SEC Form S-8 filed by ZK International Group Co. Ltd

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 22, 2025

Registration No. 333-          

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

ZK INTERNATIONAL GROUP CO., LTD.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

ZK International Group Co., Ltd. 2025 Equity Incentive Plan

(Full Title of the Plan)

Cogency Global Inc.

122 East 42^nd Street, 18^th Floor

New York, New York 10168

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

800-221-0102

(Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

Copy To:

William S. Rosenstadt, Esq.

Mengyi “Jason” Ye, Esq.
Yuning “Grace” Bai, Esq.

Ortoli Rosenstadt LLP
366 Madison Avenue, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel: +1-212-588-0022

Fax: +1-212-826-9307

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, 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. ¨ 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This registration statement (this “Registration Statement”) is filed by ZK International Group Co., Ltd., an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands (the “Registrant”) to register securities issuable pursuant to the ZK International Group Co., Ltd. 2025 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended and restated, “the 2025 Equity Incentive Plan”). The securities registered hereby consist of 650,000 Ordinary Shares of a single class, with no par value per share of the Registrant, which represent the number of Ordinary Shares of a single class that were authorized under the 2025 Equity Incentive Plan. Pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), this Registration Statement also covers an indeterminate number of additional shares which may be offered and issued to prevent dilution from share splits, share dividends or similar transactions as provided in the 2025 Equity Incentive Plan. Any Ordinary Shares covered by an award granted under the 2025 Equity Incentive Plan (or portion of an award) that terminates, expires, lapses or repurchased for any reason will be deemed not to have been issued for purposes of determining the maximum aggregate number of Ordinary Shares that may be issued under the 2025 Equity Incentive Plan.

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE 10(A) PROSPECTUS

Item 1. Plan Information*

Item 2. Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information*

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The following documents, and all documents we subsequently file pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and shall be deemed to be a part hereof from the date of the filing of such documents:

All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold, or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents.

Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement.

Item 4. Description of Securities.

Not applicable.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

Not applicable.

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Under British Virgin Islands law, each of our directors and officers, in performing his or her functions, is required to act honestly and in good faith with a view to our best interests and exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances. British Virgin Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any indemnification provision may be held by the British Virgin Islands courts to be contrary to public policy (for example, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime).

Under our memorandum and articles of association, we may indemnify our directors against all expenses, including legal fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement and reasonably incurred in connection with civil, criminal, administrative or investigative proceedings to which they are party or are threatened to be made a party by reason of their acting as our directors. To be entitled to indemnification, these persons must have acted honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the company and, in the case of criminal proceedings, they must have had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful. The decision of our board of directors as to whether such a person acted honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the company and as to whether the person had no reasonable to cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful is, in the absence of fraud, sufficient for the purposes of the indemnification, unless a question of law is involved. The termination of any proceedings by any judgment, order, settlement, conviction or the entry of no plea does not, by itself, create a presumption that a director did not act honestly and in good faith and with a view to our best interests or that the director had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful. Such limitation of liability does not affect the availability of equitable remedies such as injunctive relief or rescission. These provisions will not limit the liability of directors under United States federal securities laws.

We may indemnify anyone serving at our request as a director of another entity against all expenses, including legal fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement and reasonably incurred in connection with legal, administrative or investigative proceedings. To be entitled to indemnification, such a person must have acted honestly and in good faith with the view to our best interests and, in the case of criminal proceedings, must have had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful. The decision of our board of directors as to whether the person acted honestly and in good faith with a view to our best interests and as to whether the person had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful, is in the absence of fraud sufficient for the purposes of indemnification, unless a question of law is involved. The termination of any proceedings by any judgment, order, settlement, conviction or the entry of no plea does not, by itself, create a presumption that the person did not act honestly and in good faith and with a view to our best interests or that the person had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.

We may purchase and maintain insurance in relation to any of our directors or officers against any liability asserted against the directors or officers and incurred by the directors or officers in that capacity, whether or not we have or would have had the power to indemnify the directors or officers against the liability as provided in our memorandum and articles of association.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted for our directors, officers or persons controlling our company under the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

Not applicable.

Item 8. Exhibits.

Reference is hereby made to the Exhibit Index, which is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9. Undertakings.

A. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

provided, however, that paragraphs (1)(a) and (1)(b) 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 Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

B. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, 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 this 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.

C. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act 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 Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act 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 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

EXHIBIT INDEX

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in China, on August 22, 2025.

SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES

Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of ZK International Group Co., Ltd., has signed this registration statement or amendment thereto in New York, NY on August 22, 2025.