As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 25, 2025
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM F-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE
SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Jin Medical International Ltd.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Not Applicable
(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)
Cayman Islands | N/A | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
No. 33 Lingxiang Road, Wujin District
Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province
People’s Republic of China
Tel: +86-519 89607972
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Cogency Global Inc.
122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10168
Tel: +1 (212) 947-7200
(Name, address including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
With copies to:
Huan Lou, Esq.
Sichenzia Ross Ference Carmel LLP
1185 Avenue of the Americas, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10036
Tel: +1 (212)-930-9700
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.
If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. ☐
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. ☒
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.C. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.C. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS | SUBJECT TO COMPLETION | DATED June 25, 2025 |
Jin Medical International Ltd.
$300,000,000
Ordinary Shares
Warrants
Debt Securities
Rights
Units
We may offer, issue and sell from time to time up to $300,000,000, or its equivalent in any other currency, currency units, or composite currency or currencies, of our ordinary shares of par value $0.00005 each (the “Ordinary Shares”), warrants to purchase Ordinary Shares, debt securities, rights and a combination of such securities, separately or as units, in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides a general description of offerings of these securities that we may undertake. We refer to our Ordinary Shares, warrants, debt securities, rights and units collectively as “securities” in this prospectus.
This prospectus provides a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we sell the securities, we will provide specific terms of any offering in a supplement to this prospectus. Any prospectus supplement may also add, update, or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement as well as the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus before you purchase any of the securities offered hereby.
We may offer and sell the securities from time to time at fixed prices, at market prices or at negotiated prices, to or through underwriters, to other purchasers, through agents, or through a combination of these methods, on a continuous or delayed basis. See “Plan of Distribution”. If any underwriters, dealers or agents are involved in the sale of any of the securities, their names, and any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangements between or among them, will be set forth, or will be calculable from the information set forth, in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Our Ordinary Shares are currently traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ZJYL.” On June 24, 2025, the last reported sale price of our Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market was $0.6594 per share. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to other listings, if any, on the Nasdaq Capital Market or other securities exchange of the securities covered by the prospectus supplement.
The aggregate market value of our outstanding Ordinary Shares held by non-affiliates is approximately US$ $34,420,259, based on 156,547,100 Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding, of which 37,824,460 Ordinary Shares are held by non-affiliates, and the price of US$0.91 per share based on the closing sale price of our Ordinary Shares on April 30, 2025, which is the highest closing sale price of our Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market within the prior 60 days of this prospectus. Pursuant to General Instruction I.B.5 of Form F-3, in no event will we sell the securities registered on the registration statement to which this prospectus forms a part with a value exceeding one-third of the aggregate market value worldwide of our outstanding common equity held by non-affiliates (which we refer to as our public float) in any 12-month period so long as our public float remains below US$75,000,000.
Jin Medical International Ltd., or “Jin Med”, is not a Chinese operating company but a Cayman Islands holding company with no material operations of its own. Our operations are conducted in China by a variable interest entity (“VIE”), Changzhou Zhongjin Medical Equipment Co. Ltd. (Changzhou Zhongjin), and its subsidiaries. We do not have any equity ownership of the VIE. Instead, we control and receive the economic benefits of the VIE’s business operations through contractual arrangements, or “VIE Agreements”, and we consolidate the VIE for accounting purpose only because we met the conditions under the United States generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP, to consolidate the VIE. The VIE agreements are used to provide contractual exposure to foreign investment in China-based companies where Chinese law prohibits direct foreign investment in Chinese operating companies. This structure involves unique risks to investors. Under this holding company structure, investors are purchasing equity interests in Jin Med, a Cayman Islands holding company, and obtaining indirect ownership interests in our Hong Kong and Chinese operating companies. Investors may never hold equity interests in our Chinese operating company. Chinese regulatory authorities could disallow this structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and/or a material change in the value of the securities we are registering for sale, which could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless. In such event, despite our efforts to restructure to comply with the then applicable PRC laws and regulations in order to continue our operations in China, we may experience material changes in our business and results of operations, our attempts may prove to be futile due to factors beyond our control, and the value of the Ordinary Shares you invest in may significantly decline or become worthless. See also “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our businesses in China do not comply with PRC regulations related to the relevant industries, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties and our Ordinary Shares may decline in value or become worthless if we are unable to assert our contractual control rights over the assets of our PRC operating entities that conduct all of our operations” in our most recent annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024.
We are also subject to legal and operational risks associated with being based in and having the majority of the Company’s operations in China. These risks may result in a material change in our operations, or a complete hindrance of our ability to offer or continue to offer our securities to investors, and could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless.
Recently, the PRC government initiated a series of regulatory actions and guidelines to regulate business operations in China with little advance notice, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, enhancing supervision over China-based companies listed overseas using variable interest entity structure, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. On July 6, 2021, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council, or the State Council, jointly issued an announcement to crack down on illegal activities in the securities market and promote the high-quality development of the capital market, which, among other things, requires the relevant governmental authorities to strengthen cross-border oversight of law-enforcement and judicial cooperation, to enhance supervision over China-based companies listed overseas, and to establish and improve the system of extraterritorial application of the PRC securities laws. On December 28, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China (the “CAC”), together with 12 other governmental departments of the PRC, jointly promulgated the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which became effective on February 15, 2022. The Cybersecurity Review Measures require that an online platform operator which possesses the personal information of at least one million users must apply for a cybersecurity review by the CAC if it intends to be listed in foreign countries. As confirmed by our PRC counsel, Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, LLP (Shanghai), since we are not an online platform operator that possesses over one million users’ personal information, we are not subject to the cybersecurity review with the CAC under the Cybersecurity Review Measures, and for the same reason, we will not be subject to the network data security review by the CAC if the Network Data Security Management (Draft for Comments) (the “Security Administration Draft”), which was published by the CAC on November 14, 2021, is enacted as proposed. As such, we believe that, we have been compliant with the regulations and policies that have been issued by the CAC. These new laws and guidelines have not impacted the Company’s ability to conduct its business, accept foreign investments, or list on a U.S. or other foreign exchange; however, there are uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of these new laws and guidelines, which could materially and adversely impact our business and financial outlook.
On February 17, 2023, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”) promulgated the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the Trial Measures, and five supporting guidelines, which will come into effect on March 31, 2023. According to the Notice on the Administrative Arrangements for the Filing of the Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies from the CSRC, or “the CSRC Notice,” domestic companies that have already been listed overseas before the effective date of the Trial Measures (namely, March 31, 2023) shall be deemed to be existing issuers (the “Existing Issuers”). Existing Issuers are not required to complete the filing procedures immediately, and they shall be required to file with the CSRC for any subsequent offerings. As advised by our PRC counsel, Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, LLP (Shanghai), we fall under the category of Existing Issuers. Therefore, we are not immediately required to file for compliance. However, in the event that we undertake new securities offerings or fundraising activities in the future, such as a securities offering covered by this prospectus, to ensure compliance with the relevant regulations, we will be required to file with the CSRC within three business days after the completion of the offering. Other than the foregoing, as of May 15, 2025, based on the opinion of Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, LLP (Shanghai), we believe no relevant laws or regulations in the PRC explicitly require us to seek approval from CSRC or any other PRC governmental authorities for our overseas listing or securities offering plan, nor have we (including any of our subsidiaries) received any inquiry, notice, warning or sanctions regarding our planned offering of securities from the CSRC or any other PRC governmental authorities. Also, as of May 15, 2025, we do not believe we are in a monopolistic position in the industry in which we operate. However, since these statements and regulatory actions by the PRC government are newly published and official guidance and related implementation rules have not been issued, it remains uncertain what the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on our daily business operations. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (the “SCNPC”) or other PRC regulatory authorities may in the future promulgate laws, regulations or implementing rules that would require our Chinese subsidiaries to obtain regulatory approval from Chinese authorities before future offerings of securities in the U.S. These risks could result in a material change in our operations in China and potentially the value of our securities being registered herein for sale. The CSRC regulatory risks 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.
In addition, our Ordinary Shares may be prohibited from trading on a national exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCA Act”), if the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”), determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditors for three consecutive years. On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report on its determination that the PCAOB was unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and in Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), because of positions taken by PRC authorities in those jurisdictions (the “Determinations”). On August 26, 2022, the CSRC, the Ministry of Finance of the PRC (the “MOF”), and the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol (the “Protocol”), governing inspections and investigations of audit firms based in China and Hong Kong. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB determined that it was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong and vacated its previous Determinations to the contrary. However, should PRC authorities obstruct or otherwise fail to facilitate the PCAOB’s access in the future, the PCAOB may consider the need to issue a new determination. On December 29, 2022, the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act was signed into law as part of the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023” (the “Consolidated Appropriations Act”), reducing the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCA Act from three years to two. Our current auditor Audit Alliance LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us from March 2024, is a PCAOB-registered public accounting firm headquartered in Singapore. Our former independent auditors, Friedman LLP (engaged by us from 2019 to 2023) and Marcum Asia CPAs LLP (engaged by us from February 2023 to September 2023) were both PCAOB-registered public accounting firm headquartered in New York. Friedman LLP combined with Marcum Asia CPAs LLP in September 2022, following which Marcum Asia CPAs LLP assumed the China practice of Friedman LLP. Our former independent auditor, DNTW Toronto LLP (engaged by us from September 2023 to February 2024), was a PCAOB-registered public accounting firm headquartered in Canada. Our current and former auditors are both subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess an auditor’s compliance with the applicable professional standards, and have been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis. As such, our listing has not been affected by the HFCA Act and related regulations. There is a risk that our auditor cannot be inspected by the PCAOB in the future. The lack of inspection could cause trading in our securities to be prohibited under the HFCA Act, and, as a result, Nasdaq may determine to delist our securities, which may cause the value of our securities to decline or become worthless. See also “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares—The “Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act” and the “Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act” call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the United States (the “PCAOB”). These developments could add uncertainties to our offering and listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market and Nasdaq may determine to delist our securities if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor, which may cause the value of our securities to decline or become worthless” in our most recent annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024.
Remittance of dividends by a wholly foreign-owned company out of China is subject to examination by the banks designated by State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”). Our PRC subsidiaries have not paid dividends and will not be able to pay dividends until they generate accumulated profits and meet the requirements for statutory reserve funds. During the past three completed fiscal years, none of Jin Med’s subsidiaries made any dividends or distributions to Jin Med, nor did Jin Med make any dividends or distributions to its shareholders. We intend to keep any future earnings to finance the expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate any cash dividends will be paid in the foreseeable future. If Jin Med determines to pay dividends on any of its ordinary shares in the future, as a holding company, it may derive funds for such distribution from its own cash position or contributions from its subsidiaries.
Under our current corporate structure, to fund any liquidity requirements an entity in our corporate group may have, a subsidiary of Jin Med may rely on loans or payments from Jin Med and Jin Med may receive distributions or cash transfers from our subsidiaries. The transfer of funds and assets among Jin Med and its subsidiaries outside of mainland China are subject to money laundering and anti-corruption and other rules and regulations. There is also no assurance that the PRC government will not intervene in or impose restrictions on the ability of Jin Med (or our other non-mainland China subsidiaries) and its PRC subsidiary to transfer cash or assets to each other. As of May 15, 2025, our PRC subsidiaries rely on loans or payments from Jin Med (or our other subsidiaries) to meet its needs for daily operating working capital. Any foreign loans procured by our PRC subsidiaries is required to be registered with the SAFE in its local branches and satisfy relevant requirements, and our PRC subsidiaries may not procure loans which exceed the difference between its respective total project investment amount and registered capital or two times (which may be varied year by year due to the change of PRC’s national macro-control policy) of the net worth of our PRC subsidiary. According to the relevant PRC regulations on foreign-invested enterprises in China, capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries are subject to the registration with State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) in its local branches, report submission to the Ministry of Commerce of China (the “MOFCOM”) in its local branches and registration with a local bank authorized by SAFE.
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined under the federal securities laws and, as such, will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. We are also a “foreign private issuer” as defined in the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and will be exempt from certain rules under the Exchange Act that impose certain disclosure obligations and procedural requirements for proxy solicitations under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. In addition, our officers, directors and principal shareholders will be exempt from the reporting and “short swing” profit recovery provisions under Section 16 of the Exchange Act. Moreover, we will not be required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act. See “Prospectus Summary—Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Foreign Private Issuer” for more details.
This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell any securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
Investing in our Ordinary Share involves risks. You should carefully review the risks described under the headings “Prospectus Summary—Summary of Risk Factors” and “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and in the documents which are incorporated by reference herein before you invest in our securities.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is ____________, 2025.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized any person to provide you with different or additional information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus is not an offer to sell securities, and it is not soliciting an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, as well as information we have previously filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference, is accurate as of the date on the front of those documents only. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
i
This prospectus is a part of a registration statement that we filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the Commission, using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may offer to sell any of the securities, or any combination of the securities, described in this prospectus, in each case in one or more offerings, up to a total amount of $300,000,000. You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus and the related exhibits, any prospectus supplement or amendment thereto and the documents incorporated by reference, or to which we have referred you, before making your investment decision. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus, any prospectus supplement or amendments thereto do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, the Ordinary Shares offered by this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or amendments thereto in any jurisdiction to or from any person to whom or from whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation of an offer in such jurisdiction. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or amendments thereto, as well as information we have previously filed with the Commission, is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of the applicable document.
If necessary, the specific manner in which the securities may be offered and sold will be described in a supplement to this prospectus, which supplement may also add, update or change any of the information contained in this prospectus. To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus and the prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in the prospectus supplement, provided that if any statement in one of these documents is inconsistent with a statement in another document having a later date-for example, a document incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement-the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement.
Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any distribution of Ordinary Shares pursuant to this prospectus shall, under any circumstances, create any implication that there has been no change in the information set forth or incorporated by reference into this prospectus or in our affairs since the date of this prospectus. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since such date.
In this prospectus, when used herein, unless the context requires otherwise:
● | “we,” “us,” or “our” refers to Jin Medical International Ltd. (“Jin Med”) and its subsidiaries, including the VIE and its subsidiaries; | |
● | the “Company”, or “Jin Med” refers to Jin Medical International Ltd., an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and the holding company of our group; | |
● | “China” or the “PRC” refers the People’s Republic of China; | |
● | “mainland China” refers to the mainland of the People’s Republic of China, excluding Taiwan and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau for the purposes of this prospectus only; | |
● | “Affiliated Entities” refers to Changzhou Zhongjin, the VIE in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China and its subsidiaries; | |
● | “Changzhou Zhongjin” refers to Changzhou Zhongjin Medical Equipment Co., Ltd., a company limited by share organized under the laws of the PRC, which we control via a series of contractual arrangements among WFOE, Changzhou Zhongjin and shareholders of Changzhou Zhongjin; | |
● | “PRC operating entities” refers to our mainland China-based subsidiary, the VIE and the VIE’s subsidiaries; | |
● | “Taizhou Zhongjin” refers to Changzhou Zhongjin’s wholly owned subsidiary, Zhongjin Medical Equipment (Taizhou) Co., Ltd., a limited liability company organized under the laws of the PRC; | |
● | “VIE” refers to variable interest entity or Changzhou Zhongjin, as the case may be |
ii
● | “VIE Agreements” refers to a series of contractual arrangements, including the “Exclusive Business Cooperation and Service Agreement”, the “Share Disposal and Exclusive Option to Purchase Agreement”, the “Equity Interest Pledge Agreement”, the “Proxy Agreement,” and “the Spousal Consents”, as described herein; | |
● | “WFOE” or “Erhua Med” refers to Erhua Medical Technology (Changzhou) Co., Ltd., a limited liability company organized under the laws of the PRC, which is wholly-owned by Zhongjin HK; | |
● | “Zhongjin HK” refers to Jin Med’s wholly owned subsidiary, Zhongjin International Limited, a company organized under the laws of Hong Kong; | |
● | “Zhongjin Jing’ao” are to Changzhou Zhongjin’s wholly owned subsidiary, Changzhou Zhongjin Jing’ao Trading Co., Ltd., a limited liability company organized under the laws of the PRC; | |
● | “Zhongjin Kangma” refers to Changzhou Zhongjin’s wholly owned subsidiary, Zhongjin Kangma Information Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd, a limited liability company organized under the laws of the PRC in August 2023; | |
● | “Ordinary Shares” refers to ordinary shares, par value US$0.00005 per share, of the Company; | |
● | “Renminbi” or “RMB” refers to the legal currency of China; | |
● | “SEC” or “Commission” refers to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; |
● | “PCAOB” refers to the United States Public Company Accounting Oversight Board; and | |
● | “$,” “US$,” “dollar” or “U.S. dollar” refers to the legal currency of the United States. |
You should carefully read this document and any applicable prospectus supplement. You should also read the documents we have referred you to under “Where You Can Find More Information About Us” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” below for information on our company, the risks we face and our financial statements. The registration statement and exhibits can be read on the SEC’s website as described under “Where You Can Find More Information About Us.”
iii
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference contain forward-looking statements that reflect our current expectations and views of future events, all of which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations or forecasts of future events. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. You can find many (but not all) of these statements by the use of words such as “approximates,” “believes,” “hopes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may” or other similar expressions in this prospectus. These statements are likely to address our growth strategy, financial results and product and development programs. You must carefully consider any such statements and should understand that many factors could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements. These factors may include inaccurate assumptions and a broad variety of other risks and uncertainties, including some that are known and some that are not. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
● | future financial and operating results, including revenues, income, expenditures, cash balances and other financial items; | |
● | our ability to execute our growth, and expansion, including our ability to meet our goals; | |
● | current and future economic and political conditions; | |
● | our ability to compete in an industry with low barriers to entry; | |
● | our ability to continue to operate through the VIE structure; | |
● | our capital requirements and our ability to raise any additional financing which we may require; | |
● | our ability to attract clients, and further enhance our brand recognition; | |
● | our ability to hire and retain qualified management personnel and key employees in order to enable us to develop our business; | |
● | our ability to retain the services of Mr. Erqi Wang, our chief executive officer; | |
● | trends and competition in the wheelchair and living aids products manufacture industry; and | |
● | other assumptions described in this prospectus underlying or relating to any forward-looking statements. |
We describe material risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could affect our business, including our financial condition and results of operations, under “Risk Factors.” We base our forward-looking statements on our management’s beliefs and assumptions based on information available to our management at the time the statements are made. Although we believe that our expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, our expectations may later be found to be incorrect. Our actual results could be materially different from our expectations. You should read thoroughly this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from and worse than what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
This prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference contain certain data and information that we obtained from various government and private publications. Statistical data in these publications also include projections based on a number of assumptions. Our industry may not grow at the rate projected by market data, or at all. Failure of this market to grow at the projected rate may have a material and adverse effect on our business and the market price of our Ordinary Shares. In addition, the rapidly evolving nature of this industry results in significant uncertainties for any projections or estimates relating to the growth prospects or future condition of our market. Furthermore, if any one or more of the assumptions underlying the market data are later found to be incorrect, actual results may differ from the projections based on these assumptions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements made in this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.
iv
Business Overview
We are an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no substantive operation. We carry out our business in China primarily through our contractual arrangements, commonly known as the VIE Structure, with the Affiliated Entities. Our China-based VIE, Changzhou Zhongjin, and its subsidiaries, design and manufacture wheelchairs and living aids products for people with disabilities, the elderly, and people recovering from injury. Our business focuses primarily on wheelchairs and our revenue is generated primarily from sales of wheelchairs and wheelchair components. In addition, we also have living aids products such as oxygen concentrators, bathing machines, oxygen chambers, beauty instruments, and nano products. The majority of our products are sold to dealers in Japan and China, while a small number of our products are also sold to dealers located in other regions including the United States, Canada, Australia, Korea, Israel, Singapore, and others.
We seek to deliver quality products with customized attributes tailored to our end users’ specifications at competitive prices. Since 2006, Changzhou Zhongjin, the VIE, has been designing and manufacturing wheelchairs. Almost all of its wheelchairs currently for sale are manual wheelchairs, with less than 1% of revenue generated from sales of electric wheelchairs during each fiscal year in our reporting period. The manual wheelchair product category has a wide range of products at various price points, consisting of more than thirty models. The mid to high-end wheelchairs and components are mostly geared towards customers in Japan, and the relatively lower-end wheelchairs and components are targeted for customers in China. We believe the wheelchair markets in Japan and China are favorably exposed to multiple macro-economic growth driving factors such as rising spending power, growing popularity of outdoor and active lifestyles for the disabled population, and general needs for better mobility equipment. In addition, we believe demand for our products in Japan and China will increase over the next several decades due to the growing aging population. Our wheelchairs are designed to be lightweight and ergonomic. As of May 15, 2025, Changzhou Zhongjin operates two manufacturing facilities in China, where we carry out design, engineering, manufacturing, and assembly of its products.
Beginning in 2018, to expand business and diversify product offering, we started to explore the markets for electric wheelchairs as well as other living aids products, oxygen chambers, beauty instruments, and nano products. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, our revenue was $23,502,010, a 18.6% increase compared to the same period of the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, and our net income attributable to Jin Medical International Ltd. was $3,675,927, a 27.7% increase compared to the same period of fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. The increase was mainly due to the increased revenues from newly launched portable nano-thermal therapy bath products, micro hyperbaric oxygen chamber products and facial beauty devices, as well as the increased revenue from sales of electric scooter resulted from the expansion of our production lines during the year ended September 30, 2024.
We believe that our strengths have enabled us to capture business opportunities and differentiated us from our competitors, including our quality products that focus on customer needs, our well-established distribution network, our strong focus on research and development, our vertically integrated production, and our experienced management team and dedicated employees.
We are pursuing focused strategies designed to fuel our sustainable growth, further solidify our market positions and continuously enhance our values brought to our customers and end-users. These strategies include the development of innovative wheelchair products to meet customers’ needs, expansion of product offerings, enhancing our distribution network, further expanding to markets beyond Japan and China, and investment in production facilities.
Corporate Information
Jin Med was incorporated in the Cayman Islands in January 2020 as a holding company, and through a series of subsidiaries and contractual arrangements, it controls its PRC Operating Subsidiaries in China. We conduct our wheelchair and living aids product design and manufacturing business primarily through our VIE, Changzhou Zhongjin, formed in 2006, and its wholly owned subsidiaries in the PRC, Zhongjin Taizhou (established in 2013) and Zhongjin Jing’ao (established in 2014). In 2020, we established a Hong Kong holding company, Zhongjin HK, which owns Erhua Med, or WFOE, a PRC entity that provides technical and management services to the VIE. The Company completed its initial public offering of 1,000,000 Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market in March 2023 under the ticker symbol “ZJYL” and the underwriters exercised their over-allotment option in April 2023, after which the Company raised gross proceeds in the amount of $8,378,840, before deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses. In August 2023, the VIE acquired an 80% equity interest in Zhongjin Kangma Information Technology. Jin Med consolidates the VIE’s financials under U.S. GAAP as it is deemed the primary beneficiary of the VIE through contractual control arrangements.
1
Our principal executive office is located at No. 33 Lingxiang Road, Wujin District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province People’s Republic of China, and our phone number is +86519 89607972. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at P.O. Box 31119, Grand Pavilion, Hibiscus Way,802 West Bay Road, Grand Cayman, KY1-1205 Cayman Islands, Cayman Islands, and the phone number of our registered office is + 1345 769 9372. Our legal name is JIN MEDICAL INTERNATIONAL LTD., and we operate our business under the commercial name “Jin Med”, which is included in our logo. Our customers recognize us by “Jin Med.”
The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure as of May 15, 2025:
Our agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc., 122 E. 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10168.
The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov. You can also find information on our website at www.zhjmedical.com. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute a part of this prospectus and is not incorporated by reference herein or therein. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely for informational purposes and you should not consider any information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website as part of this prospectus or in deciding whether to purchase our securities.
2
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves significant risks. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider all of the information in this prospectus, including the risks and uncertainties described below, the risk factors contained in our most recent annual report on Form 20-F, as well as any updates to those risk factors in our reports on Form 6-K, in each case incorporated by reference herein, together with all of the other information appearing or incorporated by reference herein. Any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In any such case, the market price of our securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations.
We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Investing in our Ordinary Shares involves significant risks. All of our revenues are generated by the China-based VIE. Below is a summary of certain material risks we face, organized under relevant headings. For detailed discussions, see “Prospectus Summary—Summary of Risk Factors” and “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” in our most recent annual report on Form 20-F, incorporated herein by reference.
Risks Related to Our Business
● | We operate in highly competitive markets, and the scale and resources of some of our competitors may allow them to compete more effectively than we can, which could result in a loss of our market share and a decrease in our net revenues and profitability. | |
● | A significant portion of our revenue is concentrated on one large customer, and we do not have a long-term supply agreement with this key customer and rely upon our longstanding relationship with them. If we lose this customer, our results of operations will be adversely and materially impacted. | |
● | Our business depends on the performance of dealers and disruptions within our dealer network could have a negative effect on our business. |
● | Our products are subject to inherent risks related to product liability and personal injury claims. | |
● | We have limited sources of working capital and will need substantial additional financing. | |
● | We source our raw materials used for manufacturing from a limited number of suppliers. If we lose one or more of the suppliers, our operation may be disrupted, and our results of operations may be adversely and materially impacted. | |
● | Our production facilities may be unable to maintain efficiency, encounter problems in ramping up production or otherwise have difficulty meeting our production requirements. |
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure
● | If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our businesses in China do not comply with PRC regulations relating to the relevant industries, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties and our Ordinary Shares may decline in value or become worthless if we are unable to assert our contractual control rights over the assets of our PRC operating entities that conduct all of our operations. | |
● | We rely on contractual arrangements with our variable interest entity and its subsidiaries in China for our business operations, which may not be as effective in providing operational control or enabling us to derive economic benefits as through ownership of controlling equity interests. | |
● | The custodians or authorized users of our tangible assets, including chops and seals, may fail to fulfill their responsibilities, or misappropriate or misuse these assets, all of which may jeopardize our control over our PRC subsidiary and the VIE. |
3
Risks Related to Doing Business in China
● | A severe or prolonged downturn in the global or Chinese economy could materially and adversely affect our business and our financial condition. | |
● | PRC regulation of loans to, and direct investments in, PRC entities by offshore holding companies may delay or prevent us from using proceeds from future financing activities to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC operating entities. |
● | We must remit the offering proceeds to China before they may be used to benefit our business in China, and this process may take several months to complete. |
● | Changes in China’s economic, political, or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. | |
● | 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. | |
● | We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Chinese anti-corruption law. | |
● | Our wheelchairs and living aids products are classified as medical devices, which are subject to safety and technical inspections by authorities, the failure of which may result in monetary penalties, delays and interruptions in production, and loss of sales. | |
● | Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us. | |
● | Recent greater oversight by the CAC over data security, particularly for companies seeking to list on a foreign exchange, could adversely impact our business and our proposed offering. | |
● | The Opinions, the Trial Measures, and the revised Provisions recently issued by PRC authorities may subject us to additional compliance requirements in the future. | |
● | The Chinese government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business, and may intervene or influence our operations at any time, which could result in a material change in our operations, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of our Ordinary Shares to significantly decline or be worthless. | |
● | There are uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws and rules and regulations in China, which can change quickly with little advance notice, and there is a risk that the Chinese government may exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas, which could materially and adversely affect our business and hinder our ability to offer or continue our operations, and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or become worthless. | |
● | Our contractual arrangements with Changzhou Zhongjin are governed by the laws of the PRC and we may have difficulty in enforcing any rights we may have under these contractual arrangements. | |
● | We are a holding company and we rely for funding on dividend payments from our PRC operating entities, which are subject to restrictions under PRC laws. | |
● | Our business may be materially and adversely affected if any of our PRC operating entities declare bankruptcy or become subject to a dissolution or liquidation proceeding. | |
● | Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the interpretation of the PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations. | |
● | Fluctuations in exchange rates could adversely affect our business and the value of our securities. | |
● | Government control in currency conversion may adversely affect our financial condition, our ability to remit dividends, and the value of your investment. |
4
● | To the extent cash or assets of our business, or of our PRC or Hong Kong subsidiaries, or of the VIE is in mainland China or Hong Kong, such cash or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC or Hong Kong, due to interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations by the PRC government to the transfer of cash or assets. | |
● | Increases in labor costs in the PRC may adversely affect our business and results of operations. |
● | We may be subject to penalties if we are not in compliance with the PRC’s regulations related to employee’s social insurance and housing funds. | |
● | If we become directly subject to the recent scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity involving U.S.-listed Chinese companies, we may have to expend significant resources to investigate and resolve the matter, which could harm our business operations, future financing and our reputation, and could result in a loss of your investment in our stock, especially if such matter cannot be addressed and resolved favorably. | |
● | You may face difficulties in protecting your interests and exercising your rights as a shareholder since we conduct substantially all of our operations in China, and almost all of our officers and directors reside outside the U.S. | |
● | We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position. |
Risks Related to Doing Business in Japan
● | We are subject to a variety of laws and regulations including intellectual property, competition, consumer protection, product safety, and social benefits in Japan, which is our largest market. | |
● | Adverse macroeconomic conditions in Japan, our primary market, may harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. |
Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares
● | 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. | |
● | Since our CEO owns and will continue to own at least 50% of our Ordinary Shares, he will have the ability to elect directors and approve matters requiring shareholder approval by way of resolutions of members. | |
● | If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls or fail to remediate the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting that have been identified, we may fail to meet our reporting obligations or be unable to accurately report our results of operations or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our Ordinary Shares may be materially and adversely affected. | |
● | The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act and the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the United States (the “PCAOB”). These developments could add uncertainties to our offering and listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market and Nasdaq may determine to delist our securities if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor, which may cause the value of our securities to decline or become worthless. | |
● | As a foreign private issuer, we are not subject to certain U.S. securities law disclosure requirements that apply to a domestic U.S. issuer, which may limit the information publicly available to our shareholders. | |
● | We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future. |
5
Implications of Being a Controlled Company
We are a controlled company as defined under Nasdaq Listing Rules, and as long as our CEO, Mr. Erqi Wang, owns at least 50% of the voting power of our Company, we will be a controlled company. For so long as we are a controlled company under that definition, we are permitted however to elect to rely, and may rely, on certain exemptions from corporate governance rules, including:
● | an exemption from the rule that a majority of our board of directors must be independent directors; | |
● | an exemption from the rule that the compensation of our chief executive officer must be determined or recommended solely by independent directors; and | |
● | an exemption from the rule that our director nominees must be selected or recommended solely by independent directors. |
As a result, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements.
Although we do not intend to rely on the controlled company exemption under the Nasdaq Listing Rules, we could elect to rely on this exemption in the future. If we elect to rely on the controlled company exemption, a majority of the members of our board of directors might not be independent directors and our nominating and corporate governance and compensation committees might not consist entirely of independent directors.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Foreign Private Issuer
As a company with less than $1.235 billion in revenue during our last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act, enacted in April 2012, and may take advantage of reduced reporting requirements that are otherwise applicable to public companies. These provisions include, but are not limited to:
● | being permitted to present only two years of audited financial statements and only two years of related Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our filings with the SEC; | |
● | not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting; | |
● | reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements; and | |
● | exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. |
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, for complying with new or revised accounting standards. We have elected to take advantage of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards and acknowledge such election is irrevocable pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act.
6
We are a “foreign private issuer,” as defined by the SEC. As a result, in accordance with the rules and regulations of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, or Nasdaq, we may comply with home country governance requirements and certain exemptions thereunder rather than complying with Nasdaq corporate governance standards. We may choose to take advantage of the following exemptions afforded to foreign private issuers:
● | Exemption from filing quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or provide current reports on Form 8-K disclosing significant events within four days of their occurrence. | |
● | Exemption from Section 16 rules regarding sales of ordinary shares by insiders, which will provide less data in this regard than shareholders of U.S. companies that are subject to the Exchange Act. | |
● | Exemption from the Nasdaq rules applicable to domestic issuers requiring disclosure within four business days of any determination to grant a waiver of the code of business conduct and ethics to directors and officers. Although we will require board approval of any such waiver, we may choose not to disclose the waiver in the manner set forth in the Nasdaq rules, as permitted by the foreign private issuer exemption. | |
● | Exemption from the requirement that our board of directors have a remuneration committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. | |
● | Exemption from the requirements that director nominees are selected, or recommended for selection by our board of directors, either by (1) independent directors constituting a majority of our board of directors’ independent directors in a vote in which only independent directors participate, or (2) a committee comprised solely of independent directors, and that a formal written charter or board resolution, as applicable, addressing the nominations process is adopted. |
Implication of Having an Offshore Holding Company Structure and a VIE Structure
Jin Med is a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with no material operations of its own. Our operations are conducted in China by our Chinese VIE, Changzhou Zhongjin, and its subsidiaries. We do not have any equity ownership of the VIE. Instead, we control and receive the economic benefits of the VIE’s business operations through VIE Agreements and we consolidate the VIE for accounting purpose only because we met the conditions under the United States generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP, to consolidate the VIE. The VIE agreements are used to provide contractual exposure to foreign investment in China-based companies where Chinese law prohibits direct foreign investment in Chinese operating companies.
The Ordinary Shares of Jin Med are shares of our Cayman Islands holding company, not shares of the VIE. Investors of our Ordinary Shares will not own any equity interests in the VIE, but instead will own shares of a Cayman Islands holding company. A VIE is an entity that has a total equity investment that is insufficient to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support, or whose equity investors lack the characteristics of a controlling financial interest, such as through voting rights, the right to receive the expected residual returns of the entity, or the obligation to absorb the expected losses of the entity. Under U.S. GAAP, the Company is deemed to have a controlling financial interest in, and be the primary beneficiary of, the VIE for accounting purposes, because pursuant to the VIE Agreements, the VIE shall pay service fees equal to all of its net profit after tax payments to our wholly owned subsidiary, Erhua Medical Technology (Changzhou) Co., Ltd. (“Erhua Med”, or “WFOE”), while WFOE has the power to direct the activities of the VIE that can significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance and has the right to receive substantially all of the economic benefits of the VIE. Such contractual arrangements are designed so that the operations of the VIE are solely for the benefit of WFOE and, ultimately, the Company. As such, the Company is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE for accounting purposes and must consolidate the VIE because it met the conditions under U.S. GAAP to consolidate the VIE.
The VIE Agreements have not been tested in a court of law and may not be effective in providing control over the VIE, and we are subject to risks due to the uncertainty of the interpretation and application of the laws and regulations of the PRC, regarding the VIE, Changzhou Zhongjin, and the VIE structure, including, but not limited to, regulatory review of overseas listing of PRC companies through a special purpose vehicle, and the validity and enforcement of the contractual arrangements with the VIE. We are also subject to the risk that the PRC government could disallow the VIE structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and, as a result, the value of our Ordinary Shares may depreciate significantly or become worthless.
7
Investing in our Ordinary Shares involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described in Part I, Item 3, D. Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, together with the other information set forth in this prospectus, and in the other documents that we include or incorporate by reference into this prospectus, as updated by our Current Reports on Form 6-K and other filings we make with the SEC, the risk factors described under the caption “Risk Factors” in any applicable prospectus supplement and any risk factors set forth in our other filings with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, before making a decision about investing in our Ordinary Shares. The risks and uncertainties we have described are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our operations. If any risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. In such an event, the trading price of our Ordinary Shares could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment.
Please see “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” for information on where you can find the documents we have filed with or furnished to the SEC and which are incorporated into this prospectus by reference.
8
OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
We may sell from time to time pursuant to this prospectus (as may be detailed in one or more prospectus supplements) an indeterminate number of Securities as shall have a maximum aggregate offering price of $300,000,000. The actual price and terms of the Securities that we will offer pursuant hereto will depend on a number of factors that may be relevant as of the time of offer.
Pursuant to General Instruction I.B.5. of Form F-3, in no event will we sell the securities registered on the registration statement to which this prospectus forms a part with a value exceeding one-third of the aggregate market value worldwide of our outstanding common equity held by non-affiliates (which we refer to as our public float) in any 12-month period so long as our public float remains below US$75,000,000.
In the event that subsequent to the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, the aggregate market value of our outstanding Ordinary Shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $75,000,000, then the one-third limitation on sales under General Instruction I.B.5 of Form F-3 shall not apply to additional sales made pursuant to this registration statement. We will state on the cover of each prospectus supplement the amount of our outstanding Ordinary Shares held by non-affiliates, the amount of securities being offered and the amount of securities sold during the prior 12-calendar-month-period that ends on, and includes, the date of such prospectus supplement.
We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities we offer as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement(s).
9
We may sell the securities offered through this prospectus (1) to or through underwriters or dealers, (2) directly to purchasers, including our affiliates, (3) through agents, or (4) through a combination of any these methods. The securities may be distributed at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, market prices prevailing at the time of sale, prices related to the prevailing market prices, or negotiated prices. The prospectus supplement will describe the terms of the offering, including the following information, if applicable:
● | the name or names of any dealers or agents; | |
● | the name or names of any managing underwriter or underwriters; | |
● | the purchase price of the securities; | |
● | the net proceeds from the sale of the securities; | |
● | any delayed delivery arrangements; | |
● | any underwriting discounts, commissions and other items constituting underwriters’ compensation; | |
● | any offering price to the public; | |
● | any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and | |
● | any commissions paid to agents. |
Sale through underwriters or dealers
If underwriters are used in the sale, the underwriters will acquire the securities for their own account, including through underwriting, purchase, security lending or repurchase agreements. The underwriters may resell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated transactions. Underwriters may sell the securities in order to facilitate transactions in any of our other securities (described in this prospectus or otherwise), including other public or private transactions and short sales. Underwriters may offer securities to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more firms acting as underwriters. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to certain conditions, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all the offered securities if they purchase any of them. The underwriters may change from time to time any public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers. The prospectus supplement will include the names of the principal underwriters the respective amount of securities underwritten, the nature of the obligation of the underwriters to take the securities and the nature of any material relationship between an underwriter and us.
If dealers are used in the sale of securities offered through this prospectus, we will sell the securities to them as principals. They may then resell those securities to the public at varying prices determined by the dealers at the time of resale. The prospectus supplement will include the names of the dealers and the terms of the transaction.
Direct sales and sales through agents
We may sell the securities offered through this prospectus directly. In this case, no underwriters or agents would be involved. Such securities may also be sold through agents designated from time to time. The prospectus supplement will name any agent involved in the offer or sale of the offered-securities and will describe any commissions payable to the agent by us. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement, any agent will agree to use its reasonable best efforts to solicit purchases for the period of its appointment.
We may sell the securities directly to institutional investors or others who may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act with respect to any sale of those securities. The terms of any such sales will be described in the prospectus supplement.
10
Delayed delivery contracts
If the prospectus supplement indicates, we may authorize agents, underwriters or dealers to solicit offers from certain types of institutions to purchase securities at the public offering price under delayed delivery contracts. These contracts would provide for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. The contracts would be subject only to those conditions described in the prospectus supplement. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the commission payable for solicitation of those contracts.
Market making, stabilization and other transactions
Unless the applicable prospectus supplement states otherwise, each series of offered securities will be a new issue and will have no established trading market. We may elect to list any series of offered securities on an exchange. Any underwriters that we use in the sale of offered securities may make a market in such securities, but may discontinue such market making at any time without notice. Therefore, we cannot assure you that the securities will have a liquid trading market.
Any underwriter may also engage in stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Rule 104 under the Exchange Act. Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase the underlying security in the open market for the purpose of pegging, fixing or maintaining the price of the securities. Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the securities in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions.
Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the securities originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. Stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would be in the absence of the transactions. The underwriters may, if they commence these transactions, discontinue them at any time.
Derivative transactions and hedging
We, the underwriters or other agents may engage in derivative transactions involving the securities. These derivatives may consist of short sale transactions and other hedging activities. The underwriters or agents may acquire a long or short position in the securities, hold or resell securities acquired and purchase options or futures on the securities and other derivative instruments with returns linked to or related to changes in the price of the securities. In order to facilitate these derivative transactions, we may enter into security lending or repurchase agreements with the underwriters or agents. The underwriters or agents may effect the derivative transactions through sales of the securities to the public, including short sales, or by lending the securities in order to facilitate short sale transactions by others. The underwriters or agents may also use the securities purchased or borrowed from us or others (or, in the case of derivatives, securities received from us in settlement of those derivatives) to directly or indirectly settle sales of the securities or close out any related open borrowings of the securities.
Electronic auctions
We may also make sales through the Internet or through other electronic means. Since we may from time to time elect to offer securities directly to the public, with or without the involvement of agents, underwriters or dealers, utilizing the Internet or other forms of electronic bidding or ordering systems for the pricing and allocation of such securities, you should pay particular attention to the description of that system we will provide in a prospectus supplement.
Such electronic system may allow bidders to directly participate, through electronic access to an auction site, by submitting conditional offers to buy that are subject to acceptance by us, and which may directly affect the price or other terms and conditions at which such securities are sold. These bidding or ordering systems may present to each bidder, on a so-called “real-time” basis, relevant information to assist in making a bid, such as the clearing spread at which the offering would be sold, based on the bids submitted, and whether a bidder’s individual bids would be accepted, prorated or rejected. Of course, many pricing methods can and may also be used.
Upon completion of such an electronic auction process, securities will be allocated based on prices bid, terms of bid or other factors. The final offering price at which securities would be sold and the allocation of securities among bidders would be based in whole or in part on the results of the Internet or other electronic bidding process or auction.
General information
Agents, underwriters, and dealers may be entitled, under agreements entered into with us, to indemnification by us against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
11
DESCRIPTION OF ORDINARY SHARES
General
We are a Cayman Islands exempt company and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as amended from time, and the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, which we refer to as the Companies Act or the Cayman Islands Companies Act below. As of May 15, 2025, our authorized share capital is US$50,000 divided into 1,000,000,000 shares with a par value of US$0.00005 each, of which 156,547,100 Ordinary Shares were issued and outstanding.
On February 8, 2024, we executed a forward stock split of our Ordinary Shares at a ratio of one pre-split ordinary share to 20 post-split ordinary shares. After the stock split, the authorized number of Ordinary Shares became 1,000,000,000, increased from 50,000,000 pre-split shares. The par value changed from $0.001 to $0.00005 each share accordingly.
The following are summaries of material provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Act insofar as they relate to the material terms of our Ordinary Shares.
Ordinary shares
General
All of our issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares are fully paid and non-assessable. Our Ordinary Shares are issued in registered form and are issued when registered in our register of members. Our shareholders who are non-residents of the Cayman Islands may freely hold and vote their Ordinary Shares. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not permit us to issue bearer shares.
Dividends
The holders of our Ordinary Shares are entitled to such dividends as may be declared by our shareholders or board of directors subject to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, or the Companies Act, and to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Under Cayman Islands law, dividends may be declared and paid only out of funds legally available therefor, namely out of either profit or our share premium account, and provided further that a dividend may not be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. Unless provided by the rights attached to a share, no dividend shall bear interest.
Voting Rights
Subject to any rights or restrictions as to voting attached to any shares, unless any share carries special voting rights, on a show of hands every shareholder who is present in person and every person representing a shareholder by proxy shall have one vote. On a poll, every shareholder who is present in person and every person representing a shareholder by proxy shall have one vote for each share of which he or the person represented by proxy is the holder. In addition, all shareholders holding shares of a particular class are entitled to vote at a meeting of the holders of that class of shares. Votes may be given either personally or by proxy.
12
Transfer of Ordinary Shares
Provided that a transfer of Ordinary Shares complies with applicable rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market, a shareholder may transfer Ordinary Shares to another person by completing an instrument of transfer in a common form or in a form prescribed by the Nasdaq Listing Rules or in any other form approved by the directors, executed:
(a) | where the Ordinary Shares are fully paid, by or on behalf of that shareholder; and |
(b) | where the Ordinary Shares are partly paid, by or on behalf of that shareholder and the transferee. |
The transferor shall be deemed to remain the holder of an Ordinary Share until the name of the transferee is entered into the register of members of the Company.
Where the Ordinary Shares in question are not listed on or subject to the Nasdaq Listing Rules our board of directors may, in its absolute discretion, decline to register any transfer of any Ordinary Share that has not been fully paid up or is subject to a company lien. Our board of directors may also decline to register any transfer of such Ordinary Share unless:
(a) | the instrument of transfer is lodged with us, accompanied by the certificate for the Ordinary Shares to which it relates and such other evidence as our board of directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer; | |
(b) | the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one class of Ordinary Shares; | |
(c) | the instrument of transfer is properly stamped, if required; | |
(d) | the Ordinary Share transferred is fully paid and free of any lien in favor of us; | |
(e) | any fee related to the transfer has been paid to us; and | |
(f) | the transfer is not to more than four joint holders. |
If our directors refuse to register a transfer, they are required, within one month after the date on which the instrument of transfer was lodged, to send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of such refusal.
The registration of transfers may, on 14 calendar days’ notice being given by advertisement in such one or more newspapers or by electronic means, be suspended and our register of members closed at such times and for such periods as our board of directors may from time to time determine. The registration of transfers, however, may not be suspended, and the register may not be closed, for more than 30 calendar days in any year.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for the Ordinary Shares is Transhare Corporation.
Variation of Rights of Shares
Whenever our capital is divided into different classes of shares, the rights attaching to any class of share (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class) may be varied either with the consent in writing of the holders of not less than two-thirds of the issued shares of that class, or with the sanction of a resolution passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the holders of shares of the class present in person or by proxy at a separate general meeting of the holders of shares of that class.
Unless the terms on which a class of shares was issued state otherwise, the rights conferred on the shareholder holding shares of any class shall not be deemed to be varied by the creation or issue of further shares ranking pari passu with the existing shares of that class or subsequent to them or the redemption or purchase of any shares of any class by our company. The rights conferred upon the holders of the shares of any class issued shall not be deemed to be varied by the creation or issue of shares with preferred or other rights including, without limitation, the creation of shares with enhanced or weighted voting rights.
13
Alteration of Share Capital
Subject to the Cayman Islands Companies Act, our shareholders may, by ordinary resolution:
(a) | increase our share capital by new shares of the amount fixed by that ordinary resolution and with the attached rights, priorities and privileges set out in that ordinary resolution; |
(b) | consolidate and divide all or any of our share capital into shares of larger amount than our existing shares; |
(c) | convert all or any of our paid up shares into stock, and reconvert that stock into paid up shares of any denomination; |
(d) | sub-divide our shares or any of them into shares of an amount smaller than that fixed, so, however, that in the sub-division, the proportion between the amount paid and the amount, if any, unpaid on each reduced share shall be the same as it was in case of the share from which the reduced share is derived; and |
(e) | cancel shares which, at the date of the passing of that ordinary resolution, have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person and diminish the amount of our share capital by the amount of the shares so cancelled or, in the case of shares without nominal par value, diminish the number of shares into which our capital is divided. |
Subject to the Cayman Islands Companies Act and to any rights for the time being conferred on the shareholders holding a particular class of shares, our shareholders may, by special resolution, reduce its share capital in any way.
Calls on Shares and Forfeiture
Subject to the terms of allotment, the directors may make calls on the shareholders in respect of any monies unpaid on their shares including any premium and each shareholder shall (subject to receiving at least 14 clear days’ notice specifying when and where payment is to be made), pay to us the amount called on his shares. Shareholders registered as the joint holders of a share shall be jointly and severally liable to pay all calls in respect of the share. If a call remains unpaid after it has become due and payable the person from whom it is due and payable shall pay interest on the amount unpaid from the day it became due and payable until it is paid at the rate fixed by the terms of allotment of the share or in the notice of the call or if no rate is fixed, at the rate of 10 percent per annum. The directors may, at their discretion, waive payment of the interest wholly or in part.
We have a first and paramount lien on all shares (whether fully paid up or not) registered in the name of a shareholder (whether solely or jointly with others). The lien is for all monies payable to us by the shareholder or the shareholder’s estate:
(a) | either alone or jointly with any other person, whether or not that other person is a shareholder; and |
(b) | whether or not those monies are presently payable. |
At any time the directors may declare any share to be wholly or partly exempt from the lien on shares provisions of the articles.
We may sell, in such manner as the directors may determine, any share on which the sum in respect of which the lien exists is presently payable, if due notice that such sum is payable has been given (as prescribed by the articles) and, within 14 days of the date on which the notice is deemed to be given under the articles, such notice has not been complied with.
Unclaimed Dividend
A dividend that remains unclaimed for a period of six years after it became due for payment shall be forfeited to, and shall cease to remain owing by, the company.
14
Forfeiture or Surrender of Shares
If a shareholder fails to pay any call the directors may give to such shareholder not less than 14 clear days’ notice requiring payment and specifying the amount unpaid including any interest which may have accrued, any expenses which have been incurred by us due to that person’s default and the place where payment is to be made. The notice shall also contain a warning that if the notice is not complied with, the shares in respect of which the call is made will be liable to be forfeited.
If such notice is not complied with, the directors may, before the payment required by the notice has been received, resolve that any share the subject of that notice be forfeited (which forfeiture shall include all dividends or other monies payable in respect of the forfeited share and not paid before such forfeiture).
A forfeited share may be sold, re-allotted or otherwise disposed of on such terms and in such manner as the directors determine and at any time before a sale, re-allotment or disposition the forfeiture may be cancelled on such terms as the directors think fit.
A person whose shares have been forfeited shall cease to be a shareholder in respect of the forfeited shares, but shall, notwithstanding such forfeit, remain liable to pay to us all monies which at the date of forfeiture were payable by him to us in respect of the shares, together with all expenses and interest from the date of forfeiture or surrender until payment, but his liability shall cease if and when we receive payment in full of the unpaid amount.
A declaration, whether statutory or under oath, made by a director or the secretary shall be conclusive evidence that the person making the declaration is a director or secretary of us and that the particular shares have been forfeited or surrendered on a particular date.
Subject to the execution of an instrument of transfer, if necessary, the declaration shall constitute good title to the shares.
Share Premium Account
The directors shall establish a share premium account and shall carry the credit of such account from time to time to a sum equal to the amount or value of the premium paid on the issue of any share or capital contributed or such other amounts required by the Cayman Islands Companies Act.
Redemption and Purchase of Own Shares
Subject to the Cayman Islands Companies Act and any rights for the time being conferred on the shareholders holding a particular class of shares, we may by our directors:
(a) | issue shares that are to be redeemed or liable to be redeemed, at our option or the shareholder holding those redeemable shares, on the terms and in the manner its directors determine before the issue of those shares; |
(b) | with the consent by special resolution of the shareholders holding shares of a particular class, vary the rights attaching to that class of shares so as to provide that those shares are to be redeemed or are liable to be redeemed at our option on the terms and in the manner which the directors determine at the time of such variation; and |
(c) | purchase all or any of our own shares of any class including any redeemable shares on the terms and in the manner which the directors determine at the time of such purchase. |
We may make a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of its own shares in any manner authorized by the Cayman Islands Companies Act, including out of any combination of capital, our profits and the proceeds of a fresh issue of shares.
When making a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of shares, the directors may make the payment in cash or in specie (or partly in one and partly in the other) if so authorized by the terms of the allotment of those shares or by the terms applying to those shares, or otherwise by agreement with the shareholder holding those shares.
Inspection of Books and Records
Holders of our Ordinary Shares will have no general right under the Cayman Islands Companies Act to inspect or obtain copies of our register of members or our corporate records (other than the memorandum and articles of association and any special resolutions passed by such companies, and the registers of mortgages and charges of such companies).
15
General Meetings
As a Cayman Islands exempted company, we are not obligated by the Cayman Islands Companies Act to call shareholders’ annual general meetings; accordingly, we may, but shall not be obliged to, in each year hold a general meeting as an annual general meeting. Any annual general meeting held shall be held at such time and place as may be determined by our board of directors. All general meetings other than annual general meetings shall be called extraordinary general meetings.
The directors may convene general meetings whenever they think fit. General meetings shall also be convened on the written requisition of one or more of the shareholders entitled to attend and vote at our general meetings who (together) hold not less than 10 percent of the rights to vote at such general meeting in accordance with the notice provisions in the articles, specifying the purpose of the meeting and signed by each of the shareholders making the requisition. If the directors do not convene such meeting for a date not later than 21 clear days’ after the date of receipt of the written requisition, those shareholders who requested the meeting may convene the general meeting themselves within three months after the end of such period of 21 clear days in which case reasonable expenses incurred by them as a result of the directors failing to convene a meeting shall be reimbursed by us.
At least 14 days’ notice of an extraordinary general meeting and 21 days’ notice of an annual general meeting shall be given to shareholders entitled to attend and vote at such meeting. The notice shall specify the place, the day and the hour of the meeting and the general nature of that business. In addition, if a resolution is proposed as a special resolution, the text of that resolution shall be given to all shareholders. Notice of every general meeting shall also be given to the directors and our auditors.
Subject to the Cayman Islands Companies Act and with the consent of the shareholders who, individually or collectively, hold at least 90 percent of the voting rights of all those who have a right to vote at a general meeting, a general meeting may be convened on shorter notice.
A quorum shall consist of the presence (whether in person or represented by proxy) of one or more shareholders holding shares that represent not less than one-third of the outstanding shares carrying the right to vote at such general meeting.
If, within 15 minutes from the time appointed for the general meeting, or at any time during the meeting, a quorum is not present, the meeting, if convened upon the requisition of shareholders, shall be cancelled. In any other case it shall stand adjourned to the same time and place seven days or to such other time or place as is determined by the directors.
The chairman may, with the consent of a meeting at which a quorum is present, adjourn the meeting. When a meeting is adjourned for seven days or more, notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given in accordance with the articles.
At any general meeting a resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a show of hands, unless a poll is (before, or on, the declaration of the result of the show of hands) demanded by the chairman of the meeting or by at least two shareholders having the right to vote on the resolutions or one or more shareholders present who together hold not less than 10 percent of the voting rights of all those who are entitled to vote on the resolution. Unless a poll is so demanded, a declaration by the chairman as to the result of a resolution and an entry to that effect in the minutes of the meeting, shall be conclusive evidence of the outcome of a show of hands, without proof of the number or proportion of the votes recorded in favor of, or against, that resolution.
If a poll is duly demanded it shall be taken in such manner as the chairman directs and the result of the poll shall be deemed to be the resolution of the meeting at which the poll was demanded.
In the case of an equality of votes, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, the chairman of the meeting at which the show of hands takes place or at which the poll is demanded, shall not be entitled to a second or casting vote.
Directors
We may by ordinary resolution, from time to time, fix the maximum and minimum number of directors to be appointed. Under the Articles, we are required to have a minimum of one director and the maximum number of Directors shall be unlimited.
A director may be appointed by ordinary resolution or by the directors. Any appointment may be to fill a vacancy or as an additional director.
Unless the remuneration of the directors is determined by the shareholders by ordinary resolution, the directors shall be entitled to such remuneration as the directors may determine.
The shareholding qualification for directors may be fixed by our shareholders by ordinary resolution and unless and until so fixed no share qualification shall be required.
16
Unless removed or re-appointed, each director shall be appointed for a term expiring at the next-following annual general meeting, if one is held. At any annual general meeting held, our directors will be elected by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders. At each annual general meeting, each director so elected shall hold office for a one-year term and until the election of their respective successors in office or removed.
A director may be removed by ordinary resolution.
A director may at any time resign or retire from office by giving us notice in writing. Unless the notice specifies a different date, the director shall be deemed to have resigned on the date that the notice is delivered to us.
Subject to the provisions of the articles, the office of a director may be terminated forthwith if:
(a) | he is prohibited by the law of the Cayman Islands from acting as a director; |
(b) | he is made bankrupt or makes an arrangement or composition with his creditors generally; |
(c) | he resigns his office by notice to us; |
(d) | he only held office as a director for a fixed term and such term expires; |
(e) | in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner by whom he is being treated he becomes physically or mentally incapable of acting as a director; |
(f) | he is given notice by the majority of the other directors (not being less than two in number) to vacate office (without prejudice to any claim for damages for breach of any agreement relating to the provision of the services of such director); |
(g) | he is made subject to any law relating to mental health or incompetence, whether by court order or otherwise; or |
(h) | without the consent of the other directors, he is absent from meetings of directors for continuous period of six months. |
Each of the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee shall consist of at least three directors and the majority of the committee members shall be independent within the meaning of Section 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules. The audit committee shall consist of at least three directors, all of whom shall be independent within the meaning of Section 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules and will meet the criteria for independence set forth in Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act.
Powers and Duties of Directors
Subject to the provisions of the Cayman Islands Companies Act and our amended and restated memorandum and articles, our business shall be managed by the directors, who may exercise all our powers. No prior act of the directors shall be invalidated by any subsequent alteration of our amended and restated memorandum or articles of association. However, to the extent allowed by the Cayman Islands Companies Act, shareholders may by special resolution validate any prior or future act of the directors which would otherwise be in breach of their duties.
The directors may delegate any of their powers to any committee consisting of one or more persons who need not be shareholders and may include non-directors so long as the majority of those persons are directors; any committee so formed shall in the exercise of the powers so delegated conform to any regulations that may be imposed on it by the directors. Our board of directors have established an audit committee, compensation committee, and nomination and corporate governance committee.
The board of directors may establish any local or divisional board of directors or agency and delegate to it its powers and authorities (with power to sub-delegate) for managing any of our affairs whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere and may appoint any persons to be members of a local or divisional board of directors, or to be managers or agents, and may fix their remuneration.
The directors may from time to time and at any time by power of attorney or in any other manner they determine appoint any person, either generally or in respect of any specific matter, to be our agent with or without authority for that person to delegate all or any of that person’s powers.
The directors may from time to time and at any time by power of attorney or in any other manner they determine appoint any person, whether nominated directly or indirectly by the directors, to be our attorney or our authorized signatory and for such period and subject to such conditions as they may think fit. The powers, authorities and discretions, however, must not exceed those vested in, or exercisable, by the directors under the articles.
17
The board of directors may remove any person so appointed and may revoke or vary the delegation.
The directors may exercise all of our powers to borrow money and to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and assets both present and future and uncalled capital or any part thereof, to issue debentures and other securities whether outright or as collateral security for any debt, liability or obligation of ours or our parent undertaking (if any) or any subsidiary undertaking of us or of any third party.
A director shall not, as a director, vote in respect of any contract, transaction, arrangement or proposal in which he has an interest which (together with any interest of any person connected with him) is a material interest (otherwise then by virtue of his interests, direct or indirect, in shares or debentures or other securities of, or otherwise in or through, us) and if he shall do so his vote shall not be counted, nor in relation thereto shall he be counted in the quorum present at the meeting, but (in the absence of some other material interest than is mentioned below) none of these prohibitions shall apply to:
(a) | the giving of any security, guarantee or indemnity in respect of: |
(i) | money lent or obligations incurred by him or by any other person for our benefit or any of our subsidiaries; or |
(ii) | a debt or obligation of ours or any of our subsidiaries for which the director himself has assumed responsibility in whole or in part and whether alone or jointly with others under a guarantee or indemnity or by the giving of security; |
(b) | where we or any of our subsidiaries is offering securities in which offer the director is or may be entitled to participate as a holder of securities or in the underwriting or sub-underwriting of which the director is to or may participate; |
(c) | any contract, transaction, arrangement or proposal affecting any other body corporate in which he is interested, directly or indirectly and whether as an officer, shareholder, creditor or otherwise howsoever, provided that he (together with persons connected with him) does not to his knowledge hold an interest representing one percent or more of any class of the equity share capital of such body corporate (or of any third body corporate through which his interest is derived) or of the voting rights available to shareholders of the relevant body corporate; |
(d) | any act or thing done or to be done in respect of any arrangement for the benefit of the employees of us or any of our subsidiaries under which he is not accorded as a director any privilege or advantage not generally accorded to the employees to whom such arrangement relates; or |
(e) | any matter connected with the purchase or maintenance for any director of insurance against any liability or (to the extent permitted by the Cayman Islands Companies Act) indemnities in favor of directors, the funding of expenditure by one or more directors in defending proceedings against him or them or the doing of anything to enable such director or directors to avoid incurring such expenditure. |
A director may, as a director, vote (and be counted in the quorum) in respect of any contract, transaction, arrangement or proposal in which he has an interest which is not a material interest or as described above.
Capitalization of Profits
The directors may resolve to capitalize:
(a) | any part of our profits not required for paying any preferential dividend (whether or not those profits are available for distribution); or |
(b) | any sum standing to the credit of our share premium account or capital redemption reserve, if any. |
The amount resolved to be capitalized must be appropriated to the shareholders who would have been entitled to it had it been distributed by way of dividend and in the same proportions.
18
Liquidation Rights
If we are wound up, the shareholders may, subject to the articles and any other sanction required by the Cayman Islands Companies Act, pass a special resolution allowing the liquidator to do either or both of the following:
(a) | to divide in specie among the shareholders the whole or any part of our assets and, for that purpose, to value any assets and to determine how the division shall be carried out as between the shareholders or different classes of shareholders; and |
(b) | to vest the whole or any part of the assets in trustees for the benefit of shareholders and those liable to contribute to the winding up. |
The directors have the authority to present a petition for our winding up to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands on our behalf without the sanction of a resolution passed at a general meeting.
Register of Members
Under the Cayman Islands Companies Act, we must keep a register of members and there should be entered therein:
● | the names and addresses of our shareholders, together with a statement of the shares held by each shareholder, and such statement shall confirm (i) the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each shareholder; (ii) the number and category of shares held by each member, and (iii) whether each relevant category of shares held by a member carries voting rights under the articles of association of the company, and if so, whether such voting rights are conditional; |
● | the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a shareholder; and |
● | the date on which any person ceased to be a shareholder. |
Under the Cayman Islands Companies Act, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (that is, the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a shareholder registered in the register of members is deemed as a matter of the Cayman Islands Companies Act to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the completion of the securities offering under the applicable prospectus supplement, the register of members will be immediately updated to record and give effect to the issuance of shares by us to the custodian or its nominee. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name.
If the name of any person is incorrectly entered in or omitted from our register of members, or if there is any default or unnecessary delay in entering on the register the fact of any person having ceased to be a shareholder of our company, the person or shareholder aggrieved (or any shareholder of our company or our company itself) may apply to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for an order that the register be rectified, and the Court may either refuse such application or it may, if satisfied of the justice of the case, make an order for the rectification of the register.
Differences in Corporate Law
The Cayman Islands Companies Act is derived, to a large extent, from the older Companies Acts of England and Wales but does not follow recent United Kingdom statutory enactments, and accordingly there are significant differences between the Cayman Islands Companies Act and the current Companies Act of England and Wales. In addition, the Cayman Islands Companies Act differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of certain significant differences between the provisions of the Cayman Islands Companies Act applicable to us and the comparable laws applicable to companies incorporated in the State of Delaware in the United States.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements
The Cayman Islands Companies Act permits mergers and consolidations between Cayman Islands companies and between Cayman Islands companies and non-Cayman Islands companies. For these purposes, (a) “merger” means the merging of two or more constituent companies and the vesting of their undertaking, property and liabilities in one of such companies as the surviving company, and (b) a “consolidation” means the combination of two or more constituent companies into a consolidated company and the vesting of the undertaking, property and liabilities of such companies to the consolidated company. In order to effect such a merger or consolidation, the directors of each constituent company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation, which must then be authorized by (a) a special resolution of the shareholders of each constituent company, and (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. The plan must be filed with the Registrar of Companies together with a declaration as to the solvency of the consolidated or surviving company, a list of the assets and liabilities of each constituent company and an undertaking that a copy of the certificate of merger or consolidation will be given to the shareholders and creditors of each constituent company and that notification of the merger or consolidation will be published in the Cayman Islands Gazette. Court approval is not required for a merger or consolidation which is effected in compliance with these statutory procedures.
19
A merger between a Cayman Islands parent company and its Cayman Islands subsidiary or subsidiaries does not require authorization by a resolution of shareholders. For this purpose a subsidiary is a company of which at least 90% of the issued shares entitled to vote are owned by the parent company.
The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company is required unless this requirement is waived by a court in the Cayman Islands.
Except in certain limited circumstances, a dissenting shareholder of a Cayman Islands constituent company is entitled to payment of the fair value of his or her shares upon dissenting from a merger or consolidation. The exercise of such dissenter rights will preclude the exercise by the dissenting shareholder of any other rights to which he or she might otherwise be entitled by virtue of holding shares, except for the right to seek relief on the grounds that the merger or consolidation is void or unlawful.
In addition, there are statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction and amalgamation of companies, provided that the arrangement is approved by (a) 75% in value of the shareholders or class of shareholders, as the case may be, or (b) a majority in number representing 75% in value of the creditors or each class of creditors, as the case may be, with whom the arrangement is to be made, that are, in each case, present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meetings, convened for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder has the right to express to the court the view that the transaction ought not to be approved, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands can be expected to approve the arrangement if it determines that:
(a) | the statutory provisions as to the required majority vote have been met; |
(b) | the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question and the statutory majority are acting bona fide without coercion of the minority to promote interests adverse to those of the class; |
(c) | the arrangement is such that may be reasonably approved by an intelligent and honest man of that class acting in respect of his interest; and |
(d) | the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Cayman Islands Companies Act. |
When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares affected within four months the offeror may, within a two-month period commencing on the expiration of such four month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands but this is unlikely to succeed in the case of an offer which has been so approved unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith or collusion.
If an arrangement and reconstruction is thus approved, or if a takeover offer is made and accepted, a dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of Delaware corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.
Shareholders’ Suits
In principle, we will normally be the proper plaintiff to sue for a wrong done to us as a company and as a general rule, a derivative action may not be brought by a minority shareholder. However, based on English law authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands courts can be expected to follow and apply the common law principles (namely the rule in Foss v. Harbottle and the exceptions thereto) so that a non-controlling shareholder may be permitted to commence a class action against or derivative actions in the name of the company to challenge:
(a) | an act which is illegal or ultra vires with respect to the company and is therefore incapable of ratification by the shareholders; |
(b) | an act which, although not ultra vires, requires authorization by a qualified (or special) majority (that is, more than a simple majority) which has not been obtained; and |
(c) | an act which constitutes a “fraud on the minority” where the wrongdoers are themselves in control of the company. |
20
Indemnification of Directors and Executive Officers and Limitation of Liability
The Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated articles of association provide to the extent permitted by law, we shall indemnify each existing or former secretary, director (including alternate director), and any of our other officers (including an investment adviser or an administrator or liquidator) and their personal representatives against:
(a) | all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by the existing or former director (including alternate director), secretary or officer in or about the conduct of our business or affairs or in the execution or discharge of the existing or former director (including alternate director), secretary’s or officer’s duties, powers, authorities or discretions; and |
(b) | without limitation to paragraph (a) above, all costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by the existing or former director (including alternate director), secretary or officer in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative proceedings (whether threatened, pending or completed) concerning us or our affairs in any court or tribunal, whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere. |
No such existing or former director (including alternate director), secretary or officer, however, shall be indemnified in respect of any matter arising out of his own dishonesty.
To the extent permitted by law, we may make a payment, or agree to make a payment, whether by way of advance, loan or otherwise, for any legal costs incurred by an existing or former director (including alternate director), secretary or any of our officers in respect of any matter identified in above on condition that the director (including alternate director), secretary or officer must repay the amount paid by us to the extent that it is ultimately found not liable to indemnify the director (including alternate director), the secretary or that officer for those legal costs.
This standard of conduct is generally the same as permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law for a Delaware corporation. In addition, we intend to enter into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers that will provide such persons with additional indemnification beyond that provided in our articles.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers or persons controlling us under the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Anti-Takeover Provisions in Our Articles
Some provisions of our articles may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company or management that shareholders may consider favorable, including provisions that authorize our board of directors to issue shares at such times and on such terms and conditions as the board of directors may decide without any further vote or action by our shareholders, and limit the ability of shareholders to requisition and convene general meetings of shareholders.
Under the Cayman Islands Companies Act, our directors may only exercise the rights and powers granted to them under our articles for what they believe in good faith to be in the best interests of our company and for a proper purpose.
Directors’ Fiduciary Duties
Under Delaware corporate law, a director of a Delaware corporation has a fiduciary duty to the corporation and its shareholders. This duty has two components: the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. The duty of care requires that a director act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. Under this duty, a director must inform himself of, and disclose to shareholders, all material information reasonably available regarding a significant transaction. The duty of loyalty requires that a director act in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. He or she must not use his or her corporate position for personal gain or advantage. This duty prohibits self-dealing by a director and mandates that the best interests of the corporation and its shareholders take precedence over any interest possessed by a director, officer or controlling shareholder and not shared by the shareholders generally. In general, actions of a director are presumed to have been made on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the corporation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of a breach of one of the fiduciary duties. Should such evidence be presented concerning a transaction by a director, a director must prove the procedural fairness of the transaction, and that the transaction was of fair value to the corporation.
21
As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a director owe three types of duties to the company: (i) statutory duties, (ii) fiduciary duties, and (iii) common law duties. The Cayman Islands Companies Act imposes a number of statutory duties on a director. A Cayman Islands director’s fiduciary duties are not codified, however the courts of the Cayman Islands have held that a director owes the following fiduciary duties (a) a duty to act in what the director bona fide considers to be in the best interests of the company, (b) a duty to exercise their powers for the purposes they were conferred, (c) a duty to avoid fettering his or her discretion in the future and (d) a duty to avoid conflicts of interest and of duty. The common law duties owed by a director are those to act with skill, care and diligence that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and, also, to act with the skill, care and diligence in keeping with a standard of care commensurate with any particular skill they have which enables them to meet a higher standard than a director without those skills. In fulfilling their duty of care to us, our directors must ensure compliance with our amended articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time. We have the right to seek damages if a duty owed by any of our directors is breached.’
Shareholder Proposals
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a shareholder has the right to put any proposal before the annual meeting of shareholders, provided it complies with the notice provisions in the governing documents. The Delaware General Corporation Law does not provide shareholders an express right to put any proposal before the annual meeting of shareholders, but in keeping with common law, Delaware corporations generally afford shareholders an opportunity to make proposals and nominations provided that they comply with the notice provisions in the certificate of incorporation or bylaws. A special meeting may be called by the board of directors or any other person authorized to do so in the governing documents, but shareholders may be precluded from calling special meetings.
The Cayman Islands Companies Act provides shareholders with only limited rights to requisition a general meeting, and does not provide shareholders with any right to put any proposal before a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in a company’s articles of association. Our articles provide that general meetings shall be convened on the written requisition of one or more of the shareholders entitled to attend and vote at our general meetings who (together) hold not less than 10 percent of the rights to vote at such general meeting in accordance with the notice provisions in the articles, specifying the purpose of the meeting and signed by each of the shareholders making the requisition. If the directors do not convene such meeting for a date not later than twenty-one clear days’ after the date of receipt of the written requisition, those shareholders who requested the meeting may convene the general meeting themselves within three months after the end of such period of twenty-one clear days in which case reasonable expenses incurred by them as a result of the directors failing to convene a meeting shall be reimbursed by us. Our articles provide no other right to put any proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings. As a Cayman Islands exempted company, we are not obligated by law to call shareholders’ annual general meetings. However, our corporate governance guidelines require us to call such meetings every year.
Cumulative Voting
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, cumulative voting for elections of directors is not permitted unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation specifically provides for it. Cumulative voting potentially facilitates the representation of minority shareholders on a board of directors since it permits the minority shareholder to cast all the votes to which the shareholder is entitled on a single director, which increases the shareholder’s voting power with respect to electing such director. As permitted under the Cayman Islands Companies Act, our articles do not provide for cumulative voting. As a result, our shareholders are not afforded any less protections or rights on this issue than shareholders of a Delaware corporation.
Removal of Directors
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a director of a corporation with a classified board may be removed only for cause with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Subject to the provisions of our articles (which include the removal of a director by ordinary resolution), the office of a director may be terminated forthwith if (a) he is prohibited by the laws of the Cayman Islands from acting as a director, (b) he is made bankrupt or makes an arrangement or composition with his creditors generally, (c) he resigns his office by notice to us, (d) he only held office as a director for a fixed term and such term expires, (e) in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner by whom he is being treated he becomes physically or mentally incapable of acting as a director, (f) he is given notice by the majority of the other directors (not being less than two in number) to vacate office (without prejudice to any claim for damages for breach of any agreement relating to the provision of the services of such director), (g) he is made subject to any law relating to mental health or incompetence, whether by court order or otherwise, or (h) without the consent of the other directors, he is absent from meetings of directors for continuous period of six months.
22
Transactions with Interested Shareholders
The Delaware General Corporation Law contains a business combination statute applicable to Delaware public corporations whereby, unless the corporation has specifically elected not to be governed by such statute by amendment to its certificate of incorporation or bylaws that is approved by its shareholders, it is prohibited from engaging in certain business combinations with an “interested shareholder” for three years following the date that such person becomes an interested shareholder. An interested shareholder generally is a person or a group who or which owns or owned 15% or more of the target’s outstanding voting stock or who or which is an affiliate or associate of the corporation and owned 15% or more of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock within the past three years. This has the effect of limiting the ability of a potential acquirer to make a two-tiered bid for the target in which all shareholders would not be treated equally. The statute does not apply if, among other things, prior to the date on which such shareholder becomes an interested shareholder, the board of directors approves either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the person becoming an interested shareholder. This encourages any potential acquirer of a Delaware corporation to negotiate the terms of any acquisition transaction with the target’s board of directors.
The Cayman Islands Companies Act has no comparable statute. As a result, we cannot avail ourselves of the types of protections afforded by the Delaware business combination statute. However, although the Cayman Islands Companies Act does not regulate transactions between a company and its significant shareholders, under Cayman Islands law such transactions must be entered into bona fide in the best interests of the company and for a proper corporate purpose and not with the effect of constituting a fraud on the minority shareholders.
Restructuring
A company may present a petition to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for the appointment of a restructuring officer on the grounds that the company:
(a) | is or is likely to become unable to pay its debts; and |
(b) | intends to present a compromise or arrangement to its creditors (or classes thereof) either pursuant to the Companies Act, the law of a foreign country or by way of a consensual restructuring. |
The Grand Court may, among other things, make an order appointing a restructuring officer upon hearing of such petition, with such powers and to carry out such functions as the court may order. At any time (i) after the presentation of a petition for the appointment of a restructuring officer but before an order for the appointment of a restructuring officer has been made, and (ii) when an order for the appointment of a restructuring officer is made, until such order has been discharged, no suit, action or other proceedings (other than criminal proceedings) shall be proceeded with or commenced against the company, no resolution to wind up the company shall be passed, and no winding up petition may be presented against the company, except with the leave of the court. However, notwithstanding the presentation of a petition for the appointment of a restructuring officer or the appointment of a restructuring officer, a creditor who has security over the whole or part of the assets of the company is entitled to enforce the security without the leave of the court and without reference to the restructuring officer appointed.
Dissolution; Winding Up
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, unless the board of directors approves the proposal to dissolve, dissolution must be approved by shareholders holding 100% of the total voting power of the corporation. Only if the dissolution is initiated by the board of directors may it be approved by a simple majority of the corporation’s outstanding shares. Delaware law allows a Delaware corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a supermajority voting requirement in connection with dissolutions initiated by the board of directors.
Under the Cayman Islands Companies Act and our articles, the Company may be wound up by a special resolution of our shareholders, or if the winding up is initiated by our board of directors, by either a special resolution of our members or, if our company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due, by an ordinary resolution of our members. In addition, a company may be wound up by an order of the courts of the Cayman Islands. The court has authority to order winding up in a number of specified circumstances including where it is, in the opinion of the court, just and equitable to do so.
23
Variation of Rights of Shares
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may vary the rights of a class of shares with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of such class, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under the Cayman Islands Companies Act and our articles, if our share capital is divided into more than one class of shares, the rights attaching to any class of share (unless otherwise provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class) may be varied either with the consent in writing of the holders of not less than two-thirds of the issued shares of that class, or with the sanction of a resolution passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the holders of shares of the class present in person or by proxy at a separate general meeting of the holders of shares of that class.
Amendment of Governing Documents
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation’s certificate of incorporation may be amended only if adopted and declared advisable by the board of directors and approved by a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, and the bylaws may be amended with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote and may, if so provided in the certificate of incorporation, also be amended by the board of directors. Under the Cayman Islands Companies Act, our articles may only be amended by special resolution of our shareholders.
Anti-money Laundering—Cayman Islands
In order to comply with legislation or regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering, we may be required to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering procedures, and may require subscribers to provide evidence to verify their identity. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, we may also delegate the maintenance of our anti-money laundering procedures (including the acquisition of due diligence information) to a suitable person.
We reserve the right to request such information as is necessary to verify the identity of a subscriber. In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information required for verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited.
We also reserve the right to refuse to make any redemption payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment of redemption proceeds to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
If any person resident in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reason for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or is involved with terrorism or terrorist property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of their business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) a nominated officer (appointed in accordance with the Proceeds of Crime Law (Revised) of the Cayman Islands) or the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Law (Revised), if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering or (ii) to a police constable or a nominated officer (pursuant to the Terrorism Law (Revised) of the Cayman Islands) or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Law (Revised), if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and terrorist property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
24
We may issue warrants to purchase our Ordinary Shares. Warrants may be issued independently or together with any other securities that may be sold by us pursuant to this prospectus or any combination of the foregoing and may be attached to, or separate from, such securities. To the extent warrants that we issue are to be publicly-traded, each series of such warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and a warrant agent. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any warrants that we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe in particular the terms of any series of warrants that we may offer in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement and any applicable free writing prospectus. The terms of any warrants offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below.
We will file as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from another report that we file with the SEC, the form of the warrant and/or warrant agreement, if any, which may include a form of warrant certificate, as applicable that describes the terms of the particular series of warrants we may offer before the issuance of the related series of warrants. We may issue the warrants under a warrant agreement that we will enter into with a warrant agent to be selected by us. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any registered holders of warrants or beneficial owners of warrants. The following summary of material provisions of the warrants and warrant agreements is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the form of warrant and/or warrant agreement and warrant certificate applicable to a particular series of warrants. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, as well as the complete form of warrant and/or the warrant agreement and warrant certificate, as applicable, that contain the terms of the warrants.
The particular terms of any issue of warrants will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to the issue. Those terms may include:
● | the title of the warrants; | |
● | the price or prices at which the warrants will be issued; | |
● | the designation, amount and terms of the securities or other rights for which the warrants are exercisable; | |
● | the designation and terms of the other securities, if any, with which the warrants are to be issued and the number of warrants issued with each other security; | |
● | the aggregate number of warrants; | |
● | any provisions for adjustment of the number or amount of securities receivable upon exercise of the warrants or the exercise price of the warrants; |
25
● | the price or prices at which the securities or other rights purchasable upon exercise of the warrants may be purchased; | |
● | if applicable, the date on and after which the warrants and the securities or other rights purchasable upon exercise of the warrants will be separately transferable; | |
● | a discussion of any material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the exercise of the warrants; | |
● | the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence, and the date on which the right will expire; | |
● | the maximum or minimum number of warrants that may be exercised at any time; | |
● | information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any; and | |
● | any other terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the warrants. |
Exercise of Warrants
Each warrant will entitle the holder of warrants to purchase the number of Ordinary Shares of the relevant class or series at the exercise price stated or determinable in the prospectus supplement for the warrants. Warrants may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date shown in the applicable prospectus supplement, unless otherwise specified in such prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, if applicable, unexercised warrants will become void. Warrants may be exercised in the manner described in the applicable prospectus supplement. When the warrant holder makes the payment and properly completes and signs the warrant certificate at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent, if any, or any other office indicated in the prospectus supplement, we will, as soon as possible, forward the securities or other rights that the warrant holder has purchased. If the warrant holder exercises less than all of the warrants represented by the warrant certificate, we will issue a new warrant certificate for the remaining warrants. If we so indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may surrender securities as all or part of the exercise price for warrants.
Prior to the exercise of any warrants to purchase Ordinary Shares, holders of the warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of Ordinary Shares purchasable upon exercise, including the right to vote or to receive any payments of dividends or payments upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up on the Ordinary Shares purchasable upon exercise, if any.
26
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
General
We may issue debt securities which may or may not be converted into our ordinary shares. We may issue the debt securities independently or together with any underlying securities, and debt securities may be attached or separate from the underlying securities. In connection with the issuance of any debt securities, we do not intend to issue them pursuant to a trust indenture upon reliance of Section 304(a)(8) of the Trust Indenture Act and Rule 4a-1 promulgated thereunder.
The following description is a summary of selected provisions relating to the debt securities that we may issue. The summary is not complete. When debt securities are offered in the future, a prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or a free writing prospectus, as applicable, will explain the particular terms of those securities and the extent to which these general provisions may apply. The specific terms of the debt securities as described in a prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus will supplement and, if applicable, may modify or replace the general terms described in this section.
This summary and any description of debt securities in the applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus is subject to and is qualified in its entirety by reference to all the provisions of any specific debt securities document or agreement. We will file each of these documents, as applicable, with the SEC and incorporate them by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part on or before the time we issue a series of warrants. See “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” below for information on how to obtain a copy of a debt securities document when it is filed.
When we refer to a series of debt securities, we mean all debt securities issued as part of the same series under the applicable indenture.
Terms
The applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference, or free writing prospectus, may describe the terms of any debt securities that we may offer, including, but not limited to, the following:
● | the title of the debt securities; | |
● | the total amount of the debt securities; | |
● | the amount or amounts of the debt securities will be issued and interest rate; | |
● | the conversion price at which the debt securities may be converted; | |
● | the date on which the right to convert the debt securities will commence and the date on which the right will expire; | |
● | if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of debt securities that may be converted at any one time; | |
● | if applicable, a discussion of material federal income tax consideration; |
27
● | if applicable, the terms of the payoff of the debt securities; | |
● | the identity of the indenture agent, if any; | |
● | the procedures and conditions relating to the conversion of the debt securities; and | |
● | any other terms of the debt securities, including terms, procedure and limitation relating to the exchange or conversion of the debt securities. |
Form, Exchange, and Transfer
We may issue the debt securities in registered form or bearer form. Debt securities issued in registered form, i.e., book-entry form, will be represented by a global security registered in the name of a depository, which will be the holder of all the debt securities represented by the global security. Those investors who own beneficial interests in global debt securities will do so through participants in the depository’s system, and the rights of these indirect owners will be governed solely by the applicable procedures of the depository and its participants. In addition, we may issue debt securities in non-global form, i.e., bearer form. If any debt securities are issued in non-global form, debt securities certificates may be exchanged for new debt securities certificates of different denominations, and holders may exchange, transfer, or convert their debt securities at the debt securities agent’s office or any other office indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference or free writing prospectus.
Prior to the conversion of their debt securities, holders of debt securities convertible for ordinary shares will not have any rights of holders of ordinary shares, and will not be entitled to dividend payments, if any, or voting rights of the ordinary shares.
Conversion of Debt Securities
A debt security may entitle the holder to purchase, in exchange for the extinguishment of debt, an amount of securities at a conversion price that will be stated in the debt security. Debt securities may be converted at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date set forth in the terms of such debt security. After the close of business on the expiration date, debt securities not exercised will be paid in accordance with their terms.
Debt securities may be converted as set forth in the applicable offering material. Upon receipt of a notice of conversion properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the indenture agent, if any, or to us, we will forward, as soon as practicable, the securities purchasable upon such exercise. If less than all of the debt security represented by such security is converted, a new debt security will be issued for the remaining debt security.
28
We may issue rights to purchase our securities. The rights may or may not be transferable by the persons purchasing or receiving the rights. In connection with any rights offering, we may enter into a standby underwriting or other arrangement with one or more underwriters or other persons pursuant to which such underwriters or other persons would purchase any offered securities remaining unsubscribed for after such rights offering. Each series of rights will be issued under a separate rights agent agreement to be entered into between us and one or more banks, trust companies or other financial institutions, as rights agent, that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement. The rights agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the rights and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders of rights certificates or beneficial owners of rights.
The prospectus supplement relating to any rights that we offer will include specific terms relating to the offering, including, among other matters:
● | the date of determining the security holders entitled to the rights distribution; | |
● | the aggregate number of rights issued and the aggregate amount of securities purchasable upon exercise of the rights; | |
● | the exercise price; | |
● | the conditions to completion of the rights offering; | |
● | the date on which the right to exercise the rights will commence and the date on which the rights will expire; and | |
● | any applicable federal income tax considerations. |
Each right would entitle the holder of the rights to purchase for cash the principal amount of securities at the exercise price set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Rights may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date for the rights provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, all unexercised rights will become void.
If less than all of the rights issued in any rights offering are exercised, we may offer any unsubscribed securities directly to persons other than our security holders, to or through agents, underwriters or dealers or through a combination of such methods, including pursuant to standby arrangements, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
29
The following description, together with the additional information we may include in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the units that we may offer under this prospectus. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any units that we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any series of units in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus. The terms of any units offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. However, no prospectus supplement will fundamentally change the terms that are set forth in this prospectus or offer a security that is not registered and described in this prospectus at the time of its effectiveness.
We will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from another report we file with the SEC, the form of unit agreement that describes the terms of the series of units we may offer under this prospectus, and any supplemental agreements, before the issuance of the related series of units. The following summaries of material terms and provisions of the units are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the unit agreement and any supplemental agreements applicable to a particular series of units. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, as well as the complete unit agreement and any supplemental agreements that contain the terms of the units.
We may issue units consisting of any combination of the other types of securities offered under this prospectus in one or more series. We may evidence each series of units by unit certificates that we may issue under a separate agreement. We may enter into unit agreements with a unit agent. Each unit agent, if any, may be a bank or trust company that we select. We will indicate the name and address of the unit agent, if any, in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of units. Specific unit agreements, if any, will contain additional important terms and provisions. We will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from a current report that we file with the SEC, the form of unit and the form of each unit agreement, if any, relating to units offered under this prospectus.
If we offer any units, certain terms of that series of units will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, the following, as applicable:
● | the title of the series of units; | |
● | identification and description of the separate constituent securities comprising the units; | |
● | the price or prices at which the units will be issued; | |
● | the date, if any, on and after which the constituent securities comprising the units will be separately transferable; | |
● | a discussion of certain United States federal income tax considerations applicable to the units; and | |
● | any other material terms of the units and their constituent securities. |
The provisions described in this section, as well as those described under “Description of Ordinary Shares” and “Description of Warrants” will apply to each unit and to any Ordinary Share or warrant included in each unit, respectively.
We may issue units in such amounts and in numerous distinct series as we determine.
30
ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES
We were incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands on January 14, 2020. We are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands because of certain benefits associated with being a Cayman Islands company, such as political and economic stability, an effective judicial system, a favorable tax system, the absence of foreign exchange control or currency restrictions and the availability of professional and support services. However, the Cayman Islands have a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides significantly less protection for investors than the United States. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.
Substantially all of our assets are located in the PRC. In addition, all of our directors and officers are nationals or residents of the PRC 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, or to enforce against us or them judgments obtained in United States courts, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.
We have appointed Cogency Global Inc. as our agent to receive service of process with respect to any action brought against us in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under the federal securities laws of the United States or of any state in the United States or any action brought against us in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the County of New York under the securities laws of the State of New York.
Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP, our counsel with respect to the laws of the Cayman Islands, and Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, LLP (Shanghai), our counsel with respect to PRC law, have advised us that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of Cayman Islands or the PRC 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 Cayman Islands or the PRC against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.
Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP has further advised us that there is currently no statutory enforcement or treaty between the United States and the Cayman Islands providing for enforcement of judgments. Although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in a U.S. court (and the Cayman Islands are not a party to any treaties for the reciprocal enforcement or recognition of such judgments), the courts of the Cayman Islands will, at common law, recognize and enforce a foreign monetary judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without any re-examination of the merits of the underlying dispute based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay a liquidated sum for which such judgment has been given, , provided such judgment: (i) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction; (ii) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given; (iii) is final; (iv) is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty; and (v) was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or public policy of the Cayman Islands. However, the Cayman Islands courts are unlikely to enforce a judgment obtained from the U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities law if such judgment is determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands to give rise to obligations to make payments that are penal or punitive in nature. A Cayman Islands court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere. Furthermore, it is uncertain whether the Cayman Islands courts would enforce: (1) judgments of U.S. courts obtained in actions against us or other persons that are predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws; or (2) original actions brought against us or other persons predicated upon the Securities Act. Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP has informed us that there is uncertainty with regard to Cayman Islands law relating to whether a judgment obtained from the U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of the securities laws will be determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands as penal or punitive in nature.
Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, LLP (Shanghai) has further advised us that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedure Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedure Law based either on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on reciprocity between jurisdictions. Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, LLP (Shanghai) has advised us further that there are no treaties or other forms of reciprocity between China and the United States for the mutual recognition and enforcement of court judgments, thus making the recognition and enforcement of a U.S. court judgment in China difficult.
31
Certain U.S. income tax considerations relating to the purchase, ownership and disposition of any of the securities offered by this prospectus will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to the offering of those securities. In addition, the following section contains a description of certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences relating to our Ordinary Shares.
Cayman Islands Tax Considerations
The following summary contains a description of certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our Ordinary Shares, but it does not purport to be a comprehensive description of all the tax considerations that may be relevant to a decision to purchase Ordinary Shares. The summary is based upon the tax laws of the Cayman Islands and regulations thereunder as of the date hereof, which are subject to change.
Prospective investors should consult their professional advisers on the possible tax consequences of buying, holding or selling any shares under the laws of their country of citizenship, residence or domicile.
The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in the securities. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investor’s particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.
Under Existing Cayman Islands Laws:
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of securities will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of interest and principal or a dividend or capital to any holder of Ordinary Shares, as the case may be, nor will gains derived from the disposal of the Ordinary Shares be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporate tax. The Cayman Islands currently have no income, corporate or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of securities or on an instrument of transfer in respect of a Security, unless the relevant instruments are executed in, or after execution brought within, the jurisdiction of the Cayman Islands or our Company holds interests in land in the Cayman Islands.
32
The Tax Concessions Law
We have been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, pursuant to section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, we may obtain undertakings from the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands:
(a) | that no law which is thereafter enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to us or our operations; and | |
(b) | in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable: |
(i) | on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations; or | |
(ii) | by way of the withholding in whole or in part of any relevant payment as defined in the Tax Concessions Act. |
The Cayman Islands currently levy no taxes on individuals or corporations based upon profits, income, gains or appreciations and there is no taxation in the nature of inheritance tax or estate duty. There are no other taxes likely to be material to us levied by the Government of the Cayman Islands save certain stamp duties which may be applicable, from time to time, on certain instruments executed in or brought within the jurisdiction of the Cayman Islands.
People’s Republic of China Taxation
PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law
Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, an enterprise established outside of China with “de facto management bodies” within China may be considered a PRC “resident enterprise,” meaning it can be treated in a manner similar to a PRC enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, although the dividends paid to a PRC resident enterprise from another may qualify as “tax-exempt income.” The implementation rules of the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law define a “de facto management body” as a body that has substantial and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operations, personnel and human resources, finances and properties of an enterprise. STA Circular 82 issued by the State Taxation Administration on April 22, 2009 specifies that certain offshore enterprises controlled by a PRC company or a PRC company group will be classified as PRC “resident enterprises” if the following requirements are satisfied: (i) the senior management and core management departments in charge of its daily operations function are mainly in China; (ii) its financial and human resources decisions are subject to determination or approval by persons or bodies in China; (iii) its major assets, accounting books, company seals, and minutes and files of its board and shareholders’ meetings are located or kept in China; and (iv) at least half of the enterprise’s directors with voting rights or senior management reside in China. Although STA Circular 82 only applies to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises and not those controlled by PRC individuals, the determination criteria set forth in STA Circular 82 may reflect STA’s general position on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining tax resident status of offshore enterprises, regardless of whether they are controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC individuals.
We believe that we are not a PRC resident enterprise and therefore we are not subject to PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations and the dividends paid by us to holders of our ordinary shares will not be subject to PRC withholding tax. However, if the PRC tax authorities determine that we are a PRC resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, we may be required to withhold a 10% withholding tax from dividends we pay to our non-PRC enterprise shareholders and a 20% withholding tax from dividends we pay to our non-PRC individual shareholders, including the holders of our ordinary shares. In addition, non-PRC shareholders may be subject to PRC tax on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ordinary shares if such income is treated as China-sourced income. It is unclear whether our non-PRC shareholders would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties between their tax residence and China in the event we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise.
33
Enterprise Income Tax for Share Transfer by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises
On February 3, 2015, the State Taxation Administration issued STA Public Notice 7. In December 2017, Article 13 and Paragraph 2 of Article 8 of STA Public Notice 7 were abolished Pursuant to STA Public Notice 7, as amended, where a non-PRC resident enterprise indirectly transfers equities and other properties of a PRC resident enterprise to evade its obligation of paying enterprise income tax by implementing arrangements that are not for reasonable commercial purpose, such indirect transfer shall be re-identified and recognized as a direct transfer of equities and other properties of the PRC resident enterprise. STA Public Notice 7, as amended, provides clear criteria for assessment of reasonable commercial purposes and has introduced safe harbors for internal group restructurings and the purchase and sale of equity interests through a public securities market. STA Public Notice 7, as amended, also brings challenges to both offshore transferor and transferee (or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer) of taxable assets. Where a non-PRC resident enterprise transfers taxable assets indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an offshore holding company, which is an Indirect Transfer, the non-PRC resident enterprise as either transferor or transferee, or the PRC entity that directly owns the taxable assets, may report such Indirect Transfer to the PRC tax authority. Using a “substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may disregard the existence of the offshore holding company if it lacks a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of reducing, avoiding or deferring PRC tax. As a result, gains derived from such Indirect Transfer may be subject to enterprise income tax, and the transferee or other person who is obligated to pay for the transfer is obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise. Both the transferor and the transferee may be subject to penalties under PRC tax laws if the transferee fails to withhold the taxes and the transferor fails to pay the taxes.
PRC Value-Added Tax (VAT) and Business Tax
Before August 2013 and pursuant to applicable PRC tax regulations, any entity or individual conducting business in the service industry is generally required to pay a business tax at the rate of 5% on the revenue generated from providing services. However, if the services provided are related to technology development and transfer, the business tax may be exempted subject to approval by the tax authorities.
In November 2011, the Ministry of Finance and SAT promulgated the Pilot Plan for Imposition of Value-Added Tax to Replace Business Tax. In May and December 2013, April 2014, March 2016 and July 2017, the Ministry of Finance and SAT promulgated five circulars to further expand the scope of services that are to be subject to VAT instead of business tax. Pursuant to these tax rules, from August 1, 2013, VAT was imposed to replace the business tax in certain service industries, including technology services and advertising services, and from May 1, 2016, VAT replaced business tax in all industries, on a nationwide basis. On November 19, 2017, the State Council further amended the Interim Regulation of PRC on Value Added Tax to reflect the normalization of the pilot program. The VAT rates generally applicable are simplified as 17%, 11%, 6% and 0%, and the VAT rate applicable to the small-scale taxpayers is 3%. Unlike business tax, a taxpayer is allowed to offset the qualified input VAT paid on taxable purchases against the output VAT chargeable on the revenue from services provided.
On April 4, 2018, the Ministry of Finance and SAT issued the Notice on Adjustment of VAT Rates, which came into effect on May 1, 2018. According to the notice, starting from May 1, 2018, the taxable goods previously subject to VAT rates of 17% and 11%, respectively, become subject to lower VAT rates of 16% and 10%, respectively.
On March 20, 2019, the Ministry of Finance, SAT and the General Administration of Customs issued the Announcement on Policies for Deepening the VAT Reform, which came into effect in April 2019, to further reduce VAT rates. According to the announcement, (1) for general VAT payers’ sales activities or imports previously subject to VAT at an existing applicable rate of 16% or 10%, the applicable VAT rate is adjusted to 13% or 9% respectively; (2) for agricultural products purchased by taxpayers to which an existing 10% deduction rate is applicable, the deduction rate is adjusted to 9%; (3) for agricultural products purchased by taxpayers for production or commissioned processing, which are subject to VAT at 13%, the input VAT will be calculated at a 10% deduction rate; (4) for the exportation of goods or labor services that are subject to VAT at 16%, with the applicable export refund at the same rate, the export refund rate is adjusted to 13%; and (5) for the exportation of goods or cross-border taxable activities that are subject to VAT at 10%, with the export refund at the same rate, the export refund rate is adjusted to 9%.
34
We are being represented by Sichenzia Ross Ference Carmel LLP, New York, New York with respect to certain legal matters as to United States federal securities and New York State law. The validity of the Ordinary Shares offered by this prospectus and legal matters as to Cayman Islands law will be passed upon for us by Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP. Legal matters as to PRC law will be passed upon for us by Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, LLP (Shanghai).
The consolidated financial statements of the Company as of September 30, 2024 and 2023 and for each of the two years ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 have been audited by Audit Alliance LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report dated January 24, 2025 included in our annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on January 24, 2025, as amended on March 20, 2025, and are incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements have been incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We are currently subject to periodic reporting and other informational requirements of the Exchange Act, as applicable to foreign private issuers. Accordingly, we are required to file reports, including annual reports on Form 20-F, and other information with the SEC. All information filed with the SEC can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can request copies of these documents upon payment of a duplicating fee, by writing to the SEC. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the public reference room. Our SEC filings may also be obtained over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Our corporate website is www.zhjmedical.com. The information contained on our websites is not a part of this prospectus. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc., 122 E. 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10168.
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC and does not contain all the information in the registration statement. You will find additional information about us in the registration statement. Any statement made in this prospectus concerning a contract or other document of ours is not necessarily complete, and you should read the documents that are filed as exhibits to the registration statement or otherwise filed with the SEC for a more complete understanding of the document or matter. Each such statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers.
35
INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we file with them. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. Each document incorporated by reference is current only as of the date of such document, and the incorporation by reference of such documents shall not create any implication that there has been no change in our affairs since the date thereof or that the information contained therein is current as of any time subsequent to its date. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus and should be read with the same care. When we update the information contained in documents that have been incorporated by reference by making future filings with the SEC, the information incorporated by reference in this prospectus is considered to be automatically updated and superseded. In other words, in the case of a conflict or inconsistency between information contained in this prospectus and information incorporated by reference in this prospectus, you should rely on the information contained in the document that was filed later.
We incorporate by reference the following documents:
● | our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended September 30, 2024, filed with the SEC on January 24, 2025, together with the Amendment No. 1 to the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended September 30, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 20, 2025; | |
● | our Current Reports on Form 6-K furnished on June 24, 2025, June 17, 2025 and May 6, 2025; | |
● | the description of our ordinary shares contained in Exhibit 2.2 of our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on January 24, 2025, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description; | |
● | any future annual reports on Form 20-F filed with the SEC after the date of the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and prior to the termination of the offering of the securities offered by this prospectus; and | |
● | any future reports on Form 6-K that we furnish to the SEC after the date of the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part that are identified in such reports as being incorporated by reference in this prospectus. |
Our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F contains descriptions of our business and audited consolidated financial statements with a report by our independent auditors. These financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
The SEC maintains a web site at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC using its EDGAR system. We maintain our web site at www.zhjmedical.com. The information contained on our websites does not form a part of this prospectus.
Unless expressly incorporated by reference, nothing in this prospectus shall be deemed to incorporate by reference information furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC. Copies of all documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus but not delivered with the prospectus will be provided at no cost to each person, including any beneficial owner, who receives a copy of this prospectus on the written or oral request of that person made to:
JIN MEDICAL INTERNATIONAL LTD.
Attn: Mr. Ziqiang Wang, Chief Financial Officer
No. 33 Lingxiang Road, Wujin District
Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province
People’s Republic of China
Tel: +86519 89607972
You should rely only on the information that we incorporate by reference or provide in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We are not making any offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of those documents.
36
Jin Medical International Ltd.
$300,000,000
Ordinary Shares
Warrants
Debt Securities
Rights
Units
Prospectus dated _____________, 2025
PART II - INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 8. Indemnification of Officers and Directors.
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association permit indemnification of officers and directors for the time being of the Company for all actions, costs, charges, losses, damages and expenses incurred or sustained by or by reason of any act done, concurred in or omitted in or about the execution of their duty, or supposed duty, in their capacities as such unless such losses or damages arise from dishonesty or fraud which may attach to such directors or officers. This standard of conduct is generally the same as permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law for a Delaware corporation. In addition, we intend to enter into indemnification agreements with our directors and senior executive officers that will provide such persons with additional indemnification beyond that provided in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Any underwriting agreement entered into in connection with an offering of our securities may also provide for indemnification of us and our officers and directors in certain cases.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers or persons controlling us under the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Item 9. Exhibits
See Exhibit Index beginning on page II-4 of this registration statement.
II-1
Item 10. Undertakings
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) | To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement: |
(i) | To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; | |
(ii) | To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in the volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of the securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and | |
(iii) | To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this registration statement or any material change to such information in this registration statement; |
provided, however, that the undertakings set forth in paragraphs (1)(i), (1)(ii) and (1)(iii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are incorporated by reference in this registration statement or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of this registration statement;
(2) | That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; | |
(3) | To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering; | |
(4) | To file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to include any financial statements required by Item 8.A. of Form 20-F at the start of any delayed offering or throughout a continuous offering. Financial statements and information otherwise required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act need not be furnished, provided that the registrant includes in the prospectus, by means of a post-effective amendment, financial statements required pursuant to this paragraph (4) and other information necessary to ensure that all other information in the prospectus is at least as current as the date of those financial statements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a post-effective amendment need not be filed to include financial statements and information required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act or Item 8.A of Form 20-F if such financial statements and information are contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this registration statement; | |
(5) | That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to any purchaser: |
(i) | Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424 (b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in this registration statement; and |
II-2
(ii) | Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424 (b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii) or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date; |
(6) | That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser: |
(i) | Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424; | |
(ii) | Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant; | |
(iii) | The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and | |
(iv) | Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser; |
(7) | For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; and | |
(8) | Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. |
II-3
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit No. | Description of Exhibit | |
4.1** | The currently effective Amended and Restated Articles of Association of the Company | |
4.2 | Registrant’s Specimen Certificate for Ordinary Shares (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of our Registration Statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-259767) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission September 24, 2021) | |
4.3** | Form of Warrant Agreement, including form of Warrant | |
4.4** | Form of Indenture | |
4.5** | Form of Rights Certificate | |
4.6** | Form of Unit Agreement | |
5.1** | Opinion of Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP regarding the validity of the securities being registered | |
8.1** | Opinion of Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP regarding certain Cayman Islands tax matters (included in Exhibit 5.1) | |
23.1* | Consent of Audit Alliance LLP | |
23.2** | Consent of Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1) | |
23.3* | Consent of Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, LLP (Shanghai) | |
24.1* | Power of Attorney (included on the signature page hereof) | |
107* | Filing Fee Table |
* | Filed herewith. |
** | To be filed by amendment or as an exhibit to a filing with the SEC under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and incorporated by reference in connection with the offering of securities to the extent required for any such offering. |
II-4
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-3 and has duly caused this Form F-3 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, on June 25, 2025.
JIN MEDICAL INTERNATIONAL LTD. | ||
By: | /s/ Erqi Wang | |
Name: | Erqi Wang | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer and Director | |
By: | /s/ Ziqiang Wang | |
Name: | Ziqiang Wang | |
Title: | Chief Financial Officer and Director |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose individual signature appears below hereby authorizes and appoints Erqi Wang with full power of substitution and resubstitution and full power to act without the other, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent to act in his or her name, place and stead, and to execute in the name and on behalf of each person, individually and in each capacity stated below, and to file any and all amendments to this registration statement, any related registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any or all pre- or post-effective amendments thereto, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all other documents in connection therewith, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully for all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, or any substitute or substitutes for each of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the following persons in the capacities have signed this registration statement below on June 25, 2025.
Signature | Title | |
/s/ Erqi Wang | Chief Executive Officer and Director | |
Erqi Wang | (Principal Executive Officer) | |
/s/ Ziqiang Wang | Chief Financial Officer and Director | |
Ziqiang Wang | (Principal Financial Officer | |
/s/ Yanru Guo | Independent Director | |
Yanru Guo | ||
/s/ Oliver St. Clair Franklin | Independent Director | |
Oliver St. Clair Franklin | ||
/s/ Jiayuan (James) Tong | Independent Director | |
Jiayuan (James) Tong |
II-5
SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED U.S. REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REGISTRANT
Pursuant to the Securities Act, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of the registrant has signed this registration statement on the 25th day of June, 2025.
Cogency Global Inc. | ||
Authorized U.S. Representative | ||
By: | /s/ Colleen A. De Vries | |
Name: | Colleen A. De Vries | |
Title: | Sr. Vice President on behalf of Cogency Global Inc. |
II-6