasons, including the departure of key personnel and loss of customers. Therefore, we may not realize the benefits we have previously anticipated. If we fail to integrate acquired businesses or realize expected benefits, we may not gain anticipated economic returns on investments in these mergers and acquisitions and incur substantial transaction costs, causing our operating results to be materially and adversely affected.
If we are unable to secure additional financing or identify suitable merger or acquisition targets, we may be unable to implement our long-term business plan, develop or enhance our products and services, take advantage of future opportunities, or respond to competitive pressures on a timely manner.
Our long-term business plan includes the identification of suitable targets for horizontal or vertical mergers or acquisitions, so as to enhance overall productivity and to benefit from economies of scale. Due to the recent uncertainties in the global economic outlook and financial market stability, we may not be able to secure an adequate level of additional financing, whether through equity financing, debt financing or other sources. To raise additional capital, we may need to issue new securities, which could result in further dilution to our shareholders and significant dilution to our earnings per share. Issuance of new securities with registration rights or covenants through additional financings may be superior to the current ones that would restrict our operations and strategies. If we are unable to raise additional financing, we may be unable to implement our long-term business plan, develop or enhance our products and services, take advantage of future opportunities, or respond to competitive pressures on a timely basis, if at all. In addition, lack of additional capital could force us to substantially curtail or even cease operations.
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We also may not be able to identify merger or acquisition targets. We may not be able to successfully integrate the targeted business or operations with ours after a merger or acquisition. Such failure to execute our long-term business plan likely will negatively impact results of our operations.
We generally do not have exclusive agreements with our customers and we may lose their contracts if they are not satisfied with our products and services or for other reasons.
We generally do not have exclusive agreements with our customers. As a result, we must rely on the quality of our products and services, our reputation in the industry, and favorable pricing terms to attract and retain customers. There is no assurance that we will be able to maintain and retain our relationships with current and or future customers. Our customers may choose to terminate their relationships with us if they are not satisfied with our services or the prices of our competitors’ offerings are lower. If a substantial number of our customers choose not to continue to purchase products and services from us, it would materially and adversely affect on our business and results of operations.
If we are unable to develop and offer competitive new products and services, our future operations could be adversely affected.
Our future revenue stream, to a large degree, depends on our ability to capitalize on our technology strength and capabilities to offer new software applications and services to a broader client base. We must make investments in research and development to continue developing and offering new software applications and internet related products and services, and to enhance our existing software applications and internet related services to maintain market acceptance of our products and services. We may encounter challenges in innovation and introduction of new products and services. Our software applications under development may not be successfully completed or, if developed, may not achieve significant customer acceptance. If we are unable to successfully define, develop, introduce competitive new software applications, and enhance the existing ones, our future operating results would be adversely affected. The timeline for software developments is difficult to predict. Timely launch of new applications and their acceptance by customers are important to our future success. A delay in the development or introduction of new applications could have a significantly adverse impact on our results of operations.
If we are unable to keep abreast with the rapid technological changes in our industry, demand for our products and services could decline and adversely affect our revenue and growth.
Our industry is known for rapid changes in technology, frequent introductions of new applications, quick evolution of industry standards, and changes in customer demands. These conditions require continuous investments in product research and development to enhance existing products, innovate new products, and keep up with the leading-edge technologies. We believe that the timely development of new products and continuous enhancements to the existing products are essential to maintain our competitive position in the marketplace. Our future success depends in part upon customer and market acceptance of our products and innovations. Failure to achieve market acceptance of our existing products and services or to launch new products could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Our software applications may contain defects or errors, which could decrease sales, damage our reputation, or delay deliveries of our products.
Our software products are complex and must meet the stringent technical requirements requested by our customers. In order to keep pace with the current technologies and the rapid changes in the industry standards, we must accelerate new product developments and enhancements for our existing products. Because of the complex designs and the expeditious development cycles, we cannot assure that our software products are free of errors, especially for the newly released software applications and the updates for the existing software products. If our software is not free of errors, this could potentially result in litigation, declining sales, increasing product returns, product warranty costs, and damage to our reputation, which would adversely affect our business.
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Our technology may become obsolete, which could materially adversely affect our ability to sell our products and services.
If our technology, products and services become obsolete, our business operations would be materially and adversely affected. The market in which we compete is known for rapid changes in technologies, quick evolution of industry standards, fast introductions of new products, and changes in customer demands. These market characteristics can cause the existing products to be obsolete and unmarketable. Our future success depends upon our ability to timely address the increasingly sophisticated requests from our customers to support the existing and new hardware, software, database, and networking platforms. We have to invest in research and development in order to succeed in this competitive industry and timely satisfy market demands. Our research and development expenses from continuing operations were approximately $4.5 million, $3.9 million and $3.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively.
We face the risk of systems interruptions and capacity constraints, possibly resulting in adverse publicity, revenue loss and erosion of customer trust.
The satisfactory performance, reliability, and availability of our network infrastructure are critical to our reputation and our ability to attract and retain customers and to maintain adequate customer service levels. We may experience temporary service interruptions for a variety of reasons, including telecommunications or power failures, fire, water damage, vandalism, computer bugs, or viruses or hardware failures. We may not be able to correct a problem in a timely manner. Any service interruption that results in the unavailability of our system or reduces its capacity could result in real or perceived public safety issues that may affect customer confidence in our services and afflict negative publicity that could cause us to lose customer accounts or fail to obtain new accounts. Any inability to scale our systems may cause unanticipated system disruptions, slower response times, degradation in quality of customer service, or impaired performance and speed of transaction processing. We are not certain that we will be able to project the rate or timing of increases, if any, in the use of our services to permit us to upgrade and expand our systems effectively or to efficiently integrate any newly developed or purchased modules with our existing systems.
We have a limited history with our pricing models for our CBT products and services and, as a result, we may be forced to change the prices we charge for our applications or the pricing models upon which they are based.
We have limited experience with respect to determining the optimal prices and pricing models for certain of our CBT products and services and certain geographic markets. As the markets for our applications mature, or as competitors introduce products or services that compete with ours, including bundling competing offerings with additional products or services, we may be unable to attract new customers at the same price or based on the same pricing models as we have used historically. As a result, in the future we may be required to reduce our prices, which could adversely affect our financial performance. In addition, we may offer volume price discounts based on the number of products or services purchased by a customer or the number of our applications purchased by a customer, which would effectively reduce the prices we charge for our products and services. Also, we may be unable to renew existing customer agreements or enter into new customer agreements at the same prices or upon the same terms that we have historically, which could have a material and adverse effect on our financial position.
Security breaches may harm our business.
Our cloud-based applications involve the storage and transmission of our customers’ proprietary and confidential information. Any security breaches, unauthorized access, unauthorized usage, virus or similar breach or disruption could result in loss of confidential information, damage to our reputation, early termination of our contracts, litigation, regulatory investigations, indemnity obligations, or other liabilities. If our security measures are breached as a result of third-party action, employee error, malfeasance or otherwise and, as a result, someone obtains unauthorized access to customer data, our reputation will be damaged, our business may suffer and we could incur significant liability. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access or sabotage computer systems change frequently, and generally are not identified until they are launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these hacking techniques or implement adequate preventative measures. Any or all of these concerns could negatively affect our ability to attract new customers and cause existing customers to elect not to renew or upgrade their subscriptions, or subject us to third-party lawsuits, regulatory fines, or other action or liability, which could adversely affect our operating results.
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If we are not able to adequately secure and protect our patents, trademarks and other proprietary rights, our business may be materially affected.
To protect our intellectual properties, we rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, and trade secret laws. We also rely on non-disclosure agreements and other confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property rights. Some of these technologies are critical to our business but are not protected by copyrights or patents. It may be possible for unauthorized third parties to copy or reverse engineer our products, or otherwise obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. Further, third parties could challenge the scope or enforceability of our copyrights. In certain other jurisdictions, including China where we operate, the laws do not protect our proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Any misappropriation of our intellectual property could have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations. We cannot assure you that the measures we take to protect our proprietary rights are adequate.
Claims that we infringe the proprietary rights of third parties could result in significant expenses or restrictions on our ability to sell our products and services.
Third parties may claim that our products or services infringe their proprietary rights. Any infringement claim, with or without merit, would be time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle and could divert our management’s attention from our core business. In the event of a successful infringement claim against us, we may have to pay significant damages, incur substantial legal fees, develop costly non-infringing technology, or enter into license agreements that require us to pay substantial royalties that may not be available on terms acceptable to us, if at all.
A significant portion of our sales are derived from a limited number of customers or related parties, and results from operations could be adversely affected and shareholder value harmed if we lose any of these customers.
Historically, a significant portion of our revenues have been derived from a limited number of customers or related parties. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we generated about $0.15 million of revenue from related parties. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, approximately 19%, 25% and 24%, respectively, of our revenues of continuing operations were derived from our five largest customers, including related parties. The loss of any of these significant customers and related parties would adversely affect our revenues and shareholder value.
The markets for out-of-home digital advertising and digital security systems in China are highly competitive. We may fail to compete successfully, thereby resulting in loss of customers and decline in our revenues.
The markets for out-of-home digital advertising and digital security information systems in China are intensely competitive and are characterized by frequent technological changes, evolving industry standards, and changing in customer demands. We face competition from multiple domestic competitors in each segment. Increased competition may result in price reductions, reduced margins, and inability to gain or hold market share.
We have limited insurance coverage for our operations in China.
The insurance industry in China is still in the early stage of development. Insurance companies in China offer limited insurance products. We have determined that the risks of disruption or liability from our business, the loss or damage to our property, including our facilities, equipment and office furniture, the cost of insuring these risks, and the difficulties associated with acquiring such insurance on commercially reasonable terms make it impractical for us to have such insurance. As a result, we do not have any business liability, disruption, litigation or property insurance coverage for our operations in China, except for insurance on some company owned vehicles. Any occurrence of uninsured loss or damage to property, or litigation, or business disruption may result in substantial costs and diversion of resources, which could have an adverse effect on our operating results.
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We do not have insurance coverage against damages or losses of our products. Defects in our products could result in a loss of customers and decrease in revenue, unexpected expenses and a loss of market share.
We have not purchased product liability insurance to provide against any claims against us based on our product quality. As a result, defects in our products could result in a loss of customers and decrease in revenue, unexpected expenses and a loss of market share, and any of our products are found to have reliability, quality or compatibility problems, we will be required to accept returns, provide replacements, provide refunds, or pay damages. We may be required to incur substantial amounts to indemnify our customers in respect of their product quality claims against us, which would materially and adversely affect the results of our operations and severely damage our reputation.
We depend heavily on key personnel, and turnover of key employees and senior management could harm our business.
Our future business and results of operations significantly depend upon continuous contributions by key technical and senior management personnel, including Jianghuai Lin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Zhiqiang Zhao, President and Director, Liqiong (Iris) Yan, the Chief Financial Officer, Zhixiong Huang, Chief Operating Officer and Guangzeng Chen, Chief Technology Officer. The success of our business also depends in significant part upon our ability to attract and retain additional qualified management, technical, marketing, sales, and support personnel for our operations. If we lose a key employee, or if we are not able to attract and retain skilled employees as needed, our business could suffer. Significant turnover in our senior management could largely deplete our institutional knowledge held by our existing senior management team. We depend on the skills and abilities of these key employees in managing technical, marketing, and sales aspects of our business, any part of which could be harmed by future turnover.
We may be exposed to potential risks relating to our internal controls over financial reporting.
Companies that file reports with the SEC, including us, are subject to the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or SOX 404. SOX 404 requires management to establish and maintain a system of internal control over financial reporting, and annual reports on Form 10-K or Form 20-F filed under the Exchange Act are required to contain a report by management assessing the effectiveness of a company’s internal control over financial reporting. Separately, under SOX 404, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, public companies that are large accelerated or accelerated filers, other than emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, must include in their annual reports on Form 10-K or Form 20-F an attestation report of their auditors’ attesting to and reporting on the management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting. Non-accelerated filers and emerging growth companies are not required to include an attestation report of their auditors in the annual reports.
A report of our management is included under Item 15 “Controls and Procedures” of this report. We are a non-accelerated filer and not required to include an attestation report of our auditor in this annual report. Management believes that our internal control over financial reporting has continued to improve in 2021 to minimize material weaknesses identified in Item 15 of this report. Although we have made improvements to overcome such concern, we can provide no assurance that these material weaknesses will be entirely remediated in a timely manner. As a result, investors and others may lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.
We face risks associated with maintaining and expanding our international operations, including unfavorable and uncertain regulatory, political, economic, tax and labor conditions.
We are subject to legal and regulatory requirements, political uncertainty and social, environmental and economic conditions in multiple jurisdictions, over which we have little control and which are inherently unpredictable. Our operations in such jurisdictions, particularly as a company based in the PRC, create risks relating to, among others, compliance; organizing local operating entities; establishing, staffing and managing foreign business locations; navigating foreign government taxes, regulations and permit requirements; enforceability of our contractual rights; trade restrictions or exchange controls. Such conditions may increase our costs, impact our operations and business plans and require significant management attention, and may harm our business if we unable to manage them effectively.
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Risks Relating to Doing Business in China
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, which could result in a material change in our operations and in the value of our securities. Any actions by the Chinese government to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
A significant portion of our operations are conducted in the PRC. Accordingly, our financial condition and results of operations are affected to a significant extent by the economic, political and legal developments in the PRC. The PRC economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the extent of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, and control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and to guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall PRC economy but may also have a negative effect on us. Our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations that are applicable to us.
The Chinese government recently has published new policies that significantly affected certain industries such as the education and internet industries, and we cannot rule out the possibility that it will in the future release regulations or policies regarding our industry that could require us to seek permission from Chinese authorities to continue to operate our business, which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, recent statements made by the Chinese government have indicated an intent to increase the government’s oversight and control over offerings of companies with significant operations in China that are to be conducted in foreign markets, as well as foreign investment in China-based issuers like us. Any such action, once taken by the Chinese government, could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer the securities that we are registering to investors, and could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless.
For example, in July 2021, the Chinese government provided new guidance on China-based companies raising capital outside of China, including through arrangements via variable interest entities (“VIEs”). In light of such developments, the SEC has imposed enhanced disclosure requirements on China-based companies seeking to register securities with the SEC. Although we have recently dissolved our VIE structure, as a significant portion of our operations are based in China, any future Chinese, U.S. or other rules and regulations that place restrictions on capital raising or other activities by companies with extensive operations in China could adversely affect our business and results of operations. If the business environment in China deteriorates from the perspective of domestic or international investment, or if relations between China and the United States or other governments deteriorate, the Chinese government may intervene with our operations, and our business in China, as well as the value of the securities that we are registering, may also be adversely affected.
Changes in U.S. and Chinese regulations or in relations between the United States and China may adversely impact our business, our operating results, our ability to raise capital and the value of the securities that we are registering. Any such changes may take place quickly and with very little notice.
The U.S. government, including the SEC, has made statements and taken certain actions that led to changes to United States and international relations, and will impact companies with connections to the United States or China. The SEC has issued statements primarily focused on companies with significant China-based operations, such as us. For example, on July 30, 2021, Gary Gensler, Chairman of the SEC, issued a Statement on Investor Protection Related to Recent Developments in China, pursuant to which Chairman Gensler stated that he has asked the SEC staff to engage in targeted additional reviews of filings for companies with significant China-based operations. The statement also addressed risks inherent in companies with VIE structures. We have dissolved our VIE structure and are not in any industry that is subject to foreign ownership limitations by China. However, it is possible that the Company’s filings with the SEC may be subject to enhanced review by the SEC and this additional scrutiny could affect our ability to effectively raise capital in the United States.
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In response to the SEC’s July 30, 2021 statement, the CSRC announced on August 1, 2021, that “[i]t is our belief that Chinese and U.S. regulators shall continue to enhance communication with the principle of mutual respect and cooperation, and properly address the issues related to the supervision of China-based companies listed in the U.S. so as to form stable policy expectations and create benign rules framework for the market.” While the CSRC will continue to collaborate “closely with different stakeholders including investors, companies, and relevant authorities to further promote transparency and certainty of policies and implementing measures,” it emphasized that it “has always been open to companies’ choices to list their securities on international or domestic markets in compliance with relevant laws and regulations.” If any new legislation, executive orders, laws and/or regulations are implemented, if the U.S. or Chinese governments take retaliatory actions due to the recent U.S.-China tension or if the Chinese government exerts more oversight and control over securities offerings that are conducted in the United States, such changes could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, our ability to raise capital and the value of the securities that we are registering.
There are uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws, rules and regulations.
A significant portion of our operations are conducted in the PRC, and are governed by PRC laws, rules and regulations. Our PRC subsidiaries are subject to laws, rules and regulations applicable to foreign investment in China. The PRC legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike the common law system, prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. In 1979, the PRC government began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws, rules and regulations governing economic matters in general. The overall effect of legislation over the past four decades has significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investment in China. However, China has not developed a fully integrated legal system, and recently enacted laws, rules and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China or may be subject to significant degrees of interpretation by PRC regulatory agencies. In particular, because these laws, rules and regulations, especially those relating to the internet, are relatively new, and because of the limited number of published decisions and the nonbinding nature of such decisions, and because the laws, rules and regulations often give the relevant regulator significant discretion in how to enforce them, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws, rules and regulations involve uncertainties and can be inconsistent and unpredictable. 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, and may have a retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until after the occurrence of the violation. Any administrative and court proceedings in China may be protracted, resulting in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.
The PRC government has recently announced its plans to enhance its regulatory oversight of Chinese companies listing overseas. The Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities issued on July 6, 2021 called for:
| ● | tightening oversight of data security, cross-border data flow and administration of classified information, as well as amendments to relevant regulation to specify responsibilities of overseas listed Chinese companies with respect to data security and information security; | |
| ● | enhanced oversight of overseas listed companies as well as overseas equity fundraising and listing by Chinese companies; and | |
| ● | extraterritorial application of China’s securities laws. |
As the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities were recently issued, there are great uncertainties as to how soon legislative or administrative regulation making bodies will respond and what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on companies like us, but among other things, our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to obtain external financing through the issuance of equity securities overseas could be negatively affected.
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Our business is subject to complex and evolving laws and regulations regarding privacy and data protection. Compliance with China’s new Data Security Law, Cybersecurity Review Measures, Personal Information Protection Law, Regulations on Network Data Security (draft for public comments), as well as additional laws, regulations and guidelines that the Chinese government promulgates in the future may entail significant expenses and could materially affect our business.
Regulatory authorities in China have implemented and are considering further legislative and regulatory proposals concerning data protection. China’s new Data Security Law went into effect on September 1, 2021. The Data Security Law provides that the data processing activities must be conducted based on “data classification and hierarchical protection system” for the purpose of data protection and prohibits entities in China from transferring data stored in China to foreign law enforcement agencies or judicial authorities without prior approval by the Chinese government. The Data Security Law sets forth the legal liabilities of entities and individuals found to be in violation of their data protection obligations, including rectification order, warning, fines of up to RMB5 million, suspension of relevant business, and revocation of business permits or licenses.
In addition, the PRC Cybersecurity Law provides that personal information and important data collected and generated by operators of critical information infrastructure in the course of their operations in the PRC should be stored in the PRC, and the law imposes heightened regulation and additional security obligations on operators of critical information infrastructure. According to the initial Cybersecurity Review Measures promulgated by the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) and certain other PRC regulatory authorities in April 2020 and becoming effective in June 2020, operators of critical information infrastructure must pass a cybersecurity review when purchasing network products and services which do or may affect national security. Any failure or delay in the completion of the cybersecurity review procedures may prevent the critical information infrastructure operator from using or providing certain network products and services, and may result in fines of up to ten times the purchase price of such network products and services. The PRC government recently launched cybersecurity reviews against a number of mobile apps operated by several US-listed Chinese companies and prohibited these apps from registering new users during the review periods.
On July 10, 2021, the CAC issued the Cybersecurity Review Measures (revised draft for public comments), which took effect on February 15, 2022. The revised Cybersecurity Review Measures authorize the CAC to conduct cybersecurity review on a range of activities that affect or may affect national security. The PRC National Security Law defines various types of national security, including technology security and information security. The revised Cybersecurity Review Measures expands the cybersecurity review to data processing operators in possession of personal information of over 1 million users if the operators intend to list their securities in a foreign country. Under the revised Cybersecurity Review Measures, the scope of entities required to undergo cybersecurity review to assess national security risks that arise from data processing activities would be expanded to include all critical information infrastructure operators who purchase network products and services and all data processors carrying out data processing activities that affect or may affect national security. In addition, the revised Cybersecurity Review Measures provide that all such entities that maintain or store the personal information of more than 1 million users and undertake a public listing of securities in a foreign country would be required to pass cybersecurity review, which would focus on the potential risk of core data, important data, or a large amount of personal information being stolen, leaked, destroyed, illegally used or exported out of China, or critical information infrastructure being affected, controlled or maliciously used by foreign governments after such a listing. An operator that violates these Measures shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the PRC Cybersecurity Law and the PRC Data Security Law.
On November 14, 2021, the CAC released the Regulations on Network Data Security (draft for public comments) and accepted public comments until December 13, 2021. The draft Regulations on Network Data Security provide more detailed guidance on how to implement the general legal requirements under legislations such as the Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law. The draft Regulations on Network Data Security follow the principle that the state will regulate based on a data classification and multi-level protection scheme, under which data is largely classified into three categories: general data, important data and core data. Personal data and important data will be subject to “key” protection and core data to “strict” protection. We believe that the data we access falls within the category of “general data,” because such data is data of our member merchants, does not involve personal information and is not large in volume. Further, when we conduct advertising data collection and analysis, such data is only related to the placement and delivery of ads, which does not involve any personal information. However, we may constitute an online platform operator under the draft Regulations on Network Data Security, which is defined as a platform that provides information publishing, social network, online transaction, online payment and online audio/video services, because our PRC subsidiary Biznest is operating a smart cloud platform that publishes commercial ads of our advertiser clients. Online platform operator under the draft Regulations will be required, among other things, to disclose terms and privacy policies and the algorithms they use. Where there are any changes that would result in significant impacts on users’ rights and interests, online platform operators will be required to seek public comments for at least 30 business days and publish how the public comments have been considered and incorporated into the final versions and why other comments are rejected. The draft Regulations also set forth procedures for reporting data breach incidents. In the event that a data breach incident has caused harm to any individuals or organizations, a data processor should notify the relevant individuals and organizations within 3 business days, unless such notices are not required under applicable laws or regulations. Additionally, if we are deemed as a data processor listed overseas under the draft Regulations, we will be required to carry out an annual data security assessment on our own or by engaging a third party data security services institution and submit a data security assessment report for the prior year to the local cyberspace affairs administration department before January 31 of each year. The Regulations on Network Data Security (draft for public comments) were released for public comments and subject to further changes.
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On August 20, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China promulgated the Personal Information Protection Law which became effective on November 1, 2021. The Personal Information Protection Law provides a comprehensive set of data privacy and protection requirements that apply to the processing of personal information and expands data protection compliance obligations to cover the processing of personal information of persons by organizations and individuals in China, and the processing of personal information of persons in China outside of China if such processing is for purposes of providing products and services to, or analyzing and evaluating the behavior of, persons in China. The Personal Information Protection Law also provides that critical information infrastructure operators and personal information processing entities who process personal information meeting a volume threshold to be set by Chinese cyberspace regulators are also required to store in China personal information generated or collected in China, and to pass a security assessment administered by Chinese cyberspace regulators for any export of such personal information. Lastly, the Personal Information Protection Law contains proposals for significant fines for serious violations of up to RMB 50 million or 5% of annual revenues from the prior year and may also be ordered to suspend any related activity by competent authorities.
As our smart cloud platform is engaged in the advertising business, the advertising industry is not subject to any foreign investment restrictions and our smart cloud platform does not collect any personal information, we believe that we will be able to comply with the requirements of the PRC Cybersecurity Law, the PRC Data Security Law and related implementing regulations. However, interpretation, application and enforcement of these laws, rules and regulations evolve from time to time and their scope may continually change, through new legislation, amendments to existing legislation or changes in enforcement. Compliance with the PRC Cybersecurity Law and the PRC Data Security Law could increase the cost to us in providing our services, require changes to our operations or may prevent us from providing certain services.
PRC laws and regulations establish complex procedures in connection with certain acquisitions of China-based companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions or mergers in China.
On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”), the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the State Administration of Taxation, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the CSRC, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, jointly adopted the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, which came into effect on September 8, 2006 and were amended on June 22, 2009. The M&A Rules include, among other things, provisions that purport to require that an offshore special purpose vehicle formed for the purpose of an overseas listing of securities of a PRC company obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on an overseas stock exchange. On September 21, 2006, the CSRC published on its official website procedures regarding its approval of overseas listings through special purpose vehicles. However, substantial uncertainty remains regarding the scope and applicability of the M&A Rules to offshore special purpose vehicles.
The regulations also established additional procedures and requirements that are expected to make merger and acquisition activities in China by foreign investors more time consuming and complex, including requirements in some instances that the MOFCOM be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise, or that the approval from the MOFCOM be obtained in circumstances where overseas companies established or controlled by PRC enterprises or residents acquire affiliated domestic companies.
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Moreover, according to the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China promulgated on August 30, 2007 and the Provisions on Thresholds for Reporting of Concentrations of Undertakings (the “Prior Reporting Rules”) issued by the State Council in August 2008 and amended in September 2018, the concentration of business undertakings by way of mergers, acquisitions or contractual arrangements that allow one market player to take control of or to exert decisive impact on another market player must also be notified in advance to the anti-monopoly enforcement agency of the State Council when the applicable threshold is crossed and such concentration shall not be implemented without the clearance of prior reporting. In addition, the Regulations on Implementation of Security Review System for the Merger and Acquisition of Domestic Enterprise by Foreign Investors (the “Security Review Rules”) issued by the MOFCOM that became effective in September 2011 specify that mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors that raise “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions through which foreign investors may acquire de facto control over domestic enterprises that raise “national security” concerns are subject to strict review by the MOFCOM, and the rules prohibit any activities attempting to bypass a security review by structuring the transaction through, among other things, trusts, entrustment or contractual control arrangements.
We may grow our business in part by acquiring other companies operating in our industry. Compliance with the requirements of the regulations to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including approval from the MOFCOM, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.
The approval of the CSRC or other Chinese regulatory agencies may be required in connection with our future overseas capital-raising activities under Chinese law.
The “M&A Rules” purport to require offshore special purpose vehicles that are controlled by Chinese companies or individuals and that have been formed for the purpose of seeking a public listing on an overseas stock exchange through acquisitions of Chinese domestic companies or assets in exchange for the shares of the offshore special purpose vehicles shall obtain CSRC approval prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange.
Based on our understanding of the Chinese laws and regulations currently in effect, we will not be required to submit an application to the CSRC for its approval of any of our offerings of securities to foreign investors under the M&A Rules. However, there remains some uncertainties as to how the M&A Rules will be interpreted or implemented, and our view of our obligations under the M&A Rules is subject to any new laws, rules and regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations in any form relating to the M&A Rules. We cannot assure you that relevant Chinese government agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion.
Furthermore, on July 6, 2021, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly promulgated the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities, pursuant to which Chinese regulators are required to accelerate rulemaking related to the overseas issuance and listing of securities, and update the existing laws and regulations related to data security, cross-border data flow, and management of confidential information. Numerous regulations, guidelines and other measures have been or are expected to be adopted under the umbrella of or in addition to the Cybersecurity Law and Data Security Law.
On December 24, 2021, the CSRC released the Administrative Provisions of the State Council Regarding Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) (the “Administrative Provisions”), and the Measures Regarding Recordation of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) (the “Measures”). The Administrative Provisions and Measures aim to establish a unified supervision system and promote cross-border regulatory cooperation. The Measures lay out filing procedures for domestic companies to record their initial public offerings and follow-on offerings abroad with the CSRC. Issuers are required to file follow-on offerings with the CSRC within 3 business days after the closing of such offerings.
According to the Q&A held by CSRC officials for journalists thereafter, the CSRC will adhere to the principle of non-retroactive application of law and first focus on issuers conducting initial public offerings and follow-on offerings by requiring them to complete the recordation procedures. Other issuers will be given a sufficient transition period. The CSRC officials also noted that the regulation system contemplated by the draft Administrative Provisions and Measures differentiates between IPOs and follow-on offerings to take into account overseas capital markets’ fast and efficient features and to reduce impacts on overseas financing activities by domestic companies. If the Administrative Provisions and the Measures are enacted as proposed, we expect to perform necessary recordation filings with the CSRC for our listing on the Nasdaq within the prescribed transition period and for this offering in the event that it takes place after the Administrative Provisions and the Measures enter into force.
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As there are still uncertainties regarding the interpretation and implementation of such regulatory guidance, we cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with new regulatory requirements relating to our future overseas capital-raising activities and we may become subject to more stringent requirements with respect to matters including data privacy and cross-border investigation and enforcement of legal claims. Notwithstanding the foregoing, as of the date hereof, we are not aware of any Chinese laws or regulations in effect requiring that we obtain permission from any Chinese authority to issue securities to foreign investors, and we have not received any inquiry, notice, warning, or sanction in relation to the trading of the Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq from the CSRC, the CAC or any other Chinese authorities that have jurisdiction over our operations.
We believe that we are not required to submit an application to the CSRC or the CAC for the approval of any of our offerings of securities to foreign investors or trading of the Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq. However, there remains significant uncertainty as to the enactment, interpretation and implementation of regulatory requirements related to overseas securities offerings and other capital markets activities. If it is determined in the future that the approval of the CSRC, CAC or any other regulatory authority is required for any of our offerings, we may face sanctions by the CSRC, the CAC or other Chinese regulatory agencies. These regulatory agencies may impose fines and penalties on our operations in China, limit our ability to pay dividends outside of China, limit our operations in China, delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from overseas offerings into China or take other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, the value of our securities, as well as our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors or cause such securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless. In addition, if the CSRC, the CAC or other regulatory agencies later promulgate new rules requiring that we obtain their approvals for any of our offerings, we may be unable to obtain a waiver of such approval requirements, if and when procedures are established to obtain such a waiver. Any uncertainties and/or negative publicity regarding such an approval requirement could have a material adverse effect on the value of the securities that we are registering.
PRC regulation of loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may restrict or prevent Taoping from making additional capital contributions or loans to its PRC subsidiaries.
Taoping, as an offshore holding company, is permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding to its PRC subsidiaries through loans or capital contributions. However, loans by Taoping to its PRC subsidiaries to finance their activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the local counterpart of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and capital contributions to its PRC subsidiaries are subject to the requirement of making necessary filings in the Foreign Investment Comprehensive Management Information System, and registration with other governmental authorities in China.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming the Administration of Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or Circular 19, effective on June 1, 2015, in replacement of the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign- Invested Enterprises, the Notice from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Relevant Issues Concerning Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Exchange Businesses, and the Circular on Further Clarification and Regulation of the Issues Concerning the Administration of Certain Capital Account Foreign Exchange Businesses. According to Circular 19, the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company is regulated such that RMB capital may not be used for the issuance of RMB entrusted loans, the repayment of inter-enterprise loans or the repayment of bank loans that have been transferred to a third party. Although Circular 19 allows RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise to be used for equity investments within the PRC, it also reiterates the principle that RMB converted from the foreign currency-denominated capital of a foreign-invested company may not be directly or indirectly used for purposes beyond its business scope. Thus, it is unclear whether the State Administration of Foreign Exchange will permit such capital to be used for equity investments in the PRC in actual practice. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange promulgated the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming and Standardizing the Foreign Exchange Settlement Management Policy of Capital Account, or Circular 16, effective on June 9, 2016, which reiterates some of the rules set forth in Circular 19, but changes the prohibition against using RMB capital converted from foreign currency-denominated registered capital of a foreign-invested company to issue RMB entrusted loans to a prohibition against using such capital to grant loans to non-associated enterprises. Violations of Circular 19 and Circular 16 could result in administrative penalties. Circular 19 and Circular 16 may significantly limit our ability to transfer any foreign currency Taoping holds to its PRC subsidiaries, which may adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business in the PRC.
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In light of the various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to, and direct investment in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary government registrations or obtain the necessary government approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans or future capital contributions by us to our PRC subsidiaries. As a result, uncertainties exist as to our ability to provide prompt financial support to our PRC subsidiaries when needed. If we fail to complete such registrations or obtain such approvals, our ability to use foreign currency and to capitalize or otherwise fund our PRC operations may be negatively affected, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.
The increased regulatory scrutiny focusing on U.S.-listed companies with significant operations in China in the U.S. could add uncertainties to our business operations, share price and reputation. Although our former auditor, UHY LLP, and current auditor, PKF, are both subject to inspection by the PCAOB, trading in our securities may be prohibited under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB subsequently determines our audit work is performed by auditors that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely, and as a result, U.S. national securities exchanges, such as the Nasdaq, may determine to delist our securities. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which, if enacted, would amend the HFCA Act and require the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to the PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three.
U.S. public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China have been the subject of intense scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity by investors, financial commentators and regulatory agencies, such as the SEC. Much of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity has centered on financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, a lack of effective internal controls over financial accounting, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud.
In recent years, as part of increased regulatory focus in the United States on access to audit information, the United States enacted the HFCA Act in December 2020. The HFCA Act includes requirements for the SEC to identify issuers whose audit reports are prepared by auditors that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a restriction imposed by a non-U.S. authority in the auditor’s local jurisdiction. The HFCA Act also requires public companies on this SEC list to certify that they are not owned or controlled by a foreign government and make certain additional disclosures in their SEC filings. In addition, if the auditor of a U.S. listed company’s financial statements is not subject to PCAOB inspections for three consecutive “non-inspection” years after the law becomes effective, the SEC is required to prohibit the securities of such issuer from being traded on a U.S. national securities exchange, such as NYSE and Nasdaq, or in U.S. over-the-counter markets. On March 24, 2021, the SEC announced that it had adopted interim final amendments to implement the foregoing certification and disclosure requirements and that it was seeking public comment on the issuer identification process as well as the submission and disclosure requirements. On May 13, 2021, the PCAOB issued proposed PCAOB Rule 6100 Board Determinations Under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act for public comment. The proposed rule provides a framework for making determinations as to whether PCAOB is unable to inspect an audit firm in a foreign jurisdiction, including the timing, factors, bases, publication and revocation or modification of such determinations, and such determinations will be made on a jurisdiction-wide basis in a consistent manner applicable to all firms headquartered in the jurisdiction.
Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “AHFCA Act”), which if enacted into law would amend the HFCA Act and require the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive “non-inspection” years instead of three.
On September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a final rule implementing the HFCA Act, which provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCA Act, whether the Board 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.
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On December 2, 2021, the SEC adopted amendments to finalize the interim final rules previously issued in March 2021, and established procedures to identify issuers and prohibit the trading of the securities of certain registrants as required by the HFCA Act. The rules apply to registrants that 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 completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions. The final amendments require SEC 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 an SEC-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. An SEC-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 an SEC identified issuer based on its annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021, the registrant will be required to comply with the submission or disclosure requirements in its annual report filing covering the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Accordingly, if we are determined by the SEC to be an SEC identified issuer, we will incur additional costs in complying with the submission and disclosure requirements in the annual report for each year in which we are identified. In the event that we are deemed to have had three consecutive “non-inspection” years by the SEC, our securities will be prohibited from trading on any national securities exchange or over-the-counter markets in the United States. Moreover, if the AHFCA Act is enacted into law, it would reduce the time before our securities may be prohibited from trading or delisted from three years to two years.
On December 16, 2021, pursuant to the HFCA Act, the PCAOB issued a Determination Report which found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China of the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region and dependency of the PRC, because of a position taken by one or more authorities in such jurisdictions. In addition, the PCAOB’s report identified specific registered public accounting firms which are subject to these determinations. Our current registered public accounting firm, PKF, or our former registered public accounting firm, UHY LLP, is not headquartered in mainland China or Hong Kong and was not identified in this report as a firm subject to the PCAOB’s determination.
As an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, our current auditor PKF is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB. PKF is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom, and has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis. They were last inspected between November 2020 and February 2021. Furthermore, the PCAOB is able to inspect the audit workpapers of our China subsidiaries, as such workpapers are electronic files possessed by our registered public accounting firms. However, if the PCAOB determines in the future that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor at such future time, trading in our securities would be prohibited under the HFCA Act.
While we understand that there has been dialogue among the CSRC, the SEC and the PCAOB regarding the inspection of PCAOB-registered accounting firms in China, and our former auditor UHY LLP and current auditor PKF are subject to inspection by the PCAOB, there can be no assurance that our auditors or us will be able to comply with requirements imposed by U.S. regulators in the future. The value of the securities we are registering could be adversely affected as a result of anticipated negative impacts of the HFCA Act upon, as well as negative investor sentiment towards, China-based companies listed in the United States, regardless of our actual operating performance.
Furthermore, as part of ongoing efforts to protect U.S. investors, the U.S. President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, or the PWG, released a report in August 2020 recommending certain enhancements to listing standards on U.S. stock exchanges, including that the PCAOB have access to work papers of the principal audit firm for the audit of each company as a condition to initial and continued exchange listing. Companies unable to satisfy this standard as a result of governmental restrictions on access to audit work papers and practices in their jurisdiction may satisfy this standard by providing a co-audit from an audit firm with comparable resources and experience where the PCAOB determines it has sufficient access to audit work papers and practices to conduct an appropriate inspection of the co-audit firm. The SEC announced that its staff have been directed to prepare and develop proposals in response to the report of the PWG. Any resulting actions, proceedings or new rules could adversely affect the listing and compliance status of China-based issuers listed in the United States, such as Taoping, and may have a material and adverse impact on the trading prices of the securities of such issuers, and substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of Taoping’s securities in the United States.
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Future inflation in China may inhibit our ability to conduct business in China.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the annual average percent changes in the consumer price index in China for 2019, 2020 and 2021 were 2.9%, 2.5% and 0.9%, respectively. Although we have not been materially affected by inflation in the past, we can provide no assurance that we will not be affected in the future by higher rates of inflation in China. For example, certain operating costs and expenses, such as employee salaries and office operating expenses may increase as a result of higher inflation. Additionally, since a substantial portion of our assets consists of cash and cash equivalents, high inflation could significantly reduce the value and purchasing power of these assets.
Restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to receive and use our income effectively.
The majority of our sales will be settled in RMB, and any future restrictions on currency exchanges may limit our ability to use revenue generated in RMB to fund any future business activities outside of China or to make dividend or other payments in U.S. dollars. Although the conversion of RMB into foreign currency for current account transactions, such as interest payments, profit distributions, and trade or service related transactions, can be made without prior governmental approval, significant restrictions still remain, including primarily the restriction that FIEs may only buy, sell, or remit foreign currencies after providing valid commercial documents to certain banks in China authorized to conduct foreign exchange business. In addition, conversion of RMB for capital account items, including direct investment and loans, are subject to governmental approval in China, and requires companies to open and maintain separate foreign exchange accounts for capital account items. We cannot be certain that the Chinese regulatory authorities will not impose more stringent restrictions on the convertibility of the RMB.
Fluctuations in exchange rates could adversely affect our business and the value of our securities.
The value of our ordinary shares will be indirectly affected by the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and RMB, and between the two currencies and other currencies in which our sales may be denominated. Appreciation or depreciation in the value of RMB relative to the U.S. dollar would affect our financial results reported in U.S. dollar without giving effect to any underlying change in our business or results of operations. Fluctuations in the exchange rate will also affect the relative value of any dividend we issue that will be exchanged into U.S. dollars, as well as earnings from any U.S. dollar-denominated investments we make in the future.
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Since July 2005, the RMB has no longer been pegged to the U.S. dollar. Although the People’s Bank of China regularly intervenes in the foreign exchange market to prevent significant short-term fluctuations in the exchange rate, RMB may appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the medium to long term. Moreover, it is possible that in the future PRC authorities may lift restrictions on fluctuations in the RMB exchange rate and lessen intervention in the foreign exchange market.
Very limited hedging transactions are available in China to reduce our exposure to the exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions. While we may enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these transactions may be limited. We may not be able to successfully hedge our exposure at all. In addition, our foreign currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert RMB into foreign currencies.
Restrictions under PRC law on our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to make dividends and other distributions could materially and adversely affect our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could benefit our business, pay dividends to you, and otherwise fund and conduct our business.
Substantially all of our revenues are earned by our PRC subsidiaries. However, PRC regulations restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make dividends and other payments to their offshore parent companies. PRC legal restrictions permit payments of dividends by our PRC subsidiaries only out of their accumulated after-tax profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Our PRC subsidiaries are also required under PRC laws and regulations to allocate at least 10% of their annual after-tax profits determined in accordance with PRC GAAP to a statutory general reserve fund until the amounts in said reserve fund reach 50% of the company’s registered capital. Allocations to these statutory reserve funds can only be used for specific purposes and are not transferable to us in the form of loans, advances, or cash dividends. Any limitations on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to transfer funds to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends and otherwise fund and conduct our business.
PRC regulations relating to investments in offshore companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC-resident beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiary to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiary or limit our PRC subsidiary’s ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, on July 4, 2014, which replaced the former circular commonly known as “SAFE Circular 75” promulgated by SAFE on October 21, 2005. SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents to register with local branches of the SAFE in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity, for the purpose of overseas investment and financing, with such PRC residents’ legally owned assets or equity interests in domestic enterprises or offshore assets or interests, referred to in SAFE Circular 37 as a “special purpose vehicle.” SAFE Circular 37 further requires amendment to the registration in the event of any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle, such as increase or decrease of capital contributed by PRC individuals, share transfer or exchange, merger, division or other material event. In the event that a PRC shareholder holding interests in a special purpose vehicle fails to fulfill the required SAFE registration, the PRC subsidiaries of that special purpose vehicle may be prohibited from making profit distributions to the offshore parent and from carrying out subsequent cross-border foreign exchange activities, and the special purpose vehicle may be restricted in its ability to contribute additional capital into its PRC subsidiary. Moreover, failure to comply with the various SAFE registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for evasion of foreign exchange controls. According to the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving Policies for the Foreign Exchange Administration of Direct Investment released on February 13, 2015 by SAFE, local banks will examine and handle foreign exchange registration for overseas direct investment, including the initial foreign exchange registration and amendment registration, under SAFE Circular 37 from June 1, 2015.
According to SAFE Circular 37, our shareholders or beneficial owners, who are PRC residents, are subject to SAFE Circular 37 or other foreign exchange administrative regulations in respect of their investment in our company. We have notified substantial beneficial owners of ordinary shares who we know are PRC residents of their filing obligations. Nevertheless, we may not be aware of the identities of all of our beneficial owners who are PRC residents. We do not have control over our beneficial owners and there can be no assurance that all of our PRC-resident beneficial owners will comply with SAFE Circular 37 and subsequent implementation rules, and there is no assurance that the registration under SAFE Circular 37 and any amendment will be completed in a timely manner, or will be completed at all. The failure of our beneficial owners who are PRC residents to register or amend their foreign exchange registrations in a timely manner pursuant to SAFE Circular 37 and subsequent implementation rules, or the failure of future beneficial owners of our company who are PRC residents to comply with the registration procedures set forth in SAFE Circular 37 and subsequent implementation rules, may subject such beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiaries to fines and legal sanctions. Such failure to register or comply with relevant requirements may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries and limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to us. These risks may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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Furthermore, it is uncertain how SAFE Circular 37, and any future regulation concerning offshore or cross-border transactions, will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant PRC government authorities, and we cannot predict how these regulations will affect our business operations or future strategy. Failure to register or comply with relevant requirements may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries and limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to us. These risks could in the future have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Any failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding employee share incentive plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.
Pursuant to SAFE Circular 37, PRC residents who participate in share incentive plans in overseas non-publicly-listed companies may submit applications to SAFE or its local branches for the foreign exchange registration with respect to offshore special purpose companies. In the meantime, directors, executive officers and other employees who are PRC citizens or who are non-PRC residents residing in the PRC for a continuous period of not less than one year, subject to limited exceptions, and who have been granted restricted shares, options or restricted share units, or RSUs may follow the Notice on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly Listed Company, issued by SAFE in February 2012, to apply for the foreign exchange registration. According to those regulations, employees, directors and other management members participating in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company who are PRC citizens or who are non-PRC citizens residing in China for a continuous period of not less than one year, subject to limited exceptions, are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which may be a PRC subsidiary of the overseas listed company, and complete certain other procedures. Failure to complete the SAFE registrations may subject them to fines and legal sanctions and may also limit their ability to make payment under the relevant equity incentive plans or receive dividends or sales proceeds related thereto in foreign currencies, or our ability to contribute additional capital into our subsidiaries in China and limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to us. We also face regulatory uncertainties under PRC law that could restrict our ability to adopt additional equity incentive plans for our directors, officers and employees who are PRC citizens or who are non-PRC residents residing in the PRC for a continuous period of not less than one year, subject to limited exceptions.
In addition, the State Administration of Taxation has issued circulars concerning employee share options, restricted shares or RSUs. Under these circulars, employees working in the PRC who exercise share options, or whose restricted shares or RSUs vest, will be subject to PRC individual income tax. The PRC subsidiaries of an overseas listed company have obligations to file documents related to employee share options or restricted shares with relevant tax authorities and to withhold individual income taxes of those employees related to their share options, restricted shares or RSUs. Although we currently withhold income tax from our PRC employees in connection with their exercise of options and the vesting of their restricted shares and RSUs, if the employees fail to pay, or the PRC subsidiaries fail to withhold, their income taxes according to relevant laws, rules and regulations, the PRC subsidiaries may face sanctions imposed by the tax authorities.
Under the Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a “resident enterprise” of China. Such classification will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders.
On March 16, 2007, the National People’s Congress of China passed a new Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law. On November 28, 2007, the State Council of China passed its implementing rules, which took effect on January 1, 2008. Under the EIT Law, an enterprise established outside of China with “de facto management bodies” within China is considered a “resident enterprise,” meaning that it can be treated in a manner similar to a Chinese enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes. The implementing rules of the EIT Law define de facto management as “substantial and overall management and control over the production and operations, personnel, accounting, and properties” of the enterprise.
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On April 22, 2009, the State Administration of Taxation issued the Notice Concerning Relevant Issues Regarding Cognizance of Chinese Investment Controlled Enterprises Incorporated Offshore as Resident Enterprises, or the Notice, also referred to as SAT Circular 82. The Notice further interprets the application of the EIT Law and its implementation rules to non-Chinese enterprise or group controlled offshore entities. Pursuant to the Notice, an enterprise incorporated in an offshore jurisdiction and controlled by a Chinese enterprise or group will be classified as a “non-domestically incorporated resident enterprise” if (i) its senior management in charge of daily operations reside or perform their duties mainly in China; (ii) its financial or personnel decisions are made or approved by bodies or persons in China; (iii) its substantial assets and properties, accounting books, corporate chops, board and shareholder minutes are kept in China; and (iv) at least half of its directors with voting rights or senior management habitually reside in China. A resident enterprise would be subject to an enterprise income tax rate of 25% on its worldwide income and must pay a withholding tax at a rate of 10%, when paying dividends to its non-PRC shareholders. However, it remains unclear as to whether the Notice is applicable to an offshore enterprise controlled by Chinese natural persons. It is unclear how tax authorities will determine tax residency based on the facts of each case.
We may be deemed to be a resident enterprise by Chinese tax authorities. If the PRC tax authorities determine that we are a “resident enterprise” for the PRC enterprise income tax purposes, a number of unfavorable PRC tax consequences could follow. First, we may be subject to the enterprise income tax at a rate of 25% on our worldwide taxable income as well as PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations, which would materially reduce our net income. Second, although, under the EIT Law and its implementing rules, dividends paid to us from our PRC subsidiaries would qualify as “tax-exempt income,” we cannot guarantee that such dividends will not be subject to a 10% withholding tax, as the PRC foreign exchange control authorities, which enforce the withholding tax, have not yet issued a guidance with respect to the processing of outbound remittances to entities that are treated as resident enterprises for the PRC enterprise income tax purposes. It is possible that future guidance issued with respect to the new “resident enterprise” classification could result in a situation, where a 10% withholding tax is imposed on dividends we pay to our shareholders that are non-resident enterprises and with respect to gains derived by said shareholders from transferring our shares. Finally, if we are deemed a PRC resident enterprise, dividends paid to our non-PRC individual shareholders and any gain realized on the transfer of our shares by such shareholders may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 20%, if such income is deemed to be from PRC sources.
If we were treated as a “resident enterprise” by the PRC tax authorities, we would be subject to taxation in both the U.S. and China, and we may not be able to claim our PRC tax as a credit to reduce our U.S. tax.
We and our shareholders face uncertainties with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises or other assets attributed to a Chinese establishment of a non-Chinese company, or immovable properties located in China owned by non-Chinese companies.
In October 2017, the State Administration of Taxation issued the Bulletin on Issues Concerning the Withholding of Non-PRC Resident Enterprise Income Tax at Source, or Bulletin 37, which replaced the Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises issued by the State Administration of Taxation on December 10, 2009, and partially replaced and supplemented rules under the Bulletin on Issues of Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Transfers of Assets by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or Bulletin 7, issued by the State Administration of Taxation on February 3, 2015. Pursuant to Bulletin 7, an “indirect transfer” of PRC assets, including a transfer of equity interests in an unlisted non-PRC holding company of a PRC resident enterprise, by non-PRC resident enterprises may be re-characterized and treated as a direct transfer of the underlying PRC assets, if such arrangement does not have a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of avoiding payment of PRC enterprise income tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax. According to Bulletin 7, “PRC taxable assets” include assets attributed to an establishment in China, immoveable properties located in China, and equity investments in PRC resident enterprises and any gains from the transfer of such asset by a direct holder, who is a non-PRC resident enterprise, would be subject to PRC enterprise income taxes. When determining whether there is a “reasonable commercial purpose” of the transaction arrangement, factors to be taken into consideration include: whether the main value of the equity interest of the relevant offshore enterprise derives from PRC taxable assets; whether the assets of the relevant offshore enterprise mainly consists of direct or indirect investment in China or if its income mainly derives from China; whether the offshore enterprise and its subsidiaries directly or indirectly holding PRC taxable assets have real commercial nature which is evidenced by their actual function and risk exposure; the duration of existence of the business model and organizational structure; the replicability of the transaction by direct transfer of PRC taxable assets; and the tax situation of such indirect transfer and applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements. In the case of an indirect offshore transfer of assets of a PRC establishment, the resulting gain is to be included with the enterprise income tax filing of the PRC establishment or place of business being transferred, and may consequently be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%. Where the underlying transfer relates to immoveable properties located in China or to equity investments in a PRC resident enterprise, which is not related to a PRC establishment or place of business of a non-resident enterprise, a PRC enterprise income tax of 10% would apply, subject to available preferential tax treatment under applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements, and the party who is obligated to make the transfer payments has the withholding obligation. Pursuant to Bulletin 37, the withholding agent shall declare and pay the withheld tax to the competent tax authority in the place where such withholding agent is located within 7 days from the date of occurrence of the withholding obligation, while the transferor is required to declare and pay such tax to the competent tax authority within the statutory time limit according to Bulletin 7. Late payment of applicable tax will subject the transferor to default interest charges. Both Bulletin 37 and Bulletin 7 do not apply to transactions of sale of shares by investors through a public stock exchange where such shares were acquired from a transaction through a public stock exchange.
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There is uncertainty as to the application of Bulletin 37 or previous rules under Bulletin 7. We face uncertainties as to the reporting and other implications of certain past and future transactions where PRC taxable assets are involved, such as offshore restructuring, sale of the shares in our offshore subsidiaries or investments. Our company may be subject to filing obligations or taxes if our company is transferor in such transactions, and may be subject to withholding obligations if our company is transferee in such transactions, under Bulletin 37 and Bulletin 7. For transfer of shares in our company by investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises, our PRC subsidiary may be requested to assist in the filing under Bulletin 37 and Bulletin 7. As a result, we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Bulletin 37 and Bulletin 7 or to request the relevant transferors from whom we purchase taxable assets to comply with these circulars, or to establish that our company should not be taxed under these circulars, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Chinese anti-corruption laws, and any determination that we violated these laws could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, or FCPA, and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by U.S. persons and issuers as defined by the statute, for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We have operations, agreements with third parties, and make most of our sales in China. The PRC also strictly prohibits bribery of government officials. Our activities in China create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by the employees, consultants, sales agents, or distributors of our Company to government officials or political parties, even though they may not always be subject to our control. It is our policy to implement safeguards to discourage these practices by our employees. However, our existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and the employees, consultants, sales agents, or distributors of our Company may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA or Chinese anti-corruption laws may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the U.S. government may seek to hold our Company liable for FCPA violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire.
If we become directly subject to the scrutiny, criticism, and negative publicity involving U.S.-listed Chinese companies, we may have to expend significant resources to investigate and resolve the matter, which could harm our business operations, stock price, and reputation. It could result in a loss of your investment in our stock, especially if such matter cannot be addressed and resolved favorably.
In the past few years, U.S. publicly traded companies that have substantially all of their operations in China, particularly companies like us have been the subject of intense scrutiny, criticism, and negative publicity by investors, financial commentators, and regulatory agencies, such as the SEC. Much of the scrutiny, criticism, and negative publicity has centered around financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, lack of effective internal controls over financial accounting, inadequate corporate governance policies or lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud. As a result of the scrutiny, criticism, and negative publicity, the publicly traded stocks of many U.S. listed Chinese companies have sharply decreased in value and, in some cases, have become virtually worthless. Many of these companies are now subject to shareholder lawsuits and SEC enforcement actions, and are conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations. It is not clear the effect of this sector-wide scrutiny, criticism, and negative publicity will have on our Company, our business, and our stock price. If we become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, we will have to expend significant resources to investigate such allegations defending our Company. This situation will be costly, time consuming, and distract our management from growing our company.
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The disclosures in our reports and other filings with the SEC and our other public pronouncements are not subject to the scrutiny of any regulatory bodies in the PRC. Accordingly, our public disclosure should be reviewed in light of the fact that no governmental agency that is located in China where substantially all of our operations and business are located has conducted any due diligence on our operations, or reviewed or passed upon the accuracy and completeness of any of our disclosures.
Since we are regulated by the SEC, our reports and other filings with the SEC are subject to SEC’s review in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Unlike publicly traded companies whose operations are located primarily in the United States, substantially all of our operations are located in China. Since substantially all of our operations and business take place in China, it may be more difficult for the SEC staff to overcome the geographic and cultural obstacles, when they review our disclosures. Such obstacles are not present for similar companies whose operations and business take place entirely or primarily in the United States. Furthermore, our SEC reports and other disclosures and public announcements are not subject to the review or scrutiny of any PRC regulatory authority. For example, the disclosures in our SEC reports and other filings are not subject to the review of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, a PRC regulator that is tasked with oversight of the capital markets in China. Accordingly, you should review our SEC reports, filings, and other public announcements with the understanding that no local regulator has done any due diligence on our company and that none of our SEC reports, other filings, or any of our other public announcements has been reviewed or otherwise been scrutinized by any local regulator.
Risks Relating to Our Securities
If we fail to comply with the continued listing requirements of NASDAQ, we would face possible delisting, which would result in a limited public market for our shares and make obtaining future debt or equity financing more difficult for us.
Our ordinary shares are traded and listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol of “TAOP.” We received a notification from Nasdaq Listing Qualifications on June 18, 2019, as announced in a report with the SEC on a 6-K Form filed on June 19, 2019, that we were not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirements set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market. Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) requires listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share, and Nasdaq 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 the Company’s ordinary shares for the 30 consecutive business days prior to the date of the notification letter from Nasdaq, the Company no longer satisfied the minimum bid price requirement. The notification letter provided that the Company had 180 calendar days, or until December 16, 2019, to regain compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). To regain compliance, the Company’s ordinary shares must have a closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days (Nasdaq may monitor the price for as long as 20 consecutive business days prior to making a final compliance determination).
On December 17, 2019, we received a second notice from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications, in which Nasdaq granted us an additional 180 days, or until June 15, 2020, to regain compliance, because the Company met the continued listing requirement for public float and other applicable requirements, except the bid price requirement, and the Company had indicated its intention of curing the deficiency by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary. The compliance deadline was thereafter extended from June 15, 2020 to August 28, 2020 according to SR-NASDAQ-2020-021. On July 30, 2020, we effectuated a share combination of our ordinary shares at a ratio of one-for-six in order to increase the per share trading price of our ordinary shares to satisfy the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement. We regained compliance with the minimum bid price rule on August 20, 2020.
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However, there is no assurance that we will be able to continue to maintain our compliance with the NASDAQ continued listing requirements. If we fail to do so, the Company’s ordinary shares may lose their status on NASDAQ Capital Market and they would likely be traded on the over-the-counter markets, including the Pink Sheets market. As a result, selling the Company’s ordinary shares could be more difficult because smaller quantities of shares would likely be bought and sold, transactions could be delayed, and security analysts’ coverage of us may be reduced. In addition, in the event the Company’s ordinary shares are delisted, broker dealers would bear certain regulatory burdens which may discourage broker dealers from effecting transactions in the Company’s ordinary shares and further limit the liquidity of the Company’s shares. These factors could result in lower prices and larger spreads in the bid and ask prices for the Company’s ordinary shares. Such delisting from NASDAQ and continued or further declines in the Company’s ordinary share price could also greatly impair our ability to raise additional necessary capital through equity or debt financing and could significantly increase the ownership dilution to shareholders caused by the Company’s issuing equity in financing or other transactions.
If we were delisted from NASDAQ, we may become subject to the trading complications experienced by “Penny Stocks” in the over-the-counter market.
Delisting from NASDAQ may cause the Company’s shares to become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules. The SEC generally defines a penny stock as an equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exemptions. One such exemption is to be listed on NASDAQ. Therefore, were we to be delisted from NASDAQ, the Company’s ordinary shares may become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules. These rules require, among other things, that any broker engaging in a purchase or sale of the Company’s securities provide its customers with: (i) a risk disclosure document, (ii) disclosure of market quotations, if any, (iii) disclosure of the compensation of the broker and its salespersons in the transaction, and (iv) monthly account statements showing the market values of the Company’s securities held in the customer’s accounts. A broker would be required to provide the bid and offer quotations and compensation information before effecting the transaction. This information must be contained on the customer’s confirmation. Generally, brokers are less willing to effect transactions in penny stocks due to these additional delivery requirements. These requirements may make it more difficult for shareholders to purchase or sell the Company’s ordinary shares. Since the broker, not us, prepares this information, we would not be able to assure that such information is accurate, complete or current.
We have issued convertible note that contains variable conversion prices which could result in substantial dilution to the Company’s existing shareholders.
On September 10, 2020, we and an individual investor entered into a securities purchase agreement, pursuant to which we sold to the investor 222,222 ordinary shares at a purchase price of $2.70 per share, in a registered direct offering. In a concurrent private placement, for a purchase price of $1,400,000, we sold and issued to the investor a convertible promissory note in a principal amount of $1,480,000 and a warrant to purchase 53,333 ordinary shares at $9.00 per share within three years following the issue date. The note carries an original issue discount of $80,000 matures in 12 months from the issue date, bearing interest at a rate of 5.0% per annum. At any time prior to the maturity, the note, at the investor’s option, may be convertible into fully paid ordinary shares at a conversion price of $9.00 per share. At any time after the occurrence of an event of default (as defined in the note), the investor may convert all of the outstanding balance of the note into ordinary shares in an aggregate amount not exceeding 1.0 million shares. At the maturity, the investors may also covert all of the outstanding balance of the note into ordinary shares at a price no less than $2.40 per share. In addition, if the note remains outstanding and due in each of the months of March and June 2021, the investor has a one-time option during the first three weeks in each of March and June 2021, respectively, to convert no more than one half of the then outstanding balance of the note into ordinary shares at a price no less than $2.40 per share.
On July 12, 2021, we and investors entered into a securities purchase agreement, pursuant to which we sold to the investor 1,200,000 ordinary shares at a purchase price of $4.15 per share, in a registered direct offering. In a concurrent private placement, we are also selling to the same investors warrants to purchase an aggregate of up to 360,000 Ordinary Shares at an exercise price of $4.56 per share. The Warrants will be exercisable for a period of three years commencing on the issue date. At any time prior to the maturity, the note, at the investor’s option, may be convertible into fully paid ordinary shares at a conversion price of $4.56 per share.
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Therefore, if the investor elects to convert the then-outstanding balance of the note into the Company ordinary shares at or prior to maturity, such conversion may be made at a significant discount to the then market price of the Company’s shares. In the event that the investor converts any or all of the above note, the Company’s existing shareholders will experience immediate dilution in their ownership of the Company’s shares, as a result of the discounted price at which the note may be converted.
The trading price of the Company’s ordinary shares is highly volatile, leading to the possibility of their value being depressed at a time when you want to sell your holdings.
The market price of the Company’s ordinary shares is volatile, and this volatility may continue. Numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, may cause the market price of the Company’s ordinary shares to fluctuate significantly. These factors include:
| ● | our earnings releases, actual or anticipated changes in our earnings, fluctuations in our operating results or our failure to meet the expectations of financial market analysts and investors; | |
| ● | changes in financial estimates by us or by any securities analysts who might cover the Company’s shares; | |
| ● | speculations about our business in the press or the investment community; | |
| ● | significant developments relating to our relationships with our customers or suppliers; | |
| ● | stock market price and volume fluctuations of other publicly traded companies and, in particular, those that are in our industries; | |
| ● | customer demand for our products; | |
| ● | investor perceptions of our industry in general and our company in particular; | |
| ● | the operating and stock performance of comparable companies; | |
| ● | general economic conditions and trends; | |
| ● | major catastrophic events; | |
| ● | announcements by us or our competitors of new products, significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships or divestitures; | |
| ● | changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretation or principles; | |
| ● | loss of external funding sources; | |
| ● | sales of the Company’s ordinary shares, including sales by our directors, officers or significant shareholders; and | |
| ● | additions or departures of key personnel. |
In the past, shareholders of a public company often brought securities class action suits against the company following periods of instability in the market price of that company’s securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and operations, which could harm our results of operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
The Company’s outstanding warrants may adversely affect the market price of the Company’s ordinary shares.
As of the date of this report, there are warrants outstanding to purchase 508,334 ordinary shares of the Company. These warrants consist of warrants exercisable for three years for 133,334 ordinary shares at an exercise price of $9.0 per share, warrants exercisable for 15,000 ordinary shares at an exercise price of $6.3 per share, warrants exercisable for 360,000 ordinary shares at an exercise price of $4.56 per share. Most of the warrants could be exercised on a cashless basis. The sale or possibility of sale of the shares underlying the warrants could have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares or our ability to obtain future financing. If and to the extent these warrants are exercised, you may experience dilution to your holdings.
Techniques employed by short sellers may drive down the market price of the Company’s ordinary shares.
Short selling is the practice of selling securities that the seller does not own but rather has borrowed from a third party with the intention of buying identical securities back at a later date to return to the lender. The short seller hopes to profit from a decline in the value of the securities between the sale of the borrowed securities and the purchase of the replacement shares, as the short seller expects to pay less in that purchase than it received in the sale. As it is in the short seller’s interest for the price of the security to decline, many short sellers publish, or arrange for the publication of, negative opinions regarding the relevant issuer and its business prospects in order to create negative market momentum and generate profits for themselves after selling a security short. These short attacks have, in the past, led to selling of shares in the market.
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Public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China have been the subject of short selling. Much of the scrutiny and negative publicity has centered on allegations of a lack of effective internal control over financial reporting resulting in financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud. As a result, a number of targets of such efforts are now conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations and, in the interim, are subject to shareholder lawsuits and/or SEC enforcement actions.
If we were to become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, we could have to expend a significant amount of resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend ourselves. While we would vigorously defend against any such short seller attacks, we may be constrained in the manner in which we can proceed against the relevant short seller by principles of freedom of speech, applicable state law or issues of commercial confidentiality. Such a situation could be costly and time-consuming, and could distract our management from growing our business. Even if such allegations are ultimately proven to be groundless, allegations against us could severely impact our business operations, and any investment in the Company’s ordinary shares could be greatly reduced or even rendered worthless.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price and trading volume for the Company’s shares could decline.
The trading market for the Company’s ordinary shares will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If research analysts do not establish and maintain adequate research coverage or if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades the Company’s ordinary shares or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the market price for the Company’s ordinary shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of the Company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume for the Company’s ordinary shares to decline.
We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.
For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business, and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on the Company’s shares. Accordingly, investors must be prepared to rely on sales of their shares after price appreciation to earn an investment return, which may never occur. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase the Company’s shares. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors, and will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable laws, and other factors our board deems relevant.
The Company’s outstanding voting securities are concentrated in a few shareholders.
Mr. Jianghuai Lin, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is the beneficial owner of approximately 26.9% of the Company’s outstanding voting securities. As a result, he possesses significant influence, and can elect a majority of our board of directors and authorize or prevent proposed significant corporate transactions. His ownership and control may also have the effect of delaying or preventing a future change in control, impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover, or other business combination, or discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer.
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We are a “foreign private issuer” and have disclosure obligations that are different than those of U.S. domestic reporting companies. Therefore, you should not expect to receive the same information about us as a U.S. domestic reporting company may provide. Furthermore, if we lose our status as a foreign private issuer, we would be required to fully comply with the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to U.S. domestic issuers and incur significant operational, administrative, legal, and accounting costs that we would not incur as a foreign private issuer.
We are a foreign private issuer. As a result, we are not subject to certain of the requirements imposed upon U.S. domestic issuers by the SEC. For example, we are not required by the SEC or the federal securities laws to issue quarterly reports or file proxy statements with the SEC. We are also allowed to file our annual report with the SEC within four months of our fiscal year end. We are also not required to disclose certain detailed information regarding executive compensation that is required from U.S. domestic issuers. Further, our directors and executive officers are not required to report equity holdings under Section 16 of the Securities Act. As a foreign private issuer, we are also exempt from the requirements of Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure) which, generally, aim to ensure that select groups of investors are not privy to specific information about an issuer before other investors. We are, however, still subject to the anti-fraud and anti-manipulation rules of the SEC, such as Rule 10b-5. Since many of the disclosure obligations required of us as a foreign private issuer are different than those required by U.S. domestic reporting companies, our shareholders should not expect to receive all of the same types of information about us and at the same time as information is received from, or provided by, U.S. domestic reporting companies. We are liable for violations of the rules and regulations of the SEC, which do apply to us as a foreign private issuer. Violations of these rules could affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to rely on exemptions from certain NASDAQ corporate governance standards applicable to domestic U.S. issuers. This may afford less protection to holders of the Company’s securities.
We are exempted from certain corporate governance requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market by virtue of being a foreign private issuer. As a foreign private issuer, we are permitted to follow the governance practices of our home country, the BVI in lieu of certain corporate governance requirements of NASDAQ. As a result, the standards applicable to us are considerably different than the standards applied to domestic U.S. issuers. For instance, we are not required to:
| ● | have a majority of the board be independent (although all of the members of the audit committee must be independent under the Exchange Act); | |
| ● | have a compensation committee and a nominating committee to be comprised solely of “independent directors”; and | |
| ● | hold an annual meeting of shareholders no later than one year after the end of the Company’s fiscal year-end. |
As a result, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.
You may have difficulty enforcing judgments obtained against us or our directors and officers.
Taoping is a BVI company with executive offices in Hong Kong and substantially all of our assets are located outside of the United States. In addition, a significant majority of our current business operations are conducted in the PRC and all of Taoping’s directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. A substantial portion of the assets of these persons is also located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these persons. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States. It may also be difficult for you to enforce the U.S. courts judgments obtained in U.S. courts including judgments based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us or our officers and directors. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the BVI or Hong Kong would (i) recognize or enforce judgments of United States courts obtained against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States or (ii) entertain original actions brought in the BVI or Hong Kong against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. The courts of the BVI or Hong Kong may enforce a foreign judgment subject to various conditions, including but not limited to, that the foreign judgment is a final judgment conclusive upon the merits of the claim, the judgment is for a liquidated amount in a civil matter and not in respect of taxes, fines, penalties, or similar charges, the proceedings in which the judgment was obtained were not contrary to natural justice, and the enforcement of the judgment is not contrary to public policy of the BVI or Hong Kong.
The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in mainland China are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other forms of reciprocity with the United States that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, the PRC courts will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our director and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC laws or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States.
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As we were incorporated under the laws of the BVI, it may be more difficult for our shareholders to protect their rights than it would be for a shareholder of a corporation incorporated in another jurisdiction.
Our corporate affairs are governed by the Company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, by the BVI Business Companies Act (as amended), or the BVI Act, and by the common law of the BVI Principles of law relating to such matters as the validity of corporate procedures, the fiduciary duties of management, and the rights of our shareholders. Such matters differ from those that would apply, had we been incorporated in the United States or another jurisdiction. The rights of shareholders under BVI law may not be as clearly established as the rights of shareholders are in the United States or other jurisdictions. Under the laws of most jurisdictions in the United States, majority and controlling shareholders generally have certain fiduciary responsibilities to the minority shareholders. Shareholders’ actions must be taken in good faith. Obviously unreasonable actions by controlling shareholders may be declared null and void. BVI law protecting the interests of minority shareholders may not be as vigorous in all circumstances as the law protecting minority shareholders in United States or other jurisdictions. Although a shareholder of a BVI company may sue the company derivatively, the procedures and defenses available to the company may result in the rights of shareholders of a BVI company being more limited than those of shareholders of a company organized in the United States. Furthermore, our directors have the power to take certain actions without shareholders’ approval, which would require shareholders’ approval under the laws of most United States or other jurisdictions. The directors of a BVI corporation, subject in certain cases to the court’s approval but without shareholders’ approval, may implement a reorganization, merger or consolidation, or sale of assets, property, business or securities of the corporation which sale is subject to a limit of up to 50% of such assets. The ability of our board of directors to create new classes or series of shares and the rights attached by amending the Company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association without shareholders’ approval could have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in our control without any further action by the shareholders, including a tender offer to purchase the Company’s ordinary shares at a premium over then market prices. Thus, our shareholders may have more difficulty protecting their interests in the face of actions by our board of directors or our controlling shareholders than they would have as shareholders of a corporation incorporated in another jurisdiction.
General Risk Factors
We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the SEC, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law, including the laws of the BVI. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
Taoping employs a mail forwarding service, which may delay or disrupt our ability to receive mail in a timely manner.
Mail addressed to Taoping and received at its registered office in the BVI will be forwarded unopened to the forwarding address supplied by Taoping to be dealt with. None of Taoping, its directors, officers, advisors or service providers (including the organization which provides registered office services in the BVI) will bear any responsibility for any delay howsoever caused in mail reaching the forwarding address, which may impair your ability to communicate with us.
Political risks associated with conducting business in Hong Kong.
Taoping’ s executive offices and most of its officers and directors are located in Hong Kong. Accordingly, our business operation will be affected by the political and legal developments in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the PRC and the basic policies of the PRC regarding Hong Kong are reflected in the Basic Law, namely, Hong Kong’s constitutional document, which provides Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy and executive, legislative and independent judicial powers, including that of final adjudication under the principle of “one country, two systems”. However, there is no assurance that there will not be any changes in the economic, political and legal environment in Hong Kong in the future.
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Under the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC, Hong Kong is exclusively in charge of its internal affairs and external relations, while the government of the PRC is responsible for its foreign affairs and defense. As a separate customs territory, Hong Kong maintains and develops relations with foreign states and regions. Based on certain recent development including the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region issued by the Standing Committee of the PRC National People’s Congress in June 2020, the U.S. State Department has indicated that the United States no longer considers Hong Kong to have significant autonomy from PRC and President Trump signed an executive order and Hong Kong Autonomy Act, or HKAA, to remove Hong Kong’s preferential trade status and to authorize the U.S. administration to impose blocking sanctions against individuals and entities who are determined to have materially contributed to the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy. The United States may impose the same tariffs and other trade restrictions on exports from Hong Kong that it places on goods from mainland China. These and other recent actions may represent an escalation in political and trade tensions involving the U.S., mainland China and Hong Kong, which could potentially harm our business.
Given the relatively small geographical size of Hong Kong, any of such incidents may have a widespread effect on our business operations, which could in turn adversely and materially affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. It is difficult to predict the full impact of the HKAA on Hong Kong and companies with operations in Hong Kong like us. Furthermore, legislative or administrative actions in respect of China-U.S. relations could cause investor uncertainty for affected issuers, including us, and the market price of Taoping’s ordinary shares could be adversely affected.
ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY
A. History and Development of the Company
General Information
The current legal and commercial name of the Company is Taoping Inc. Taoping Inc. was incorporated in the BVI under the BVI Act on June 18, 2012. The address of our principal place of business Unit 3102, 31/F, Citicorp Centre, 18 Whitefield Road, Hong Kong. Our telephone number is 852-36117837. Taoping’s registered agent in the British Virgin Islands is Maples Corporate Services (BVI) Limited of Kingston Chambers, PO Box 173, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. The office located in Shenzhen, China is the Company’s regional headquarters in mainland China.
Corporate History
Taoping’s predecessor company was originally organized under the laws of the State of Florida on September 19, 1979 under the name Mark Thomas Publishing Inc. On April 29, 2003, we changed our name to Irish Mag, Inc. From our inception through October 8, 2006, we provided consulting services in the offset printing industry, targeting individual retail consumers as well as small to medium sized companies.
On April 7, 2008, we re-incorporated in the State of Nevada by merging into China Information Security Technology, Inc., a subsidiary that we established in Nevada to effect the re-incorporation. As a result, the Company’s name was changed to China Information Security Technology, Inc. and we became a Nevada corporation.
On August 26, 2010, the Company changed its name to China Information Technology, Inc., or CITN.
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On October 31, 2012, we completed a corporate reorganization, whereby the Company, which was established as a subsidiary of CITN under the laws of the BVI to effect the reorganization, became the parent company of a publicly held entity. Consequently, CITN became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. In connection with the reorganization, each outstanding share of the common stock of CITN was converted into the right to receive one ordinary share of the Company. The ordinary shares of the Company were listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the trading symbol of “CNIT,” the same symbol under which the common stock of CITN were listed. Prior to the reorganization, shares of CITN’s common stock were registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act. On October 31, 2012, the Company filed a Form 8-K12B under cover of a Form 6-K to establish the Company as the successor issuer to CITN pursuant to Rule 12g-3 under the Exchange Act. Pursuant to Rule 12g-3(a) under the Exchange Act, the ordinary shares of the Company, as successor issuer, were deemed registered under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act. On November 13, 2012, CITN filed a Form 15 with the SEC to terminate the registration of the shares of its common stock and suspend its reporting obligations under Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act. On November 19, 2012, we changed the name of CITN to China Information Technology (Nevada), Inc., which was liquidated and dissolved in July 2014.
At the Company’s 2017 Annual Meeting of Members, which was held on September 19, 2017, the shareholders of the Company approved an amendment to the Company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association to remove the par value of the Company’s ordinary shares. On October 12, 2017, the Company filed an amended and restated Memorandum and Articles of Association with the Registrar of Corporate Affairs in the British Virgin Islands, pursuant to which the par value per share of the Company’s ordinary shares has been removed.
On May 25, 2018, the Company held its 2018 Annual Meeting of Members and its shareholders approved the change of company name to “Taoping Inc.” and an amendment and restatement of its Memorandum and Articles of Association to reflect such change of name. In connection with the name change, the trading symbol of its ordinary shares was changed to “TAOP,” effective on June 1, 2018.
On July 30, 2020, Taoping completed a share combination of the Company’s ordinary shares at a ratio of one-for-six, which decreased its outstanding ordinary shares to approximately 7,332,434 shares. This share combination did not change Taoping’s authorized amount of shares or the par value of its ordinary shares. Accordingly, except as otherwise indicated, all share and per share information contained in this annual report has been restated to retroactively show the effect of the share combination.
Management Services Agreement
On July 1, 2007, our subsidiary IST entered into a management services agreement, or MSA, with iASPEC and its shareholders. Pursuant to the MSA, iASPEC granted IST an exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, worldwide license to use and install certain iASPEC software, along with copies of source and object codes relating to such software in any manner permitted by applicable laws for ten years. Under the MSA, IST was entitled to receive 100% of the modified net profit of iASPEC, and would reimburse iASPEC for all net losses incurred. In connection with the MSA, IST also entered into a purchase option agreement, or Option Agreement, with iASPEC and its shareholders, effective as of July 1, 2007. Pursuant to the Option Agreement, the iASPEC shareholders granted IST, or its designee(s), an exclusive, irrevocable option to purchase from the iASPEC shareholders, from time to time, all or part of iASPEC’s shares, according to an equity transfer agreement, or to purchase all or part of iASPEC’s assets, according to an asset purchase and transfer agreement. Under the terms of the Option Agreement, the option is immediately exercisable at an exercise price of $1,800,000, in the aggregate, which is subject to regulatory approval.
As a result of the relationship with iASPEC, iASPEC became a variable interest entity of the Company.
On July 1, 2008, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jianghuai Lin, entered into an Equity Transfer Agreement with Mr. Jin Zhu Cai, the owner of a 24% minority interest in iASPEC. Pursuant to the Agreement, Mr. Lin purchased Mr. Cai’s minority interest for a total consideration of RMB 60 million (approximately $8.7 million). As a result of the Equity Transfer Agreement, Mr. Lin holds 100% of the equity interests of iASPEC.
On December 13, 2009, IST, iASPEC and Mr. Lin, as the sole shareholder of iASPEC, amended and restated the MSA, pursuant to which IST would continue to provide management and consulting services to iASPEC.
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Dissolution of the Variable Interest Entity Structure
In September 2021, we dissolved the variable interest entity structure by exercising the purchase option under the Option Agreement to purchase all of the equity interests in iASPEC at an aggregate exercise price of $1,800,000. On September 18, 2021, Taoping and IST entered into an equity transfer agreement with iASPEC and iASPEC’s then sole shareholder, Mr. Lin, under which Mr. Lin sold and transferred to IST all of the equity interests in and any and all rights and benefits relating thereto of iASPEC in exchange for 612,245 unregistered ordinary shares of Taoping as determined by dividing $1,800,000 by the volume-weighted average closing price of ordinary shares for the consecutive five (5) trading days immediately prior to September 18, 2021. The parties thereafter completed the equity transfer through applicable PRC governmental registration(s).
Upon the closing of the equity transfer, the Company’s variable interest entity structure was dissolved and iASPEC became a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the Company. The amended and restated MSA was automatically terminated.
Corporate Structure
The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure as of December 31, 2021.
*Pink box in the diagram indicates the entity in which public investors own ordinary shares.
Blue boxes in the diagram indicate the entity(ies) in which the Company’s operations were conducted as of December 31, 2021.
Grey boxes in the diagram indicate the entities that had nominal operations as of December 31, 2021.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.
Our web site address is http://www.taop.com. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute a part of this Annual Report.
Principal Capital Expenditures and Divestitures
For the year ended December 31, 2021, our total capital expenditures and divestitures were $11.3 million and $0 million, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2020, our total capital expenditures and divestitures were $1.7 million and $0 million, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2019, our total capital expenditures and divestitures were $1.6 million and $0 million, respectively. Such expenditures and divestitures were primarily related to the purchase and sale of long-lived assets and business acquisitions. These capital expenditures were mainly funded by our operating cash flow.
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B. Business Overview
General
Executive Offices of the Company are located in Hong Kong. As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately 76 full-time employees.
We are a leading provider of cloud-app technologies for Smart City IoT platforms, digital advertising delivery, and other internet-based information distribution systems in China. Our Internet ecosystem enables all participants of the new media community to efficiently promote branding, disseminate information, and exchange resources. In addition, we provide a broad portfolio of software and hardware with fully integrated solutions, including Information Technology infrastructure, Internet-enabled display technologies, and IoT platforms to customers in government, education, residential community management, media, transportation, and other private sectors.
Prior to 2014, we generated the majority of our revenues through selling our products and services mostly to the public service entities to help them improve their operational efficiency and service quality. Our representative customers included the China Ministry of Public Security, provincial bureaus of public security, fire departments, traffic bureaus, police stations, human resource departments, urban planning boards, civic administrations, land resource administrations, mapping and surveying bureaus, and the Shenzhen General Station of Immigration Frontier Inspection.
Since 2014, we have expanded and diversified our customer base into the private sector as well. Our customers in the private sector include, among others, elevator maintenance companies, residential community management, advertising agencies, auto dealerships, and educational institutes. Our new corporate mission is to make publicity accessible and affordable for businesses of all sizes.
We generated revenues from sales of hardware products, software products, system integration services, and related maintenance and support services. In 2015, with the introduction of our cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) offering, we expected to generate additional recurring monthly revenues from SaaS fees. In 2019 and 2020, only a very small portion of our revenue was generated from SaaS, which is expected to increase in the coming years with the nationwide roll-out of our cloud-based ad display terminal network.
In May 2017, we completed our transformation to a provider of CAT and IoT technology based digital advertising distribution network and new media resource sharing platform, and offered an end-to-end digital advertising solution enabling customers to efficiently and cost-effectively direct advertisements to specific interactive ad display terminals in the out-of-home advertising market across China. In 2017, we became profitable as a result of a successful transition of our business model. We continued to improve our financial position in 2018. However, due to the unfavorable macro-economic environment and the slowdown of the out-of-home advertising market in China, we had net loss of approximately $9.3 million and $18.3 million respectively in 2021 and 2020. For years going forward, we will continue to execute our business plan and build a nationwide cloud-based ad terminal network by penetrating into more cities throughout China, which is expected to generate recurring service revenue for the Company, in addition to equipment sales.
Starting from January 2020, the coronavirus outbreak, also known as COVID-19, has caused the Chinese government to take quarantine measures, such as nationwide lockdowns, transportation restrictions, public gathering prohibitions and temporary closures of non-essential businesses, which had put economic activities in a suspension mode until late March 2020. Although the COVID-19 epidemic has largely been contained in China since then and businesses have gradually resumed to operations, regional outbreaks of infection persisted in various localities. The adverse impact from the pandemic to the out-of-home advertising business and China macro-economy continued throughout 2021. China’s economic recovery still faces challenges.
On June 9, 2021, the Company consummated an acquisition of 100% of the equity interest of Taoping New Media Co., Ltd (“TNM”), a leading media operator in China’s out-of-home digital advertising industry. Mr. Jianghuai Lin, the Chairman and CEO of TAOP, who owns approximately 26.9% of total shares outstanding of the Company, owned approximately 51% of TNM. TNM focuses on digital life scenes and mainly engaged in selling out-of-home advertising time slots on its networked smart digital advertising display terminals with artificial intelligence and big data technologies. The acquisition of TNM is expected to enhance TAOP’s presence in the new media and advertising sectors.
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In 2021, the Company launched blockchain related new business in cryptocurrency mining operations and newly established subsidiaries in Hong Kong to supplement its diminished Traditional Information Technology (TIT) business segment as a part of new business transformation. With multiple cloud data centers deployed overseas, currently in Hong Kong, the Company continues to improve computing power and create value for the encrypted digital currency industry.
In September 2021, the Company and the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Information Security Technology (China) Co., Ltd. (“IST”) entered into an equity transfer agreement with Mr. Jianghuai Lin, the sole shareholder of iASPEC. Upon closing of the equity transfer, the Company’s existing variable interest entity structure was dissolved and iASPEC became a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the Company.
We report financial and operational information in the following three segments:
| (1) | Cloud-based Technology (CBT) segment — It includes the Company’s cloud-based products, high-end data storage servers and related services sold to private sectors including new media, healthcare, education and residential community management, and among other industries and applications. In this segment, the Company generates revenues from the sales of hardware and software total solutions with proprietary software and content as well as from designing and developing software products specifically customized for private sector customers’ needs for a fixed price. The Company includes the revenue and cost of revenue of high-end data storage servers in the CBT segment. Advertising services is included in the CBT segment, after the Company consummated the acquisition of TNM. Advertisements are delivered to the ads display terminals and vehicular ads display terminals through the Company’s cloud-based new media sharing platform. Incorporation of advertising services complements the Company’s out-of-home advertising business strategy. | |
| (2) | Blockchain Technology (BT) segment — The BT segment is the Company’s newly formed business sector. Cryptocurrency mining is the first initiative implemented in the BT segment.
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| (3) | Traditional Information Technology (TIT) segment —The TIT segment includes the Company’s project-based technology products and services sold to the public sector. The solutions the Company has sold primarily include Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Digital Public Security Technology (DPST), and Digital Hospital Information Systems (DHIS). In this segment, the Company generates revenues from sales of hardware and system integration services. As a result of the business transformation, the TIT segment is gradually being phased out in 2021. |
Industry Overview
General
Urbanization is the primary driver for the demand of our Cloud-based solutions for advertising placement and public information dissemination. China’s urbanization rate has accelerated in the past 30 years. The Chinese urban population has grown by over 170 million in the past five years to more than 1 billion in 2020. According to Chinese Social Development Research, approximately 70% of the Chinese population is expected to live in urban areas by 2035. Urban lifestyle revolves around consumption of information, goods, and services that necessitates advertising and public information dissemination. At the same time, urbanization has imposed considerable pressure on land use, environment protection, and municipal infrastructure. Urbanization has also led to increasing demands for equitable treatment for all dwellers in the cities.
In the first quarter of 2014, China’s State Council unveiled a new urbanization plan for the period from 2014 to 2020 in an effort to steer the country onto a more humanistic and environmentally friendly urbanization path. The plan increases the country’s investment in urban infrastructure, public service facilities, and affordable housing constructions. It also calls for closer coordination between urban and rural developments, optimization of city planning, and tighter integration of environmental protection measures into urbanization efforts. The plan also projects new construction of 20,000 to 50,000 skyscrapers around the country, as well as implementation of mass transit systems in more than 170 cities by 2025. In addition, it requires construction of regular railways to connect all medium sized cities of over 200,000 in population and high-speed railways to connect large cities of over 500,000 in population by 2020. Also, it plans to expand the nation’s civil aviation network to cover 90 percent of its total population.
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Out-of-Home Digital Advertising Market in China
Rising urbanization has resulted in prevalent traffic congestions throughout China. In medium to large sized cities, people on an average spend 39 minutes of commuting time to work. According to China New-type Urbanization Report (2014-2018), in densely populated tier one cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai, it costs commuters 14, 12, and 11 minutes every day in traffic jams, respectively. In Beijing, a megacity of over 21 million residents, the daily commute takes 45 minutes, the worst of all Chinese cities.
While traffic jams are a headache for urban commuters and city planners, they present revenue generating opportunities for out-of-home advertisers, who seek attentive audience in high traffic areas. According to China Industry Information Net, the estimated total market size of China’s out-of-home advertising is expected to reach RMB 227 billion in 2021, with a CAGR of 14%. Cosmetics, beverage, and financial service companies are ranked as top spenders consistently. Internet and real estate companies also increased their advertisement spending significantly.
The growth, starting in 2013, can be attributed to three factors: 1) macroeconomic recovery in China has encouraged businesses to increase their advertising spending; 2) industry leaders have led consolidation in the out-of-home advertising market and grown their market share in tier one cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen; 3) rapid advancement in Internet and mobile technologies has resulted in new O2O (offline-to-online) advertising opportunities.
Over 50% of the advertisers rated commercial buildings and public transportation hubs as the top two prime locations for advertisement placement. There are over 200 million people riding elevators every day in China. The number of advertisers opting for residential buildings also increased considerably. Precision advertisement uses digital technologies, such as internet-based ads management and distribution and big data analysis, to target its audience, and continues to be the advertisers’ focal point, which resulted in the increasing demands for digital advertising.
Market Trends
In addition to urbanization, two technological developments further accelerate the demand for our CBT products and services: 1) offline-to-online migration of display terminals and 2) adoption of Quick Response (QR) codes.
Currently, most of the advertising display terminals in China are not connected to any network. Consequently, updating their media contents requires onsite manual operation through flash drives or other means. They also tend to have low asset utilization rates. Based on our own primary research, we have estimated that offline terminals have an average asset utilization rate of 40% in tier-one cities, 30% in tier-two cities, and 20% in tier-three and smaller cities. In comparison, content on cloud-based terminals can be remotely uploaded, updated, and managed resulting in substantial labor cost savings for terminal operators, i.e. advertising agencies. In addition, cloud-based terminals offer advertising agencies the flexibility of fine-tuning advertisement schedules on the fly and customizing advertisement content at each location as specific as one single office building. More importantly, idle time slots on cloud-based terminals can be discovered and sold on Taoping, an online resource exchange platform of ours that was released in the fourth quarter of 2015 as a module of our Yunfa Net (www.pubds.com), an information distribution and advertising delivery system. Therefore, asset utilization rate of advertising agencies can be greatly improved. As a result, there is a growing demand to convert offline terminals into networked terminals using our CBT products and services. In January 2018, we separated Taoping module from Yunfa Net and officially launched the Taoping Net (www.taoping.cn) and Taoping App. Taoping Net provides an advertising-resources trading service platform which connects screen owners, advertisers and consumers. Taoping Net integrates nationwide high-quality screen resources of Taoping Alliance, a new media operating organization founded by us and Taoping New Media Co., Ltd. (“Taoping New Media”), a company controlled by Mr. Jianghuai Lin. Taoping App, which enables customers to distribute and manage ads from mobile terminals, effectively satisfies the need to distribute fragmented ads. Using Taoping App, anyone can buy and distribute real-time ads to designated terminals.
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Furthermore, the wide adoption of QR codes is also positively impacting the demand for our cloud-based products and services. A QR code is a digital barcode that contains merchants’ information. By incentivizing consumers to scan the QR code embedded in advertisement, advertising agencies can analyze the effectiveness of their advertisements and adjust their sales and marketing tactics on a real-time basis. In China, the application of QR codes is permeating from tier-one cities to the rest of the country. Although QR codes have frequently appeared in print ads as well as in digital ads displayed on offline terminals, the codes can be changed only as frequently as the advertisement itself. The data brought in to advertising agencies by the QR codes cannot be segmented by precise locations or time slots, and thus can generate only limited insight into viewer behavior. In contrast, individualized QR codes embedded in advertisement displayed on networked terminals can vary by location and time slot, and offer advertising agencies deeper insights at a much higher precision than offline terminals or print ads. Consequently, the adoption of QR codes is further driving the demand for our cloud-based ad display terminals.
Our Products and Services
In the CBT segment, we provide cloud-based ecosystem solutions mainly to the new media in out-of-home digital advertising customers. Underpinning our ecosystems are our industry-specific integrated advertisement display terminal product, digital advertising distribution technology platform, resource exchange and sharing, and big data analysis services. In 2014, we sold our cloud-based solutions predominately to the Chinese new media industry. Starting from 2016, we have also focused our efforts in selling IoT ads display terminal hardware and providing digital ads distribution and resource sharing services for out-of-home advertising market. As a result of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, city lockdowns, travel restrictions, and other preventive measures and persistent outbreaks of infection in regional localities through 2021 had negatively impacted on the China out-of-home advertising business and significantly dampened customers’ demand for ads display terminals. Nevertheless, mandatory home stays and work from remote locations triggered a steep surge in on-line gaming, on-line shopping, on-line entertainment, and electronic communication that created a great demand for high-end data storage servers to accommodate internet information transmission. We have stabilized supply chains for the high-end data storage server to meet market demands supplementing the declining revenue from ads display terminals and included the revenue and cost of revenue of high-end data storage servers in the CBT segment.
For the out-of-home new media industry, we provide our software as a service to automate the entire interactive workflows between advertising agencies and their customers, including, among others, establishing new advertising projects, submitting advertisement proposals, revising and approving advertising proposals, processing payment online, remotely uploading advertisement content, and tracking and analyzing performance data.
Our Technology Platform
The foundation of our product offerings is our proprietary technology platform called Cloud-Application-Terminal (CAT). Its trademark has been registered in PRC. Our CAT platform includes three layers of technology: 1) cloud infrastructure, 2) software application, and 3) high-definition digital display terminals ranging from 18.5 to 84 inches in display size. Bundled together, three layers of technology serve as a turnkey solution for our customers to improve their operational efficiency and maximize their revenue.
Our CAT platform can be accessed from a variety of devices, including networked display terminals, desktop computers, and mobile devices. It can operate in all operating systems, including Windows, Android and iOS. It unifies all access points into one unique user account, through which a user can log onto our cloud system and enjoy all available software features and functions.
Our Resource Exchange and Sharing
Building on top of our CAT platform is our industry-specific resource sharing functionality. For the out-of-home new media industry, in the fourth quarter of 2015, we released a resource exchange called “Taoping” as a module of our proprietary cloud-based information distribution and ad delivery platform - Yunfa Net (www.pubds.com). Taoping in Chinese means “search and select display terminals.” Taoping pairs those who seek, with those who own out-of-home advertisement resources of interactive display terminals, and facilitates their transactions online.
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For example, a local advertising agency based in Shenzhen City may need to place advertisement in Guangzhou City, but does not own any display terminals in Guangzhou. Through Taoping, the advertising agency can search available display terminals by location, venue, and time slots, find suitable resources, negotiate rental prices with terminal owners, and process payments online. Then through Taoping, the advertising agency can upload advertisement content onto remote terminals, monitor advertisement performances, make necessary editing to the advertisement, and update advertisement content.
Taoping enables advertising terminal resource owners to improve their asset utilization rates and returns on investments. At the same time, Taoping allows advertisement promoters to leverage available advertising resources in other geographic regions, and cost effectively expand into new business territories.
Our Big Data Services
Building on top of our resource sharing capability is our big data analysis service. After releasing our resource sharing feature, we have been compiling and analyzing data related to buyer/seller behavioral preferences, so that we can provide value-added services to our customers.
For example, through big data analyses, we are able to make insightful suggestions to advertising resource owners on which specific types of venues being displayed at specific time slots likely garner high rental fees as well as the optimal range of rental fees they could charge for each type of resources they own. For advertising promoters, we are able to provide advice such as the optimal combinations of terminals to rent in order to reach the biggest possible audience they desire, and attain the greatest impact while staying within their advertising budget.
Our Industry-Specific Ecosystems
In combining our proprietary CAT technology platform, resource sharing functionality, and big data services with our industry expertise, we provide integrated ecosystem solutions to the industries of out-of-home digital advertising new media, healthcare, education, and residential community management. As described above, starting from the out-of-home digital advertising new media industry, we have been in the process of rolling out product offerings to all of those four industries.
| ● | New Media Elevator Management – Our New Media Elevator Management solution integrates advertisement placement with safety supervision into one single technology unit. The built-in LED screen of the unit delivers high-definition digital advertisement, while its safety sensors and data collectors transmit operational and technical data of the elevator to the appropriate property managers, safety supervisors, and maintenance crew, so that such staff can efficiently maintain operational safety of the elevator, and instantaneously respond to emergencies. Since our New Media Elevator Management solution combines public safety with media display, property managers view our products as of strategic importance to their daily operations, and they welcome our products better than the ones that are pure advertisement display terminals without safety devices. As a result, we are able to help advertising agencies that purchase our products to attain customers more easily and enter into new markets more cost effectively. In addition, the Elevator Management platform could be sold as a separate product depending on customer needs to facilitate digital elevator maintenance, big data solution for elevator maintenance company, residential management, and government authorities. | |
| ● | New Media Transportation Management – Our New Media Transportation Management solution remotely uploads advertisement content together with critical transportation information — such as arrival and departure schedules, delay or cancellation notifications, gate assignments, and station announcements – into our cloud infrastructure and displays the content on our large-screen terminals strategically placed at high-traffic transportation hubs, including high-speed railway stations, subway stations, airports, and onboard public buses. Because our Transportation New Media Application combines advertisement display with transportation information crucial to commuters, we enable advertising agencies that purchase our products to attain large and attentive audiences at prime locations, which in turn help them achieve good advertisement placement rates and generate high revenue amounts. | |
| ● | New Media Community Management – Our New Media Community Management solution combines advertisement display with dissemination of community information. Placed within various high-rise residential communities, our large screen display terminals serve as a window of information into various resources available to community residents, including community maps, news updates, emergency announcements, safety precautions, health tips, recreational activities, and local commercial promotions. |
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Product Warranty
For our TIT segment, we usually offer a one-year or three-year warranty for our system integration services depending on the project. Our warranty includes support services, minimal updates and system maintenance. No rights of return are allowed except for non-conforming products, which have been insignificant based on historical experiences. If nonconforming products are returned due to software issues, we will provide upgrades or additional customization to suit the customers’ needs, which is infrequent with immaterial costs. The original vendors of hardware are ultimately liable for replacement of defective or non-conforming hardware products. In cases where non-conformity is due to the integrated hardware, we return the hardware to the original vendor for replacement. Based on our past experience, the cost of our warranty provision has been immaterial.
For our CBT segment, we provide a one-year warranty for our digital displays and high-end data servers. The actual warranty service is carried out by our OEM partners, with whom we have obtained a contractual guarantee that they will repair or replace any defective hardware products that we have purchased on behalf of our customers. Our OEM partners ultimately bear and are liable for the costs of product warranty. Consequently, our own cost of warranty for this segment has been minimal.
Sales and Marketing
We develop new businesses by identifying and contacting potential new customers and through referrals, or by direct contacts from new customers as a result of our strong brand recognition and reputation in the industry. We solidify our market presence through various types of marketing campaigns, such as participating in exhibitions, trade shows, and seminars, developing distributors and dealers, and presenting solutions to prospective customers. We founded and played a key role in the Taoping Alliance, a new media operating organization that includes numerous advertising agencies throughout China, which greatly improved our market expansion capability and industry reputation.
Customers and Related Parties
In fiscal year 2021, 2020 and 2019, no single customer represented 10% or more of our total revenue. The following tables provide revenue by our major customers for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019.
Year 2021
| Revenues | % of | |||||||
| (Thousands) | Revenues | |||||||
| Shenzhen Taitao Electronic Technology Co. Ltd | $ | 464 | 7 | % | ||||
| Shenzhen Yingfei Digital Technology Co., Ltd | 308 | 4 | % | |||||
| Zhenjiang Taoping IoT Technology Limited | 220 | 3 | % | |||||
| Shenzhen Huaqi Technology Co., Ltd | 219 | 3 | % | |||||
| Ningbo Aide Kangsai Advertising Co. Ltd | 157 | 2 | % | |||||
| TOTAL | $ | 1,368 | 19 | % | ||||
Year 2020
| Revenues | % of | |||||||
| (Thousands) | Revenues | |||||||
| Quxian Qucheng Science and Technology Development Co. Ltd | $ | 666 | 6 | % | ||||
| Shenzhen Huaqi Technology Co., Ltd | 624 | 6 | % | |||||
| Shenzhen Bite Technology Co., Ltd | 538 | 5 | % | |||||
| Guangzhou Lindian Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd | 459 | 4 | % | |||||
| Hainan Zhiming Culture and Education Development Co. Ltd | 450 | 4 | % | |||||
| TOTAL | $ | 2,737 | 25 | % | ||||
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Year 2019
| Revenues | % of | |||||||
| (Thousands) | Revenues | |||||||
| Shenzhen Yyixiang technology co. LTD | $ | 830 | 6 | % | ||||
| Suzhou Taoping Technology Co., Ltd. | 693 | 5 | % | |||||
| Shanghai Taoping Media Co., Ltd. | 666 | 5 | % | |||||
| Fujian Taoping IoT Technology Co., Ltd. | 589 | 4 | % | |||||
| Yunnan Taoping IoT Co., LTD | 540 | 4 | % | |||||
| TOTAL | $ | 3,318 | 24 | % | ||||
Competition
In the CBT segment, there are many small IT service companies in China providing one-off software packages to solve one aspect of the problems, but not integrated solutions combining technology platform, resource exchange and sharing, and big data services like ours. For example, in the new media industry, we encounter competition from 56iq.com, Fujian Star-net Communication Co., Ltd, Shanghai View Show Technology Co., Ltd., and Maipu Communications Technology Co., Ltd. After completion of acquisition of Taoping New Media Co., Ltd, we compete with advertising agencies, such as Focus Media, Air Media, and Vision China in some geographic regions in China.
Compared with our competitors, we believe we have the following advantages:
| ● | We provide integrated ecosystem solutions that combine technology platform, resource exchange and sharing, and big data services. Our solution not only helps our customers improve their operational efficiency and reduce their labor cost, more importantly, help them maximize their asset utilization rate and increase their revenue. For example, by utilizing our solution, an advertising agency can upload its advertisement content from a centralized location to geographically dispersed display terminals, saving its maintenance staff from traveling to each terminal and updating media content manually. In addition, the advertising agency can list its idle terminal assets on Taoping, our resource exchange platform, and lease display terminals to other agencies by location and time slot, generating additional revenue from their existing assets. | |
| ● | Our solution has high scalability, availability, and flexibility. Because our technology solution is architected from ground up using the latest cloud-computing technology, our system can easily scale up to handle a rapidly increasing amount of data. In addition, as the number of display terminals connected to our network continues to grow, our system is able to handle additional workload and workflows to ensure high availability of each terminal. More importantly, because we own our cloud infrastructure and platform, we have the flexibility of changing or upgrading our software anytime without any constraints. |
| ● | Our solution has a high level of security guarantee. Because we own the entire stack of technology infrastructure and terminals, we have a solid security fortress to prevent hackers from breaking into our system. In addition, because we have over 10 years of experience providing large-scale information systems to the public entities, such as police stations and public security bureaus, we have a track record of protecting our network from security intrusions or breaches. Lastly, to protect ourselves from national security concerns, we have an operational agreement with China’s Internet Oversight Board to inspect and filter all of our advertisement contents before uploading them onto our display network. | |
| ● | Our solution combines digital network with physical assets, establishing a high barrier to entry than other internet related companies. Our proprietary Cloud-Application-Terminal platform has integrated three layers of technology: cloud storage, application software, and display terminals. Although it is relatively easy for potential competitors to develop software application with technology advancement nowadays, it will take them a considerable amount of time and capital to replicate our nationwide physical network of cloud-based display terminals. |
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Business Transformation
Prior to 2014, we predominately sold large-scale customized IT solutions to the Chinese public service sector through various build-and-transfer projects. Due to changes in policies and regulations in China in 2012, various local governments started postponing IT projects they had previously contracted with us indefinitely. As a result, many of our existing receivables became uncollectable.
In early 2013, our management team made a strategic decision to transition our business from servicing the public sector to focusing on the private sector. We started completing our in-process IT projects and ceased taking on new customers in the public sector. In addition, we wrote off accounts receivable that we deemed no longer collectable. At the same time, we decided to transform our business from a build-and-transfer IT service company into a standardized IT product company. Leveraging our experience and expertise in handling large-scale IT projects for the public sector, we started investing in research and development of our own software products suitable for the private sector.
In 2014, continuing our transition from the public sector to the private sector, we identified new media, healthcare, education, and residential community management as the four core end markets on which we would focus. After fortifying our own software R&D efforts through our acquisition of Biznest in September 2014, we decided to exit the hardware manufacturing business and complete our transformation into a software company. In November 2014, we initiated the process of closing our own manufacturing facilities and transferring hardware production to our OEM partners. Transferring hardware production to our OEM partners was completed during 2015. As a result, we wrote off a large amount of accounts receivable and took substantial goodwill and identifiable intangible asset impairment charges in 2015 and 2016.
As part of transition from the traditional IT business to the cloud-based business, we sold iASPEC’s 100% equity holding in Zhongtian and 54.89% equity holding in Geo in 2015. Proceeds from these sales totaling $19.5 million have been invested in the development and market expansion of our new cloud-based business, as well as repayment of a portion of our short-term debts.
In 2017, we completed our business transformation to a leading products and services provider of CAT and IoT technology based digital advertising distribution network and new media resource sharing platform in the out-of-home Advertising Market in China. In 2017, we gained profitability as a result of the successful transition of our business model. In 2018, we continued to prove the sustainability of the new business model and increased the net income to be approximately $1.7 million. In 2021, 2020 and 2019, due to the unfavorable macro-economic environment and the slowdown of the out-of-home advertising market in China, we had net loss of approximately $9.9 million, $18.3 million and $3.6 million respectively. For years going forward, we will continue to execute our business plan and build a nationwide cloud-based ad terminal network by penetrating into more cities throughout China, which is expected to generate recurring service revenue for the Company, in addition to equipment sales. In addition, we have been actively exploring other cloud-based solutions including the smart charging pile business throughout China, by leveraging our TAOP smart cloud and the Taoping Alliance national distribution network.
In 2021, we have expanded our CAT based new media sharing platform into digital advertising and smart community sectors by acquiring Taoping New Media Co., Ltd. to provide out-of-home digital advertising. Also, we have engaged business opportunities in blockchain, digital assets, and cryptocurrency mining operations by recruiting seasoned executives, contracting various well-known consulting firms, suppliers, and operators in these areas, We have newly formed a Blockchain Business Division to manage blockchain development, digital assets NFT (None Fungible Token) and cryptocurrency mining operations, and a Digital Culture Business Division to cover on-line education and digital advertising operations. We have generated revenues of $5.5 million from the new blockchain business for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Intellectual Property
Our success depends, in part, on our ability to maintain and protect our proprietary technology and to conduct our business without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. We rely primarily on a combination of copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets, as well as executions of employee and third-party confidentiality agreements, to safeguard our intellectual property.
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As of December 31, 2021, through our wholly-owned subsidiaries IST, TopCloud, iASPEC, Biznest and Bocom, we had 151 registered and copyrighted software products and held 28 patents. We also own two domain names (http://www.taop.com; http://www.taoping.cn; and http://www.pubds.com).
We protect our know-how and technologies through confidentiality provisions in the employment contracts we enter into with our employees. In addition, our engineers are generally divided into different project groups, each of which generally handles only a portion of the project. As a result, no one engineer generally has access to the entire design process and documentation for a particular product.
We have funded a vendor to develop vehicular display terminal using our digital new media sharing platform to deliver advertisements. The development of vehicular display terminal was completed in September 2020 and started earning advertising revenue. According to modified contract, we have capitalized the funding as purchased software enjoying the intellectual property of the vehicular display terminal and shared advertising revenue generated from the vehicular display terminal within the four-year modified contract term
Regulation
Because all of our operating entities are located in the PRC, we are regulated by the national and local laws of the PRC. This section summarizes the major PRC regulations relating to our business.
Permits and Certificates
Through our subsidiaries, we hold the following permits and certificates:
| Name | Expiration Date | Company | ||
| National High-tech Enterprise | Valid till December 22, 2024, subject to renewal every three years. | IST | ||
| National High-tech Enterprise | Valid till December 22, 2024, subject to renewal every three years. | Biznest |
The establishment, operation and management of corporate entities in mainland China are governed by the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China, or the China Company Law, which was adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (“SCNPC”) in December 1993, implemented in July 1994, and subsequently amended in December 1999, August 2004, October 2005, December 2013 and October 2018. Under the China Company Law, companies are generally classified into two categories: limited liability companies and companies limited by shares. The China Company Law also applies to foreign-invested limited liability companies and foreign-invested companies limited by shares. Pursuant to the China Company Law, where laws on foreign investment have other stipulations, such stipulations shall prevail. In December 2021, the SCNPC issued the draft amendment to the China Company Law for comment. The draft amended China Company Law has made roughly 70 substantive changes to the 13 chapters and 218 articles of the current Company Law (rev. 2018). It would (i) refine special provisions on state-funded companies; (ii) improve the company establishment and exit system; (iii) optimize corporate structure and corporate governance; (iv) optimize the capital structure; (v) tighten the responsibilities of controlling shareholders and management personnel; and (vi) strengthen corporate social responsibility.
Investment activities in mainland China by foreign investors are governed by the Guiding Foreign Investment Direction, which was promulgated by the State Council on February 11, 2002, and came into effect on April 1, 2002, and the latest Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access (2021), or the Negative List, which was promulgated by MOFCOM and the National Development and Reform Commission (“NDRC”) on December 27, 2021, and took effect on January 1, 2022. The Negative List set out in a unified manner the restrictive measures, such as the requirements on shareholding percentages and management, for the access of foreign investments, and the industries that are prohibited for foreign investment. The Negative List covers 12 industries, and any field not falling in the Negative List shall be administered under the principle of equal treatment to domestic and foreign investment.
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The Foreign Investment Law of the People’s Republic of China, or the Foreign Investment Law was promulgated by the NPC in March 2019 and become effective in January 2020. After the Foreign Investment Law came into force, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Sino-foreign Equity Joint Ventures and the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Sino-foreign Contractual Joint Ventures have been repealed simultaneously. The investment activities of foreign natural persons, enterprises or other organizations (hereinafter referred to as foreign investors) directly or indirectly within the territory of mainland China shall comply with and be governed by the Foreign Investment Law, including: 1) establishing by foreign investors of foreign-invested enterprises in mainland China alone or jointly with other investors; 2) acquiring by foreign investors of shares, equity, property shares, or other similar interests of Chinese domestic enterprises; 3) investing by foreign investors in new projects in mainland China alone or jointly with other investors; and 4) other forms of investment prescribed by laws, administrative regulations or the State Council.
In December 2019, the State Council issued the Regulations on Implementing the Foreign Investment Law, which came into effect in January 2020. After the Regulations on Implementing the Foreign Investment Law came into effect, the Regulation on Implementing the Law on Sino-foreign Equity Joint Ventures, Provisional Regulations on the Duration of Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures, the Regulations on Implementing the Law on Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises and the Regulations on Implementing the Law on Sino-Foreign Cooperative Joint Ventures have been repealed simultaneously.
In December 2019, the MOFCOM and the State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) issued the Measures for the Reporting of Foreign Investment Information, which came into effect in January 2020. After the Measures for the Reporting of Foreign Investment Information came into effect, the Interim Measures on the Administration of Filing for Establishment and Change of Foreign Invested Enterprises has been repealed simultaneously. Since January 1, 2020, for foreign investors carrying out investment activities directly or indirectly in mainland China, the foreign investors or foreign-invested enterprises shall submit investment information to the relevant commerce administrative authorities pursuant to these measures.
In light of the above restrictions and requirements, prior to the dissolution of our VIE structure in September 2021, we conducted our value-added telecommunications businesses through our then consolidated VIEs. As a result of the dissolution of our VIE structure, we ceased the e-commerce and related businesses which constituted a minor portion of revenue of Taoping New Media. We believe that none of our PRC subsidiaries’ current business is stipulated on the Negative List (2021 Version). Therefore, our PRC subsidiaries are able to conduct their business without being subject to restrictions imposed by the foreign investment laws and regulations of the PRC.
We believe, according to the laws and regulations currently in effect, none of Taoping or our subsidiaries is required to obtain additional licenses or permits beyond a regular business license for each PRC subsidiary’s operations. Each of our PRC subsidiaries is required to obtain and has obtained a regular business license from the local branch of the State Administration for Market Regulation. No application for any such license has been denied.
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Regulations on Mobile Internet Applications Information Services
Mobile Internet applications and the Internet application store are especially regulated by the Administrative Provisions on Mobile Internet Applications Information Services, or the APP Provisions, which was promulgated by the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC, on June 28, 2016 and entered into force on August 1, 2016. The APP Provisions regulate the APP information and the APP store service providers, and the CAC and local offices of cyberspace administration are responsible for the supervision and administration of nationwide or local APP information respectively.
The APP information service providers shall acquire relevant qualifications in accordance with laws and regulations and fulfil the information security management obligations as follows: (1) shall authenticate the identity information of the registered users including their mobile telephone number and other identity information under the principle of mandatory real name registration at the back-office end, and voluntary real name display at the front-office end; (2) shall establish and perfect the mechanism for the protection of users’ information, and follow the principle of legality, rightfulness and necessity, indicate expressly the purpose, method and scope of collection and use and obtain the consent of users while collecting and using users’ personal information; (3) shall establish and perfect the mechanism for the examination and management of information content, and in terms of any information content released that violates laws or regulations, take such measures as warning, restricting the functions, suspending the update and closing the accounts as the case may be, keep relevant records and report the same to relevant competent authorities; (4) shall safeguard users’ right to know and to make choices when users are installing or using such applications, and shall neither start such functions as collecting the information of users’ positions, accessing users’ contacts, turning on the camera and recording the sound, or any other function irrelevant to the services, nor forcefully install any other irrelevant applications without prior consent of users when noticed expressly; (5) shall respect and protect the intellectual properties and shall neither produce nor release any application that infringes others’ intellectual properties; and (6) shall record the users’ log information and keep the same for 60 days.
We have established necessary mechanisms and adopted data encryption and protection technology in our mobile application to ensure the collection, protection and storage of user information are in compliance with the requirements of the APP Provisions in all material aspects.
Regulations on Internet Information Security
In 1997, the Ministry of Public Security promulgated measures that prohibit use of the internet in ways which, among other things, result in a leakage of state secrets or a spread of socially destabilizing content. If an internet information service provider violates these measures, the Ministry of Public Security and the local security bureaus may revoke its operating license and shut down its websites.
Internet information in China is regulated and restricted from a national security standpoint. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, or the SCNPC, has enacted the Decisions on Maintaining Internet Security on December 28, 2000 and further amended on August 27, 2009, which may subject violators to criminal punishment in China for any effort to: (i) gain improper entry into a computer or system of strategic importance; (ii) disseminate politically disruptive information; (iii) leak state secrets; (iv) spread false commercial information; or (v) infringe intellectual property rights.
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The PRC Cybersecurity Law was promulgated by the SCNPC on November 7, 2016 and became effective on June 1, 2017. Under this regulation, network operators, including online information service providers, shall comply with laws and regulations and fulfill their obligations to safeguard security of the network when conducting business and providing services, and take all necessary measures pursuant to laws, regulations and compulsory national requirements to safeguard the safe and stable operation of the networks, respond to network security incidents effectively, prevent illegal and criminal activities, and maintain the integrity, confidentiality and usability of network data.
We have, in accordance with relevant provisions on network security of the PRC, established necessary mechanisms to protect information security, including, among others, adopting necessary network security protection technologies such as anti-virus firewalls, intrusion detection and data encryption, keeping record of network logs, and implementing information classification framework.
Regulations on Privacy Protection
The Several Provisions on Regulating the Market Order of Internet Information Services, issued by the MIIT in December 2011, provide that, an internet information service provider may not collect any user personal information or provide any such information to third parties without the consent of a user. An internet information service provider must expressly inform the users of the method, content and purpose of the collection and processing of such user personal information and may only collect such information necessary for the provision of its services. An internet information service provider is also required to properly maintain the user personal information, and in case of any leak or likely leak of the user personal information, online lending service providers must take immediate remedial measures and, in severe circumstances, make an immediate report to the telecommunications regulatory authority.
In addition, pursuant to the Decision on Strengthening the Protection of Online Information issued by the SCNPC in December 2012 and the Order for the Protection of Telecommunication and Internet User Personal Information issued by the MIIT in July 2013, any collection and use of user personal information must be subject to the consent of the user, abide by the principles of legality, rationality and necessity and be within the specified purposes, methods and scopes.
The Guidelines jointly released by ten PRC regulatory agencies in July 2015 aim, among other things, to require service providers to improve technology security standards, and safeguard user and transaction information. The Guidelines also prohibit service providers from illegally selling or disclosing users’ personal information. Pursuant to the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law issued by the SCNPC in August 2015, which became effective in November 2015, any Internet service provider that fails to fulfill the obligations related to Internet information security administration as required by applicable laws and refuses to rectify upon orders is subject to criminal penalty for the result of (i) any dissemination of illegal information in large scale; (ii) any severe effect due to the leakage of the client’s information; (iii) any serious loss of criminal evidence; or (iv) other severe situation, and any individual or entity that (i) sells or provides personal information to others in a way violating the applicable law, or (ii) steals or illegally obtain any personal information is subject to criminal penalty in severe situation.
Our Taoping APP is used to facilitate cloud ads and content distribution to the designated terminal in our network, which does not invoice the collection and storage of any personal information.
Regulations Related to Intellectual Property
The SCNPC and the State Council have promulgated comprehensive laws and regulations to protect trademarks. The Trademark Law of the PRC (2019 revision, effective November 1, 2019) promulgated on August 23, 1982 and subsequently amended on February 22, 1993, October 27, 2001, August 30, 2013 and April 23, 2019 respectively, and the Implementation Regulation of the PRC Trademark Law (2014 revision) issued by the State Council on August 3, 2002 and amended on April 29, 2014, are the main regulations protecting registered trademarks. The Trademark Office under the SAIC administrates the registration of trademarks on a “first-to-file” basis, and grants a term of ten years to registered trademarks.
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The PRC Copyright Law, adopted in 1990 and revised in 2001 and 2010 respectively, with its implementation rules adopted on August 8, 2002 and revised in 2011 and 2013 respectively, and the Regulations for the Protection of Computer Software as promulgated on December 20, 2001 and amended in 2011 and 2013 provide protection for copyright of computer software in the PRC. Under these rules and regulations, software owners, licensees and transferees may register their rights in software with the National Copyright Administration Center or its local branches to obtain software copyright registration certificates.
The Patent Law of the PRC was adopted by NPCSC in 1984 and amended in 1992, 2000 and 2008, respectively. A patentable invention, utility model or design must meet three conditions: novelty, inventiveness and practical applicability. Patents cannot be granted for scientific discoveries, rules and methods for intellectual activities, methods used to diagnose or treat diseases, animal and plant breeds or substances obtained by means of nuclear transformation. The Patent Office under the State Intellectual Property Office is responsible for receiving, examining and approving patent applications. A patent is valid for a term of twenty years for an invention and a term of ten years for a utility model or design, commencing on the application date. Subject to limited exceptions provided by law, any third-party user must obtain consent or a proper license from the patent owner to use the patent, or otherwise the use will constitute an infringement of the rights of the patent holder.
The MIIT, promulgated the Administrative Measures on Internet Domain Name, or the Domain Name Measures, on August 24, 2017 to protect domain names. According to the Domain Name Measures, domain name applicants are required to duly register their domain names with domain name registration service institutions. The applicants will become the holder of such domain names upon the completion of the registration procedure.
We have adopted necessary mechanisms to register, maintain and enforce intellectual property rights in China. However, we cannot assure you that we can prevent our intellectual property from all the unauthorized use by any third party, neither can we promise that none of our intellectual property rights would be challenged any third party.
Regulations Related to Employment
The PRC Labor Law and the Labor Contract Law require that employers execute written employment contracts with full-time employees. All employers must compensate their employees with wages equal to at least the local minimum wage standards. Violations of the PRC Labor Law and the Labor Contract Law may result in the imposition of fines and other administrative sanctions, and serious violations may constitute criminal offences.
On December 28, 2012, the PRC Labor Contract Law was amended, effective since July 1, 2013 to impose more stringent requirements on labor dispatch. Under such law, dispatched workers are entitled to pay equal to that of full-time employees for equal work, but the number of dispatched workers that an employer hires may not exceed a certain percentage of its total number of employees as determined by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Additionally, dispatched workers are only permitted to engage in temporary, auxiliary or substitute work. According to the Interim Provisions on Labor Dispatch promulgated by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on January 24, 2014, which became effective on March 1, 2014, the number of dispatched workers hired by an employer shall not exceed 10% of the total number of its employees (including both directly hired employees and dispatched workers). The Interim Provisions on Labor Dispatch require employers not in compliance with the PRC Labor Contract Law in this regard to reduce the number of its dispatched workers to below 10% of the total number of its employees prior to March 1, 2016.
Enterprises in China are required by PRC laws and regulations to participate in certain employee benefit plans, including social insurance funds, namely a pension plan, a medical insurance plan, an unemployment insurance plan, a work-related injury insurance plan and a maternity insurance plan, and a housing provident fund, and contribute to the plans or funds in amounts equal to certain percentages of salaries, including bonuses and allowances, of the employees as specified by the local government from time to time at locations where they operate their businesses or where they are located.
According to the Interim Regulations on the Collection and Payment of Social Insurance Premiums, the Regulations on Work Injury Insurance, the Regulations on Unemployment Insurance and the Trial Measures on Employee Maternity Insurance of Enterprises, enterprises in the PRC shall provide benefit plans for their employees, which include basic pension insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, work injury insurance and basic medical insurance. An enterprise must provide social insurance by making social insurance registration with local social insurance agencies, and shall pay or withhold relevant social insurance premiums for and on behalf of employees. The Law on Social Insurance of the PRC, which was promulgated by the SCNPC on October 28, 2010, became effective on July 1, 2011, and was most recently updated on December 29, 2018, has consolidated pertinent provisions for basic pension insurance, unemployment insurance, maternity insurance, work injury insurance and basic medical insurance, and has elaborated in detail the legal obligations and liabilities of employers who do not comply with laws and regulations on social insurance.
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According to the Regulations on the Administration of Housing Provident Fund, which was promulgated by the State Counsel and became effective on April 3, 1999, and was amended on March 24, 2002 and was partially revised on March 24, 2019 by the Decision of the State Council on Revising Some Administrative Regulations (Decree No. 710 of the State Council), housing provident fund contributions by an individual employee and housing provident fund contributions by his or her employer shall belong to the individual employee. Registration by PRC companies with the applicable housing provident fund management center is compulsory, and a special housing provident fund account for each of the employees shall be opened at an entrusted bank.
The employer shall timely pay up and deposit housing provident fund contributions in full amount and late or insufficient payments of such contributions are unlawful. The employer shall make the housing provident fund payment and deposit registrations with the housing provident fund administration center. With respect to companies which violate the above regulations and fail to complete housing provident fund payment and deposit registrations or open housing provident fund accounts for their employees, such companies shall be ordered by the housing provident fund administration center to complete such procedures within a designated time limit. Those who fail to complete their registrations within the designated period shall be levied a fine ranging from RMB 10,000 to RMB 50,000. When companies breach these regulations and fail to pay housing provident fund contributions in full amount that are due, the housing provident fund administration center shall order such companies to pay up within a designated period, and may further petition a People’s Court for mandatory enforcement against those who still fail to comply after the expiry of such period.
Regulations on Foreign Currency Exchange
Under the PRC Foreign Currency Administration Rules promulgated on January 29, 1996 and last amended on August 5, 2008 and various regulations issued by SAFE and other relevant PRC government authorities, payment of current account items in foreign currencies, such as trade and service payments, payment of interest and dividends can be made without prior approval from SAFE by following the appropriate procedural requirements. By contrast, the conversion of RMB into foreign currencies and remittance of the converted foreign currency outside the PRC for the purpose of capital account items, such as direct equity investments, loans and repatriation of investment, requires prior approval from SAFE or its local office.
On February 13, 2015, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Simplifying and Improving the Foreign Currency Management Policy on Direct Investment, effective from June 1, 2015, which cancels the requirement for obtaining approvals of foreign exchange registration of inbound foreign direct investment and outbound overseas direct investment from SAFE. The application for the registration of foreign exchange for the purpose of inbound foreign direct investment and outbound overseas direct investment may be filed with qualified banks, which, under the supervision of SAFE, may review the application and process the registration.
The Circular of the SAFE on Reforming the Management Approach regarding the Settlement of Foreign Capital of Foreign-invested Enterprise, or SAFE Circular 19, was promulgated on March 30, 2015 and became effective on June 1, 2015. According to SAFE Circular 19, a foreign-invested enterprise may, according to its actual business needs, settle with a bank the portion of the foreign exchange capital in its capital account for which the relevant foreign exchange bureau has confirmed monetary contribution rights and interests (or for which the bank has registered the account-crediting of monetary contribution). For the time being, foreign-invested enterprises are allowed to settle 100% of their foreign exchange capitals on a discretionary basis; a foreign-invested enterprise shall truthfully use its capital for its own operational purposes within the scope of business; where an ordinary foreign-invested enterprise makes domestic equity investment with the amount of foreign exchanges settled, the invested enterprise shall first go through domestic re-investment registration and open a corresponding Account for Foreign Exchange Settlement Pending Payment with the foreign exchange bureau (bank) at the place of registration. The Circular of the SAFE on Reforming and Regulating Policies on the Control over Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital Accounts, or SAFE Circular 16, was promulgated and became effective on June 9, 2016. According to SAFE Circular 16, enterprises registered in PRC may also convert their foreign debts from foreign currency into Renminbi at the enterprise’s discretion. SAFE Circular 16 provides an integrated standard for conversion of foreign exchange under capital account items (including but not limited to foreign currency capital and foreign debts) at the enterprise’s discretion, which applies to all enterprises registered in the PRC. SAFE Circular 16 reiterates the principle that Renminbi converted from foreign currency-denominated capital of a company may not be directly or indirectly used for purposes beyond its business scope and may not be used for investments in securities or other investment with the exception of bank financial products that can guarantee the principal within the PRC unless otherwise specifically provided. Besides, the converted Renminbi shall not be used to make loans for related enterprises unless it is within the business scope or to build or to purchase any real estate that is not for the enterprise own use with the exception for the real estate enterprise.
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On January 26, 2017, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Further Improving Reform of Foreign Exchange Administration and Optimizing Genuineness and Compliance Verification, or SAFE Circular 3, which stipulates several capital control measures with respect to the outbound remittance of profits from domestic entities to offshore entities, including (i) banks must check whether the transaction is genuine by reviewing board resolutions regarding profit distribution, original copies of tax filing records and audited financial statements, and (ii) domestic entities must retain income to account for previous years’ losses before remitting any profits. Moreover, pursuant to SAFE Circular 3, domestic entities must explain in detail the sources of capital and how the capital will be used, and provide board resolutions, contracts and other proof as a part of the registration procedure for outbound investment.
On October 25, 2019, SAFE promulgated the Notice on Further Facilitating Cross-Board Trade and Investment, which became effective on the same date (except for Article 8.2 thereof). The notice removed restrictions on the capital equity investment in China by non-investment foreign-invested enterprises. In addition, restrictions on the use of funds for foreign exchange settlement of domestic accounts for the realization of assets have been removed and restrictions on the use and foreign exchange settlement of foreign investors’ security deposits have been relaxed. Eligible enterprises in the pilot areas are also allowed to use revenues under capital accounts, such as capital funds, foreign debts and overseas listing revenues for domestic payments without providing materials to the bank in advance for authenticity verification on an item by item basis, while the use of funds should be true, in compliance with applicable rules and conforming to the current capital revenue management regulations.
Regulations on Foreign Exchange Registration of Overseas Investment by PRC Residents
SAFE issued the Circular on Relevant Issues Relating to Domestic Resident’s Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, which became effective in July 2014, to replace the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Issues Concerning the Regulation of Foreign Exchange in Equity Finance and Roundtrip Investments by Domestic Residents through Offshore Special Purpose Vehicles, to regulate foreign exchange matters in relation to the use of special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, by PRC residents or entities to seek offshore investment and financing or conduct round trip investment in China. SAFE Circular 37 defines a SPV as an offshore entity established or controlled, directly or indirectly, by PRC residents or entities for the purpose of seeking offshore financing or making offshore investment, using legitimate onshore or offshore assets or interests, while “round trip investment” is defined as direct investment in China by PRC residents or entities through SPVs, namely, establishing foreign-invested enterprises to obtain the ownership, control rights and management rights. SAFE Circular 37 stipulates that, prior to making contributions into an SPV, PRC residents or entities be required to complete foreign exchange registration with SAFE or its local branch. In addition, SAFE promulgated the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving the Administration of the Foreign Exchange Concerning Direct Investment in February 2015, which amended SAFE Circular 37 and became effective on June 1, 2015, requiring PRC residents or entities to register with qualified banks rather than SAFE in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing.
PRC residents or entities who had contributed legitimate onshore or offshore interests or assets to SPVs but had not obtained registration as required before the implementation of the SAFE Circular 37 must register their ownership interests or control in the SPVs with qualified banks. An amendment to the registration is required if there is a material change with respect to the SPV registered, such as any change of basic information (including change of the PRC residents, name and operation term), increases or decreases in investment amount, transfers or exchanges of shares, and mergers or divisions. Failure to comply with the registration procedures set forth in SAFE Circular 37 and the subsequent notice, or making misrepresentation on or failure to disclose controllers of the foreign-invested enterprise that is established through round-trip investment, may result in restrictions being imposed on the foreign exchange activities of the relevant foreign-invested enterprise, including payment of dividends and other distributions, such as proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation, to its offshore parent or affiliate, and the capital inflow from the offshore parent, and may also subject relevant PRC residents or entities to penalties under PRC foreign exchange administration regulations. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—PRC regulations relating to investments in offshore companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC-resident beneficial owners or our PRC subsidiary to liability or penalties, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiary or limit our PRC subsidiary’s ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits.”
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Regulations on Stock Incentive Plans
SAFE promulgated the Notice on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly Listed Company, or the Stock Incentive Plan Notice, in February 2012, replacing the previous rules issued by SAFE in March 2007. Pursuant to the Stock Incentive Plan Notice and other relevant rules and regulations, PRC residents participating in stock incentive plan in an overseas publicly-listed company are required to register with SAFE or its local branches and follow certain other procedures. Participants of a stock incentive plan who are PRC residents must conduct the SAFE registration and other procedures with respect to the stock incentive plan through a qualified PRC agent, which could be a PRC subsidiary of the overseas publicly listed company or another qualified institution appointed by the PRC subsidiary. In addition, the PRC agent is required to update the relevant SAFE registration should there be any material change to the stock incentive plan, the PRC agent or other material changes. The PRC agent must, on behalf of the PRC residents who have the right to exercise the employee stock options, apply to SAFE or its local branches for an annual quota for the payment of foreign currencies in connection with the PRC residents’ exercise of the employee stock options. The foreign exchange proceeds received by the PRC residents from the sale of shares under the stock incentive plans granted and dividends distributed by the overseas listed companies must be remitted into the bank accounts in the PRC opened by the PRC agents prior to distribution to such PRC residents.
We have adopted an equity incentive plan, under which we will have the discretion to award incentives and rewards to eligible participants. We have advised the recipients of awards under our equity incentive plan to handle relevant foreign exchange matters in accordance with the Stock Incentive Plan Notice. However, we cannot guarantee that all employees awarded equity-based incentives can successfully register with SAFE in full compliance with the Stock Incentive Plan Notice. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in China—Any failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding employee share incentive plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.”
Regulations on Dividend Distribution
The principal laws, rules and regulations governing dividend distribution by foreign-invested enterprises in the PRC are the Company Law of the PRC, as amended, which applies to both PRC domestic companies and foreign-invested companies, and the Foreign Investment Law and its implementation rules, which apply to foreign-invested companies. Under these laws, rules and regulations, foreign-invested enterprises may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profit, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Both PRC domestic companies and wholly-foreign owned PRC enterprises are required to set aside as general reserves at least 10% of their after-tax profit, until the cumulative amount of their reserves reaches 50% of their registered capital. A PRC company is not permitted to distribute any profits until any losses from prior fiscal years have been offset. Profits retained from prior fiscal years may be distributed together with distributable profits from the current fiscal year. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in China—— Restrictions under PRC law on our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to make dividends and other distributions could materially and adversely affect our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could benefit our business, pay dividends to you, and otherwise fund and conduct our business.”
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Dividend Withholding Tax
In March 2007, the National People’s Congress enacted the Enterprise Income Tax Law which became effective on January 1, 2008 and last amended on December 29, 2018. The PRC State Council promulgated the Implementation Rules of the Enterprise Income Tax Law on December 6, 2007, which became effective on January 1, 2008 and was partially amended on April 23, 2019. According to Enterprise Income Tax Law and its Implementation Rules, dividends payable by a foreign-invested enterprise in China to its foreign enterprise investors are subject to a 10% withholding tax, unless any such foreign investor’s jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a preferential withholding arrangement. Pursuant to the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on Negotiated Reduction of Dividends and Interest Rates, issued on January 29, 2008 and supplemented and revised on February 29, 2008, and 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, which became effective on December 8, 2006 and applicable to income derived in any year of assessment commencing on or after April 1, 2007 in Hong Kong and in any year commencing on or after January 1, 2007 in the PRC, such withholding tax rate may be lowered to 5% if a Hong Kong enterprise is deemed the beneficial owner of any dividend paid by a PRC subsidiary by PRC tax authorities and holds at least 25% of the equity interest in that particular PRC subsidiary at all times within the 12-month period immediately prior to the distribution of the dividends. Furthermore, pursuant to the Announcement on Issues concerning “Beneficial Owners” in Tax Treaties issued on February 3, 2018 by the State Administration of Taxation, when determining the status of “beneficial owners,” a comprehensive analysis may be conducted through materials such as articles of association, financial statements, records of capital flows, minutes of board of directors, resolutions of board of directors, allocation of manpower and material resources, the relevant expenses, functions and risk assumption, loan contracts, royalty contracts or transfer contracts, patent registration certificates and copyright certificates, etc. However, even if an applicant has the status as a “beneficiary owner,” if the competent tax authority finds necessity to apply the principal purpose test clause in the tax treaties or the general anti-tax avoidance rules stipulated in domestic tax laws, the general anti-tax avoidance provisions shall apply.
Enterprise Income Tax
In December 2007, the State Council promulgated the Implementing Rules of the Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the Implementing Rules, which became effective on January 1, 2008. The Enterprise Income Tax Law and its relevant Implementing Rules (i) impose a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate, which is applicable to both foreign invested enterprises and domestic enterprises (ii) permits companies to continue to enjoy their existing tax incentives, subject to certain transitional phase-out rules and (iii) introduces new tax incentives, subject to various qualification criteria.
The Enterprise Income Tax Law also provides that enterprises organized under the laws of jurisdictions outside China with their “de facto management bodies” located within China may be considered PRC resident enterprises and therefore be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on their worldwide income. The Implementing Rules further define the term “de facto management body” as the management body that exercises substantial and overall management and control over the production and operations, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. If an enterprise organized under the laws of jurisdiction outside China is considered a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, a number of unfavorable PRC tax consequences could follow. First, it would be subject to the PRC enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on its worldwide income. Second, a 10% withholding tax would be imposed on dividends it pays to its non-PRC enterprise shareholders and with respect to gains derived by its non-PRC enterprise shareholders from transfer of its shares. Dividends paid to non-PRC individual shareholders and any gain realized on the transfer of equity by such shareholders may be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 20%, if such income is deemed to be from PRC sources. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in China—Under the Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a “resident enterprise” of China. Such classification will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders.”
On October 17, 2017, the State Administration of Taxation issued the Bulletin on Issues Concerning the Withholding of Non-PRC Resident Enterprise Income Tax at Source, or Bulletin 37, which replaced the Notice on Strengthening Administration of Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfers by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises issued by the State Administration of Taxation on December 10, 2009, and partially replaced and supplemented rules under the Bulletin on Issues of Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Transfers of Assets by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, or Bulletin 7, issued by the State Administration of Taxation on February 3, 2015. Under Bulletin 7, an “indirect transfer” of assets, including equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise, by non-PRC resident enterprises may be re-characterized and treated as a direct transfer of PRC taxable assets, if such arrangement does not have a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of avoiding payment of PRC enterprise income tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax. In respect of an indirect offshore transfer of assets of a PRC establishment, the relevant gain is to be regarded as effectively connected with the PRC establishment and therefore included in its enterprise income tax filing, and would consequently be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%. Where the underlying transfer relates to the immoveable properties in China or to equity investments in a PRC resident enterprise, which is not effectively connected to a PRC establishment of a non-resident enterprise, a PRC enterprise income tax at 10% would apply, subject to available preferential tax treatment under applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements, and the party who is obligated to make the transfer payments has the withholding obligation. Pursuant to Bulletin 37, the withholding party shall declare and pay the withheld tax to the competent tax authority in the place where such withholding party is located within 7 days from the date of occurrence of the withholding obligation. Both Bulletin 37 and Bulletin 7 do not apply to transactions of sale of shares by investors through a public stock exchange where such shares were acquired from a transaction through a public stock exchange. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Doing Business in China—We and our shareholders face uncertainties with respect to indirect transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises or other assets attributed to a Chinese establishment of a non-Chinese company, or immovable properties located in China owned by non-Chinese companies.”
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Value-Added Tax
Pursuant to the Provisional Regulations on Value-Added Tax of the PRC, or the VAT Regulations, which were promulgated by the State Council on December 13, 1993, and took effect on January 1, 1994, and were amended on November 10, 2008, February 6, 2016, and November 19, 2017, respectively, and the Rules for the Implementation of the Provisional Regulations on Value Added Tax of the PRC, which were promulgated by the Ministry of Finance, on December 25, 1993, and were amended on December 15, 2008, and October 28, 2011, respectively, entities and individuals that sell goods or labor services of processing, repair or replacement, sell services, intangible assets, or immovables, or import goods within the territory of the People’s Republic of China are taxpayers of value-added tax. The VAT rate is 17% for taxpayers selling goods, labor services, or tangible movable property leasing services or importing goods, except otherwise specified; 11% for taxpayers selling goods, labor services, or tangible movable property leasing services or importing goods, except otherwise specified; 6% for taxpayers selling services or intangible assets.
According to Provisions in the Notice on Adjusting the Value added Tax Rates, or the Notice, issued by the State Administration of Taxation and the Ministry of Finance, where taxpayers make VAT taxable sales or import goods, the applicable tax rates shall be adjusted from 17% to 16% and from 11% to 10%, respectively. The Notice took effect on May 1, 2018, and the adjusted VAT rates took effect at the same time. Pursuant to the Notice of the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation and the General Administration of Customs of the PRC on Relevant Policies for Deepening the Value-Added Tax Reform, which was promulgated on March 20, 2019 and became effective on April 1, 2019, the tax rate of 16% applicable to the VAT taxable sale or import of goods by a general VAT taxpayer shall be adjusted to 13%, and the tax rate of 10% applicable thereto shall be adjusted to 9%.
In November 2011, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation promulgated the Pilot Plan for Imposition of Value-Added Tax to Replace Business Tax, or the Pilot Plan. The Notice of the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation on Implementing the Pilot Plan of Replacing Business Tax with Value-Added Tax in an All-round Manner, issued on March 23, 2016, took effect on May 1, 2016. Pursuant to the Pilot Plan and the subsequent Notice, VAT at a rate of 6% is applied nationwide to revenue generated from the provision of certain modern services in lieu of the prior Business Tax.
PRC Policies and Regulations relating to the Bitcoin Industry
The policies and regulations relating to the Bitcoin industry have a direct impact on the Company the Company’s customers in the PRC, which could indirectly impact the demand for the Company’s Bitcoin mining machines. According to the Circular of the People’s Bank of China, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China Banking Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, and China Insurance Regulatory Commission on the Prevention of Risks from Bitcoin jointly promulgated by People’s Bank of China, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China Banking Regulatory Commission, CSRC, and China Insurance Regulatory Commission on December 3, 2013, or the Circular, Bitcoin shall be a kind of virtual commodity in nature, which shall not be in the same legal status with currencies and shall not be circulated as currencies and used in markets as currencies. The Circular also provides that financial institutions and payment institutions shall not engage in business in connection with Bitcoin. According to Announcement of the People’s Bank of China, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission on Preventing Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) Risks promulgated by seven PRC governmental authorities including the People’s Bank of China on September 4, 2017, or the Announcement, activities of offering and financing of tokens, including initial coin offerings, have been forbidden in the PRC since they may be suspected to be considered as illegal offering of securities or illegal fundraising. All so-called token trading platform should not (i) engage in the exchange between any statutory currency with tokens and “virtual currencies,” (ii) trade or trade the tokens or “virtual currencies” as central counterparties, or (iii) provide pricing, information agency or other services for tokens or “virtual currencies.” The Announcement further provides that financial institutions and payment institutions shall not engage in business in connection with transactions of offering and financing of tokens.
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In addition to various promulgations in the past, on September 24, 2021, ten Chinese regulatory authorities, including People’s Bank of China, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China Banking Regulatory Commission, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and among five other regulatory agencies, collectively promulgated a guidance to further control and monitor cryptocurrency related trading, exchanges, transaction, banking and financial service, initial coin offering, and other intermediary and derivatives transactions, which are considered illegal in accordance with effectuated laws and regulations and may be subject to penalty criminally. The new guidance also bars foreign cryptocurrency trading platforms and related businesses to provide services to China domestic individuals and business entities, and expands the application of laws and regulations to Chinese employees or contractors of foreign operatives, that provide related services to individuals or business entities domiciled in China. Although, the legality of cryptocurrency mining activity was not specifically mentioned in the guidance, notably in recent events, where the government’s sudden interventions or modifications of the laws and regulations currently in effective could negatively impact the Company’s operations and financial results. The legality of cryptocurrency mining activity may be subject to challenge by Chinese authorities. The Company has relocated its global headquarters to Hong Kong, where cryptocurrency mining operations and related trading, exchanges, transaction are lawful.
Chinese Regulations on Cryptocurrency in General
According to the Circular of the People’s Bank of China, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China Banking Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, and China Insurance Regulatory Commission on Guarding against Bitcoin Risks issued on December 3, 2013, or the 2013 Circular, Bitcoin should be regarded as a specific virtual commodity, and it does not possess the status that a legal currency has, and cannot and should not be circulated in market as a currency. The 2013 Circular also provides that financial institutions and payment institutions shall not engage in business in connection with Bitcoin.
Another notable law on recognition of virtual property is the PRC Civil Code, which became effective on January 1, 2021. Article 127 of PRC Civil Code provides that: “Where laws contain provisions in respect of the protection of data and network virtual property, such provisions shall apply.” We believe that this provision together with the 2013 Circular recognizes the lawful possession by PRC citizens and organizations of Bitcoin as a kind of virtual property.
According to the Announcement of the People’s Bank of China, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Security and Informatization Leading Group, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission on Preventing Token Fundraising Risks issued on September 4, 2017, or the 2017 Announcement, activities of offering and financing of tokens, including initial coin offerings, or ICOs, should be forbidden in the PRC since they are essentially illegal public financing activities, which are suspected to involve financial crimes such as illegal distribution of financial tokens, illegal issuance of securities, illegal fundraising, financial fraud or pyramid sales. All so-called token trading platforms should not (i) engage in any exchange between any fiat currency with tokens or “virtual currencies”, (ii) trade tokens or “virtual currencies” or trade them as central counterparties, or (iii) provide pricing, information agency or other services for tokens or “virtual currencies”. The 2017 Announcement further orders that financial institutions and non-banking payment institutions should not do any business related to token trading.
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According to the Risk Warning on Preventing Illegal Fundraising in the Name of “Virtual Currency” or “Blockchain” jointly promulgated by the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the People’s Bank of China and the State Administration for Market Regulation on August 24, 2018, or the 2018 Warning, raising funds through the issuance of so-called “virtual currency”, “virtual asset” or “digital asset” under the flag of “financial innovation” or “blockchain” is not based on real blockchain technology, but rather the practice of using speculative blockchain concepts for illegal fundraising, pyramid schemes, or fraud. The 2018 Warning reiterates the position of the Chinese government on ICOs.
Despite the Chinese government’s resentment of non-government backed cryptocurrencies in general, China has been testing digital Renminbi through pilot programs. On October 23, 2020, the People’s Bank of China published the revised Law of the People’s Republic of China on the People’s Bank of China (draft), or the draft PBOC Law, to solicit comment from the public. Article 19 of the draft PBOC Law provides that Renminbi may take a physical form or a digital form. This draft PBOC Law, if enacted, will pave the way for the formal launch of digital Renminbi. However, Article 22 of the draft PBOC Law reiterates that no entity or individual should produce or offer coupon tokens or digital tokens to replace Renminbi for circulation in market. This has been the consistent position of the Chinese government since 2013.
Chinese Regulations on Cryptocurrency Mining
Cryptocurrency mining is not prohibited by Chinese laws, but is subject to an unclear and evolving regulatory and policy framework in China. On January 2, 2018, China’s Leading Special Task Team for Remediation of Internet Financial Risks mandates that local governments should take measures of electricity prices, taxes, or land use, to guide the orderly exit of entities from cryptocurrency mining operations and that local governments must submit reports on cryptocurrency mining operations in their respective jurisdictions to the task team on a regular basis. Since then, local regulations on cryptocurrency mining have been tightened, at least in some Chinese provinces, such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia.
At the beginning of 2021, which is the first year of the “14th Five-Year Plan” of China, the National Development and Reform Commission of China publicly emphasized the need to improve the dual control system for energy consumption, to solidly promote working towards carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, and to accelerate the elimination of outdated and inefficient excess production capacity. On March 9, 2021, the Inner Mongolia Development and Reform Commission and two other local governmental agencies jointly published the Certain Safeguard Measures to Ensure Completion of the “14th Five-Year Plan” Goals on Dual Control of Energy Consumption, or the Safeguard Measures. The Safeguard Measures order that, cryptocurrency mining projects in Inner Mongolia should be completely cleaned up and shut down by the end of April 2021. So far, no similar orders have been published by the government of Sichuan Province, in which province the three mining farms of the Company reside.
The Guidance Catalogue of Industry Structural Adjustment (2019 Edition), or the 2019 Guidance Catalogue, promulgated by the National Development and Reform Commission, became effective on January 1, 2020. The 2019 Guidance Catalogue contains a catch-all clause which provides that, if any process, technology, products or equipment is not in compliance with (a) the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Wastes, the Energy Conservation Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Work Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Product Quality Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Land Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Prevention & Control of Occupational Diseases or other laws and regulations, (b) national mandatory standards for safety, environmental protection, energy consumption and quality, or (c) the requirements of international environmental conventions or other requirements, they should be restricted or eliminated. We cannot exclude the possibility that the National Development and Reform Commission of China restricts or even prohibits mining operations in China on the basis that mining operations fall under the above-mentioned catch-all clause. The National Development and Reform Commission of China may even update the “Guidance Catalogue for Industry Structural Adjustment” to explicitly restrict or prohibit mining operations in China.
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Regulations on Registration of Blockchain Information Service Providers
Entities or nodes providing information services based on blockchain technologies or systems in China are required to be registered with the Cyberspace Administration of China. According to the Administrative Regulations on Blockchain Information Services issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China and effective on February 15, 2019, or the Blockchain Regulation, blockchain information services shall refer to information services provided to the public through internet sites, applications, etc. based on blockchain technologies or systems. The Blockchain Regulations also provide that, a provider of blockchain information services shall fill in its name, service category, service form, application domain, server address and other information through the management system of blockchain information services established by the Cyberspace Administration of China. We do not believe we should make such filing with the Cyberspace Administration of China based on our current business operations. However, uncertainties exist regarding the interpretation and implementation of the Blockchain Regulation, and future Chinese laws and regulations may require us to register or file with Chinese cyberspace authorities.
Seasonality
The first quarter of the calendar year is typically the slowest season of the year due to the Chinese New Year holiday. During this period, accounts receivable collection is very slow and we also need to prepare for upcoming busier seasons by making payments for inventory. With the implementation of our cloud-based business and the new revenue stream of cryptocurrency mining business, seasonality has been mitigated to some extent.
C. Organizational Structure
See “A. History and Development of the Company—Corporate Structure” above for details of our current organizational structure.
D. Property, Plant and Equipment
All land in China is owned by the state or local governments. Individuals and companies are permitted to acquire rights to use land or land use rights for specific purposes. In the case of land used for industrial purposes, the land use rights are granted for a period of 50 years. This period may be renewed at the expiration of the initial and any subsequent terms according to the relevant Chinese laws. Granted land use rights are transferable and may be used as collateral for borrowings and other obligations.
We lease our current executive offices, which are located at Unit 3102, 31/F, Citicorp Centre, 18 Whitefield Road, Hong Kong. Our executive offices consist of approximately 328 square meters, all of which are dedicated to administrative office spaces. In addition, our China headquarters are located at 21st Floor, Everbright Bank Building, Zhuzilin, Futian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518040, China, of which IST currently has property use rights. This office facility property consists of approximately 1,200 square meters and is currently collateralized for our certain short-term bank loans. Our other properties primarily consist of cryptocurrency mining machine, media display equipment, computer equipment, servers, licensed software, furniture and fixtures. We currently do not have any intention to make large scale improvements or developments with respect to these properties.
We believe that all our properties have been adequately maintained, are generally in good condition, and are suitable and adequate for our business.
ITEM 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this annual report on Form 20-F. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements because of various factors, including those set forth under Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors” or in other parts of this annual report on Form 20-F. See also “Introductory Notes—Forward-looking Information.”
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A. Operating Results
Overview
We are a leading provider of integrated cloud-based platform, resource sharing functionality, and big data solutions to the Chinese new media, education residential community management, and elevator IoT industries. Our Internet ecosystem enables all participants of the new media community to efficiently promote brands, disseminate information, and share resources. In addition, we provide a broad portfolio of software, hardware and fully integrated solutions, including information technology infrastructure and Internet-enabled display technologies to customers in government, education, healthcare, media, transportation, and other private sectors. We also engage in cryptocurrency mining and blockchain related business operations as a part of business transformation.
We were founded in 1993 and are headquartered in Hong Kong. As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately 76 full-time employees.
Prior to 2014, we generated majority of our revenues through selling our products to public service entities to help improve their operational efficiency and service quality. Our representative customers included China Ministry of Public Security, provincial bureaus of public security, fire departments, traffic bureaus, police stations, human resource departments, urban planning boards, civic administrations, land resource administrations, mapping and surveying bureaus, and the Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection.
In 2014, we generated revenues from sales of hardware products, software products, system integration services, and related maintenance and supporting services. Starting in 2015, with the introduction of our cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) offering, we generated additional recurring monthly revenues from SaaS fees. The revenue from SaaS was still small in 2018 and 2019, which is expected to pick up in future years along with the large-scale roll-out of our cloud-based new media terminals.
In May 2017, we completed the business transformation and rolled out CAT and IoT technology based digital ads distribution network and new media resource sharing platform in the out-of-home advertising market. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, we generated most revenue from selling fully integrated ads display terminals. In 2020, we have a portion of revenue generated from the sale of cloud severs as part of our CBT business. The revenue generated from SaaS and other software products and services remained small.
As part of our strategic business transformation, we established a blockchain technology business segment in 2021, which is dedicated to the research and application of blockchain technology and digital assets. We launched cryptocurrency mining operations, a blockchain related new business, as the first initiative of this new business segment in the first quarter of 2021. With multiple cloud data centers deployed outside of China mainland, the Company continues to improve computing power and create value for the encrypted digital currency industry.
Recent Developments
On January 11, 2022, the Company entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Shenzhen Zhicheng Chuangtou New Energy Co., Ltd. (“Zhicheng Chuangtou”) to expand its smart charging pile market. Pursuant to the agreement, which has a term of three years, the Company is responsible for the market development and installation of the smart charging piles produced by Zhicheng Chuangtou. Zhicheng Chuangtou is responsible for providing charging piles and other ancillary products, as well as for the operation and management of smart charging piles after installation. The Company has planned to use its channels like Taoping Alliance network to expand the market across the country and reach out to potential property management companies. The Company expects to expand coverage to 50 cities by the end of 2022 and complete pilot projects in these cities.
On January 19, 2022, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire 95.56% equity interest in Zhenjiang Taoping IoT Technology Limited (“Zhenjiang Taoping”), aiming to accelerate the Company’s smart charging pile and digital new media businesses in East China. Pursuant to the share purchase agreement, the Company has agreed to issue to the shareholders of Zhenjiang Taoping a total of 201,552 restricted ordinary shares, calculated as $391,011 being divided by the average closing price of the Company’s ordinary shares over the 20 trading days prior to the execution of the share purchase agreement, which was $1.94 per share. Mr. Huan Li, the Chief Marketing Officer of the Company, is one of the shareholders of Zhenjiang Taoping and has agreed to transfer all of his 46% equity interest in Zhenjiang Taoping to the Company. The acquisition was closed on February 24, 2022. Upon the completion of the acquisition, the Company currently owns 100% equity interest in Zhenjiang Taoping.
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On January 27, 2022, the Company entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with three other companies (BOE Yiyun Technology Co., Ltd.; Sichuan Lvfa Environmental Technology Co., Ltd.; and Wuxi Centennial Ronghua Technology Development Co., Ltd.) to cooperate on naked-eye 3D iGallery and “Smart Station” projects. Pursuant to the agreement, which has a term of five years, the Company is responsible for the market development of naked-eye 3D iGallery and “Smart Station” projects through its Taoping Alliance network and the overall operation of the new media advertising of Smart Station.
On February 17, 2022, the Company entered into a letter of intent (the “LOI”) with the shareholders of Fujian Taoping IoT Technology Limited (“Fujian Taoping”) to acquire at least 51% of the ownership of Fujian Taoping. Pursuant to the LOI, the purchase price, to be determined by the parties after the completion of due diligence of Fujian Taoping, will be paid in the form of ordinary shares of the Company.
On March 2, 2022, the Company has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement (“Agreement”) with Shenzhen Zhihui Yunti IoT Co., Ltd. (“Zhihui Yunti”) to jointly address the market needs of the elevator modernization and maintenance. Pursuant to the Agreement, which has a term of three years, the Company is responsible for the market development of the elevator modernization and maintenance project through its Taoping Alliance network. Zhihui Yunti is responsible for providing elevator cloud, elevator IoT and elevator ecosystem products and technical support, as well as for the operation and management after product installation.
Principal Factors Affecting Our Financial Performance
Demand for Software Products and Services, Advertising, and High-End Server
The revenue growth and profitability of our business depend on the overall market demand for software products and related services, high-end data servers, out-of-home advertising, and efficiency of our cryptocurrency mining operations. The demand for our CBT products is attributable to rapid urbanization and rising living standards in China. As a result of migration to the cities, individuals’ disposable income and consumptions of information to assist their purchases of goods and services increase as well. Consequently, our CBT products become increasingly receptive to advertisements displayed at public locations. Meanwhile, rising competition has driven merchants and service providers to seek advertisements as a way to make their brands visible and memorable that drives up the demand for innovative advertising technology like our cloud-based software and services. COVID-19 pandemic has changed landscape of business operations and resulted in significant increase in working from remote locations, on-line shopping, on-line education, on-line entertainment, and other on-line business transactions creating high demand for high-end data storage servers to accommodate the surging internet information transmission.
The demand for our TIT products is attributable to digitization of public services in China. Due to changes in policies and regulations in China in 2012, various local governments started postponing IT projects they had previously contracted with us indefinitely. As a result, many of our existing receivables became uncollectable. Starting 2013, we made a strategic decision to transition our business from servicing the public sector to focusing on the private sector. We started completing our in-process IT projects and ceased taking on new customers in the public sector. As a result, the TIT business has diminished throughout the years and gradually being phased out.
Taxation
TAOP and Taoping Holdings were incorporated in the BVI, and not subject to taxation in that jurisdiction. Under the “anti-inversion” rules of Section 7874 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, TAOP is treated for U.S. federal taxation purpose as a U.S. corporation and, accordingly, is subject to U.S. federal income tax on its worldwide income with a maximum income tax rate of 21%.
No provision for income tax in the United States has been made as TAOP has no taxable income in the United States.
IST HK, and our former subsidiary, HPC Electronics (China) Co., Limited (“HPC”) were incorporated in Hong Kong and subject to a Hong Kong Profits Tax of 16.5% according to the current Hong Kong tax laws.
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Under the Chinese EIT Law, IST is approved as High Technology Enterprises and respective income tax rates were reduced to 15%. Biznest is approved as software enterprises and enjoys EIT at the tax rate of 12.5%. TopCloud, ISIOT, iASPEC and Bocom are subject to regular EIT at 25%.
Business Segment Information
Segment information is consistent with how management reviews business health, makes investment, allocates resources and assesses operating performances. Transfers and sales between reportable segments, if any, are recorded at cost.
We report financial and operational information in the following three segments:
| (1) | Cloud-based Technology (CBT) segment — It includes the Company’s cloud-based products, high-end data storage servers and related services sold to private sectors including new media, healthcare, education and residential community management, and among other industries and applications. In this segment, the Company generates revenues from the sales of hardware and software total solutions with proprietary software and content as well as from designing and developing software products specifically customized for private sector customers’ needs for a fixed price. The Company includes the revenue and cost of revenue of high-end data storage servers in the CBT segment. Advertising services is included in the CBT segment, after the Company consummated the acquisition of TNM. Advertisements are delivered to the ads display terminals and vehicular ads display terminals through the Company’s cloud-based new media sharing platform. Incorporation of advertising services complements the Company’s out-of-home advertising business strategy. | |
| (2) | Blockchain Technology (BT) segment — The BT segment is the Company’s newly formed business sector. Cryptocurrency mining is the first initiative implemented in the BT segment. |
| (3) | Traditional Information Technology (TIT) segment — The TIT segment includes the Company’s project-based technology products and services sold to the public sector. The solutions the Company has sold primarily include Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Digital Public Security Technology (DPST), and Digital Hospital Information Systems (DHIS). In this segment, the Company generates revenues from sales of hardware and system integration services. As a result of the business transformation, the TIT segment is being gradually phased out in 2021. |
For more information regarding our operating segments, see Note 20 (Consolidated Segment Data) to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.
Results of Operations
Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
The following table sets forth key components of our results of operations for fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, both in dollars and as a percentage of our revenue.
| December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||||||||||
| Amount | % of Revenue | Amount | % of Revenue | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 24,845,924 | 100.00 | % | $ | 11,062,775 | 100.00 | % | ||||||||
| Costs of revenue | 15,503,311 | 62.40 | % | 7,119,125 | 64.35 | % | ||||||||||
| Gross profit | 9,342,613 | 37.60 | % | 3,943,650 | 35.65 | % | ||||||||||
| Administrative expenses | (12,882,936 | ) | (51.85 | )% | (16,707,106 | ) | (151.02 | )% | ||||||||
| Research and development expenses | (4,479,045 | ) | (18.03 | )% | (3,889,126 | ) | (35.16 | )% | ||||||||
| Selling expenses | (694,474 | ) | (2.80 | )% | (714,147 | ) | (6.46 | )% | ||||||||
| (Loss) from operations | (8,713,842 | ) | (35.07 | )% | (17,366,729 | ) | (156.98 | )% | ||||||||
| Subsidy income | 181,620 | 0.73 | % | 556,186 | 5.03 | % | ||||||||||
| (Loss) from equity method investment | (814,440 | ) | (3.28 | )% | - | - | ||||||||||
| Other income (loss), net | 350,836 | 1.41 | % | (578,766 | ) | (5.23 | )% | |||||||||
| Interest income | 4,640 | 0.02 | % | 4,798 | 0.04 | % | ||||||||||
| Interest expense | (928,352 | ) | (3.74 | )% | (1,018,013 | ) | (9.20 | )% | ||||||||
| (Loss) before income taxes | (9,919,538 | ) | (39.92 | )% | (18,402,524 | ) | (166.35 | )% | ||||||||
| Income tax (expense) benefit | (5,321 | ) | (0.02 | )% | 71,316 | 0.64 | % | |||||||||
| Net (loss) | (9,924,859 | ) | (39.95 | )% | (18,331,208 | ) | (165.70 | )% | ||||||||
| Less: Net loss attributable to non- controlling interest | - | - | 636,433 | 5.75 | % | |||||||||||
| Net (loss) attributable to Company | $ | (9,924,859 | ) | (39.95 | )% | $ | (17,694,775 | ) | (159.95 | )% | ||||||
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Revenue. We generate revenues from cryptocurrency mining, advertising, selling hardware, software, and other technology-related services to customers. For the year ended December 31, 2021, our total revenue was $24.8 million, of which approximately $0.2 million was from related parties, compared to total revenue of $11.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, an increase of $13.8 million, or 124.6%. The revenue increase was mainly contributed by products and software sales totalling $5.8 million, advertising from TNM of $2.6 million, and cryptocurrency mining of $5.5 million.
Starting from January 2020, the coronavirus outbreak, also known as COVID-19, has caused the Chinese government to take quarantine measures, such as nationwide lockdowns, transportation restrictions, public gathering prohibitions and temporary closures of non-essential businesses, which had put economic activities in a suspension mode until late March 2020, in addition to the regular Chinese New Year Holiday. Although the COVID-19 pandemic was largely contained in China since the first quarter of 2020 and businesses have gradually resumed to normal operations in 2020, China’s out-of-home advertising market was adversely impacted. In addition, imported infection cases and regional outbreaks of infection persisted throughout 2021.
Upon completion of acquisition of TNM in June 2021, in the digital advertising sector, we became a fully integrated new media advertising enterprise with technical expertise in cloud based new media sharing platform, smart ads display terminal, and mobile applications extended to the end customers who pay for the advertising slots to promote their businesses or special events. In 2021, additional $2.6 million advertising revenue from TNM strengthened our revenue generation, cash flows, liquidity, and capital resources. Meanwhile, we have positioned ourselves in blockchain and digital assets related business opportunities and commenced cryptocurrency mining operations as the first initiative of blockchain business segment.
With the increasing computing power in Ethereum mining, revenue from Ethereum mining was approximately $4.5 million in 2021. Revenue from BTC mining was approximately $1.0 million in 2021.
The following table shows our revenue, percentage of revenue, cost of revenue and gross margin, by revenue categories:
| Year Ended December 31, 2021 | Year Ended December 31, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| % of | Cost of | Gross | % of | Cost of | Gross | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | Revenue | Revenue | Margin | Revenue | Revenue | Revenue | Margin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Products | $ | 10,724,707 | 43.16 | % | 9,890,346 | 7.78 | % | $ | 6,966,868 | 62.98 | % | 6,211,647 | 10.84 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Software | 5,174,422 | 20.83 | % | 582,490 | 88.74 | % | 3,080,152 | 27.84 | % | 572,054 | 81.43 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Advertising | 2,577,712 | 10.37 | % | 2,193,945 | 14.89 | % | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cryptocurrency | 5,455,345 | 21.96 | % | 2,767,186 | 49.28 | % | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Others | 913,738 | 3.68 | % | 69,344 | 92.41 | % | 1,015,755 | 9.18 | % | 335,424 | 66.98 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 24,845,924 | 100.00 | % | 15,503,311 | 37.60 | % | $ | 11,062,775 | 100.00 | % | 7,119,125 | 35.65 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
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A breakdown of revenue, percentage of revenue, cost of revenue and gross margin by segments is as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, 2021 | Year Ended December 31, 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| % of | Cost of | Gross | % of | Cost of | Gross | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | Revenue | Revenue | Margin | Revenue | Revenue | Revenue | Margin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TIT Segment | $ | 636,743 | 2.56 | % | 633,713 | 0.48 | % | $ | 377,499 | 3.41 | % | 319,921 | 15.25 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| CBT Segment | 18,753,836 | 75.48 | % | 13,166,742 | 29.79 | % | 10,685,276 | 96.59 | % | 6,799,204 | 36.19 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
| BT Segment | 5,455,345 | 21.96 | % | 1,702,856 | 68.79 | % | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 24,845,924 | 100.00 | % | 15,503,311 | 37.60 | % | $ | 11,062,775 | 100.00 | % | 7,119,125 | 35.47 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenue and gross profit. As indicated in the tables above, our cost of revenue increased by $8.4 million, which were mainly attributed to increases in cost of products of $3.7 million, cost of advertising of $2.2 million, and cost of cryptocurrency mining of $2.8 million, or 117.8%, to $15.5 million, for the year ended December 31, 2021, from $7.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. As a percentage of revenue, our cost of revenue decreased to 62.4% during the year ended December 31, 2021, from 64.4% during the year ended December 31, 2020. As a result, gross profit as a percentage of revenue increased to 37.6% for the year ended December 31, 2021 from 35.7% for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in the overall gross margin primarily resulted from higher margin of software revenue and cryptocurrency mining. We expect the gross margin of 2022 will increase slightly due to the new business developments in block chain related businesses.
Administrative expenses. Our administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation and benefits for our general management, finance and administrative staff, professional advisor consulting fees, audit fees, and other expenses incurred in connection with general operations. Our administrative expenses decreased by $3.8 million, or 22.9%, to $12.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, from $16.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. As a percentage of revenue, administrative expenses decreased to 51.9% for 2021, from 151.0% for 2020. Such decrease was primarily due to a decrease of $8.0 million in allowance for credit losses, offset by an increase in share-based compensation of $2.4 million to certain employees and consultants. We expect that the administrative expenses in 2022 will decrease as a result of the decrease of allowance of credit losses with the recovery of out-of-home advertising market and overall economy of China, and the decrease of share-based compensation to employees. As a percentage of revenue, administrative expenses will decrease as result of the decrease of its amount and the expected additions of new revenue streams.
Research and development expenses. Our research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel related expenses, as well as costs associated with new software and hardware development and enhancement. Our research and development expenses increased by $0.6 million, or 15.2%, to $4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, from $3.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Such increase was primarily due to the increase of depreciation of R&D related hardware equipment and software, and the increase in payroll and benefits to R&D staff. As a percentage of revenue, research and development expenses decreased to 18.0% for 2021, from 35.2% for 2020. We expect that the R&D expenses in 2022 will increase as a result of our business expansion in the blockchain related applications, while as a percentage of revenue, R&D expenses will slightly decrease.
Selling expenses. Our selling expenses consist primarily of the compensation and benefits to our sales and marketing staff, traveling costs, and other selling activities related costs. Our selling expenses decreased by $0.02 million, or 2.8%, to $0.69 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, from $0.71 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This decrease was due to the decrease of the amortization expenses, offset by the increased payroll expenses of sales department which was in line with the increase in revenues. We expect that the selling expenses in 2022 will slightly increase in line with revenue increase, while as a percentage of revenue, selling expenses will slightly decrease.
Subsidy income. Because we have developed a number of new products that are promoted and designated by the Chinese government as highly innovative technology, we received governmental subsidies of $0.2 million and $0.6 million in years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Other income (loss). Other income for the year ended December 31, 2021 was approximately $0.4 million, compared to other loss of approximately $0.6 million in 2020. Other income in 2021 was mainly the income of $0.4 million gain on sale of cryptocurrencies, the income of the return of tax payable accrued in prior years of $0.4 million, offset by the loss of inventory write-off of $0.3 million.
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Interest expense. Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2021 was approximately $0.9 million, compared to interest expense of approximately $1.0 million in 2020. The decrease of interest expense in 2021 was mainly due to the decrease of interest accrual and the amortization of debt discount from issuance of convertible notes in 2020.
Income tax expense. We recorded income tax expense of $5,321 for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to $71,316 of income tax benefit in 2020, primarily as a result of the decrease of reclaims of excess accrual of income tax payable in the prior years.
Net loss attributable to Company. As a result of the cumulative effect of the foregoing factors, we had a net loss attributable to the Company of $9.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, as compared to net loss of $17.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
The following table sets forth key components of our results of operations for fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, both in dollars and as a percentage of our revenue.
| December 31, 2020 | December 31, 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| Amount | % of Revenue | Amount | % of Revenue | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 11,062,775 | 100.00 | % | $ | 13,791,303 | 100.00 | % | ||||||||
| Costs of revenue | 7,119,125 | 64.35 | % | 7,189,092 | 52.13 | % | ||||||||||
| Gross profit | 3,943,650 | 35.65 | % | 6,602,211 | 47.87 | % | ||||||||||
| Administrative expenses | (16,707,106 | ) | (151.02 | )% | (6,657,972 | ) | (48.28 | )% | ||||||||
| Research and development expenses | (3,889,126 | ) | (35.16 | )% | (3,592,843 | ) | (26.05 | )% | ||||||||
| Selling expenses | (714,147 | ) | (6.46 | )% | (523,557 | ) | (3.80 | )% | ||||||||
| (Loss) from operations | (17,366,729 | ) | (156.98 | )% | (4,172,161 | ) | (30.25 | )% | ||||||||
| Subsidy income | 556,186 | 5.03 | % | 431,555 | 3.13 | % | ||||||||||
| Other (loss) income, net | (578,766 | ) | (5.23 | )% | 238,200 | 1.73 | % | |||||||||
| Interest income | 4,798 | 0.04 | % | 133,517 | 0.97 | % | ||||||||||
| Interest expense | (1,018,013 | ) | (9.20 | )% | (499,852 | ) | (3.62 | )% | ||||||||
| (Loss) before income taxes | (18,402,524 | ) | (166.35 | )% | (3,868,741 | ) | (28.05 | )% | ||||||||
| Income tax benefit | 71,316 | 0.64 | % | 274,480 | 1.99 | % | ||||||||||
| Net (loss) | (18,331,208 | ) | (165.70 | )% | (3,594,261 | ) | (26.06 | )% | ||||||||
| Less: Net loss attributable to non- controlling interest | 636,433 | 5.75 | % | 11,929 | 0.09 | % | ||||||||||
| Net (loss) attributable to Company | $ | (17,694,775 | ) | (159.95 | )% | $ | (3,582,332 | ) | (25.98 | )% | ||||||
Revenue. We generate revenues from selling hardware, software, system integration, software as a service, and other technology- related services to customers including TNM and its affiliates. TNM was controlled by our CEO, Mr. Lin. We have identified TNM and its affiliates as related parties. For the year ended December 31, 2020, our total revenue was $11.0 million, of which approximately $0.5 million was from related parties, compared to total revenue of $13.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, a decrease of $2.8 million, or 20%. The decrease was primarily due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the unfavorable macro environment and the slowdown of the out-of- home advertising market in China in 2020.
In 2020, COVID-19 adversely affected our business expansion in the out-of-home advertising market, which resulted in the decrease of ad-terminal sales to Taoping affiliates. In the meantime, we input more efforts in the sales of customized software development and super computer with low margin, for the purpose of expanding more revenue-stream under the adverse environment of 2020. Revenue generated from sales of customized software development and high-end data storage server in 2020 was $3.1 million and $4.6 million, respectively. With our well-established sales channel and business expansion in the blockchain related business, we will continue to sell high-end data storage server and cryptocurrency mining machine in 2021.
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The following table shows our revenue, percentage of revenue, cost of revenue and gross margin, by revenue categories:
| Year Ended December 31, 2020 | Year Ended December 31, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| % of | Cost of | Gross | % of | Cost of | Gross | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | Revenue | Revenue | Margin | Revenue | Revenue | Revenue | Margin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Products | $ | 6,966,868 | 62.98 | % | 6,211,647 | 10.84 | % | $ | 10,468,382 | 75.91 | % | 6,448,965 | 38.40 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Software | 3,080,152 | 27.84 | % | 572,054 | 81.43 | % | 2,246,497 | 16.29 | % | 525,473 | 76.61 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
| System Integration | - | - | % | - | - | - | - | % | 74,494 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Others | 1,015,755 | 9.18 | % | 335,424 | 66.98 | % | 1,076,424 | 7.80 | % | 140,160 | 86.98 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 11,062,775 | 100.00 | % | 7,119,125 | 35.65 | % | $ | 13,791,303 | 100.00 | % | 7,189,092 | 47.87 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
A breakdown of revenue, percentage of revenue, cost of revenue and gross margin by segments is as follows:
| Year Ended December 31, 2020 | Year Ended December 31, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| % of | Cost of | Gross | % of | Cost of | Gross | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | Revenue | Revenue | Margin | Revenue | Revenue | Revenue | Margin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TIT Segment | $ | 377,499 | 3.41 | % | 319,921 | 15.25 | % | $ | 241,132 | 1.75 | % | 337,261 | (39.87 | )% | ||||||||||||||||||
| CBT Segment | 10,685,276 | 96.59 | % | 6,799,204 | 36.19 | % | 13,550,171 | 98.25 | % | 6,851,831 | 49.43 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 11,062,775 | 100.00 | % | 7,119,125 | 35.47 | % | $ | 13,791,303 | 100.00 | % | 7,189,092 | 47.87 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenue and gross profit. As indicated in the tables above, our cost of revenue decreased by $0.1 million, or 1.0%, to $7.1 million, for the year ended December 31, 2020, from $7.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. As a percentage of revenue, our cost of revenue increased to 64.4% during the year ended December 31, 2020, from 52.1% during the year ended December 31, 2019. As a result, gross profit as a percentage of revenue decreased to 35.7% for the year ended December 31, 2020 from 47.9% for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in the overall gross margin primarily resulted from the increase in sales revenues of cloud server which usually demand lower margin. We expect the gross margin of 2021 will increase as result of the new additions of cloud-based education business and blockchain related revenue.
Administrative expenses. Our administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation and benefits for our general management, finance and administrative staff, professional advisor consulting fees, audit fees, and other expenses incurred in connection with general operations. Our administrative expenses increased by $10.0 million, or 150.9%, to $16.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, from $6.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. As a percentage of revenue, administrative expenses increased to 151.0% for 2020, from 48.3% for 2019. Such increase was primarily due to an increase of $12.8 million in allowance for credit losses of receivable, as a result of the slowdown of the out-of-home advertising industry in China and the deterioration of certain customers’ financial conditions as negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Given the unfavorable outlooks of overall economy and the out-of-home advertising market, we will continue to control our administrative expenses, by investing more efforts in the collection of accounts receivable and expenses and fees control. We expect that the administrative expenses in 2021 will decrease as a result of the decrease of allowance of credit loss with the recovery of out-of-home advertising market and overall economy of China. As a percentage of revenue, administrative expenses will decrease as a result of the foregoing and the expected additions of new revenue streams.
Research and development expenses. Our research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel related expenses, as well as costs associated with new software and hardware development and enhancement. Our research and development expenses increased by $0.3 million, or 8.3%, to $3.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, from $3.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Such increase was primarily due to the increase of depreciation of R&D related hardware equipment and software. As a percentage of revenue, research and development expenses increased to 35.2% for 2020, from 26.1% in 2019. We expect that the R&D expenses in 2021 will increase as a result of our business expansion in the cloud-based education program and the blockchain related applications, while as a percentage of revenue, R&D expenses will slightly decrease.
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Selling expenses. Our selling expenses consist primarily of the compensation and benefits to our sales and marketing staff, traveling costs, and other selling activities related costs. Our selling expenses increased by $0.2 million, or 36.4%, to $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, from $0.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. This increase was due to the increase of the marketing expense in support of our nationwide Taoping network. We expect that the selling expenses in 2021 will increase as a result of the acquisition of Taoping New Media and the business expansion in the cloud-based education program, while as a percentage of revenue, selling expenses will slightly decrease.
Subsidy income. Because we have developed a number of new products that are promoted and designated by the Chinese government as highly innovative technology, we received governmental subsidies of $0.6 million and $0.4 million in years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Other (loss) income. Other loss for the year ended December 31, 2020 was approximately $0.6 million, compared to other income of approximately $0.2 million in 2019. Other loss in 2020 was mainly the loss of arbitration of $0.2 million due to dispute of certain sales contracts entered in prior years, accrued possible loss of $0.1 million for a legal proceeding regarding a customer’s bankruptcy claim, a loss of $0.2 million on return of prior year government conditional funding and inventory write-off of $0.1 million.
Interest expense. Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2020 was approximately $1.0 million, compared to interest expense of approximately $0.5 million in 2019. The increase of interest expense in 2020 was mainly due to the interest accrual and the amortization of debt discount from issuance of convertible notes in 2020.
Income tax expense. We recorded income tax benefit of $0.07 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to $0.3 million of income tax benefit in 2019, primarily as a result of reversal of income tax payable in the prior years.
Net (loss) income attributable to Company. As a result of the cumulative effect of the foregoing factors, we had a net loss attributable to the Company of $17.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared to net loss of $3.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Inflation
Inflation does not materially affect our business or the results of our operations.
Foreign Currency Fluctuations
See Item 11 “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk—Foreign Exchange Risk.”
B. Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021, we had cash and cash equivalents of $4.5 million.
In January 2020, the Company adopted ASU 2016-13, Topics 326-Credit Losses, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which replaces the incurred loss methodology with an expected loss methodology that is referred to as the current expected credit loss (CECL) methodology, as its accounting standard for its trade accounts receivable.
The Company considers the following factors when determining whether to permit a longer payment period or provide other concessions to customers:
| ● | the customer’s past payment history; |
| ● | the customer’s general risk profile, including factors such as the customer’s size, age, and public or private status; |
| ● | macroeconomic conditions that may affect a customer’s ability to pay; and |
| ● | the relative importance of the customer relationship to the Company’s business. |
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The normal credit term is ranging from 1 month to 3 months after the customers’ acceptance of hardware or software, and completion of services. However, because of various factors of business cycle, the actual collection of outstanding accounts receivable may be beyond the normal credit terms.
In accordance with ASC 210-10-45, the non-current accounts receivable and non-current accounts receivable-related parties represent the amounts that the Company does not reasonably expect to be realized during the normal operating cycle of the Company. Considering the limited operating history with the customers and Taoping Alliance members, in accordance with ASC 210-10-45, the operating cycle of the Company is not identifiable. Therefore, the Company uses one-year time period as the basis for the separation of current and non-current assets.
The allowance for credit losses at December 31, 2021 and 2020, totaled approximately $27.3 million and $21.2 million, respectively, representing management’s best estimate. The following table describes the movement for allowance for credit losses during the year ended December 31, 2021.
| Balance at January 1, 2021 | $ | 21,217,406 | ||
| Addition from acquisition of subsidiaries under common control | 314,214 | |||
| Increase in allowance for credit losses | 5,134,350 | |||
| Foreign exchange difference | 596,878 | |||
| Balance at December 31, 2021 | $ | 27,262,848 |
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has largely been contained in China, ripple effect of negative impact from the pandemic to the out-of-home advertising business sector continues in 2021. In the first quarter of 2021, the Company completed three financing transactions issuing 3,140,740 ordinary shares in total with aggregate proceeds of $13.1 million net of issuance costs. In July 2021, the Company consummated a financing transaction issuing 1,200,000 ordinary shares and warrants with aggregate proceeds of $4.73 million net of issuance cost. Proceeds from all financing activities were used to increase the Company’s working capital.
The following table summarizes the key cash flow components from our consolidated statements of cash flows for the periods indicated.
Cash Flows
| Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) operating activities | (16,149,498 | ) | (1,782,893 | ) | (1,682,104 | ) | ||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | (14,000,268 | ) | (1,733,643 | ) | 151,855 | |||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 33,028,157 | 3,072,948 | 1,586,347 | |||||||||
| Effects of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | 555,961 | 20,782 | (189,692 | ) | ||||||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 3,434,352 | 422,752 | (133,594 | ) | ||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of the year | 1,096,914 | 1,519,666 | 1,653,260 | |||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of the year | 4,531,266 | 1,096,914 | 1,519,666 | |||||||||
Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities was $16.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 and net cash used in operating activities was $1.8 and $1.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. Net cash used in operating activities were primarily attributed to increase in advance to suppliers for approximately $4.3 million and approximately $9.8 million for reduction of our payable liabilities. As a result of the unfavorable macro environment and the slow-down of the out-of-home advertising industry in China, we had a net loss of $9.9 million in 2021, comparing to a net loss of $18.3 million in 2020 and a net loss of $3.6 million in 2019, respectively.
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Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $14.0 million and $1.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and net cash provided by investing activities was $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Net cash used in investing activities in 2021 was mainly due to the purchase of property and equipment of approximately $11.3 million, and the consideration paid for acquisition of $7.3 million, offset by the proceeds from sales of cryptocurrencies of $4.5 million.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided in financing activities was $33.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, mainly attributable to receipts of the borrowings from related party of $3.1 million, and net proceeds of $28.3 million from issuance of ordinary shares through private placement offerings. Net cash provided by financing activities was $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, mainly attributable to the receipts of $2.7 million of net proceeds from a convertible note financing, and $1.2 million of net proceeds from private placement. Net cash provided by financing activities was $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, mainly attributable to the receipts of $1.0 million net proceed from a convertible note financing.
Loan Facilities
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, our loan facilities were as follows:
Short-term bank loans
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Secured short-term loans | $ | 7,792,125 | $ | 6,210,176 | ||||
| Total short-term bank loans | $ | 7,792,125 | $ | 6,210,176 | ||||
Management’s Plans
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has largely been contained in China, regional outbreaks of infections persist in various localities. The negative impact from the pandemic to the out-of-home advertising business continued throughout 2021. However, our revenue achieved 124.6% year-over-year increase as a result of the additions of cryptocurrency mining operations and the acquisition of TNM for the year 2021. The Company has significantly improved profitability by $8.4 million by reducing net loss to $9.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $18.3 million a year ago. Cash and cash equivalents held by the Company on December 31, 2021 was $4.5 million, compared to cash and cash equivalents of $1.1 million a year ago.
The Company incurred a net loss of approximately $9.9 million for year ended December 31, 2021, which was mainly due to the provision of allowance of credit losses and the expenses of stock-based compensation, compared to a net loss of $18.3 million for 2020. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had a working capital deficit of approximately $6.3 million, improved from a working capital deficit of $17.4 million as of December 31, 2020.
In the first quarter of 2021, the Company completed three financing transactions issuing 3,140,740 ordinary shares in total with aggregate proceeds of $13.1 million net of issuance costs. In July 2021, the Company consummated a financing transaction comprising of 1,200,000 ordinary shares, and warrants with aggregate proceeds net of issuance cost of $4.73 million. Proceeds from all financing activities were to increase the Company’s working capital.
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In June 2021, the Company completed an acquisition of 100% of equity of TNM to offer more comprehensive services of the new media sharing platform and enhance revenue generation from new media and advertising sectors. In April 2021, the Company also formed a Blockchain business segment and engages in cryptocurrency mining activities as the first initiative of this sector to supplement the diminished Traditional Information Technology (TIT) business segment as a part of new business transformation. Specifically, revenue generated from cryptocurrency mining was approximately $5.5 million, and the gross profit from cryptocurrency mining business was approximately $2.7 million for 2021. In 2022, the Company will continue to expand the digital advertising business through strategic acquisitions, increase computing powers for Blockchain related business operations and explore business opportunity in the smart community and new energy sectors to improve revenue and cash flow generations. In addition, the management will also continue to execute the existing business strategies with focuses on selection of quality customers, collection of accounts receivable, maintaining proper inventory level, and managing accounts payable to enhance operating cash flows. Meanwhile, the Company will aggressively develop domestic and international markets to develop new customers in new media business, and explore more blockchain related businesses, such as establishing overseas data centers in addition to Hong Kong and developing applications of NFT, cloud desktop and cloud rendering. With its well established “Taoping” brand, technology platform and industry reputation along with strategic expansion into the Blockchain business sector, the Company believes that it has the ability to raise needed capital to support the Company’s operations and business expansions.
If the Company’s execution of business strategies is not successful in addressing its current financial concerns, additional capital raise from issuing equity security or debt instrument or additional loan facility may occur to support required cash flows. However, the Company can make no assurances that financing will be available for the amounts we need, or on terms commercially acceptable to us, if at all. If one or all of these events do not occur or subsequent capital raise was insufficient to bridge financial and liquidity shortfall, substantial doubt exists about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern and, accordingly, do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. To overcome the going concern issue, the Company will actively seek opportunities to achieve revenue growth through strategic acquisitions on digital advertising, new revenue streams development, and significant expansion of computing power for cryptocurrency mining operations. In addition to cash generating from business, the Company has secured at least $8 million revolving bank facility line which provides important capital support for its operation.
Intercompany Transfers
Our subsidiaries organized in the PRC may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits. Our PRC subsidiaries are required to set aside at least 10% of their after-tax profit to their general reserves until such reserves cumulatively reach 50% of their respective registered capital. General reserves of our PRC subsidiaries are not distributable as cash dividends. Restrictions on our net assets also include the conversion of local currency into foreign currencies, tax withholding obligations on dividend distributions, the need to obtain approval from SAFE for loans to a non-PRC consolidated entity, and the covenants or financial restrictions related to outstanding debt obligations. We are not aware of other restrictions on our net assets or the transferability of assets via loans or advances to our non-PRC consolidated entities. As our operations are principally based in China, our non-PRC consolidated entities do not have material cash obligations.
The following table provides the amount of our statutory general reserve, the amount of restricted net assets, consolidated net assets, and the amount of restricted net assets as a percentage of consolidated net assets, as of December 31, 2021 and 2020:
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| PRC general reserve - restricted net assets | $ | 14,044,269 | $ | 14,044,269 | ||||
| Consolidated net assets | $ | 19,252,256 | $ | (7,664,671 | ) | |||
| Restricted net assets as percentage of consolidated net assets | 72.95 | % | (183.23 | )% | ||||
An offshore holding company, as a shareholder of a Foreign Investment Entity (FIE), can make loans to the FIE, provided the parties being in compliance with the PRC regulations governing such loans. Our parent company can make a shareholder loan to a PRC subsidiary provided that (i) the amount of the loan does not exceed the difference between the total investment and registered capital as approved by the local Administration for Industry and Commerce that issued the business license of the subsidiary; and (ii) before the loan can be converted into RMB, the subsidiary reports to SAFE the intended use of proceeds (which cannot be to purchase domestic assets). The subsidiary can finance the operations of iASPEC in accordance with the terms of the MSA with iASPEC.
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As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the breakdown of our cash and cash equivalents (including restricted cash) was as follows:
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Cash located outside of the PRC | $ | 324,794 | $ | 41,792 | ||||
| Cash held by VIE and its subsidiaries | - | 506,139 | ||||||
| Cash held by other entities located in the PRC (except VIEs noted above) | 4,206,472 | 548,983 | ||||||
| $ | 4,531,266 | $ | 1,096,914 | |||||
We do not believe that there would be any material costs to transfer cash outside the PRC. In addition, as our operations are principally based in China, our non-PRC consolidated entities do not incur material cash obligations. If nature of the businesses for our non-PRC consolidated entities have changed in the future and require material amounts of cash being transferred to them, we will assess the feasibility and plan cash transfers in accordance with foreign exchange regulations, taking into account of tax consequences. A company registered in mainland China must apply for and receive an approval from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange to remit foreign currency to any foreign country, and must comply with PRC statutory reserve requirement as disclosed in Item 3 Key Information – D. Risk Factor of this annual report. As we conduct all of our operations in China, our inability to convert cash and short-term investments held in RMB to other currencies will materially affect our liquidity.
C. Research and Development, Patents and Licenses, Etc.
Our industry is characterized by extremely rapid technological change, evolving industry standards, and changing customer demands. These conditions require continuous expenditures on product research and development to enhance existing products, create new products, and avoid product obsolescence. See Item 3 “Key Information—D. Risk Factors—If we are unable to develop and offer competitive new products and services, our future operations could be adversely affected,” —”If we are unable to keep abreast with the rapid technological changes in our industry, demand for our products and services could decline and adversely affect our revenue and growth,” and —”Our technology may become obsolete, which could materially adversely affect our ability to sell our products and services.” For a detailed analysis of research and development costs, see Item 5.A. “Operating Results—Results of Operations—Research and development expenses”.
D. Trend Information
Other than as disclosed elsewhere in this annual report, we are not aware of any trend, uncertainty, demand, commitment or event that is reasonably likely to have a material effect on our net revenues and income from continuing operations, profitability, liquidity, capital resources, or would cause reported financial information not necessarily to be indicative of future operation results or financial condition.
E. Critical Accounting Estimates.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires our management to make assumptions, estimates and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements, including the notes thereto, and related disclosures of commitments and contingencies, if any. We consider our critical accounting policies to be those that require the more significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of financial statements, including the following:
Revenue Recognition
Beginning January 1, 2018, the Company has adopted the ASU 2014-09, Topic 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” and its related amendments (collectively referred to as “ASC 606”) for its revenue recognition accounting policy that depicts the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In accordance with the ASC 606, the Company recognizes revenues net of applicable taxes, when goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services.
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The Company generates its revenues primarily from five sources: (1) product sales, (2) software sales, (3) advertising, (4) cryptocurrency mining, and (5) other sales. Revenue is recognized when obligations under the terms of a contract with our customers are satisfied, generally, upon delivery of the goods and services and receipts of cryptocurrencies from cryptocurrency mining pools.
Revenue - Products
Product revenues are generated primarily from the sale of Cloud-Application-Terminal based digital ads display terminals with integrated software essential to the functionality of the hardware to our customers (inclusive of related parties) and high-end data storage servers. Although manufacturing of the products has been outsourced to the Company’s Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) suppliers, the Company has acted as the principal of the contract. The Company recognized the product sales at the point of delivery. The Company has indicated that it may from time to time provide future unspecified software upgrades to the hardware products’ essential software, which is expected to be infrequent and, free of charge. Non-software service is mainly the one-time training session provided to the customer to familiarize them with the software operation upon the customer’s initial introduction to the software platform. The costs of providing infrequent software upgrade and training are de minimis. As a result, the Company does not allocate transaction price to software upgrade and customer training. Product sales are classified as “Revenue-Products” on the Company’s consolidated statements of operations.
Revenue – Software
Customers in the private sector contract the Company to design and develop software products specifically customized for their needs for a fixed price. Software development projects usually include developing software, integrating various isolated software systems into one, and testing the system. The design and build services, together with the integration of the various elements, are generally determined to be essential to the functionality of the delivered software. The contracted price is usually paid in installments based on progression of the project or at the delivery of the software. The Company usually provides non-software services including after-sale support, technical training. The technical training only occurs at the introduction of the software. The software is highly specialized and stable, after-sale support and subsequent upgrade or enhancement are infrequent. The Company has estimated the costs associated with the non-software performance obligations and concludes that these obligations are de minimis to the overall contract. Therefore, the Company does not further allocate transaction price.
The Company usually completes the customized software contracts less than 12 months and recognizes the revenue at the point of delivery because the Company does not have an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date. Revenues from software development contracts are classified as “Revenue-Software” on the Company’s consolidated statements of operations.
Revenue - Advertising
The Company generates revenues primarily from providing advertising slots to customers to promote their businesses by broadcasting advertisements on identifiable digital ads display terminals and vehicular ads display terminals in different geographic regions and locations through a cloud- based new media sharing platform. The Company is only obligated to broadcast the advertisements to the contracted digital ads display terminals, and therefore allocates 100% of the transaction price to advertisement broadcasting. The transaction price for advertisement broadcasting is fixed based on the numbers of advertisement delivery and duration of the contract, and has no variable consideration, or significant financing component, or subsequent price change, and is not refundable.
The Company recognizes the revenues, net of applicable taxes, from advertisement broadcasting contracts with customers over the contracted advertising duration.
Revenue - Cryptocurrency mining
The Company has entered into digital asset mining pools by executing contracts with the mining pool operators to provide computing power to the mining pool. The contracts are terminable under certain circumstances. In exchange for providing computing power, the Company is entitled to a fractional share of the fixed cryptocurrency awards the mining pool operator receives (less digital asset transaction fees to the mining pool operator, if any.) for successfully adding a block to the blockchain. The Company’s fractional share is based on the proportion of computing power the Company contributed to the mining pool operator to the total computing power contributed by all mining pool participants in solving the current algorithm.
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Providing computing power in digital asset transaction verification services is an output of the Company’s ordinary activities. The provision of providing such computing power is the only performance obligation in the Company’s contract with mining pool operator.
The transaction consideration the Company receives, if any, is noncash consideration, which the Company measures at fair value using the quoted price of the related cryptocurrency on the date received, which is not materially different than the fair value at the contract inception or at the time the Company has earned the award from the pools. The consideration is all variable. Because it is not probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue will not occur (ASC 606-10-32-11), the consideration is constrained until the mining pool operator successfully places a block (by being the first to solve an algorithm), and the Company receives confirmation of the consideration it will receive, at which time revenue is recognized. There is no financing component, nor allocation of transaction price in these transactions.
Revenue - Other
The Company also reports other revenue which comprises revenue generates from System upgrade and technical support services, platform service fee, and rental income.
System upgrade and technical support revenue is recognized when performance obligations are satisfied upon completion of the services. Platform service fee is charged based on number of the display terminals used by the customers or a percentage of advertising revenue generated by the display terminals. Platform service revenue is recognized on a monthly basis over the contract period.
The Company follows ASC 842 – Leases that requires lessor to identify the underlying assets and allocate rental income among considerations in lease and non-lease components. The Company owns two units of office space renting out to a third party and TNM under non-cancelable operating lease agreements with lease terms of six years starting from May 1, 2016 and three years starting from July 1, 2019, respectively. The lease agreements have fixed monthly rental payments, and no non-lease component or option for lessees to purchase the underlying assets. The Company collects monthly rental payments from the lessees and recognizes rental income.
After completion of the business acquisition on June 9, 2021, TNM became a subsidiary of the Company, and is no longer a related party. The rental income from TNM has become an intercompany revenue and been eliminated since June 9, 2021.
Contract balances
The Company records advances from customers when cash payments are received or due in advance of our performance.
Practical expedients and exemptions
The Company generally expenses sales commissions if any incurred because the amortization period would have been one year or less. In many cases, the Company is approached by customers for customizing software products for their specific needs without incurring significant selling expenses.
The Company does not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts with an original expected length of one year or less.
Accounts Receivable, Accounts Receivable –related parties
In January 2020, the Company adopted ASU 2016-13, Topics 326-Credit Loss, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which replaces the incurred loss methodology with an expected loss methodology that is referred to as the current expected credit loss (CECL) methodology, as its accounting standard for its trade accounts receivable.
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The adoption of the credit loss accounting standard has no material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of January 1, 2020. Accounts receivable are recognized and carried at carrying amount less an allowance for credit loss, if any. The Company maintains an allowance for credit losses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments based on contractual terms. The Company reviews the collectability of its receivables on a regular and ongoing basis. The Company has further adjusted allowance for credit losses for the anticipation of future economic condition and credit risk indicators of customers, including the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its customers’ businesses. After all attempts to collect a receivable have failed, the receivable is written off against the allowance. In the event the Company recovers amounts previously reserved for, the Company will reduce the specific allowance for credit losses.
The Company evaluates the creditworthiness of all of its customers individually before accepting them and continuously monitors the recoverability of accounts receivable. If there are any indicators that a customer may not make payment, the Company may consider making provision for non-collectability for that particular customer. At the same time, the Company may cease further sales or services to such customer.
Inventories
We value inventories at the lower of cost (First-in-First-out “FIFO”) or net realizable value. Net realizable value is the expected selling price in the ordinary course of business minus any costs of completion, disposal, and transportation to make the sale. We perform analyses of slow-moving or obsolete inventory periodically and any necessary valuation reserves, which could potentially be significant, are included in the period in which the evaluations are completed. Inventory impairments result in a new cost basis for accounting purposes.
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies held, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, are accounted for as intangible assets with indefinite useful lives. An intangible asset with an indefinite useful life is not amortized but assessed for impairment annually, or more frequently, when events or changes in circumstances occur indicating that it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived asset is impaired. Impairment exists when the carrying amount exceeds its fair value, which is measured using the quoted price of the cryptocurrency at the time its fair value is being measured. In testing for impairment, the Company has the option to first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that an impairment exists. If it is determined that it is not more likely than not that an impairment exists, a quantitative impairment test is not necessary. If the Company concludes otherwise, it is required to perform a quantitative impairment test. To the extent an impairment loss is recognized, the loss establishes the new cost basis of the asset. Subsequent reversal of impairment losses is not permitted.
There are no cash flows from cryptocurrencies included in net cash used in operating activities since the revenue recognized from mining is a noncash activity. The sales of cryptocurrencies are included within investing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows and any realized gains or losses from such sales are included in other income (expense) in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company accounts for its gains or losses in accordance with the first in first out (FIFO) method of accounting.
Long-term investment
The Company’s long-term investment consists of investments accounted for under the equity method and equity investments without readily determinable fair value. Pursuant to ASC 321, equity investments, except for those accounted for under the equity method, those that result in consolidation of the investee and certain other investments, are measured at fair value, and any changes in fair value are recognized in earnings. For equity securities without readily determinable fair value and do not qualify for the existing practical expedient in ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820”) to estimate fair value using the net asset value per share (or its equivalent) of the investment, the Company elected to measure those investments at cost, less any impairment, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for identical or similar investments of the same issuer, if any.
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For equity investments that the Company elects to measure at cost, less any impairment, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes, the Company makes a qualitative assessment considering impairment indicators to evaluate whether investments are impaired at each reporting date. Impairment indicators considered include, but are not limited to, a significant deterioration in the earnings performance or business prospects of the investee, including factors that raise significant concerns about the investee’s ability to continue as a going concern, a significant adverse change in the regulatory, economic, or technologic environment of the investee and a significant adverse change in the general market condition of either the geographical area or the industry in which the investee operates. If a qualitative assessment indicates that the investment is impaired, the entity has to estimate the investment’s fair value in accordance with the principles of ASC 820. For equity investments without readily determinable fair value, the Company uses Level 3 inputs of fair value accounting in accordance with ASC 820-10 and recognizes impairment loss other than temporary in the statement of operations equal to the difference between its initial investment and its proportional share of the net book value of the investee’s net assets which approximates its fair value.
For impairment on equity investments without readily determinable fair value, the Company uses Level 3 inputs of fair value accounting in accordance with ASC 820-10 and recognizes impairment loss in the statement of operations equal to the difference between its initial investment and its proportional share of the net book value of investee’s net assets which approximates its fair value if those are determined to be other than temporary.
Convertible promissory note
The Company determines the appropriate accounting treatment of its convertible debts in accordance with the terms in relation to conversion features. After considering the impact of such features, the Company may account for such instrument as a liability in its entirety, or separate the instrument into debt and equity components following the guidance described under ASC 815 Derivatives and Hedging and ASC 470 Debt. The debt discount, if any, together with related issuance cost are subsequently amortized as interest expense over the period from the issuance date to the earliest conversion date or stated redemption date. The Company presented the issuance cost of debt in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the related debt.
Operating leases - Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities
The Company accounts for lease under ASC 842 “Leases”, and also elects practical expedient not to separate non-lease component from lease components in accordance with ASC 842-10-15-37 and instead to account for each separate lease component and the non-lease components associated with that lease component as a single lease component. The Company also elects the practical expedient not to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities for leases with a term of 12 months or less.
The Company recognized a lease liability and corresponding right-to-use asset based on the present value of minimum lease payments discounted at the Company’s incremental borrowing rate. The Company records amortization and interest expense on a straight-line basis based on lease terms and reduces lease liabilities upon making lease payments.
Income Taxes
Deferred income taxes are provided on an asset and liability approach for financial accounting and reporting of income taxes. Deferred income taxes are recognized for all significant temporary differences at enacted rates and classified as non-current based upon the classification of the related asset or liability in the financial statements. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the amount of deferred tax assets, if it is considered more likely than not that some portion, or all of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. The Company classifies interest and/or penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, if any, as a component of income tax provisions.
| 82 |
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Please refer to Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements for a discussion of relevant pronouncements.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information
Financial Statements
The information required hereby is incorporated by reference to the section beginning on page F-1.
Legal Proceedings
We may be subject to legal proceedings, investigations and claims incidental to the conduct of our business from time to time.
Dividend Policy
To date, we have not paid any cash dividends on the Company’s ordinary shares. As a BVI company, we may only declare and pay dividends if our directors are satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that immediately after the distribution (i) the value of our assets will exceed our liabilities and (ii) we will be able to pay our debts as they fall due. We currently anticipate that we will retain any available funds to finance the growth and operation of our business and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Additionally, our cash held in foreign countries may be subject to certain control limitations or repatriation requirements, limiting our ability to use this cash to pay dividends.
B. Significant Changes
No significant change has occurred since the date of our consolidated financial statements filed as part of this annual report.
| 83 |
PART III
ITEM 18. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The full text of our audited consolidated financial statements begins on page F-1 of this annual report.
ITEM 19. EXHIBITS
| 84 |
SIGNATURE
The registrant hereby certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form 20-F and that it has duly caused and authorized the undersigned to sign this annual report on its behalf.
| Date: October 31, 2022 | TAOPING INC. |
| /s/ Jianghuai Lin | |
| Jianghuai Lin | |
| Chief Executive Officer |
| 85 |
TAOPING INC.
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| F-1 |
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
TO THE SHAREHOLDERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF Taoping INC
Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Taoping Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021, and the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income/(loss), shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of a critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
Going concern
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s significant losses from operations, significant working capital deficit and the uncertainty about the availability of finance in subsequent period, raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s evaluation of the events and conditions and management’s plans regarding these matters are also described in Note 1.
The principal consideration for our determination that the evaluation of management’s going concern assessment was a critical audit matter are the significant judgment and subjectivity inherent in the Company’s assumptions made in the going concern assessment and the uncertainty of the Company’s ability to secure funding before December 31, 2022.
| F-2 |
Our audit procedures related to the evaluation of management’s going concern assessment included the following, among others:
| a. | assessing the overall reasonableness of the Company’s going concern assessment, including significant assumptions utilized by the Company. | |
| b. | assessing the projected revenue and operating costs, liquidity of existing assets, the terms of the bank loans and related party loans and the finance facilities available. | |
| c. | considering the impact on the Company’s working capital of the planned acquisitions in 2022. | |
| d. | evaluating the adequacy of the Company’s financial statement disclosures. |
Revenue recognition
The Company has the following revenue streams:
| a. | revenue from sale of products | |
| b. | revenue from software development | |
| c. | revenue from advertising service | |
| d. | revenue from the mining and subsequent sale of cryptocurrencies |
As disclosed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company recognizes revenue from product, software and advertising upon transfer of control of promised products or services. Significant judgment is exercised by the Company in determining criteria in recognizing revenue. The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the collectability in recognizing revenue is a critical audit matter are:
| a. | revenue is material to the consolidated financial statements; and | |
| b. | significant judgement by management in assessing the criteria to recognize revenue was extensive and required a high degree to auditor judgment. |
Our audit procedures in respect related to revenues recognition included:
| a. | obtaining understanding of the internal control environment for revenue; | |
| b. | understanding the management’s assessment process for revenue recognition criteria; | |
| c. | evaluating management’s methodology used to estimate the collectability in recognizing revenue; | |
| d. | evaluating the historical track record of recoverability from customers; and | |
| e. | obtaining management’s consideration on the macroeconomic conditions that may have negative impact on revenue. |
Business Combination – Acquisition of Taoping New Media Co., Ltd and its subsidiaries
As described in Note 13 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company acquired 100% shares of Taoping New Media Co., Ltd and its subsidiaries on June 9, 2021 for purchase consideration of 1,213,630 shares of the Company equivalent to the value of approximately $5.4m. The purchase price allocations resulted in the Company recording various assets and liabilities at the estimated fair values at the acquisition date.
The Company accounted for the acquisition under the acquisition method of accounting for business combinations. Assets required and liabilities assumed have been recorded at their estimated fair values as of the acquisition date. The fair value of the assets was determined based on valuations using AAP Model, a variant of the Black-Scholes option pricing model that values an Asian option with payoffs determined by the average underlying price over the pre-set period of time, and going concern premise of value, which requires significant estimates and assumptions. Management, with the assistance of an independent valuation expert, concluded that there are no material intangible assets.
| F-3 |
Given the fair value determination of the assets and liabilities requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions related to the selection of discount rate, performing procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of the estimates and assumptions required a high degree of auditor judgement and an increased extent of effort.
Our audit procedures related to the business combination included:
| a. | reviewing the sales and purchase agreement and evaluating the transactions to determine whether the acquisition met the requirements of a business combination and our analysis of the initial allocation of the purchase price accounting as well as the termination of the balance sheet classification of each component of the transaction; | |
| b. | obtaining third party valuation reports to gain an understanding of the credibility of the valuation expert, the process and key assumptions for estimating the fair value of assets and liabilities, including the methodologies and assumptions used in developing the discount rate used; and | |
| c. | agreeing the underlying data used as part of the valuations to source documents, including the purchase and sale agreement. |
Furthermore, we assessed the appropriateness of the disclosure in the consolidated financial statements.
Valuation of property, plant and equipment – mining machines
The Company holds significant monetary value of mining machines at approximately $8.1m in its cryptocurrency mining operation as disclosed in Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements.
The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the valuation of the mining machines is a critical audit matter are:
| a. | the value of the mining machines is material to the consolidated financial statements at December 31,2021; and | |
| b. | Significant judgement by management in assessing the value in use of the mining machines. |
Our audit procedures related to the valuation of the mining machines included:
| a) | understanding the management’s impairment assessment procedures and criteria; | |
| b) | physical verification of the mining machines to confirm existence; | |
| c) | reviewing the management’s estimates on useful economic life of the mining machines; | |
| d) | comparison of the determined useful economic life to industry standards; and | |
| e) | reviewing the revenue generated by the mining machines for value of use. |
| /s/ PKF Littlejohn LLP | |
| May 2, 2022 | |
| PCAOB
ID: |
We have served as the Company’s auditor since December 3, 2021.
| F-4 |
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and
Shareholders of Taoping Inc.
Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Taoping Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020, and the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss), changes in equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the consolidated financial statements). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Substantial Doubt about the Company’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company had limited income from operations and had significant accumulated deficit that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
| F-5 |
Assessment of Accounts Receivable Allowance for Credit Losses
Critical Audit Matter Description
As disclosed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company recognizes accounts receivable at carrying amount less an allowance of credit losses. Significant judgment and estimation are exercised by the Company in determining the collectability of the accounts receivable, especially under the global pandemic environment during 2020.
The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the accounts receivables allowance for credit losses is a critical audit matter are (i) accounts receivable is significant to the Company’s consolidated financial statements, which amounted to approximately $10.3 million and represented 33.6% of the Company’s total assets; (ii) the evaluation of Management’s judgments and estimates in developing the accounts receivable allowance for credit losses at December 31, 2020 requires a high degree of auditor’s judgement.
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included obtaining understanding of the controls over the Company’s determination of the accounts receivable allowance for credit losses. These procedures also included, among others, testing Management’s process for estimating the accounts receivable allowance for credit losses by, evaluating the appropriateness of the methodology used to estimate the allowance, evaluating the reasonableness of the probability of default and loss assumptions, testing the data used in the models, and evaluating the reasonableness of management’s judgment regarding qualitative factors related to economic uncertainty, observable changes in customers’ financial performance, and other relevant factors.
Evaluation of Revenue Recognition
Critical Audit Matter Description
As disclosed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company recognizes revenue upon transfer of control of promised products or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for those products or services. Significant judgment is exercised by the Company in determining collectability in recognizing revenue, especially under the global pandemic environment during 2020.
The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the collectability in recognizing revenue is a critical audit matter are (i) revenue is material to the consolidated financial statements, which amounted to approximately $11 million for the year ended December 31, 2020; (ii) significant judgement by Management in assessing the collectability to recognize revenue was extensive and required a high degree of auditor judgment.
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included obtaining an understanding of the controls over the Company’s revenue recognition including the estimation of customer collections. These procedures also included, among others, testing management’s process for estimating the collectability in recognizing revenue by, evaluating the appropriateness of the methodology used to estimate the collection, testing the customers’ historical payment behavior, evaluating reasonableness of the Management’s assessment on new customers’ creditworthiness, macroeconomic conditions that may affect customers’ ability to pay, testing the data used in the models, and evaluating the reasonableness of the estimated collection periods and financing component if any, associated with the expected longer collection period.
/s/
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2016.
April 30, 2021
| F-6 |
TAOPING INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
DECEMBER 31, 2021 AND 2020
| NOTES | December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | ||||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||||
| CURRENT ASSETS | ||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | ||||||||
| Restricted cash | 2(e) | |||||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 2(f) | |||||||||
| Accounts receivable-related parties, net | 2(f) | |||||||||
| Advances to suppliers | 2(g) | |||||||||
| Prepaid expenses | ||||||||||
| Inventories, net | 7 | |||||||||
| Loan receivable - related party | 6(d) | |||||||||
| Cryptocurrencies, net | 10 | |||||||||
| Other current assets | 13(a) | |||||||||
| TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS | ||||||||||
| Non-current accounts receivable, net | 2(f) | |||||||||
| Non-current accounts receivable-related parties, net | 2(f) | |||||||||
| Property, equipment and software, net | 8 | |||||||||
| Right-of-use assets | 2(s) | |||||||||
| Long-term investments | 15 | |||||||||
| Other assets, non-current net | 13(b) | |||||||||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | $ | ||||||||
| LIABILITIES AND EQUITY | ||||||||||
| CURRENT LIABILITIES | ||||||||||
| Short-term bank loans | 11 | $ | $ | |||||||
| Accounts payable | ||||||||||
| Accounts payable-related parties | 6(c) | |||||||||
| Advances from customers | ||||||||||
| Advances from customers-related parties | 6(a) | |||||||||
| Amounts due to related parties | 6(e) | |||||||||
| Accrued payroll and benefits | ||||||||||
| Other payables and accrued expenses | 17 | |||||||||
| Other taxes payable | ||||||||||
| Convertible note payable, net of debt discounts | 16 | |||||||||
| Lease liability-current | 14 | |||||||||
| TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES | ||||||||||
| Lease liability | 14 | |||||||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES | ||||||||||
| EQUITY | ||||||||||
| Ordinary shares, 2021 and 2020: par $ | 19 | |||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 19 | |||||||||
| Reserve | 18 | |||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | ||||||||||
| Total equity (deficit) of the Company | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Non-controlling interest | ( | ) | ||||||||
| TOTAL EQUITY | ||||||||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY | $ | $ | ||||||||
| * |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements
| F-7 |
TAOPING INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021, 2020 AND 2019
| NOTES | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||
| Revenue – Products | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||
| Revenue – Products-related parties | 6(a) | |||||||||||||
| Revenue – Advertising | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue – Software | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue – Cryptocurrency mining | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue – Others | ||||||||||||||
| Revenue – Others-related parties | 6(b) | |||||||||||||
| TOTAL REVENUE | ||||||||||||||
| Cost – Products | ||||||||||||||
| Cost – Advertising | 2(u) | |||||||||||||
| Cost – Software | ||||||||||||||
| Cost – System integration | ||||||||||||||
| Cost – Cryptocurrency mining | 2(u) | |||||||||||||
| Cost – Others | ||||||||||||||
| TOTAL COST | ||||||||||||||
| GROSS PROFIT | ||||||||||||||
| Administrative expenses | ||||||||||||||
| Research and development expenses | ||||||||||||||
| Selling expenses | ||||||||||||||
| LOSS FROM OPERATIONS | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Subsidy income | ||||||||||||||
| Loss from equity method investment | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Other income (loss), net | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Interest income | ||||||||||||||
| Interest expense and debt discounts expense, net of interest income | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Income tax (expense) benefit | 12 | ( | ) | |||||||||||
| NET LOSS | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Less: net loss attributable to the non-controlling interest | 4 | |||||||||||||
| NET LOSS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE COMPANY | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||||
| Loss per share - Basic and Diluted* | ||||||||||||||
| Basic * | 5 | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||
| Diluted * | 5 | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||
| LOSS PER SHARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE COMPANY | ||||||||||||||
| Basic | 5 | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||
| Diluted | 5 | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||
| * |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements
| F-8 |
TAOPING INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021, 2020 AND 2019
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| Other comprehensive (loss) income: | - | - | - | |||||||||
| Foreign currency translation (loss) gain | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Comprehensive loss | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Comprehensive loss attributable to the non- controlling interest | ||||||||||||
| Comprehensive loss attributable to the Company | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements
| F-9 |
TAOPING INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021, 2020 AND 2019
| Accumulated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Additional | other | Non | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares* | Paid-in | Accumulated | comprehensive | controlling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Capital | Reserve | deficit | income | interest | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BALANCE AS AT JANUARY 1, 2019 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares issued for service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Non-employee Stock options and warrants issued for service | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beneficial conversion feature on convertible note (Note 13) | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of detachable warrant along with convertible note (Note 13) | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss for the year | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation (loss) gain | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employee Stock Incentive- stock option (Note 16) | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BALANCE AS AT DECEMBER 31, 2019 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based payment for consulting fee (Note 16) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercise of non-employee warrants | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercise of Employee Stock Options (Note 16) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conversion of convertible notes (Note 16) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Insurance of ordinary shares for financing (Note 16) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Detachable warrant and beneficial conversion feature in connection with Convertible note (Note 13) | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss for the year | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Round-up of fractional shares in connection with 6-for-1 reverse stock split | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation gain | - | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employee Stock Incentive | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BALANCE AS AT DECEMBER 31, 2020 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based payment for consulting fee (Note 19) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stock-based Compensation (Note 19) | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conversion of convertible notes (Note 16) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Insurance of ordinary shares for financing (Note 19) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employee stock incentive (Note 19) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss for the year | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation gain | - | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dissolve of variable interest entity and ordinary shares issued for acquisition of a wholly owned subsidiary | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares issued for business acquisition | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minority shareholders’ contribution | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BALANCE AS AT DECEMBER 31, 2021 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements
| F-10 |
TAOPING INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021, 2020 AND 2019
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| OPERATING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) to net cash (used in) provided by operating activities: | ||||||||||||
| Provision for losses on accounts receivable and other current assets | ||||||||||||
| Provision for obsolete inventories | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Depreciation | ||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets and other asset | ||||||||||||
| Amortization of convertible note discount | ||||||||||||
| Loss (gain) on sale of property and equipment | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Loss from disposal of inventories | ||||||||||||
| Stock-based payments for consulting services | ||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation to employees | ||||||||||||
| Impairment on cryptocurrencies | ||||||||||||
| (Gain) on sales of cryptocurrencies | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Loss on equity method investment | ||||||||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||||||
| Increase in accounts receivable | ( | ) | ( |
) | ||||||||
| Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable from related parties | ( |
) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Decrease in accounts payable from related party | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Decrease in inventories | ||||||||||||
| Cryptocurrencies – mining | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Decrease (increase) in other non-current assets | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Decrease in other receivables and prepaid expenses | ||||||||||||
| Increase in advances to suppliers | ( | ) | ( |
) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Increase in amounts due to/from related parties | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| (Decrease) increase in other payables and accrued expenses | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Increase (decrease) in advances from customers | ( |
) | ||||||||||
| (Decrease) increase in advances from customers from related parties | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Increase in payroll payable | ||||||||||||
| Increase in lease liability | ||||||||||||
| (Decrease) increase in accounts payable | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Increase (decrease) in income tax payable | ( |
) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities | ( | ) | ( |
) | ( | ) | ||||||
| INVESTING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||||||
| Proceeds from sales of cryptocurrencies | - | |||||||||||
| Proceeds from sales of property and equipment | ||||||||||||
| Purchases of property, equipment and software | ( | ) | ( |
) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Acquisition of cash in connection with a business acquisition | ||||||||||||
| Consideration paid for acquisition | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Disbursement of loan receivable - related party | ( |
) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Proceeds from loan receivable | ||||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | ( | ) | ( |
) | ||||||||
| FINANCING ACTIVITIES | ||||||||||||
| Proceeds from borrowings under short-term loans | ||||||||||||
| Borrowings from related parties | ||||||||||||
| Repayment of short-term loans | ( | ) | ( |
) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of convertible note, net of debt issuance costs | ||||||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of ordinary shares in connection with Private placement net of offering costs | ||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | ||||||||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS | ( |
) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH, BEGINNING | ||||||||||||
| CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, AND RESTRICTED CASH, ENDING | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: | ||||||||||||
| Cash paid during the year | ||||||||||||
| Interest | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| F-11 |
December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Reconciliation to amounts on consolidated balance sheets | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | ||||||
| Restricted cash | ||||||||
| Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | $ | $ | ||||||
Supplemental disclosure of significant non-cash transactions*:
| * | On July 30, 2020, the Company implemented a one-for-six reverse stock split of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Except shares authorized, all references to number of shares, and to per share information in the consolidated financial statements have been retroactively adjusted. |
In
2019, the Company issued ordinary shares as compensation of approximately $
In
2019, the Company issued an individual investor warrant to purchase
In
2019, the Company issued warrant to purchase ordinary shares of the Company as compensation of approximately $
In
2019, purchase of software and equipment in an amount of approximately $
During
2020, the Company issued an aggregate of restrict ordinary shares, non-restricted ordinary shares, and
In
March 2020, the Company issued two individual investors warrants with fair value of $
In July 2020, under the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan the Company granted options to purchase ordinary shares of the Company to the directors and employees rewarding them for their past services and promoting future performance.
In July 2020, under the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan the Company granted options to purchase ordinary shares of the Company to certain consultants rewarding them for their past services.
In July and September 2020, under the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan the Company granted ordinary shares of the Company to an employee for the individual’s job performance.
In
September 2020, the Company issued an investor warrants with fair value of $
In
September and October 2020, the holder of the Company’s convertible promissory note issued in September 2019 converted in full
an amount of $
In
September 2020, each of the two holders of the Company’s convertible promissory notes issued in March 2020 converted an amount
of $
| F-12 |
In
December 2020, each of the two holders of the Company’s convertible promissory notes issued in March 2020 converted the remaining
principal and accrued interest in an amount of $
In
January 2021, the Company issued non-restricted shares with a fair value of $
In
March 2021, the Company issued restricted ordinary shares under its 2016 Equity Incentive Plan to certain employees with the
fair value of approximately $
In
April 2021, the Company issued warrants to an investor relationship consultant to purchase
In
April 2021, the Company obtained right-of-use assets of approximately $
In
June 2021, the Company issued restricted ordinary shares for the acquisition of Taoping New Media Co., Ltd. The fair value
of the restricted ordinary shares was approximately $
In
September 2021, the Company issued ordinary shares for the acquisition of iASPEC Technology Group Co., Ltd. The fair value of
the ordinary shares was approximately $
In
November 2021, the Company issued restricted ordinary shares with a fair value
of $
In
December 2021, the Company issued ordinary shares with a fair value of $
In
2021, purchase of software and equipment in an amount of approximately $
In
2021, the Company held cryptocurrencies in an amount of approximately of $
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements
| F-13 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. ORGANIZATION, PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES AND MANAGEMENT’S PLANS
Taoping Inc. (f/k/a China Information Technology, Inc.), together with its subsidiaries (the “Company” or “TAOP”), is a leading cloud-based ads display terminal and service provider of digital advertising distribution network and new media resource sharing platform in the Out-of-Home advertising market in China. The Company provides the integrated end-to-end digital advertising solutions enabling customers to distribute and manage ads on the ads display terminals.
In May 2018, we changed our corporate name from “China Information Technology Inc.” to “Taoping Inc.”, to reflect our current business operations in the new media and IoT industries. In 2021, Information Security Tech. International Co. Ltd. (“IST HK”), one of the Company’s Hong Kong subsidiaries, changed its corporate name to Taoping Group (China) Ltd. to reflect the Company’s current corporate structure to be in line with the new business strategies. As listed in the table below, these services are provided through the Company’s wholly-owned People’s Republic of China (PRC) subsidiaries, and Company’s Variable interest entity (“VIE”) and VIE subsidiaries.
On
June 9, 2021, the Company consummated an acquisition of
In 2021, the Company also launched blockchain related new business in cryptocurrency mining operations and newly established subsidiaries in Hong Kong to supplement its diminished Traditional Information Technology (TIT) business segment as a part of new business transformation. With multiple cloud data centers deployed overseas, currently in Hong Kong, the Company continues to improve computing power and create value for the encrypted digital currency industry.
In September 2021, the Company and the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Information Security Technology (China) Co., Ltd. (“IST”) entered into an equity transfer agreement with Mr. Jianghuai Lin, the sole shareholder of iASPEC. Upon closing of the equity transfer, the Company’s existing variable interest entity structure was dissolved and iASPEC became a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the Company.
In September 2021, the Company also strategically relocated its global corporate headquarters to Hong Kong to better implement cryptocurrency mining operations and blockchain related new businesses and streamline its international business development, client communication, and service delivery. The office located in Shenzhen, China becomes the TAOP’s regional headquarters in Mainland China.
| December 31, | December 31, | December 31, | |||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||
| Entities | Subsidiaries | % owned | % owned | % owned | Location | ||||||||||
| % | % | % | |||||||||||||
| % | % | % | |||||||||||||
| % | - | - | |||||||||||||
| % | - | - | |||||||||||||
| % | - | - | |||||||||||||
| % | - | - | |||||||||||||
| % | - | - | |||||||||||||
| % | - | - | |||||||||||||
| % | % | % | |||||||||||||
| % | % | % | |||||||||||||
| % | % | % | |||||||||||||
| % | VIE | VIE | |||||||||||||
| % | VIE | VIE | |||||||||||||
| % | VIE | VIE | |||||||||||||
| % | - | - | |||||||||||||
| % | - | - | |||||||||||||
| % | - | - | |||||||||||||
| % | - | - | |||||||||||||
| % | - | - | |||||||||||||
| % | - | - | |||||||||||||
In January 2022, Alpha Digital Group Ltd. was dissolved as a result of the business realignment of the Company.
| F-14 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Management Service Agreement
iASPEC was a VIE of the Company. To comply with PRC laws and regulations that restrict foreign ownership of companies that provide public security information technology and Geographic Information Systems software operating services to certain government and other customers, the Company operates the restricted aspect of its business through iASPEC. In September 2021, the Company and the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Information Security Technology (China) Co., Ltd. (“IST”) entered into an equity transfer agreement with Mr. Jianghuai Lin, the sole shareholder of iASPEC. Upon closing of the equity transfer, the Company’s existing variable interest entity structure was dissolved and iASPEC became a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the Company.
Pursuant to the terms of a management service agreement by and among IST, iASPEC and its shareholders, dated July 1, 2007 (“MSA”), iASPEC granted IST a ten-year, exclusive, royalty-free, transferable worldwide license to use and install certain iASPEC software, along with copies of source and object codes relating to such software. In addition, IST licensed back to iASPEC a royalty-free, limited, non-exclusive license to the software, without right of sub-license, for the sole purpose of permitting iASPEC to carry out its business as presently conducted. IST has the right to designate two Chinese citizens to serve as senior managers of iASPEC, to serve as a majority on iASPEC’s Board of Directors, and to assist managing the business and operations of iASPEC. In addition, both iASPEC and IST will require the affirmative vote of a majority of the Company’s Board of Directors, including at least one non-insider director, for certain material actions, as defined, with respect to iASPEC.
Option Agreement
In
connection with the MSA, on July 1, 2007, IST also entered into an immediately exercisable purchase option agreement (the “Option
Agreement”) with iASPEC and its shareholders. Pursuant to the Option Agreement, the iASPEC shareholder granted IST or its designee(s)
an exclusive, irrevocable option to purchase, from time to time, all or a part of iASPEC’s shares or iASPEC’s assets from
the iASPEC shareholder for $
| F-15 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Amended and Restated MSA
The Amended and Restated MSA was entered into on December 13, 2009, by and among IST, iASPEC and iASPEC’s sole shareholder, Mr. Jianghuai Lin (“Mr. Lin”). Pursuant to the Amended and Restated MSA, IST will provide management and consulting services to iASPEC, under the following terms:
| ● | iASPEC
agreed that IST will be entitled to receive ninety five percent ( | |
| ● | Mr. Lin confirmed his status as the sole iASPEC shareholder and his assumption of all of the obligations of the iASPEC shareholder under the agreement, including a confirmation of his continuing obligation under a written guaranty, executed by the then iASPEC shareholders. | |
| ● | Based on iASPEC’s needs for its development and operation, IST has the right, from time to time, at its sole discretion, to provide iASPEC with capital support. | |
| ● | IST agreed that it will not interfere with any business of iASPEC covered by iASPEC’s PRC State Secret related Computer Information System Integration Certificate, including but not limited to, seeking access to relevant documents regarding such business. However, iASPEC agreed that it will cooperate with the requests of the Company as necessary to comply with the Company’s reporting obligations to the Securities and Exchange Commission. (“SEC”). |
The Amended and Restated MSA amended certain terms of the original Management Service Agreement which became effective on July 1, 2007 and has a term of 30 years unless otherwise early termination by the parties by one of the following means:
| ● | Either iASPEC or IST may terminate the Amended and Restated MSA immediately (a) upon the material breach by a party of its obligations and the failure of such party to cure such breach within 30 working days after written notice from the non-breaching party; or (b) upon the filing of a voluntary or involuntary petition in bankruptcy by a party, or of which the party is the subject to insolvency, or the commencement of any proceedings placing the party in a receivership, or of any assignment by a party for the benefit of creditors; or | |
| ● | The Amended and Restated MSA may be terminated at any time by IST upon 90 calendar days’ written notice delivered to all other parties. |
Upon any effective date of any termination of the Amended and Restated MSA: (a) IST will cease providing management services to iASPEC; (ii) IST will deliver to iASPEC all chops and seals of iASPEC; (iii) IST will deliver to iASPEC all of the financial and other books and records of iASPEC, including any and all permits, licenses, certificates and other proprietary and operational documents and instruments; (iv) the senior managers who are recommended by IST and elected as directors of iASPEC will resign from the Board of Directors of iASPEC in a lawful way; and (v) the software license that iASPEC granted to IST according to the Amended and Restated MSA will terminate unless otherwise agreed by the parties. In addition, any amounts owing from any party to any other party on the effective date of any termination under the terms of the Amended and Restated MSA will continue to be due and owing despite such termination.
| F-16 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Amended and Restated MSA does not have renewal provisions. We expect that the parties to the Amended and Restated MSA will negotiate to extend the term of the agreement before its expiration.
The substance of the Amended and Restated MSA and the Option Agreement is to:
| ● | Allow the Company to utilize the business licenses, contacts, permits, and other resources of iASPEC in order for the Company to be able to expand its operations and business model; | |
| ● | Provide
the Company with effective control over all of iASPEC’s operations; and provide the shareholders of iASPEC an opportunity to
monetize a portion of their investment through the $ |
Dissolution of the Variable Interest Entity Structure
In
September 2021, we dissolved the variable interest entity structure by exercising the purchase option under the Option Agreement to purchase
all of the equity interests in iASPEC at an aggregate exercise price of $
Upon the closing of the equity transfer, the Company’s variable interest entity structure was dissolved and iASPEC became a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the Company. The amended and restated MSA was automatically terminated.
Going Concern and Management’s Plans
Although
the COVID-19 pandemic has largely been contained in China, regional outbreaks of infections persist in various localities. The negative
impact from the pandemic to the out-of-home advertising business continued throughout 2021. However, our revenue achieved 124.6% year-over-year
increase as a result of the additions of cryptocurrency mining operations and the acquisition of TNM for the year 2021. The Company has
significantly improved profitability by $
The
Company incurred a net loss of approximately $
In
the first quarter of 2021, the Company completed three financing transactions issuing ordinary shares in total with aggregate
proceeds of $
| F-17 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
In
June 2021, the Company completed an acquisition of
If
the Company’s execution of business strategies is not successful in addressing its current financial concerns, additional capital
raise from issuing equity security or debt instrument or additional loan facility may occur to support required cash flows. However,
the Company can make no assurances that financing will be available for the amounts we need, or on terms commercially acceptable to us,
if at all. If one or all of these events do not occur or subsequent capital raise was insufficient to bridge financial and liquidity
shortfall, substantial doubt exists about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The consolidated financial statements
have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern and, accordingly, do not include any adjustments that might
result from the outcome of this uncertainty. To overcome the going concern issue, the Company will actively seek opportunities to
achieve revenue growth through strategic acquisitions on digital advertising, new revenue streams development, and significant expansion
of computing power for cryptocurrency mining operations. In addition to cash generating from business, the Company has secured at least
$
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
(a) Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) have been made that are necessary to present fairly the financial position, the results of its operations and cash flows. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
(b) Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. The Company’s significant estimates include its accounts receivable, assessment of credit losses, fair value of stock options and warrants, valuation allowance of deferred tax assets, useful lives of property and equipment, the recoverability of long-lived assets, revenue recognition, valuation of prepayments and other assets and other intangible assets, inventories, cryptocurrencies, purchase price allocation of business combination, right-of-use assets, and lease liabilities. Management makes these estimates using the best information available at the time the estimates are made; however actual results could differ from those estimates.
| F-18 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(c) Economic, Pandemic, Political, and Currency Exchange Risks
All the Company’s revenue-generating operations are conducted in the PRC. Accordingly, the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations may be influenced by the political, economic, public health, and legal environments in the PRC, and by the general state of the PRC economy. The Company’s operations in the PRC are subject to special considerations and significant risks that are not typically pertaining to the companies in North America and Western Europe. These include risks associated with, among others, the political, economic, public health concerns with persistent outbreaks of COVID-19 infections in various regional localities, and legal environments, geopolitical influences, and foreign currency exchange, notably in recent events, where the government’s sudden interventions or modifications of the laws and regulations currently in effective could negatively impact the Company’s operations and financial results.
In September 2021, ten Chinese regulatory authorities collectively promulgated a guidance to further control and monitor cryptocurrency related trading, exchanges, transaction, banking and financial service, initial coin offering, and other intermediary and derivatives transactions, which are considered illegal in accordance with effectuated laws and regulations and may be subject to penalty criminally. The new guidance also bars foreign cryptocurrency trading platforms and related businesses to provide services to China domestic individuals and business entities, and expands the application of laws and regulations to Chinese employees or contractors of foreign operatives that provide related services to individuals or business entities domiciled in China. The legality of cryptocurrency mining activity may be subject to challenge by Chinese authorities. As a result, the Company has relocated its global headquarters to Hong Kong where cryptocurrency mining, trading, exchange, transaction, and related business activities are lawful.
The functional currency of the Company is Chinese Renminbi Yuan (“RMB”), which is not freely convertible into foreign currencies. The Company cannot guarantee that the current exchange rate will remain steady. Therefore, there is a possibility that the Company could post the same amount of profit for two comparable periods and yet, because of fluctuating exchange rates, record higher or lower profit depending on exchange rate of RMB. RMB converted to U.S. dollars on the relevant dates. The exchange rate could fluctuate depending on changes in the political and economic environment without notice.
(d) Cash and Cash Equivalents
The
Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased and cash deposits with financial institutions with original maturities of three
months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company had
The
Company maintains its cash accounts at credit worthy financial institutions and closely monitors the movements of its cash positions.
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, approximately $
(e) Restricted Cash
The
Company held restricted cash of $
(f) Accounts Receivable, Accounts Receivable –related parties, and Concentration of Risk
In January 2020, the Company adopted ASU 2016-13, Topics 326-Credit Loss, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which replaces the incurred loss methodology with an expected loss methodology that is referred to as the current expected credit loss (CECL) methodology, as its accounting standard for its trade accounts receivable.
The adoption of the credit loss accounting standard has no material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of January 1, 2020. Accounts receivable are recognized and carried at carrying amount less an allowance for credit loss, if any. The Company maintains an allowance for credit losses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments based on contractual terms. The Company reviews the collectability of its receivables on a regular and ongoing basis according to historical trend, and estimates its provision for expected credit losses on receivables aging analysis.
The
Company has further adjusted allowance for credit losses for the anticipation of future economic condition and credit risk indicators
of customers, including the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its customers’ businesses. After all attempts to collect
a receivable have failed, the receivable is written off against the allowance. In the event the Company recovers amounts previously reserved
for, the Company will reduce the specific allowance for credit losses. The balance of allowance for credit losses for the year ended
December 31, 2021 has increased approximately $
| F-19 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Accounts receivable as at December 31, 2021 and 2020 are as follows:
December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Accounts Receivable | $ | $ | ||||||
| Allowance for credit losses | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Accounts Receivable, net | $ | $ | ||||||
| Accounts Receivable - related parties | $ | $ | ||||||
| Allowance for credit losses | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Accounts Receivable - related parties, net | $ | $ | ||||||
| Non-current Accounts Receivable | $ | $ | ||||||
| Non-current credit losses | ( | ) | ||||||
| Non-current Accounts Receivable, net | $ | $ | ||||||
| Non-current Accounts Receivable - related parties | $ | $ | ||||||
| Non-current Allowance for credit losses - related parties | ( | ) | ||||||
| Non-current Accounts Receivable - related parties, net | $ | $ | ||||||
The normal credit term ranges from 1 month to 3 months after the customers’ acceptance of hardware or software, and completion of services. However, because of various factors of business cycle, the actual collection of outstanding accounts receivable may be beyond the normal credit terms.
In accordance with ASC 210-10-45, the non-current accounts receivable and non-current accounts receivable-related parties represent the amounts that the Company does not reasonably expect to be realized during the normal operating cycle of the Company. The Company uses one-year time period as the basis for the separation of current and non-current assets.
The
allowance for credit losses at December 31, 2021 and 2020, totaled approximately $
| Balance at January 1, 2020 | $ | |||
| Increase in allowance for credit losses | ||||
| Foreign exchange difference | ||||
| Balance at December 31, 2020 | $ | |||
| Addition from acquisition of subsidiaries under common control | ||||
| Increase in allowance for credit losses | ||||
| Foreign exchange difference | ||||
| Balance at December 31, 2021 | $ |
(g) Advances to Suppliers
Advances to suppliers include but are not limited to cash deposits for the purchase of inventory items and super-computing server machines from suppliers.
(h) Advances from Customers and Related Parties
Advances from customers and related parties represent cash received from customers and related parties as advance payments for the purchases of the Company’s products and services.
| F-20 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(i) Fair Value and Fair Value Measurement of Financial Instruments
Management has estimated that carrying amounts reported in the consolidated balance sheets for cash, accounts receivable, accounts receivable – related party, advances to suppliers, loan receivable - related party, other current assets, accounts payable, other payables and accrued expenses, income taxes payable, convertible note payable, net, and due to related parties approximate their fair market value based on the short-term maturity of these instruments.
(j) Fair Value Accounting
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codifications (ASC) 820-10 “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures”, establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). As required by FASB ASC 820-10, assets are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy under FASB ASC 820-10 are described below:
| Level 1 | Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities; |
| Level 2 | Quoted prices in markets that are not active, or inputs that are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; and |
| Level 3 | Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (supported by little or no market activity). |
On January 1, 2020, the Company adopted ASU 2018-13,” Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.” The adoption of the disclosure requirements for Fair Value Accounting has no material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
| F-21 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(k) Inventories, net
Inventories are valued at the lower of cost (weighted average basis) and net realizable value. Net realizable value is the expected selling price in the ordinary course of business minus any costs of completion, disposal, and transportation to make the sale.
The Company performs an analysis of slow-moving or obsolete inventory periodically and any necessary valuation reserves, which could potentially be significant, are included in the period in which the evaluations are completed. Any inventory impairment results in a new cost basis for accounting purposes.
(l) Property, equipment and software
Property, equipment and software are stated at cost less accumulated amortization and depreciation. Amortization and depreciation is provided over the assets’ estimated useful lives, using the straight-line method. Estimated useful lives of property, equipment and software are as follows:
| Office buildings | |
| Lease improvement | |
| Electronics equipment, furniture and fixtures | |
| Motor vehicles | |
| Purchased software | |
| Media display equipment | |
| Cryptocurrency mining machine |
Expenditures for maintenance and repairs, which do not materially extend the useful lives of the assets, are charged to expense as incurred. Expenditures for major renewals and betterments which substantially extend the useful life of assets are capitalized. The cost and related accumulated depreciation of assets retired or sold are removed from the respective accounts, and any gain or loss are included in the Company’s results of operations.
(m) Intangible assets, net
Intangible assets represent technology, software development costs and trademarks acquired by the Company through business acquisition.
Intangible assets are stated at acquisition fair value or cost less accumulated amortization, and amortized using the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives:
| Software development costs | |
| Trademarks |
(n) Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies held, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, are accounted for as intangible assets with indefinite useful lives. An intangible asset with an indefinite useful life is not amortized but assessed for impairment annually, or more frequently, when events or changes in circumstances occur indicating that it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived asset is impaired. Impairment exists when the carrying amount exceeds its fair value, which is measured using the quoted price of the cryptocurrency at the time its fair value is being measured. In testing for impairment, the Company has the option to first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that an impairment exists. If it is determined that it is not more likely than not that an impairment exists, a quantitative impairment test is not necessary. If the Company concludes otherwise, it is required to perform a quantitative impairment test. To the extent an impairment loss is recognized, the loss establishes the new cost basis of the asset. Subsequent reversal of impairment losses is not permitted.
There are no cash flows from cryptocurrencies included in net cash used in operating activities since the revenue recognized from mining is a noncash activity. The sales of cryptocurrencies are included within investing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows and any realized gains or losses from such sales are included in other income (expense) in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company accounts for its gains or losses in accordance with the first in first out (FIFO) method of accounting.
Upon disposal of cryptocurrencies, the Company will evaluate whether the control of the cryptocurrencies is transferred in accordance with ASC 610-20. The control over the cryptocurrencies disposed will transfer at the same time of the disposal, hence the cryptocurrencies transferred will be derecognized at the same time of the disposal. The gain or loss on disposal is calculated as the difference between the consideration allocated to each distinct cryptocurrency and its carrying amount.
(o) Business combination
In accordance with ASC 805, the Company applies acquisition method to account for business combination. The acquisition method requires that the fair value of the underlying exchange transaction is used to establish a new accounting basis of the acquired entity upon the acquirer taking control over the acquiree. Furthermore, because of obtaining control the acquirer is responsible and accountable for all of the acquiree’s assets, liabilities and operations, the acquirer recognizes and measures the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at their full fair values as of the date control is obtained, which may result in goodwill, when purchase consideration exceeds the net of fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, or a bargain purchase gain, when the net of fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed exceeds the purchase consideration, regardless of the percentage ownership in the acquiree or how the acquisition was achieved.
| F-22 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(p) Long-term investment
The Company’s long-term investment consists of investments accounted for under the equity method and equity investments without readily determinable fair value. Pursuant to ASC 321, equity investments, except for those accounted for under the equity method, those that result in consolidation of the investee and certain other investments, are measured at fair value, and any changes in fair value are recognized in earnings. For equity securities without readily determinable fair value and do not qualify for the existing practical expedient in ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820”) to estimate fair value using the net asset value per share (or its equivalent) of the investment, the Company elected to measure those investments at cost, less any impairment, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for identical or similar investments of the same issuer, if any.
For equity investments that the Company elects to measure at cost, less any impairment, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes, the Company makes a qualitative assessment considering impairment indicators to evaluate whether investments are impaired at each reporting date. Impairment indicators considered include, but are not limited to, a significant deterioration in the earnings performance or business prospects of the investee, including factors that raise significant concerns about the investee’s ability to continue as a going concern, a significant adverse change in the regulatory, economic, or technologic environment of the investee and a significant adverse change in the general market condition of either the geographical area or the industry in which the investee operates. If a qualitative assessment indicates that the investment is impaired, the entity has to estimate the investment’s fair value in accordance with the principles of ASC 820. For equity investments without readily determinable fair value, the Company uses Level 3 inputs of fair value accounting in accordance with ASC 820-10 and recognizes impairment loss other than temporary in the statement of operations equal to the difference between its initial investment and its proportional share of the net book value of the investee’s net assets which approximates its fair value.
For impairment on equity investments without readily determinable fair value, the Company uses Level 3 inputs of fair value accounting in accordance with ASC 820-10 and recognizes impairment loss in the statement of operations equal to the difference between its initial investment and its proportional share of the net book value of investee’s net assets which approximates its fair value if those are determined to be other than temporary.
(q) Convertible promissory note
The Company determines the appropriate accounting treatment of its convertible debts in accordance with the terms in relation to conversion features. After considering the impact of such features, the Company may account for such instrument as a liability in its entirety, or separate the instrument into debt and equity components following the guidance described under ASC 815 Derivatives and Hedging and ASC 470 Debt. The debt discount, if any, together with related issuance cost are subsequently amortized as interest expense over the period from the issuance date to the earliest conversion date or stated redemption date. The Company presented the issuance cost of debt in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the related debt.
(r) Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived
assets held and used by the Company are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying
amount of assets may not be recoverable. It is reasonably possible that these assets could become impaired as a result of technology
or other industry changes. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is determined by comparing their carrying amount with their expected
future net undiscounted future cash flows from the assets. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized
is measured by how much the carrying amount exceeds the fair value of the assets. There were
(s) Operating leases - Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities
The Company accounts for lease under ASC 842 “Leases”, and also elects practical expedient not to separate non-lease component from lease components in accordance with ASC 842-10-15-37 and instead to account for each separate lease component and the non-lease components associated with that lease component as a single lease component. The Company also elects the practical expedient not to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities for leases with a term of 12 months or less.
The Company recognized a lease liability and corresponding right-to-use asset based on the present value of minimum lease payments discounted at the Company’s incremental borrowing rate. The Company records amortization and interest expense on a straight-line basis based on lease terms and reduces lease liabilities upon making lease payments.
(t) Revenue Recognition
In accordance with the ASC 606, the Company recognizes revenues net of applicable taxes, when goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services.
The Company generates its revenues primarily from five sources: (1) product sales, (2) software sales, (3) advertising, (4) crypto-currency mining, and (5) other sales. Revenue is recognized when obligations under the terms of a contract with our customers are satisfied, generally, upon delivery of the goods and services and receipts of cryptocurrencies from cryptocurrency mining pools.
| F-23 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Revenue - Products
Product revenues are generated primarily from the sale of Cloud-Application-Terminal based digital ads display terminals with integrated software essential to the functionality of the hardware to our customers (inclusive of related parties) and high-end data storage servers. Although manufacturing of the products has been outsourced to the Company’s Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) suppliers, the Company has acted as the principal of the contract. The Company recognized the product sales at the point of delivery. The Company may from time to time provide future unspecified software upgrades to the hardware products’ essential software, which is expected to be infrequent and, free of charge. Non-software service is mainly the one-time training session provided to the customer to familiarize them with the software operation upon the customer’s initial introduction to the software platform. The costs of providing infrequent software upgrade and training are de minimis. As a result, the Company does not allocate transaction price to software upgrade and customer training. Product sales are classified as “Revenue-Products” on the Company’s consolidated statements of operations.
Revenue - Software
Customers in the private sector contract the Company to design and develop software products specifically customized for their needs for a fixed price. Software development projects usually include developing software, integrating various isolated software systems into one, and testing the system. The design and build services, together with the integration of the various elements, are generally determined to be essential to the functionality of the delivered software. The contracted price is usually paid in installments based on progression of the project or at the delivery of the software. The Company usually provides non-software services including after-sale support, technical training. The technical training only occurs at the introduction of the software. The software is highly specialized and stable, after-sale support and subsequent upgrade or enhancement are infrequent. The Company has estimated the costs associated with the non-software performance obligations and concludes that these obligations are de minimis to the overall contract. Therefore, the Company does not further allocate transaction price.
The Company usually completes the customized software contracts less than 12 months and recognizes the revenue at the point of delivery because the Company does not have an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date. Revenues from software development contracts are classified as “Revenue-Software” on the Company’s consolidated statements of operations.
Revenue - Advertising
The Company generates revenues primarily from providing advertising slots to customers to promote their businesses by broadcasting advertisements on identifiable digital ads display terminals and vehicular ads display terminals in different geographic regions and locations through a cloud-based new media sharing platform. The Company also contracts individuals to promote special events or for various occasions. The Company is only obligated to broadcast the advertisements to the contracted digital ads display terminals, and therefore allocates 100% of the transaction price to advertisement broadcasting. The transaction price for advertisement broadcasting is fixed based on the numbers of advertisement delivery and duration of the contract, and has no variable consideration, or significant financing component, or subsequent price change, and is not refundable.
The Company recognizes the revenues, net of applicable taxes, from advertisement broadcasting contracts with customers over the contracted advertising duration.
| F-24 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Revenue - Cryptocurrency mining
The Company has entered into digital asset mining pools by executing contracts with the mining pool operators to provide computing power to the mining pool. The contracts are terminable under certain circumstances. In exchange for providing computing power, the Company is entitled to a fractional share of the fixed cryptocurrency awards the mining pool operator receives (less digital asset transaction fees to the mining pool operator, if any.) for successfully adding a block to the blockchain. The Company’s fractional share is based on the proportion of computing power the Company contributed to the mining pool operator to the total computing power contributed by all mining pool participants in solving the current algorithm.
Providing computing power in digital asset transaction verification services is an output of the Company’s ordinary activities. The provision of providing such computing power is the only performance obligation in the Company’s contract with mining pool operator.
The transaction consideration the Company receives, if any, is noncash consideration, which the Company measures at fair value using the quoted price of the related cryptocurrency on the date received, which is not materially different than the fair value at the contract inception or at the time the Company has earned the award from the pools. The consideration is variable. Because it is not probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue will not occur (ASC 606-10-32-11), the consideration is constrained until the mining pool operator successfully places a block (by being the first to solve an algorithm), and the Company receives confirmation of the consideration it will receive, at which time revenue is recognized. There is no financing component, nor allocation of transaction price in these transactions.
Revenue - Other
The Company also reports other revenue which comprises revenue generates from System upgrade and technical support services, platform service fee, and rental income.
System upgrade and technical support revenue is recognized when performance obligations are satisfied upon completion of the services. Platform service fee is charged based on number of the display terminals used by the customers or a percentage of advertising revenue generated by the display terminals. Platform service revenue is recognized on a monthly basis over the contract period.
The
Company follows ASC 842 – Leases that requires lessor to identify the underlying assets and allocate rental income among considerations
in lease and non-lease components. The Company owns two units of office space renting out to a third party and TNM under non-cancelable
operating lease agreements with lease terms of six years starting from May 1, 2016 and three years starting from July 1, 2019, respectively.
The lease agreements have fixed monthly rental payments, and no non-lease component or option for lessees to purchase the underlying
assets. The Company collects monthly rental payments from the lessees, and has generated approximately $
After completion of the business acquisition on June 9, 2021, TNM became a subsidiary of the Company, and is no longer a related party. The rental income from TNM has become an intercompany revenue and been eliminated since June 9, 2021.
| F-25 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Annual
minimum rental income to be received in 2022 is $
Contract balances
The
Company records advances from customers when cash payments are received or due in advance of our performance. For the year ended December
31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, the Company recognized revenue of $
Practical expedients and exemptions
The Company generally expenses sales commissions if any incurred because the amortization period would have been one year or less. In many cases, the Company is approached by customers for customizing software products for their specific needs without incurring significant selling expenses.
The Company does not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts with an original expected length of one year or less.
(u) Cost of Sales - advertising and cost of cryptocurrencies
The cost of sales for advertising revenue mainly comprises of direct costs of generating advertising revenue including lease expense for the wall space, to where the ads display terminal to be installed, installation costs of ads display terminals, depreciation of display termination, labor, and other related expenses.
The cost of sales for cryptocurrencies revenue consists primarily of direct costs of earning Bitcoin and Ethereum related to mining operations, including mining platform fees, mining pool fees, mining facility rental fees, electric power costs, other utilities, depreciation of mining machines, labor, insurance, and among other ancillary costs.
The Company applies ASC No. 718, “Compensation-Stock Compensation”, which requires that share-based payment transactions with employees, such as share options, be measured based on the grant date fair value of the equity instrument and recognized as compensation expense over the requisite service period, with a corresponding addition to equity. Under this method, compensation cost related to employee share options or similar equity instruments is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized over the period during which an employee is required to provide service in exchange for the award, which generally is the vesting period.
The Company adopted ASU 2018-07, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic: 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting on January 1, 2019, to account for stock-based compensation to goods and services provided by the third parties. The fair value of the equity awards to nonemployee are measured on the grant day. Under this guidance, compensation cost related to nonemployee share options or similar equity instruments is recognized in the same period and in the same manner (i.e. capitalize or expense) the entity would if it paid cash for the goods or services. The Company’s adoption of ASU 2018-07 has no material impact to the Company’s consolidated financial statements, nor requirement for cumulative adjustment in retained earnings or other components of equity or net assets.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, the Company recognized approximately $, $ and $, respectively, of stock-based compensation expense.
| F-26 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(w) Foreign Currency Translation
The functional currency of the US and BVI companies is the United States dollar. The functional currency of the Company’s Hong Kong subsidiaries is the Hong Kong dollar.
The functional currency of the Company’s wholly-owned PRC subsidiaries is the Chinese Renminbi Yuan, (“RMB”). RMB is not freely convertible into foreign currencies. The Company’s PRC subsidiaries’ financial statements are maintained in the functional currency. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are translated into the functional currency at rates of exchange prevailing at the balance sheet date. Transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are translated into the functional currency at the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transactions. Exchange gains or losses arising from foreign currency transactions are included in the determination of net loss for the respective periods.
For financial reporting purposes, the financial statements of the Company have been translated into United States dollars. Assets and liabilities are translated at exchange rates at the balance sheet dates, revenue and expenses are translated at average exchange rates, and equity is translated at historical exchange rates. Any resulting translation adjustments are not included in determining net income but are included in other comprehensive loss, a component of equity.
The exchange rates adopted are as follows:
December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Year-end RMB to US$ exchange rate | ||||||||
| Average yearly RMB to US$ exchange rate | ||||||||
| Year-end HKD to US$ exchange rate | ||||||||
| Average yearly HKD to US$ exchange rate | ||||||||
The
average yearly RMB to US$ exchange rate adopted for the year ended December 31, 2019 was
No representation is made that the RMB amounts and HKD amounts could have been, or could be, converted into United States dollars at the rates used in translation.
(x) Research & Development Expenses
The Company follows the guidance in FASB ASC 985-20, Cost of Software to Be Sold, Leased or Marketed, regarding software development costs to be sold, leased, or otherwise marketed.
FASB ASC 985-20-25 requires research and development costs for software development to be expensed as incurred until the software model is technologically feasible. Technological feasibility is established when the enterprise has completed all planning, designing, coding, testing, and identification of risks activities necessary to establish that the product can be produced to meet its design specifications, features, functions, technical performance requirements. A certain amount of judgment and estimation is required to assess when technological feasibility is established, as well as the ongoing assessment of the recoverability of capitalized costs. The Company’s products reach technological feasibility shortly before the products are released and sold to the public. Therefore research and development costs are generally expensed as incurred.
(y) Subsidy Income
Subsidy income mainly represents income received from various local governmental agencies in China for developing high technology products in the fields designated by the government as new and highly innovative. The Company has no continuing obligation under the subsidy provision. The Company recognizes subsidy income upon receipt of official grant notice from local government authorities.
(z) Sales, use, other value-added taxes, and income taxes
Revenue is recorded net of applicable sales, use, and value-added taxes.
Income taxes are provided on an asset and liability approach for financial accounting and reporting of income taxes. Deferred income taxes are recognized for all significant temporary differences at enacted rates and classified as non-current in the financial statements. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the amount of deferred tax assets if it is considered more likely than not that some portion, or all of, the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company classifies interest and/or penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, if any, as a component of income tax expense.
| F-27 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company applies the provisions of ASC No. 740 “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”), which clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized by prescribing a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. ASC 740 also provides accounting guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties, and disclosure.
(aa) Segment reporting
Segment information is consistent with how management reviews the businesses, makes investing and resource allocation decisions and assesses operating performance. Transfers and sales between reportable segments, if any, are recorded at cost.
The
Company reports financial and operating information in the following
| (1) | Cloud-based Technology (CBT) segment — It includes the Company’s cloud-based products, high-end data storage servers and related services sold to private sectors including new media, healthcare, education and residential community management, and among other industries and applications. In this segment, the Company generates revenues from the sales of hardware and software total solutions with proprietary software and content as well as from designing and developing software products specifically customized for private sector customers’ needs for a fixed price. The Company includes the revenue and cost of revenue of high-end data storage servers in the CBT segment. Advertising services is included in the CBT segment, after the Company consummated the acquisition of TNM. Advertisements are delivered to the ads display terminals and vehicular ads display terminals through the Company’s cloud-based new media sharing platform. Incorporation of advertising services complements the Company’s out-of-home advertising business strategy. |
| (2) | Blockchain Technology (BT) segment — The BT segment is the Company’s newly formed business sector. Cryptocurrency mining is the first initiative implemented in the BT segment. |
| (3) | Traditional Information Technology (TIT) segment — The TIT segment includes the Company’s project-based technology products and services sold to the public sector. The solutions the Company has sold primarily include Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Digital Public Security Technology (DPST), and Digital Hospital Information Systems (DHIS). In this segment, the Company generates revenues from sales of hardware and system integration services. As a result of the business transformation, the TIT segment is gradually being phased out in 2021. |
For more information regarding our operating segments, see Note 20 (Consolidated Segment Data).
| F-28 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(ab) Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06 (“ASU 2020-06”) “Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity.” ASU 2020-06 will simplify the accounting for convertible instruments by reducing the number of accounting models for convertible debt instruments and convertible preferred stock. Limiting the accounting models results in fewer embedded conversion features being separately recognized from the host contract as compared with current GAAP. Convertible instruments that continue to be subject to separation models are (1) those with embedded conversion features that are not clearly and closely related to the host contract, that meet the definition of a derivative, and that do not qualify for a scope exception from derivative accounting and (2) convertible debt instruments issued with substantial premiums for which the premiums are recorded as paid-in capital. ASU 2020-06 is effective for public business entities fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating the effect of the adoption of ASU 2020-06 on the consolidated financial statements. The effect will largely depend on the composition and terms of the financial instruments at the time of adoption.
In January 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-01, Investments-Equity Securities (Topic 321), Investments-Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323), and Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815)-Clarifying the Interactions between Topic 321, Topic 323, and Topic 815. The guidance provides clarification of the interaction of rules for equity securities, the equity method of accounting and forward contracts and purchase options on certain types of securities. ASU 2020-01 is effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2021. The adoption did not have any significant impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.
In October 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-08, Business Combination (Topic 805) “Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers”. The ASU 2021-08 requires that an entity (acquirer) recognizes and measures contract assets and contract liabilities acquired in a business combination in accordance with Topic 606. At the acquisition date, an acquirer should account for the related revenue contracts in accordance with Topic 606 as if it had originated the contracts. The ASU 2021-08 also provides certain practical expedients for acquirers when recognizing and measuring acquired contract assets and contract liabilities from revenue contracts in a business combination. The ASU 2021-08 also applies to contract assets and contract liabilities from other contracts to which the provisions of Topic 606 apply, such as contract liabilities from the sale of nonfinancial assets within the scope of Subtopic 610-20, Other Income—Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets. For public business entities, the ASU 2021-08 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years. For all other entities, the amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The ASU 2021-08 should be applied prospectively to business combinations occurring on or after the effective date of the amendments. Early adoption of the amendments is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. An entity that early adopts in an interim period should apply the amendments (1) retrospectively to all business combinations for which the acquisition date occurs on or after the beginning of the fiscal year that includes the interim period of early application and (2) prospectively to all business combinations that occur on or after the date of initial application. Adoption of ASU 2021-08 is not expected to have material impact on the consolidated financial statements.
In November 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-10, Government Assistance (Topic 832), “Disclosures by Business Entities about Government Assistance”. The ASU 2021-10 requires the following annual disclosures about transactions with a government that are accounted for by applying a grant or contribution accounting model by analogy: 1. Information about the nature of the transactions and the related accounting policy used to account for the transactions 2. The line items on the balance sheet and income statement that are affected by the transactions, and the amounts applicable to each financial statement line item 3. Significant terms and conditions of the transactions, including commitments and contingencies. The amendments in this Update are effective for all entities within their scope for financial statements issued for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2021. Early application of the amendments is permitted. An entity should apply the amendments in this Update either (1) prospectively to all transactions within the scope of the amendments that are reflected in financial statements at the date of initial application and new transactions that are entered into after the date of initial application or (2) retrospectively to those transactions. Adoption of ASU 2021-10 is not expected to have material impact on the consolidated financial statements.
The Company has considered all other recently issued accounting pronouncements and does not believe that the adoption of such pronouncements will have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.
| F-29 |
3. BUSINESS ACQUISITION
On
June 9, 2021, the Company and Biznest Internet Technology Co., Ltd. (“Biznest”), a subsidiary of the Company consummated
an acquisition of
Pursuant
to the share purchase agreement, as a consideration of the purchase, the Company issued to the shareholders of TNM a total of
shares of its ordinary shares with no par value, equivalent to the value of approximately $
The Company uses Level 3 inputs of fair value accounting for the identifiable assets and liabilities of TNM. The allocation of the purchase consideration is final, which was determined after the completion of a detailed analysis of the fair value for all assets acquired.
The following table summarizes the purchase price allocation for TNM, and the amounts of the assets acquired, and liabilities assumed which were based on their estimated fair values at the acquisition date:
| Cash | $ | |||
| Accounts receivable, net | ||||
| Advances to suppliers | ||||
| Other receivables and other current assets, net | ||||
| Long-term investments | ||||
| Property and equipment | ||||
| Right of use assets | ||||
| Accounts payable | ( | ) | ||
| Advances from customers | ( | ) | ||
| Accrued payroll and benefits | ( | ) | ||
| Amount due to related parties | ( | ) | ||
| Other payables and accrued expenses | ( | ) | ||
| Lease liabilities | ( | ) | ||
| Total net assets acquired | ||||
| Bargain purchase gain | ( | ) | ||
| Total purchase price | $ |
Due
to the negative impact from COVID-19 pandemic and slowdown of the out-of-home advertising industry in China, the total consideration
paid by the Company was less than the net amount of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed of TNM, which resulted in a
bargain purchase gain of approximately $
The
Company’s consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 included revenue of $
The following unaudited pro forma information shows the combined operations for the periods presented, as if the acquisition of TNM had occurred on January 1, 2020. The unaudited pro forma financial information has been presented for illustrative purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of results of operations that would have been achieved had the acquisition taken place on the date indicated, or the future consolidated results of operations of the Company. The pro forma financial information presented below has been derived from the historical condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company and from the historical accounting records of TNM.
December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Revenue | $ | $ | ||||||
| Net (loss) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Net (loss) attributable to TAOP | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Weighted Average Number of Shares: | ||||||||
| Basic and Diluted | ||||||||
| (Loss) per share – Basic and Diluted | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| (Loss) per share attributable to TAOP - Basic and Diluted | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
The unaudited pro forma results include certain pro forma adjustments to revenue and net loss that were directly attributable to the acquisition, assuming the acquisition had occurred on January 1, 2020, including the followings:
1.
Transaction costs of approximately $
2. Elimination of intercompany sales and purchases, rental income and rent expense.
3. Bargain purchase gain resulted from the transaction is recognized as if it occurred on January 1, 2021.
| F-30 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
4. VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITY
The Company was the primary beneficiary of iASPEC, pursuant to the Amended and Restated MSA. iASPEC was qualified as a variable interest entity of the Company and was subject to consolidation. Accordingly, the assets and liabilities and revenues and expenses of iASPEC have been included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. In 2021, Taoping New Media Co., Ltd and its subsidiary, Shenzhen Taoping Education Technology Co., Ltd. and Wuhu Taoping Education Technology Co., Ltd. were newly added VIE subsidiaries or joint ventures. In the opinion of management, (i) the ownership structure of the Company, and the VIEs were in compliance with existing PRC laws and regulations; (ii) the contractual arrangements with the VIEs and its shareholder were valid and binding, and do not result in any violation of PRC laws or regulations currently in effect; and (iii) the Company’s business operations were in compliance with existing PRC laws and regulations in all material respects. In July 2021, PRC government agencies jointly proposed revisions to laws and regulations to strengthen approval and supervision of VIE corporate structure. Since the proposed new regulatory requirements for VIE has not yet been finalized, the Company is unable to estimate the impact to its corporate structure, business operations, and consolidated financial performance.
For
the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, net loss of $--, $
Government licenses, permits and certificates represent substantially all of the unrecognized revenue-producing assets held by the VIE and its subsidiaries. Recognized revenue-producing assets held by the VIEs consist of property, equipment and software.
On September 18, 2021, the Company and the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Information Security Technology (China) Co., Ltd. (“IST”) entered into an equity transfer agreement with Mr. Jianghuai Lin, the sole shareholder of iASPEC. Upon closing of the equity transfer, the Company’s existing variable interest entity structure was dissolved and iASPEC became a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the Company. As a result, all assets and liabilities of the VIE were incorporated into the Company’s balance sheet as of December 31, 2021.
The VIE’s assets and liabilities were as follows as of December 31, 2020:
December 31, 2020 | ||||
| Total current assets | $ | |||
| Other assets, non-current | ||||
| Non-current accounts receivable, net | ||||
| Property, plant and software | ||||
| Total assets | ||||
| Intercompany payable to the WFOE | ||||
| Total current liabilities | ||||
| Total liabilities | ||||
| Total equity | $ | ( | ) | |
| F-31 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Basic loss per share is computed by dividing loss available to common shareholders by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur, if securities or other contracts to issue ordinary shares were exercised or converted into ordinary shares, or resulted in the issuance of ordinary shares that shared in the earnings of the entity.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019* | ||||||||||
| Net loss attributable to the Company | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| Weighted average outstanding ordinary shares-Basic | ||||||||||||
| -dilutive effect of stock options- employees | ||||||||||||
| -dilutive effect of stock options- nonemployees | ||||||||||||
| Weighted average outstanding ordinary shares- Diluted | ||||||||||||
| Loss per share: | ||||||||||||
| Basic | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| Diluted | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) |
For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019, there was shares included in the diluted earnings per share calculation, these incremental shares were added to denominator for the period that stock options were outstanding due to the average market price of the Company’s stock in the period exceeded the exercise prices of the stock options granted to the Company’s employees and various consultants. The incremental shares were computed under the treasury stock method. The EPS calculation excluded the if-converted shares from the convertible promissory note or exercised shares from detachable warrant associated with the convertible promissory note based on the Company’s recent stock prices, which were significantly below the stated convertible price and among other conversion prices of alternative conversions or exercise price of the warrant. Because the effect would be anti-dilutive, there were stock options for employees, stock options and warrants for nonemployees outstanding that were not included in the computation of dilutive weighted average shares outstanding for the year ended December 31, 2021. And, there were warrants associated with the convertible promissory notes for purchase of shares that were not included in the computation of dilutive weighted average shares outstanding for the year ended December 31, 2020. Also, stock options and warrants for the purchase of shares were not included in the calculations for the year ended December 31, 2019, as their effect would have been anti-dilutive.
| * |
| F-32 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
(a) Revenue – related party
Since
May 2017, the Company has entered into a series of contracts with Taoping New Media Co., Ltd. (TNM) and its affiliates for the sale of
the Company’s Cloud-Application-Terminal based digital ads display terminals, software and technical services. Taoping New Media
was a related party company controlled by Mr. Lin, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, until the Company’s
completion of the acquisition on June 9, 2021, after which date the related party transactions were eliminated in the Company’s
consolidated financial statements. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, revenues from related parties for sales of products
were approximately $
(b) Other revenue – related parties
On
July 1, 2017, the Company entered into a lease agreement with TNM for leasing the Company’s office space located at 18th Floor,
Education and Technology Building, Zhuzilin, Futian District, Shenzhen City which has been renewed on July 1, 2019 and expires on June
30, 2022. Upon completion of the Company’s acquisition of TNM on June 9, 2021, the related party rental income was eliminated in
the Company’s consolidated financial statements thereafter. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, the Company’s
rental income from related party were approximately $
(c) Accounts payable – related party
iASPEC
and Bocom had a balance of $
(d) Loan receivable – related party
As
of December 31, 2020, the Company recorded a loan receivable of $
(e) Amount due to related parties
As
of December 31, 2020, the amount due to related party was $
7. INVENTORIES
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, inventories consist of:
| December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Raw materials | $ | $ | ||||||
| Finished goods | ||||||||
| Cost of projects | ||||||||
| Inventories, gross | $ | $ | ||||||
| Allowance for slow-moving or obsolete inventories | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Inventories, net | $ | $ | ||||||
For
the year ended December 31, 2021, there was a reversal of impairments for obsolete inventories in the amount of approximately $
| F-33 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
8. PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, property, equipment and software consist of:
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Office buildings | $ | $ | ||||||
| Electronic equipment, furniture and fixtures | ||||||||
| Motor vehicles | ||||||||
| Cryptocurrency mining machine | ||||||||
| Media display equipment | ||||||||
| Leasehold improvement | ||||||||
| Purchased software | ||||||||
| Less: accumulated depreciation | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Property, equipment and software, net | $ | $ | ||||||
Depreciation
expense for the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 were approximately $
Management regularly evaluates property, equipment and software for impairment, if an event occurs or circumstances change that would potentially indicate that the carrying amount of the property, equipment and software exceeded its fair value. Management utilizes the discounted cash flow method to estimate the fair value of the property, equipment and software.
Company’s
office buildings, with net carry value of approximately $
9. INTANGIBLE ASSETS, NET
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, intangible assets consist of:
| Software and software | ||||||||||||
| development costs | Trademarks | Total | ||||||||||
| Gross carrying amounts Balance as of January 1, 2020 | $ | |||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation | ||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation | ||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Accumulated amortization Balance as of January 1, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Amortization expense | ||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation | ||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||
| Amortization expense | ||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation | ||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Intangible assets, net | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
Amortization
expense for the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $, $
10. CRYPTOCURRENCIES
As of December 31, 2021, cryptocurrencies included Bitcoin and Ethereum the Company held which were received from mining activities. Cryptocurrencies are classified as current asset as they are expected to be realized in cash by the Company within one year.
The following table presents the movements of cryptocurrencies for the year ended December 31, 2021:
| Amounts | ||||
| Balance at January 1, 2021 | ||||
| Receipt of cryptocurrencies from mining activities | $ | |||
| Sales of cryptocurrencies | ( | ) | ||
| Realized gain on sale of cryptocurrencies | ||||
| Impairment loss on cryptocurrencies | ( | ) | ||
| Balance at December 31, 2021 | $ | |||
The following table presents additional information about each type of cryptocurrency for the year ended December 31, 2021:
| BTC | ETH | USDT | Total | |||||||||||||
| Balance at January 1, 2021 | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||
| Receipt of cryptocurrencies from mining activities | 1,037,186 | 4,418,160 | - | 5,455,345 | ||||||||||||
| Exchange of cash into USDT | - | - | 3,336 | 3,336 | ||||||||||||
| Sales of cryptocurrencies | (842,438 | ) | (3,611,605 | ) | - | (4,454,043 | ) | |||||||||
| Payment of cryptocurrencies for other expenses | - | (89,600 | ) | (3,236 | ) | (92,836 | ) | |||||||||
| Realized gain on sale of cryptocurrencies | 66,996 | 343,984 | - | 410,979 | ||||||||||||
| Impairment loss on cryptocurrencies | (87,608 | ) | (406,006 | ) | (2 | ) | (493,617 | ) | ||||||||
| Balance at December 31, 2021 | $ | 174,135 | $ | 654,932 | $ | 98 | $ | 829,165 | ||||||||
11. BANK LOANS
| December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Secured short-term loans | $ | $ | ||||||
| Total short-term bank loans | $ | $ | ||||||
| F-34 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Detailed information of secured short-term loan balances as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 were as follows:
| December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Collateralized by office buildings of IST and guaranteed by Mr. Lin and Biznest | $ | $ | ||||||
| Guaranteed by IST and Mr. Lin and Collateralized by the real property of ISIOT and equity investment of ISTIL | ||||||||
| Guaranteed
by a $ | ||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | ||||||
As
of December 31, 2021 the Company had short-term bank loans of approximately $
12. INCOME TAXES
Pre-tax income (loss) from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 were taxable in the following jurisdictions:
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| PRC | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| Hong Kong | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| BVI | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Total (loss) before income taxes | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
United States
Because of the domestication transaction in 2012 by which CNIT BVI became the parent of our group, under Section 7874 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the Company is treated for U.S. federal tax purposes as a U.S. corporation and, among other consequences, is subject to U.S. federal income tax on its worldwide income. It is management’s intention to reinvest all the income attributable to the Company earned by its operations outside the United States.
On
December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”).
The Act makes broad and complex changes to the U.S. tax code, including, but not limited to, (1) reducing the U.S. federal corporate
tax rate from
The SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin 118, which provides guidance on accounting for the tax effects of the Act for which the accounting under ASC 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”) is incomplete. To the extent that a company’s accounting for certain income tax effects of the Act is incomplete but it is able to determine a reasonable estimate, it must record a provisional estimate in the financial statements. If a company cannot determine a provisional estimate to be included in the financial statements, it should continue to apply ASC 740 on the basis of the provisions of the tax laws that were in effect immediately before enactment of the Act.
| F-35 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company from time to time evaluates the tax effect of GILTI, and determined that there was no impact of GILTI tax to the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2021.
BVI
Under the current laws of the BVI, dividends and capital gains arising from the Company’s investments in the BVI and ordinary income, if any, are not subject to income taxes.
Hong Kong
Under
the current laws of Hong Kong, IST HK is subject to a profit tax rate of
PRC
Income tax (benefit) expense from continuing operations consists of the following:
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Current taxes | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||||
| Deferred taxes | ||||||||||||
| Income tax (benefit) | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||||
Current income tax (benefit) expense was recorded in 2021, 2020 and 2019 and was related to differences between the book and corporate income tax returns.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| PRC statutory tax rate | % | % | % | |||||||||
| Computed expected income tax (benefit) expense | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| Tax rate differential benefit from tax holiday | ||||||||||||
| Permanent differences | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Tax effect of deductible temporary differences not recognized | ||||||||||||
| Non-deductible tax loss | ||||||||||||
| Income tax (benefit) | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||||
The significant components of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities were as follows as of December 31, 2021 and 2020:
| December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||||||||||
| Deferred | Deferred | Deferred | Deferred | |||||||||||||
| Tax | Tax | Tax | Tax | |||||||||||||
| Assets | Liabilities | Assets | Liabilities | |||||||||||||
| Allowance for credit losses | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Loss carry-forwards | ||||||||||||||||
| Fixed assets | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Inventory valuation | ||||||||||||||||
| Cryptocurrency valuation | ||||||||||||||||
| Accrued liabilities | ||||||||||||||||
| Long-term investments | ||||||||||||||||
| Intangible assets | ||||||||||||||||
| Gross deferred tax assets and (liabilities) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Valuation allowance | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
| Total deferred tax assets and (liabilities) | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||
| F-36 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The
Company has net operating loss carry forwards totaling RMB
IST
is approved as being high-technology enterprises and subject to PRC enterprise income tax rate (“EIT”) at
The Company recognizes that virtually all tax positions in the PRC are not free of some degree of uncertainty due to tax law and policy changes by the State. However, the Company cannot reasonably quantify political risk factors and thus must depend on guidance issued by current State officials.
Based on all known facts, circumstances, and current tax law, the Company has recorded nil unrecognized tax benefits from year 2018 to 2020. The Company believes that there are no tax positions for which it is reasonably possible, based on current Chinese tax laws and policies, that the unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase or decrease over the next 12 months, individually or in the aggregate, and have a material effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
The Company’s policy is to recognize interest and penalties accrued on any unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense. Any accrued interest or penalties associated with any unrecognized tax benefits were not significant for the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019.
Since the Company intends to reinvest its earnings to further expand its businesses in the PRC, the PRC subsidiaries do not intend to declare dividends to their parent companies in the foreseeable future. The Company’s foreign subsidiaries are in a cumulative deficit position. Accordingly, the Company has not recorded any deferred taxes on the cumulative amount of any undistributed deficit. It is impractical to calculate the tax effect of the deficit at this time.
13. OTHER CURRENT AND NON-CURRENT ASSETS
(a) As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, other current assets consist of:
| December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Advances to unrelated-parties (i) | $ | $ | ||||||
| Advances to employees | ||||||||
| Other current assets | ||||||||
| $ | $ | |||||||
| (i) | |
As
of December 31, 2021, the balance included the amount due from a third-party vendor of approximately
$
Based
on the amendment of the contract, the Company agrees to make advances to the vendor specifically for its market development purposes,
and the total commitment of funding was RMB
If the Company’s revenue facilitated by the vendor does not reach certain threshold during specified periods, the contract could be terminated by the Company, and all funding with applicable interest, less any commissions and subcontractor fees payable to the vendor, shall be repaid to the Company within one month after the termination of the contract. If the two parties terminate the cooperation on the condition that the vendor meet the target, all funding without interest, shall be repaid.
The
first period as specified is from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 with a threshold revenue of RMB |
| F-37 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(b) As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, Other assets, non-current consist of:
| December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Other assets, non-current, net | $ | $ | ||||||
| $ | $ | |||||||
During
2019 and 2020, the Company advanced RMB
Based
on the amendment of the contract, if the Company’s new media advertising revenue generated from IOV software does not reach certain
threshold during specified period, the contract could be terminated by the Company, and all funding with applicable interest, and less
the revenue generated from the IOV software shall be repaid to the Company within one half year after the termination of the contract.
Before the full repayment of the funding, the Company owns
Starting
in October 2020, IOV software revenue will be divided into eight periods. The first period as specified was from October 1, 2020 to April
30, 2021 with a threshold advertising revenue from IOV software of RMB
The
development of IOV software was completed by September 30, 2020. Since Company has the right to use the IOV software in the contract
term, software was capitalized as “other assets, non-current, net” and started to amortize from October 1, 2020 over the
-year
contract term. As of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the balance of “other assets, non-current, net” was $
If full repayment is achieved within the contract term, the Company might be charged to continue using the software and related equipment, depending on both parties’ future agreement.
| F-38 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
14. OPERATING LEASES
In
addition to the lease with a related party for computing server room in Dongguan City, in
April 2021, the Company leased an office space, two server rooms, and a dormitory in Hong
Kong for executing the Blockchain business strategy. The fixed monthly lease payment for
the office space is $
The
Company has also leased specific and identifiable wall spaces with a certain dimension in commercial and residential building lobbies,
inside elevators, elevator waiting areas, and various places to install the new media advertising display terminals without substitution
for purpose of broadcasting advertisements paid by the customers to promote their businesses or special events. The lease terms with
negotiated payment terms range from
The
Company incurred rent expenses of approximately $
The Company has elected to apply the short-term lease exception to all leases with a term of one year or less. The future short-term lease costs are $nil for the year subsequent to December 31, 2021.
Weighted-average remaining lease term as of December 31, 2021, and discount rate for its operating leases are as follows:
| Weighted-average remaining lease term | ||||
| Weighted-average discount rate | % | |||
The weighted-average discount rate was based on the three-year interest rate of People’s Bank of China.
The following table outlines maturities of operating lease liabilities as of December, 2021:
| Year ending December 31 | Leases for office/ server rooms/ Dormitory | Wall
Space Leases | ||||||
| 2022 | $ | $ | ||||||
| 2023 | ||||||||
| 2024 | ||||||||
| Total lease payments | ||||||||
| Less: Imputed interest | ( | ) | ||||||
| Present value of lease liabilities | $ | $ | ||||||
| F-39 |
15. LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS
As
of December 31, 2021, the carrying value of the Company’s equity investments were $
(1) Equity method investments:
As of December 31, 2021, the Company’s equity method investments had a carrying value of $285,137 which were as follows:
| Investees | Abbreviation | % of Ownership | Carrying value | |||||||
| Qingdao Taoping IoT Co., Ltd. | QD Taoping, or QD | % | $ | |||||||
| Yunnan Taoping IoT Co., Ltd. | YN Taoping, or YN | % | ||||||||
| Jiangsu Taoping IoT Technology Co., Ltd. | JS Taoping, or JS | % | ||||||||
| Jiangsu Taoping New Media Co., Ltd | JS New Media, or JN | % | ||||||||
| $ | ||||||||||
The
Company’s initial investments in the above equity method investments were approximately $
(2) Equity investments without readily determinable fair value that is not accounted for under equity method accounting:
In accordance with ASC 321, the Company elected to use the measurement alternative to measure such investments at cost, less any impairment, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for identical or similar investments of the same issuer, if any.
As
of December 31, 2021, the carrying value for the equity investments without readily determinable fair value was $
| F-40 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
16. CONVERTIBLE NOTE PAYABLE
In
October 2019, March 2020, and September 2020, the Company issued Convertible Promissory Notes with principal amount of $
In
conjunction with issuance of the Notes, the Company also issued the holders of the Notes warrants to purchase
In
June 2021, the investor of Note-3 converted $
The
Company recognized interest expense of approximately $
17. OTHER PAYABLES AND ACCRUED EXPENSES
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, other payables and accrued expenses consist of:
| December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Advances from unrelated third-parties (i) | $ | $ | ||||||
| Other taxes payable (ii) | ||||||||
| Unrecognized tax benefits (iii) | ||||||||
| Accrued professional fees | ||||||||
| Amount due to employees(iv) | ||||||||
| Other current liabilities (v) | ||||||||
| $ | $ | |||||||
| (i) | |
| (ii) | |
| (iii) | |
| (iv) | |
| (v) |
| F-41 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
18. RESERVE AND DISTRIBUTION OF PROFIT
In
accordance with relevant PRC regulations and the Articles of Association of our PRC subsidiaries, our PRC subsidiaries are required to
allocate at least
Under the applicable PRC regulations, the Company may pay dividends only out of the accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with the PRC accounting standards and regulations. As the statutory reserve funds can only be used for specific purposes under the PRC laws and regulations. The general reserves are not distributable as cash dividends.
Our after-tax profits or losses with respect to the payment of dividends out of accumulated profits and the annual appropriation of after-tax profits as calculated pursuant to the PRC accounting standards and regulations do not result in significant differences as compared to after-tax earnings as presented in our consolidated financial statements. However, there are certain differences between the PRC accounting standards and regulations and the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, arising from different treatment of items such as amortization of intangible assets and change in fair value of contingent consideration arising from business combinations.
19. EQUITY
(a) Ordinary shares
The Company is authorized to issue ordinary shares at no par value.
In
March 2020, the Company issued a total of ordinary shares to certain individual investors at $ per share, which generated
approximately $
In
the first half of 2020, the Company issued a total of ordinary shares as compensation of investor relations service, fair value
of which was approximately $
In
April 2020, the Company issued restricted shares to a consultant as its service compensation. The fair value of the restricted
shares was approximately $
| F-42 |
In
July 2020, the Company issued ordinary shares to a consultant as service compensation. The fair value of issued shares was approximately
$
In
July and September 2020, the Company issued an aggregate of ordinary shares to an employee for the individual’s job performance.
The fair value of issued shares was approximately $
In
September 2020, the Company issued restricted shares to a consultant as a part of finder fees for the financing services, the
fair value of which was approximately $
In
September, October, and December 2020, the holders of the convertible notes issued in September 2019, and March 2020 converted all principal
balance of the notes and accrued interests to the Company’s ordinary shares in an aggregate of ordinary shares of which shares converted on December 30, 2020 were not
issued until February 2021 (see Note 16). The total amount of principal and accrued interest converted was approximately $
In
January 2021, the Company issued a total of ordinary shares to certain individual investors at $ per share, which generated
approximately $
In
January 2021, the Company issued ordinary shares with fair value of approximately $
In
February 2021, the Company issued a total of million ordinary shares to certain institutional
and individual investors at $per share, resulting in approximately $
In
March 2021, the Company issued ordinary shares with fair value of approximately $
In
March 2021, the Company issued ordinary shares in the registered direct offering at the offering price of $ per share resulting
in approximately $
In
June 2021, the Company issued ordinary shares with 6 months restricted period upon the closing of acquisition of Taoping New
Media Co., Ltd (“TNM”), at unit price of $ per share with discounts for lack of marketability as the consideration equivalent
to approximately $
In
June 2021, the holder of the convertible note issued in September 2020 converted
In
July 2021, the Company issued a total of ordinary shares in a registered direct offering at $ per share, which generated
approximately $
In
September 2021, the Company issued ordinary shares at a price of $ per share with discounts for lack of marketability, as
the consideration of approximately $
In
November 2021, the Company issued restricted shares with a fair value of $
In
December 2021, the Company issued ordinary shares with a fair value of $
| F-43 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(b) Stock-based compensation
| For the Year Ended | ||||||||||||
| December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | December 31, 2019 | ||||||||||
| Employees and directors share-based payments | $ | (a)(c) | $ | | (a)(c) | $ | (c) | |||||
| Stock options issued for services | $ | $ | (d) | $ | (d) | |||||||
| Shares issued for services | $ | (a) | $ | (a) | $ | (a) | ||||||
| $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||
(c) Stock options to employees and directors
On May 9, 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company adopted the 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2016 Plan. Pursuant to the 2016 Plan, the Company may offer up to ordinary shares as equity incentives to its directors, employees and consultants. Such number of shares is subject to adjustment in the event of certain reorganizations, mergers, business combinations, recapitalizations, stock splits, stock dividends, or other change in the corporate structure of the Company affecting the issuable shares under the 2016 Plan. The Company accounts for its stock option awards to employees and directors pursuant to the provisions of ASC 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation. The fair value of each option award is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes Merton valuation model. The Company recognizes the fair value of each option as compensation expense ratably using the straight-line attribution method over the service period, which is generally the vesting period.
On
May 27, 2016, the Company granted options to purchase an aggregate of ordinary shares under the 2016 Plan. The fair value of
these options was approximately $
On
May 17, 2017, the Company granted options to employees and directors to purchase an aggregate of ordinary shares under the 2016
Plan. The fair value of these options was approximately $
On
July 24, 2020, the Company granted options to employees and directors to purchase an aggregate of ordinary shares under the 2016 Plan. The fair
value of these options was approximately $
On
July 31, 2020, the stock options granted to employees and directors in 2016 and 2017 were fully exercised on a cashless method, and
| Weighted Average | ||||||||||||||||
| Remaining | ||||||||||||||||
| Weighted | Contractual | Aggregated | ||||||||||||||
| Options | Average | Life | Intrinsic | |||||||||||||
| Outstanding * | Exercise Price* | (Year) | Value | |||||||||||||
| Outstanding at January 1, 2019 | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Exercised | - | - | ||||||||||||||
| Canceled | ( | ) | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||||
| Outstanding at December 31, 2019 | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Granted | - | - | ||||||||||||||
| Exercised | ( | ) | - | - | ||||||||||||
| Canceled | ( | ) | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||||
| Outstanding at December 31, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||
| Granted | - | - | ||||||||||||||
| Exercised | - | - | ||||||||||||||
| Canceled | ( | ) | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||||
| Outstanding at December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||
| Vested and expected to be vested as of December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||
| Options exercisable as of December 31, 2021 (vested) | - | |||||||||||||||
| F-44 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
There
were stock options granted to employees granted to employees during the year ended December 31, 2021. There were stock options
granted to employees during the year ended December 31, 2020. options were granted to employees during the year ended December 31,
2019. There was option exercised during the year ended December 31, 2021.The total intrinsic value of stock options exercised during
the years ended December 31, 2020 was approximately and $, and there was option exercised during the year ended December 31,
2019. The Company did
| Weighted | ||||||||
| Average | ||||||||
| Grant Date | ||||||||
| Options* | Fair Value* | |||||||
| Non-vested at January 1, 2021 | $ | |||||||
| Granted | $ | |||||||
| Vested | ( | ) | $ | |||||
| Canceled | ( | ) | $ | |||||
| Non-vested at December 31, 2021 | $ | |||||||
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, approximately $ million and $ million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to non-vested share options expected to be recognized over a weighted average remaining vesting period of approximately year and year respectively. The total fair value of options vested during the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 was approximately $ million, $ million and $ million, respectively. To the extent the actual forfeiture rate is different from what the Company has anticipated; stock-based compensation related to these awards will be different from its expectations.
| * |
(d) Stock options and warrants to non-employees
Pursuant
to the Company’s 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, for the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company issued stock
options to consultants with options
vested in 2018 and options
vested in 2019. The stock options issued to non-employees would be forfeited either three months after the expiration of the service
agreement or upon the expiry of contractual life of the options. On February 20, 2019, the Company issued warrants to the Consultant
to purchase
The
issuance of warrants to purchase up to
As of December 31, 2021, the exercise price for the stock options issued to non-employee for service was $and remaining life was years. The stock options granted to non-employees were expired in three years after the grant date. The following table outlines the options outstanding and exercisable as of December 31, 2021:
| 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Number of | ||||||||||||
| Options | ||||||||||||
| Outstanding | Exercise | Expiration | ||||||||||
| and Exercisable | Price | Date | ||||||||||
| July 2020 stock options to consultants | $ | |||||||||||
| April 2021 warrants to consultant | $ | |||||||||||
| Total | ||||||||||||
| F-45 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
20. CONSOLIDATED SEGMENT DATA
Segment information is consistent with how management reviews the businesses, makes investing and resource allocation decisions and assesses operating performance. Transfers and sales between reportable segments, if any, are recorded at cost.
The Company reports financial and operating information in the following three segments:
| (1) | Cloud-based Technology (CBT) segment — It includes the Company’s cloud-based products, high-end data storage servers and related services sold to private sectors including new media, healthcare, education and residential community management, and among other industries and applications. In this segment, the Company generates revenues from the sales of hardware and software total solutions with proprietary software and content as well as from designing and developing software products specifically customized for private sector customers’ needs for a fixed price. The Company includes the revenue and cost of revenue of high-end data storage servers in the CBT segment. Advertising services is included in the CBT segment, after the Company consummated the acquisition of TNM. Advertisements are delivered to the ads display terminals and vehicular ads display terminals through the Company’s cloud-based new media sharing platform. Incorporation of advertising services complements the Company’s out-of-home advertising business strategy. |
| (2) | Blockchain Technology (BT) segment — The BT segment is the Company’s newly formed business sector. Cryptocurrency mining is the first initiative implemented in the BT segment. |
| (3) | Traditional Information Technology (TIT) segment — The TIT segment includes the Company’s project-based technology products and services sold to the public sector. The solutions the Company has sold primarily include Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Digital Public Security Technology (DPST), and Digital Hospital Information Systems (DHIS). In this segment, the Company generates revenues from sales of hardware and system integration services. As a result of the business transformation, the TIT segment is gradually being phased out in 2021. |
Selected information by segment is presented in the following tables for the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Revenues(1) | ||||||||||||
| TIT Segment | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| CBT Segment | ||||||||||||
| BT Segment | ||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||
| (1) |
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| (Loss) income from operations | ||||||||||||
| TIT Segment | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||||
| CBT Segment | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| BT Segment | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Corporate and others(2) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| (Loss) income from operations | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Corporate other income, net | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Corporate interest income | ||||||||||||
| Corporate interest expense | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| (Loss) before income taxes | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Income tax benefit | ( | ) | ||||||||||
| Net (loss) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Less: Loss (income) attributable to the non-controlling interest | ||||||||||||
| Net (loss) income attributable to the Company | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| (2) |
Non-cash employee compensation by segment for the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 are as follows:
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Non-cash employee compensation: | ||||||||||||
| Corporate and others | ||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization by segment for the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020, and 2019 are as follows:
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization: | ||||||||||||
| TIT Segment | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| CBT Segment | ||||||||||||
| BT Segment | ||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||
| F-46 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Provisions for allowance for credit losses on accounts receivable, other receivable and advances to suppliers: | ||||||||||||
| TIT Segment | $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | |||||||
| CBT Segment | ||||||||||||
| BT Segment | ||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| Inventory obsolescence provision: | ||||||||||||
| TIT Segment | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| CBT Segment | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| $ | ( | ) | $ | $ | ||||||||
Total assets by segment as at December 31, 2021 and 2020 are as follows:
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Total assets | ||||||||
| TIT Segment | $ | $ | ||||||
| CBT Segment | ||||||||
| BT Segment | ||||||||
| Corporate and others | ||||||||
| $ | $ | |||||||
| F-47 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
21. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
The
Company may from time to time be subject to legal proceedings, investigations, and claims incidental to conduct of our business. The
Company is currently subject to a legal proceeding with the bankruptcy receiver (the Receiver) for Shenzhen Kejian Information Technology
Co., Ltd. (Kejian). The Receiver was appointed by the bankruptcy court to liquidate Kejian that filed bankruptcy on December 6, 2016.
On July 28, 2016, the Company received a payment in the amount of RMB
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has largely been contained in China, regional outbreaks of the infections persist in various localities. The negative impact from the pandemic to the out-of-home advertising business sector continues throughout 2021. The China government continues asserted efforts to vaccinate general population, social distancing, mandate mask wearing in the public places and public transportation, prohibit large gatherings, control travels to and from high-risk infectious areas, and track the source of infections. The COVID-19 pandemic may continue to adversely affect the Company’s business and results of operations.
22. CONCENTRATIONS
For
the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, no customer accounted for greater than 10% of revenue. For the year ended December 31,
2021, 2020, and 2019, the Company’s top five customers accounted for
The
Company’s top five accounts receivable accounted for
For the year ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, approximately %, % and %, respectively, of total inventory purchases were from five unrelated suppliers. Three suppliers each accounted for greater than 10% of total inventory purchases in 2021, three and two suppliers each accounted for greater than 10% of total inventory purchases in 2020 and 2019.
| F-48 |
TAOPING INC.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
23. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
On January 11, 2022, the Company entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Shenzhen Zhicheng Chuangtou New Energy Co., Ltd. (“Zhicheng Chuangtou”) to expand its smart charging pile market. Pursuant to the agreement, which has a term of three years, the Company is responsible for the market development and installation of the smart charging piles produced by Zhicheng Chuangtou. Zhicheng Chuangtou is responsible for providing charging piles and other ancillary products, as well as for the operation and management of smart charging piles after installation. The Company has planned to use its channels like Taoping Alliance network to expand the market across the country and reach out to potential property management companies. The Company expects to expand coverage to 50 cities by the end of 2022 and complete pilot projects in these cities.
On
January 19, 2022, the Company entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire %
equity interest in Zhenjiang Taoping IoT Technology Limited (“Zhenjiang Taoping”), aiming to accelerate the Company’s
smart charging pile and digital new media businesses in East China. Pursuant to the share purchase agreement, the Company has agreed
to issue to the shareholders of Zhenjiang Taoping a total of restricted ordinary shares, calculated as $391,011
being divided by the average closing price of the Company’s ordinary shares over the 20 trading days prior to the execution of
the share purchase agreement, which was $per share. According to the share purchase agreement,
the shares are expected to be issued in three phases. The first phase will issue shares within 20 days after closing of the transaction;
the second phase will issue shares before May 31, 2023; the third phase will
issue shares before May 31, 2024. Issuance of shares
during the second and third phases will be conditioned upon the satisfaction of certain performance targets of Zhenjiang Taoping as set
forth in the share purchase agreement. Specifically, the second phase issuance of restricted ordinary shares requires from the closing
date to December 31, 2022, Zhenjiang Taoping have at least
On January 27, 2022, the Company entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with three other companies (BOE Yiyun Technology Co., Ltd.; Sichuan Lvfa Environmental Technology Co., Ltd.; and Wuxi Centennial Ronghua Technology Development Co., Ltd.) to cooperate on naked-eye 3D iGallery and “Smart Station” projects. Pursuant to the agreement, which has a term of five years, the Company is responsible for the market development of naked-eye 3D iGallery and “Smart Station” projects through its Taoping Alliance network and the overall operation of the new media advertising of Smart Station. The three partners are responsible to integrate and leverage their respective resources in brand, technology, channel, content, and operation to promote the development of naked-eye 3D iGallery and “Smart Station” projects in the market. The innovative iGallery digital art display offers a new way to show and share art. It provides a full range of solutions for different environments such as museums, schools, hotels and restaurants, office buildings, and homes. With the newly released naked-eye 3D iGallery, the audience can enjoy the cool visual impact without wearing 3D glasses. “Smart Station” is a modular smart portable public toilet. Based on the Internet of Things and biotechnology, the Smart Station does not need to connect with the sewage pipeline and can stay clean and stinky-free. The Smart Station also includes billboards, iGallery, shared power banks, and vending machines that help make the project sustainable. The booth-like Smart Station can be established in populated areas such as thoroughfares, parks, and tourist attractions. At present, the Smart Station project has been deployed and put into operation in Chengdu, Changsha, Chongqing, Shenzhen, and several other cities in China.
On
February 17, 2022, the Company entered into a letter of intent (the “LOI”) with the shareholders of Fujian Taoping IoT Technology
Limited (“Fujian Taoping”) to acquire at least
On
March 2, 2022, the Company entered into a strategic cooperation agreement (“Agreement”) with Shenzhen Zhihui Yunti IoT Co.,
Ltd. (“Zhihui Yunti”) to jointly address the market needs of the elevator modernization and maintenance. Pursuant to the
Agreement, which has a term of three years, the Company is responsible for the market development of the elevator modernization and maintenance
project through its Taoping Alliance network. Zhihui Yunti is responsible for providing elevator cloud, elevator IoT and elevator ecosystem
products and technical support, as well as for the operation and management after product installation. According to Research, the total
number of elevators in operation in China reached nearly six million by the end of 2021. The market size of elevator modernization and
maintenance is expected to reach $
| F-49 |