[F-3] Nano Labs Ltd Foreign Issuer Shelf Registration
Nano Labs Ltd (Nasdaq: NA) has filed a Form F-3 shelf prospectus dated 9 July 2025 covering the potential resale of up to 5,952,381 Class A ordinary shares underlying warrants issued in a 26 June 2025 private placement. The company itself is not offering shares and will receive proceeds only if selling shareholders exercise the warrants for cash.
Corporate structure and listing: Nano Labs is a Cayman Islands holding company that conducts operations through PRC and Hong Kong subsidiaries. Class A shares trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market; the last quoted price on 8 July 2025 was US$7.86. The firm maintains a dual-class share structure (Class B shares receive 30 votes each).
Financial snapshot (RMB unless stated): 2024 revenue fell to 40.6 million (US$5.65 million) from 78.3 million in 2023. Net loss narrowed to 119.5 million (US$16.6 million) versus a 254.4 million loss in 2023. Cash and cash equivalents stood at 32.4 million (US$4.5 million) with negative operating cash flow of 139.3 million. Crypto holdings totalled 242.9 million (US$33.8 million). Shareholders’ equity turned positive at 232.9 million after additional paid-in capital injections.
Use of proceeds: No direct proceeds to the company from resale. Any cash generated by warrant exercises will go to working capital; specific uses are not yet designated.
Key risks highlighted in the filing:
- Regulatory: Exposure to Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (possible delisting if PCAOB access lapses); extensive PRC oversight of cryptocurrency and overseas listings; CSRC filing obligations after the private placement.
- Operational: Heavy dependence on volatile cryptocurrency markets, technology shifts, limited supplier base and customer concentration.
- Financial: Consecutive annual losses, negative operating cash flow, reliance on external funding, liquidity concentrated in digital assets.
- Structural: Cayman holding-company structure limits direct ownership of PRC assets; uncertainty around dividend upstreaming.
Offering terms: After full warrant exercise, total shares outstanding would be 29,524,214 (26,665,305 Class A; 2,858,909 Class B). Selling shareholders may dispose of shares through various methods at market or negotiated prices.
Material considerations for investors: The filing does not immediately dilute existing shareholders but may increase float upon warrant exercise. Investors should weigh the company’s improving equity position and crypto asset base against persistent losses, regulatory uncertainty and dependence on a highly volatile sector.
Nano Labs Ltd (Nasdaq: NA) ha depositato un prospetto di tipo Form F-3 datato 9 luglio 2025, che riguarda la possibile rivendita fino a 5.952.381 azioni ordinarie di Classe A sottostanti warrant emessi in un collocamento privato del 26 giugno 2025. La società stessa non offre azioni e riceverà proventi solo se gli azionisti venditori eserciteranno i warrant in contanti.
Struttura societaria e quotazione: Nano Labs è una holding con sede nelle Isole Cayman che opera attraverso filiali in Cina continentale e Hong Kong. Le azioni di Classe A sono quotate sul Nasdaq Capital Market; l'ultimo prezzo quotato l'8 luglio 2025 era di 7,86 dollari USA. La società mantiene una struttura azionaria a doppia classe (le azioni di Classe B attribuiscono 30 voti ciascuna).
Riepilogo finanziario (RMB salvo diversa indicazione): i ricavi del 2024 sono scesi a 40,6 milioni (5,65 milioni di dollari USA) da 78,3 milioni nel 2023. La perdita netta si è ridotta a 119,5 milioni (16,6 milioni di dollari USA) rispetto a una perdita di 254,4 milioni nel 2023. La liquidità e equivalenti ammontavano a 32,4 milioni (4,5 milioni di dollari USA) con un flusso di cassa operativo negativo di 139,3 milioni. Le partecipazioni in criptovalute ammontavano a 242,9 milioni (33,8 milioni di dollari USA). Il patrimonio netto è diventato positivo a 232,9 milioni dopo iniezioni di capitale aggiuntivo.
Utilizzo dei proventi: Nessun provento diretto per la società dalla rivendita. Qualsiasi liquidità generata dall'esercizio dei warrant sarà destinata al capitale circolante; gli usi specifici non sono ancora stati designati.
Principali rischi evidenziati nel deposito:
- Normativi: esposizione alla Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (possibile delisting se si perde l'accesso PCAOB); ampia supervisione cinese sulle criptovalute e sulle quotazioni estere; obblighi di deposito presso CSRC dopo il collocamento privato.
- Operativi: forte dipendenza dai mercati volatili delle criptovalute, cambiamenti tecnologici, base fornitori limitata e concentrazione clienti.
- Finanziari: perdite annuali consecutive, flusso di cassa operativo negativo, dipendenza da finanziamenti esterni, liquidità concentrata in asset digitali.
- Strutturali: struttura holding Cayman limita la proprietà diretta degli asset in Cina; incertezza riguardo al trasferimento di dividendi.
Termini dell’offerta: dopo l’esercizio completo dei warrant, il totale delle azioni in circolazione sarà di 29.524.214 (26.665.305 di Classe A; 2.858.909 di Classe B). Gli azionisti venditori potranno disporre delle azioni tramite vari metodi a prezzi di mercato o negoziati.
Considerazioni importanti per gli investitori: Il deposito non diluisce immediatamente gli azionisti esistenti, ma potrebbe aumentare il flottante con l’esercizio dei warrant. Gli investitori devono valutare la posizione patrimoniale in miglioramento della società e la base di asset crittografici rispetto alle perdite persistenti, all’incertezza normativa e alla dipendenza da un settore altamente volatile.
Nano Labs Ltd (Nasdaq: NA) ha presentado un prospecto de tipo Formulario F-3 con fecha 9 de julio de 2025, que cubre la posible reventa de hasta 5.952.381 acciones ordinarias Clase A subyacentes a warrants emitidos en una colocación privada del 26 de junio de 2025. La compañía no está ofreciendo acciones directamente y solo recibirá ingresos si los accionistas vendedores ejercen los warrants en efectivo.
Estructura corporativa y cotización: Nano Labs es una empresa holding de las Islas Caimán que opera a través de subsidiarias en China continental y Hong Kong. Las acciones Clase A cotizan en el Nasdaq Capital Market; el último precio cotizado el 8 de julio de 2025 fue de 7,86 dólares estadounidenses. La empresa mantiene una estructura accionaria de doble clase (las acciones Clase B otorgan 30 votos cada una).
Resumen financiero (RMB salvo indicación contraria): los ingresos de 2024 cayeron a 40,6 millones (5,65 millones de dólares) desde 78,3 millones en 2023. La pérdida neta se redujo a 119,5 millones (16,6 millones de dólares) frente a una pérdida de 254,4 millones en 2023. El efectivo y equivalentes se situaron en 32,4 millones (4,5 millones de dólares) con un flujo de caja operativo negativo de 139,3 millones. Las tenencias en criptomonedas sumaron 242,9 millones (33,8 millones de dólares). El patrimonio neto se volvió positivo a 232,9 millones tras inyecciones adicionales de capital pagado.
Uso de los ingresos: No hay ingresos directos para la empresa por la reventa. Cualquier efectivo generado por el ejercicio de los warrants irá al capital de trabajo; los usos específicos aún no están designados.
Riesgos clave destacados en el documento:
- Regulatorios: exposición a la Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (posible exclusión si se pierde acceso PCAOB); amplia supervisión china sobre criptomonedas y cotizaciones en el extranjero; obligaciones de presentación ante la CSRC tras la colocación privada.
- Operativos: fuerte dependencia de mercados volátiles de criptomonedas, cambios tecnológicos, base limitada de proveedores y concentración de clientes.
- Financieros: pérdidas anuales consecutivas, flujo de caja operativo negativo, dependencia de financiamiento externo, liquidez concentrada en activos digitales.
- Estructurales: estructura holding en las Islas Caimán limita la propiedad directa de activos en China; incertidumbre sobre la transferencia de dividendos.
Términos de la oferta: tras el ejercicio completo de los warrants, el total de acciones en circulación será de 29.524.214 (26.665.305 Clase A; 2.858.909 Clase B). Los accionistas vendedores pueden disponer de acciones mediante varios métodos a precios de mercado o negociados.
Consideraciones importantes para los inversores: El documento no diluye inmediatamente a los accionistas existentes, pero puede aumentar el flotante tras el ejercicio de los warrants. Los inversores deben sopesar la posición patrimonial mejorada de la empresa y la base de activos criptográficos frente a pérdidas persistentes, incertidumbre regulatoria y dependencia de un sector altamente volátil.
Nano Labs Ltd (나스닥: NA)는 2025년 7월 9일자 Form F-3 선반 등록서류를 제출했으며, 이는 2025년 6월 26일 사모 발행된 워런트에 기초한 최대 5,952,381주의 클래스 A 보통주 잠재적 재판매를 포함합니다. 회사 자체는 주식을 제공하지 않으며, 워런트를 현금으로 행사하는 판매 주주에게서만 수익을 받습니다.
기업 구조 및 상장: Nano Labs는 케이맨 제도에 본사를 둔 지주회사로 중국 본토 및 홍콩 자회사를 통해 운영됩니다. 클래스 A 주식은 나스닥 캐피탈 마켓에 상장되어 있으며, 2025년 7월 8일 마지막 거래 가격은 미화 7.86달러였습니다. 회사는 이중 클래스 주식 구조를 유지하며(클래스 B 주식은 각각 30표를 가짐) 있습니다.
재무 개요 (통화는 RMB, 별도 명시 없으면): 2024년 매출은 4060만 위안(미화 565만 달러)으로 2023년 7830만 위안에서 감소했습니다. 순손실은 2024년 1억1950만 위안(미화 1660만 달러)으로 2023년 2억5440만 위안 손실에서 축소되었습니다. 현금 및 현금성 자산은 3240만 위안(미화 450만 달러)이며, 영업 현금 흐름은 마이너스 1억3930만 위안입니다. 암호화폐 보유액은 2억4290만 위안(미화 3380만 달러)입니다. 추가 납입 자본 투입 후 자본총계는 2억3290만 위안으로 플러스로 전환했습니다.
수익금 사용: 재판매로 인한 회사 직접 수익 없음. 워런트 행사로 발생하는 현금은 운전자본에 사용될 예정이며, 구체적 사용처는 아직 지정되지 않았습니다.
제출서류에 강조된 주요 위험:
- 규제 위험: Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act 노출(감사위원회(PCAOB) 접근 중단 시 상장폐지 가능성); 중국 내 암호화폐 및 해외 상장에 대한 광범위한 감독; 사모 발행 이후 CSRC 제출 의무.
- 운영 위험: 변동성이 큰 암호화폐 시장에 대한 높은 의존도, 기술 변화, 제한된 공급업체 및 고객 집중.
- 재무 위험: 연속적인 연간 손실, 영업 현금 흐름 적자, 외부 자금 조달 의존, 디지털 자산에 집중된 유동성.
- 구조적 위험: 케이맨 지주회사 구조로 인해 중국 자산 직접 소유 제한; 배당금 이전에 대한 불확실성.
공모 조건: 워런트가 전부 행사되면 총 발행 주식 수는 29,524,214주(클래스 A 26,665,305주; 클래스 B 2,858,909주)가 됩니다. 판매 주주는 시장가 또는 협상가로 다양한 방법을 통해 주식을 처분할 수 있습니다.
투자자들을 위한 주요 고려사항: 제출서류는 기존 주주를 즉시 희석하지 않지만, 워런트 행사 시 유통 주식 수가 증가할 수 있습니다. 투자자들은 회사의 개선된 자본 상태와 암호화폐 자산 기반을 지속적인 손실, 규제 불확실성 및 매우 변동성이 큰 산업 의존성과 비교해 신중히 평가해야 합니다.
Nano Labs Ltd (Nasdaq : NA) a déposé un prospectus de type Form F-3 en date du 9 juillet 2025, couvrant la revente potentielle de jusqu’à 5 952 381 actions ordinaires de Classe A sous-jacentes à des bons de souscription émis lors d’un placement privé le 26 juin 2025. La société elle-même n’offre pas d’actions et ne recevra de produit que si les actionnaires vendeurs exercent les bons contre espèces.
Structure corporative et cotation : Nano Labs est une société holding des îles Caïmans qui exerce ses activités via des filiales en Chine continentale et à Hong Kong. Les actions de Classe A sont cotées au Nasdaq Capital Market ; le dernier cours coté au 8 juillet 2025 était de 7,86 USD. L’entreprise maintient une structure à actions à double catégorie (les actions de Classe B donnent droit à 30 voix chacune).
Résumé financier (RMB sauf indication contraire) : le chiffre d’affaires 2024 a chuté à 40,6 millions (5,65 millions USD) contre 78,3 millions en 2023. La perte nette s’est réduite à 119,5 millions (16,6 millions USD) contre une perte de 254,4 millions en 2023. Les liquidités et équivalents s’élevaient à 32,4 millions (4,5 millions USD) avec un flux de trésorerie opérationnel négatif de 139,3 millions. Les avoirs en cryptomonnaies totalisaient 242,9 millions (33,8 millions USD). Les capitaux propres sont devenus positifs à 232,9 millions après des injections supplémentaires de capital versé.
Utilisation des produits : Aucun produit direct pour la société issu de la revente. Toute trésorerie générée par l’exercice des bons sera affectée au fonds de roulement ; les usages spécifiques ne sont pas encore déterminés.
Principaux risques soulignés dans le dépôt :
- Réglementaires : exposition à la Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (risque de radiation en cas de perte d’accès au PCAOB) ; surveillance étendue de la Chine sur les cryptomonnaies et les cotations à l’étranger ; obligations de dépôt auprès de la CSRC après le placement privé.
- Opérationnels : forte dépendance aux marchés volatils des cryptomonnaies, évolutions technologiques, base limitée de fournisseurs et concentration des clients.
- Financiers : pertes annuelles consécutives, flux de trésorerie opérationnel négatif, dépendance aux financements externes, liquidité concentrée en actifs numériques.
- Structurels : la structure holding aux Caïmans limite la propriété directe des actifs en Chine ; incertitude sur le transfert des dividendes.
Conditions de l’offre : après exercice complet des bons, le nombre total d’actions en circulation serait de 29 524 214 (26 665 305 Classe A ; 2 858 909 Classe B). Les actionnaires vendeurs peuvent céder des actions par divers moyens à des prix de marché ou négociés.
Considérations importantes pour les investisseurs : Le dépôt ne dilue pas immédiatement les actionnaires existants mais peut augmenter le flottant lors de l’exercice des bons. Les investisseurs doivent peser la position en capitaux propres améliorée et la base d’actifs cryptographiques de la société face aux pertes persistantes, à l’incertitude réglementaire et à la dépendance à un secteur très volatile.
Nano Labs Ltd (Nasdaq: NA) hat am 9. Juli 2025 ein Form F-3 Shelf-Prospekt eingereicht, das den potenziellen Wiederverkauf von bis zu 5.952.381 Class A Stammaktien abdeckt, die zugrunde liegenden Warrants aus einer Privatplatzierung vom 26. Juni 2025. Das Unternehmen selbst bietet keine Aktien an und erhält Erlöse nur, wenn die verkaufenden Aktionäre die Warrants gegen Barzahlung ausüben.
Unternehmensstruktur und Börsennotierung: Nano Labs ist eine Holdinggesellschaft auf den Cayman Islands, die über Tochtergesellschaften in der VR China und Hongkong operiert. Class A Aktien werden am Nasdaq Capital Market gehandelt; der letzte Kurs am 8. Juli 2025 lag bei 7,86 US-Dollar. Das Unternehmen pflegt eine Doppelklassen-Aktienstruktur (Class B Aktien haben jeweils 30 Stimmen).
Finanzübersicht (RMB sofern nicht anders angegeben): Der Umsatz 2024 sank auf 40,6 Mio. (5,65 Mio. US-Dollar) von 78,3 Mio. im Jahr 2023. Der Nettoverlust verringerte sich auf 119,5 Mio. (16,6 Mio. US-Dollar) gegenüber einem Verlust von 254,4 Mio. im Jahr 2023. Zahlungsmittel und Zahlungsmitteläquivalente betrugen 32,4 Mio. (4,5 Mio. US-Dollar) bei negativem operativem Cashflow von 139,3 Mio. Die Krypto-Bestände beliefen sich auf 242,9 Mio. (33,8 Mio. US-Dollar). Das Eigenkapital wurde nach zusätzlichen Kapitaleinlagen positiv und lag bei 232,9 Mio.
Verwendung der Erlöse: Keine direkten Erlöse für das Unternehmen aus dem Wiederverkauf. Jegliche durch die Ausübung der Warrants generierten Barmittel fließen in das Betriebskapital; spezifische Verwendungszwecke sind noch nicht festgelegt.
Wesentliche Risiken im Prospekt:
- Regulatorisch: Risiko durch das Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (mögliche Delistung bei fehlendem PCAOB-Zugang); umfassende Aufsicht der VR China über Kryptowährungen und Auslandsnotierungen; Meldepflichten bei der CSRC nach der Privatplatzierung.
- Betrieblich: Hohe Abhängigkeit von volatilen Kryptowährungsmärkten, technologische Veränderungen, begrenzte Lieferantenbasis und Kundenkonzentration.
- Finanziell: Aufeinanderfolgende Jahresverluste, negativer operativer Cashflow, Abhängigkeit von externer Finanzierung, Liquidität konzentriert in digitalen Vermögenswerten.
- Strukturell: Die Holding-Struktur auf den Cayman Islands schränkt den direkten Besitz von Vermögenswerten in der VR China ein; Unsicherheit bezüglich der Dividendenausschüttung.
Angebotsbedingungen: Nach vollständiger Ausübung der Warrants beträgt die Gesamtzahl der ausstehenden Aktien 29.524.214 (26.665.305 Class A; 2.858.909 Class B). Verkaufende Aktionäre können Aktien auf verschiedene Weise zu Markt- oder ausgehandelten Preisen veräußern.
Wesentliche Überlegungen für Investoren: Die Einreichung führt nicht sofort zu einer Verwässerung der bestehenden Aktionäre, kann jedoch den Streubesitz bei Ausübung der Warrants erhöhen. Investoren sollten die verbesserte Eigenkapitalposition und die Krypto-Asset-Basis des Unternehmens gegen anhaltende Verluste, regulatorische Unsicherheiten und die Abhängigkeit von einem hochvolatilen Sektor abwägen.
- Shareholders’ equity turned positive to RMB232.9 million in 2024 after new capital injections, removing the prior deficit.
- Crypto asset reserve of RMB242.9 million (US$33.8 million) provides an alternative liquidity pool beyond limited cash.
- No immediate dilution to existing holders, as the F-3 covers resale of warrant shares held by private investors.
- Continuous operating losses: 2024 net loss of RMB119.5 million and negative operating cash flow of RMB139.3 million.
- Regulatory and delisting risk under HFCAA and PRC oversight could bar trading or impose new compliance burdens.
- Revenue decline of 48% year-on-year to RMB40.6 million, signalling weakening demand for the company’s products.
- Limited liquidity: only RMB32.4 million cash against substantial cash burn and short-term obligations.
- High exposure to cryptocurrency volatility, which materially affects asset values and business performance.
Insights
TL;DR: Resale shelf adds float but no fresh dilution; finances still weak; regulatory overhang remains substantial.
The F-3 registers warrant shares from a recent private placement, so cash inflow is contingent on holders exercising. That limits immediate balance-sheet benefit while increasing future share supply. Financials show a dramatic revenue collapse (-48% y/y) and a second straight annual loss, offset by sizeable paid-in capital and crypto holdings that lifted equity above water. Liquidity is thin—only RMB32 m cash versus a RMB139 m operating cash burn. The company’s reliance on digital-asset markets and HTC/HPC chip demand introduces high earnings volatility. From a valuation perspective, any warrant exercise cash would be welcome but not transformative without a clear path to profitability.
TL;DR: PRC and HFCAA exposure pose delisting and compliance risks that could severely impact share value.
Nano Labs’ filing underscores multiple China-related hazards: (1) potential Nasdaq delisting if PCAOB access to Chinese audits lapses for two consecutive years; (2) evolving CSRC filing regime for overseas issuers; (3) broad government discretion over cryptocurrency activities. While the auditor is currently inspectable, this can change rapidly. The firm states it has not been denied CSRC or CAC permissions but must file post-placement under the 2023 Trial Measures. Any tightening—especially on crypto mining—could impair operations or block future capital raises. Given this backdrop, the registration statement is procedurally routine but does little to mitigate overarching geopolitical risk.
Nano Labs Ltd (Nasdaq: NA) ha depositato un prospetto di tipo Form F-3 datato 9 luglio 2025, che riguarda la possibile rivendita fino a 5.952.381 azioni ordinarie di Classe A sottostanti warrant emessi in un collocamento privato del 26 giugno 2025. La società stessa non offre azioni e riceverà proventi solo se gli azionisti venditori eserciteranno i warrant in contanti.
Struttura societaria e quotazione: Nano Labs è una holding con sede nelle Isole Cayman che opera attraverso filiali in Cina continentale e Hong Kong. Le azioni di Classe A sono quotate sul Nasdaq Capital Market; l'ultimo prezzo quotato l'8 luglio 2025 era di 7,86 dollari USA. La società mantiene una struttura azionaria a doppia classe (le azioni di Classe B attribuiscono 30 voti ciascuna).
Riepilogo finanziario (RMB salvo diversa indicazione): i ricavi del 2024 sono scesi a 40,6 milioni (5,65 milioni di dollari USA) da 78,3 milioni nel 2023. La perdita netta si è ridotta a 119,5 milioni (16,6 milioni di dollari USA) rispetto a una perdita di 254,4 milioni nel 2023. La liquidità e equivalenti ammontavano a 32,4 milioni (4,5 milioni di dollari USA) con un flusso di cassa operativo negativo di 139,3 milioni. Le partecipazioni in criptovalute ammontavano a 242,9 milioni (33,8 milioni di dollari USA). Il patrimonio netto è diventato positivo a 232,9 milioni dopo iniezioni di capitale aggiuntivo.
Utilizzo dei proventi: Nessun provento diretto per la società dalla rivendita. Qualsiasi liquidità generata dall'esercizio dei warrant sarà destinata al capitale circolante; gli usi specifici non sono ancora stati designati.
Principali rischi evidenziati nel deposito:
- Normativi: esposizione alla Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (possibile delisting se si perde l'accesso PCAOB); ampia supervisione cinese sulle criptovalute e sulle quotazioni estere; obblighi di deposito presso CSRC dopo il collocamento privato.
- Operativi: forte dipendenza dai mercati volatili delle criptovalute, cambiamenti tecnologici, base fornitori limitata e concentrazione clienti.
- Finanziari: perdite annuali consecutive, flusso di cassa operativo negativo, dipendenza da finanziamenti esterni, liquidità concentrata in asset digitali.
- Strutturali: struttura holding Cayman limita la proprietà diretta degli asset in Cina; incertezza riguardo al trasferimento di dividendi.
Termini dell’offerta: dopo l’esercizio completo dei warrant, il totale delle azioni in circolazione sarà di 29.524.214 (26.665.305 di Classe A; 2.858.909 di Classe B). Gli azionisti venditori potranno disporre delle azioni tramite vari metodi a prezzi di mercato o negoziati.
Considerazioni importanti per gli investitori: Il deposito non diluisce immediatamente gli azionisti esistenti, ma potrebbe aumentare il flottante con l’esercizio dei warrant. Gli investitori devono valutare la posizione patrimoniale in miglioramento della società e la base di asset crittografici rispetto alle perdite persistenti, all’incertezza normativa e alla dipendenza da un settore altamente volatile.
Nano Labs Ltd (Nasdaq: NA) ha presentado un prospecto de tipo Formulario F-3 con fecha 9 de julio de 2025, que cubre la posible reventa de hasta 5.952.381 acciones ordinarias Clase A subyacentes a warrants emitidos en una colocación privada del 26 de junio de 2025. La compañía no está ofreciendo acciones directamente y solo recibirá ingresos si los accionistas vendedores ejercen los warrants en efectivo.
Estructura corporativa y cotización: Nano Labs es una empresa holding de las Islas Caimán que opera a través de subsidiarias en China continental y Hong Kong. Las acciones Clase A cotizan en el Nasdaq Capital Market; el último precio cotizado el 8 de julio de 2025 fue de 7,86 dólares estadounidenses. La empresa mantiene una estructura accionaria de doble clase (las acciones Clase B otorgan 30 votos cada una).
Resumen financiero (RMB salvo indicación contraria): los ingresos de 2024 cayeron a 40,6 millones (5,65 millones de dólares) desde 78,3 millones en 2023. La pérdida neta se redujo a 119,5 millones (16,6 millones de dólares) frente a una pérdida de 254,4 millones en 2023. El efectivo y equivalentes se situaron en 32,4 millones (4,5 millones de dólares) con un flujo de caja operativo negativo de 139,3 millones. Las tenencias en criptomonedas sumaron 242,9 millones (33,8 millones de dólares). El patrimonio neto se volvió positivo a 232,9 millones tras inyecciones adicionales de capital pagado.
Uso de los ingresos: No hay ingresos directos para la empresa por la reventa. Cualquier efectivo generado por el ejercicio de los warrants irá al capital de trabajo; los usos específicos aún no están designados.
Riesgos clave destacados en el documento:
- Regulatorios: exposición a la Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (posible exclusión si se pierde acceso PCAOB); amplia supervisión china sobre criptomonedas y cotizaciones en el extranjero; obligaciones de presentación ante la CSRC tras la colocación privada.
- Operativos: fuerte dependencia de mercados volátiles de criptomonedas, cambios tecnológicos, base limitada de proveedores y concentración de clientes.
- Financieros: pérdidas anuales consecutivas, flujo de caja operativo negativo, dependencia de financiamiento externo, liquidez concentrada en activos digitales.
- Estructurales: estructura holding en las Islas Caimán limita la propiedad directa de activos en China; incertidumbre sobre la transferencia de dividendos.
Términos de la oferta: tras el ejercicio completo de los warrants, el total de acciones en circulación será de 29.524.214 (26.665.305 Clase A; 2.858.909 Clase B). Los accionistas vendedores pueden disponer de acciones mediante varios métodos a precios de mercado o negociados.
Consideraciones importantes para los inversores: El documento no diluye inmediatamente a los accionistas existentes, pero puede aumentar el flotante tras el ejercicio de los warrants. Los inversores deben sopesar la posición patrimonial mejorada de la empresa y la base de activos criptográficos frente a pérdidas persistentes, incertidumbre regulatoria y dependencia de un sector altamente volátil.
Nano Labs Ltd (나스닥: NA)는 2025년 7월 9일자 Form F-3 선반 등록서류를 제출했으며, 이는 2025년 6월 26일 사모 발행된 워런트에 기초한 최대 5,952,381주의 클래스 A 보통주 잠재적 재판매를 포함합니다. 회사 자체는 주식을 제공하지 않으며, 워런트를 현금으로 행사하는 판매 주주에게서만 수익을 받습니다.
기업 구조 및 상장: Nano Labs는 케이맨 제도에 본사를 둔 지주회사로 중국 본토 및 홍콩 자회사를 통해 운영됩니다. 클래스 A 주식은 나스닥 캐피탈 마켓에 상장되어 있으며, 2025년 7월 8일 마지막 거래 가격은 미화 7.86달러였습니다. 회사는 이중 클래스 주식 구조를 유지하며(클래스 B 주식은 각각 30표를 가짐) 있습니다.
재무 개요 (통화는 RMB, 별도 명시 없으면): 2024년 매출은 4060만 위안(미화 565만 달러)으로 2023년 7830만 위안에서 감소했습니다. 순손실은 2024년 1억1950만 위안(미화 1660만 달러)으로 2023년 2억5440만 위안 손실에서 축소되었습니다. 현금 및 현금성 자산은 3240만 위안(미화 450만 달러)이며, 영업 현금 흐름은 마이너스 1억3930만 위안입니다. 암호화폐 보유액은 2억4290만 위안(미화 3380만 달러)입니다. 추가 납입 자본 투입 후 자본총계는 2억3290만 위안으로 플러스로 전환했습니다.
수익금 사용: 재판매로 인한 회사 직접 수익 없음. 워런트 행사로 발생하는 현금은 운전자본에 사용될 예정이며, 구체적 사용처는 아직 지정되지 않았습니다.
제출서류에 강조된 주요 위험:
- 규제 위험: Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act 노출(감사위원회(PCAOB) 접근 중단 시 상장폐지 가능성); 중국 내 암호화폐 및 해외 상장에 대한 광범위한 감독; 사모 발행 이후 CSRC 제출 의무.
- 운영 위험: 변동성이 큰 암호화폐 시장에 대한 높은 의존도, 기술 변화, 제한된 공급업체 및 고객 집중.
- 재무 위험: 연속적인 연간 손실, 영업 현금 흐름 적자, 외부 자금 조달 의존, 디지털 자산에 집중된 유동성.
- 구조적 위험: 케이맨 지주회사 구조로 인해 중국 자산 직접 소유 제한; 배당금 이전에 대한 불확실성.
공모 조건: 워런트가 전부 행사되면 총 발행 주식 수는 29,524,214주(클래스 A 26,665,305주; 클래스 B 2,858,909주)가 됩니다. 판매 주주는 시장가 또는 협상가로 다양한 방법을 통해 주식을 처분할 수 있습니다.
투자자들을 위한 주요 고려사항: 제출서류는 기존 주주를 즉시 희석하지 않지만, 워런트 행사 시 유통 주식 수가 증가할 수 있습니다. 투자자들은 회사의 개선된 자본 상태와 암호화폐 자산 기반을 지속적인 손실, 규제 불확실성 및 매우 변동성이 큰 산업 의존성과 비교해 신중히 평가해야 합니다.
Nano Labs Ltd (Nasdaq : NA) a déposé un prospectus de type Form F-3 en date du 9 juillet 2025, couvrant la revente potentielle de jusqu’à 5 952 381 actions ordinaires de Classe A sous-jacentes à des bons de souscription émis lors d’un placement privé le 26 juin 2025. La société elle-même n’offre pas d’actions et ne recevra de produit que si les actionnaires vendeurs exercent les bons contre espèces.
Structure corporative et cotation : Nano Labs est une société holding des îles Caïmans qui exerce ses activités via des filiales en Chine continentale et à Hong Kong. Les actions de Classe A sont cotées au Nasdaq Capital Market ; le dernier cours coté au 8 juillet 2025 était de 7,86 USD. L’entreprise maintient une structure à actions à double catégorie (les actions de Classe B donnent droit à 30 voix chacune).
Résumé financier (RMB sauf indication contraire) : le chiffre d’affaires 2024 a chuté à 40,6 millions (5,65 millions USD) contre 78,3 millions en 2023. La perte nette s’est réduite à 119,5 millions (16,6 millions USD) contre une perte de 254,4 millions en 2023. Les liquidités et équivalents s’élevaient à 32,4 millions (4,5 millions USD) avec un flux de trésorerie opérationnel négatif de 139,3 millions. Les avoirs en cryptomonnaies totalisaient 242,9 millions (33,8 millions USD). Les capitaux propres sont devenus positifs à 232,9 millions après des injections supplémentaires de capital versé.
Utilisation des produits : Aucun produit direct pour la société issu de la revente. Toute trésorerie générée par l’exercice des bons sera affectée au fonds de roulement ; les usages spécifiques ne sont pas encore déterminés.
Principaux risques soulignés dans le dépôt :
- Réglementaires : exposition à la Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (risque de radiation en cas de perte d’accès au PCAOB) ; surveillance étendue de la Chine sur les cryptomonnaies et les cotations à l’étranger ; obligations de dépôt auprès de la CSRC après le placement privé.
- Opérationnels : forte dépendance aux marchés volatils des cryptomonnaies, évolutions technologiques, base limitée de fournisseurs et concentration des clients.
- Financiers : pertes annuelles consécutives, flux de trésorerie opérationnel négatif, dépendance aux financements externes, liquidité concentrée en actifs numériques.
- Structurels : la structure holding aux Caïmans limite la propriété directe des actifs en Chine ; incertitude sur le transfert des dividendes.
Conditions de l’offre : après exercice complet des bons, le nombre total d’actions en circulation serait de 29 524 214 (26 665 305 Classe A ; 2 858 909 Classe B). Les actionnaires vendeurs peuvent céder des actions par divers moyens à des prix de marché ou négociés.
Considérations importantes pour les investisseurs : Le dépôt ne dilue pas immédiatement les actionnaires existants mais peut augmenter le flottant lors de l’exercice des bons. Les investisseurs doivent peser la position en capitaux propres améliorée et la base d’actifs cryptographiques de la société face aux pertes persistantes, à l’incertitude réglementaire et à la dépendance à un secteur très volatile.
Nano Labs Ltd (Nasdaq: NA) hat am 9. Juli 2025 ein Form F-3 Shelf-Prospekt eingereicht, das den potenziellen Wiederverkauf von bis zu 5.952.381 Class A Stammaktien abdeckt, die zugrunde liegenden Warrants aus einer Privatplatzierung vom 26. Juni 2025. Das Unternehmen selbst bietet keine Aktien an und erhält Erlöse nur, wenn die verkaufenden Aktionäre die Warrants gegen Barzahlung ausüben.
Unternehmensstruktur und Börsennotierung: Nano Labs ist eine Holdinggesellschaft auf den Cayman Islands, die über Tochtergesellschaften in der VR China und Hongkong operiert. Class A Aktien werden am Nasdaq Capital Market gehandelt; der letzte Kurs am 8. Juli 2025 lag bei 7,86 US-Dollar. Das Unternehmen pflegt eine Doppelklassen-Aktienstruktur (Class B Aktien haben jeweils 30 Stimmen).
Finanzübersicht (RMB sofern nicht anders angegeben): Der Umsatz 2024 sank auf 40,6 Mio. (5,65 Mio. US-Dollar) von 78,3 Mio. im Jahr 2023. Der Nettoverlust verringerte sich auf 119,5 Mio. (16,6 Mio. US-Dollar) gegenüber einem Verlust von 254,4 Mio. im Jahr 2023. Zahlungsmittel und Zahlungsmitteläquivalente betrugen 32,4 Mio. (4,5 Mio. US-Dollar) bei negativem operativem Cashflow von 139,3 Mio. Die Krypto-Bestände beliefen sich auf 242,9 Mio. (33,8 Mio. US-Dollar). Das Eigenkapital wurde nach zusätzlichen Kapitaleinlagen positiv und lag bei 232,9 Mio.
Verwendung der Erlöse: Keine direkten Erlöse für das Unternehmen aus dem Wiederverkauf. Jegliche durch die Ausübung der Warrants generierten Barmittel fließen in das Betriebskapital; spezifische Verwendungszwecke sind noch nicht festgelegt.
Wesentliche Risiken im Prospekt:
- Regulatorisch: Risiko durch das Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (mögliche Delistung bei fehlendem PCAOB-Zugang); umfassende Aufsicht der VR China über Kryptowährungen und Auslandsnotierungen; Meldepflichten bei der CSRC nach der Privatplatzierung.
- Betrieblich: Hohe Abhängigkeit von volatilen Kryptowährungsmärkten, technologische Veränderungen, begrenzte Lieferantenbasis und Kundenkonzentration.
- Finanziell: Aufeinanderfolgende Jahresverluste, negativer operativer Cashflow, Abhängigkeit von externer Finanzierung, Liquidität konzentriert in digitalen Vermögenswerten.
- Strukturell: Die Holding-Struktur auf den Cayman Islands schränkt den direkten Besitz von Vermögenswerten in der VR China ein; Unsicherheit bezüglich der Dividendenausschüttung.
Angebotsbedingungen: Nach vollständiger Ausübung der Warrants beträgt die Gesamtzahl der ausstehenden Aktien 29.524.214 (26.665.305 Class A; 2.858.909 Class B). Verkaufende Aktionäre können Aktien auf verschiedene Weise zu Markt- oder ausgehandelten Preisen veräußern.
Wesentliche Überlegungen für Investoren: Die Einreichung führt nicht sofort zu einer Verwässerung der bestehenden Aktionäre, kann jedoch den Streubesitz bei Ausübung der Warrants erhöhen. Investoren sollten die verbesserte Eigenkapitalposition und die Krypto-Asset-Basis des Unternehmens gegen anhaltende Verluste, regulatorische Unsicherheiten und die Abhängigkeit von einem hochvolatilen Sektor abwägen.
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 9, 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
Nano Labs Ltd
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Not Applicable
(Translation of registrant’s name into English)
Cayman Islands | Not Applicable | |
(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
China Yuangu Hanggang Technology Building,
509 Qianjiang Road, Shangcheng District,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang
People’s Republic of China
(86) 0571-8665 6957
(Address and telephone number of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Cogency Global Inc.
122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10168
(800) 221-0102
(Name, address and telephone number of agent for service)
Copies to:
Dan Ouyang, Esq.
K. Ronnie Li, Esq.
Baker & McKenzie LLP
Suite 3401, China World Office 2
China World Trade Centre
1 Jianguomenwai Dajie
Beijing 100004
People’s Republic of China
(86-10) 6535-3800
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.
If 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, 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. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell nor does it seek an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
PROSPECTUS
Subject to Completion, dated July 9, 2025
Nano Labs Ltd
5,952,381 Class A Ordinary Shares
This prospectus relates to the proposed resale or other disposition of 5,952,381 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of warrants (the “Warrants”), by the selling shareholders identified in this prospectus. The selling shareholders acquired the Warrants from us pursuant to that certain securities purchase contract, dated as of June 26, 2025, by and among us and the purchasers named therein (the “Purchase Agreement”), in a private placement offering (the “Private Placement”).
We are not selling any Class A ordinary shares under this prospectus and will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of Class A ordinary shares by the selling shareholders. However, we will receive gross proceeds from the Private Placement transaction solely to the extent such Warrants are exercised for cash.
The selling shareholders or their pledgees, assignees or successors-in-interest may offer and sell or otherwise dispose of the ordinary shares described in this prospectus from time to time through public or private transactions at prevailing market prices, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at privately negotiated prices. The selling shareholders will bear all commissions and discounts, if any, attributable to the sales of Class A ordinary shares. We will bear all other costs, expenses and fees in connection with the registration of the shares. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page 38 for more information about how the selling shareholders may sell or dispose of their Class A ordinary shares.
The Class A ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “NA.” The last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares on July 8, 2025 was US$7.86 per Class A ordinary share.
We are subject to a number of prohibitions, restrictions and potential delisting risks under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCAA”). Pursuant to the HFCAA and related regulations, if we have filed an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) has determined that it is unable to inspect and investigate completely, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) will identify us as a “Commission-identified Issuer,” and the trading of our securities on any U.S. national securities exchange, as well as any over-the-counter trading in the United States, will be prohibited if we are identified as a Commission-identified Issuer for two consecutive years. On December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (the “CAA”) was signed into law by President Biden. The CAA, among other things, reduced the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA as it was originally passed from the original three years to two, and thus, reduced the time before a Commission-identified Issuer’s securities may be prohibited from trading or delisted. In August 2022, the PCAOB, the CSRC and the Ministry of Finance of the PRC signed a Statement of Protocol (the “Statement of Protocol”), which establishes a specific and accountable framework for the PCAOB to conduct inspections and investigations of PCAOB-governed accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB announced that it was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong completely in 2022. The PCAOB Board vacated its previous 2021 determinations that the PCAOB was unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong. However, whether the PCAOB will continue to be able to satisfactorily conduct inspections of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong is subject to uncertainties and depends on a number of factors out of our and our auditor’s control. The PCAOB continues to demand complete access in mainland China and Hong Kong moving forward and is making plans to resume regular inspections in early 2023 and beyond, as well as to continue pursuing ongoing investigations and initiate new investigations as needed. The PCAOB has also indicated that it will act immediately to consider the need to issue new determinations with the HFCAA if needed. Our auditor, MaloneBailey, LLP, is not among the PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in China and Hong Kong that are subject to PCAOB’s determination issued on December 16, 2021 of having been unable to inspect or investigate completely. However, we could still face the risk of delisting and cease of trading of our securities from a stock exchange or an over-the-counter market in the United States under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act and the securities regulations promulgated thereunder if the PCAOB determines in the future that it is unable to completely inspect or investigate our auditor which has a presence in China. These China-related risks could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our securities, or 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 become worthless. In particular, recent policy statements and regulatory actions by the PRC government, such as those related to the cryptocurrency mining business, may adversely impact our ability to conduct our business, accept foreign investments, or list on a U.S. or other foreign stock exchange, which may cause our Class A ordinary shares to be prohibited from trading or to be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market or any other U.S. stock exchange. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China” in our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC on April 11, 2025 (the “2024 20-F”).
In particular, the PRC government has significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our business and may intervene with or influence our operations as the government deems appropriate to further regulatory, political and societal goals. The PRC government has published new policies that significantly affected certain industries, including the cryptocurrency industry, which may severely restrict our ability to expand our business or serve our customers in China. We cannot assure you that government authorities in China will not introduce further enhanced regulation over the cryptocurrency industry that may lead to our inability to operate in China at all. Furthermore, the PRC government has indicated an intent to exert more oversight and control over overseas securities offerings and other capital markets activities and foreign investment in China-based companies like us. Any such action, once taken by the PRC government, 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 in extreme cases, become worthless.
Investors in our Class A ordinary shares are not purchasing equity securities of our subsidiaries that have substantive business operations in China but instead are purchasing equity securities of a Cayman Islands holding company. Nano Labs Ltd is a holding company with no material operations of its own. We conduct our operations primarily through our subsidiaries in China and one of our subsidiaries in Hong Kong. Such structure involves unique risks to investors in our Class A ordinary shares. Investors may never directly hold equity interests in our PRC subsidiaries with substantive operations. We also cannot assure you that the Chinese regulatory authorities will not disallow such a structure. If the Chinese regulatory authorities disallow the structure, it would likely result in a material change in our operations and cause the value of our Class A ordinary shares to significantly decline or become worthless. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Governance” in the 2024 20-F.
In recent years, the PRC government initiated a series of regulatory actions and made a number of public statements on the regulation of 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, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. The PRC government also exerts more control over offerings conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers. In particular, on February 17, 2023, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”) released the Trial Administrative Measures of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (the “Trial Measures”), which came into effect on March 31, 2023. The Trial Measures apply to overseas securities offerings and/or listings conducted by (1) companies incorporated in the PRC, or PRC domestic companies, directly and (2) companies incorporated overseas with operations primarily in the PRC and valued on the basis of interests in PRC domestic companies, or indirect offerings. The Trial Measures requires (i) the filings of the overseas offering and listing plan by the PRC domestic companies with the CSRC under certain conditions, and (ii) the filing of their underwriters or placement agents with the CSRC under certain conditions and the submission of an annual report to the CSRC within the required timeline. On the same day, the Provisions on Strengthening Confidentiality and Archives Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (the “Confidentiality and Archives Administration Provisions”) promulgated by the CSRC came into effect. Confidentiality and Archives Administration Provisions stipulate that the PRC companies seeking overseas offerings and listings, either directly or indirectly, as well as securities firms and securities service providers (both the PRC and overseas) involved in relevant businesses, must not disclose any state secrets or confidential information of government agencies, nor harm national security and public interests. Additionally, if a domestic company provides accounting archives or copies of such archives to any entities, including securities firms, securities service providers, overseas regulators and individuals, it must comply with due procedures in accordance with applicable regulations. We believe that offerings under this prospectus do not involve the disclosure of any state secret or confidential information of government agencies, nor does it harm national security and public interests. However, we may need to perform additional procedures concerning the provision of accounting archives. The specific requirements of these procedures are currently unclear, and we cannot guarantee our ability to execute them. According to the Notice on the Administrative Arrangements for the Filing of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Enterprises (the “Notice on Overseas Listing Measures”) published by the CSRC on February 17, 2023, issuers that had already been listed in an overseas market by March 31, 2023, the date the Trial Measures became effective, are not required to make any immediate filing and are only required to comply with the filing requirements under the Trial Measures when it subsequently seeks to conduct a follow-on offering. Therefore, we are required to go through filing procedures with the CSRC within three working days after the completion of the Private Placement and for our future offerings of our securities in an overseas market, including Nasdaq, under the Trial Measures. Other than the CSRC filing procedure we are required to make within three working days after the completion of the Private Placement, we and our PRC subsidiaries, as advised our PRC legal counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, (1) are not required to obtain permissions from the CSRC, and (2) have not been required to obtain or denied such and other permissions by the CSRC, CAC, or any PRC government authority, under current PRC laws, regulations and rules in connection with the Private Placement or a potential resale by the selling shareholders made pursuant to this prospectus. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—Recent regulatory developments in China may subject us to additional regulatory review or otherwise restrict or completely hinder our ability to offer securities and raise capitals overseas, all of which could materially and adversely affect our business and cause the value of our Class A ordinary shares to significantly decline or become worthless” in the 2024 20-F.
The structure of cash flows within our organization, and the applicable regulations, are as follows. After foreign investors’ funds enter Nano Labs Ltd, our holding company, subject to the cash demand of our PRC and Hong Kong subsidiaries, the funds can be transferred to our wholly owned Cayman subsidiaries, then to our wholly owned BVI subsidiaries, then to our Hong Kong subsidiaries, which will further distribute the funds to our PRC subsidiaries. If we intend to distribute dividends, PRC subsidiaries will transfer the dividends to our Hong Kong subsidiaries in accordance with the laws and regulations of the PRC, and then our Hong Kong subsidiaries will transfer the dividends all the way up to Nano Labs Ltd, and the dividends will be distributed from Nano Labs Ltd to all shareholders respectively in proportion to the shares they hold, regardless of whether the shareholders are U.S. investors or investors in other countries or regions. The cross-border transfer of funds within our corporate group under our direct holding structure must be legal and compliant with relevant laws and regulations of China. In utilizing the proceeds from the Private Placement, as an offshore holding company, we are permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding to our PRC subsidiaries only through loans or capital contributions and to our affiliated entities only through loans, subject to applicable government reporting, registration and approvals. See “Item 14. Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds—Use of Proceeds” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of the securities offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries” in the 2024 20-F. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, we transferred cash proceeds of US$24.3 million, US$17.5 million and US$13.1 million to our PRC subsidiaries for the settlement of intercompany transactions and as paid-in capital for our PRC subsidiaries, and none of our PRC subsidiaries has issued any dividends or distributions to respective holding companies or any investors as of the date of this prospectus. We do not have any present plan to pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares . We have, from time to time, transferred cash between our PRC subsidiaries to fund their operations, and we do not anticipate any difficulties or limitations on our ability to transfer cash between such subsidiaries. As of the date of this prospectus, no cash generated from our PRC subsidiaries has been used to fund operations of any of our non-PRC subsidiaries. We may encounter difficulties in our ability to transfer cash between PRC subsidiaries and non-PRC subsidiaries largely due to various PRC laws and regulations imposed on foreign exchange. However, as long as we are compliant with the procedures for approvals from foreign exchange authorities and banks in China, the relevant laws and regulations in China do not impose limitations on the amount of funds that we can transfer out of China. We currently do not have any cash management policy that dictate the transfer of cash between our subsidiaries. See “Item 4. Information of the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—PRC Laws and Regulations relating to Foreign Exchange” in the 2024 20-F for details of such procedures.
Investing in these securities involves risks. See the “Risk Factors” section contained in this prospectus and the documents we incorporate by reference in this prospectus to read about factors you should consider before investing in these securities.
The selling shareholders 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 consist of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Each Class A ordinary share is entitled to one vote, and each Class B ordinary share is entitled to 30 votes on all matters subject to vote at general meetings of our company. Each Class B ordinary share can be convertible into Class A ordinary share at any time at the option of the holder thereof. Class A ordinary shares shall not be convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of Class B ordinary shares by a holder thereof to any person or entity that is not Mr. Jianping Kong, Mr. Qifeng Sun or their affiliate (as defined in our currently effective memorandum and articles of association), or upon a change of ultimate beneficial ownership of any Class B ordinary share to any person who is not Mr. Jianping Kong, Mr. Qifeng Sun or their affiliate, such Class B ordinary shares will be automatically and immediately converted into an equal number of Class A ordinary shares. See “Description of Share Capital.”
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Act of 2012, as amended, and, as such, will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.
We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, such as the rules regulating solicitation of proxies and certain insider reporting and short-swing profit rules. Moreover, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. In addition, as a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from the corporate governance standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the disclosures in this prospectus, including any prospectus supplement and documents incorporated by reference. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is July 9, 2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS | ii |
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY | 1 |
INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE | 15 |
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS | 16 |
RISK FACTORS | 17 |
USE OF PROCEEDS | 19 |
DESCRIPTION OF THE SECURITIES | 20 |
DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL | 21 |
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION | 38 |
TAXATION | 40 |
ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES | 48 |
LEGAL MATTERS | 50 |
EXPERTS | 51 |
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT US | 52 |
i
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information About Us” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference.”
In this prospectus, unless otherwise indicated or unless the context otherwise requires,
● | “China” and “PRC” refers to the People’s Republic of China, excluding, for the purposes of this prospectus only, Taiwan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macau Special Administrative Region; |
● | “Class A ordinary shares” refers to our Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.002 per share; |
● | “Class B ordinary shares” refers to our Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.002 per share; |
● | “RMB” and “Renminbi” refers to the legal currency of China; |
● | “shares” and “ordinary shares” refers to prior to the completion of any offerings under this prospectus, our pre-offering ordinary shares, and upon and after the completion of any offerings under this prospectus, are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares; |
● | “US$” and “U.S. dollars” refers to the legal currency of the United States of America; and |
● | “we,” “us,” “our company,” “our,” and “our group” refers to Nano Labs Ltd, our Cayman Islands holding company, its predecessor entity and its subsidiaries, as the context requires. |
You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and in any prospectus supplement. We or the selling shareholders have not authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. The selling shareholders will not make an offer to sell the securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus and the applicable supplement to this prospectus is accurate as of the date on its respective cover, and that any information incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, unless we indicate otherwise. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
ii
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
The following summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, and does not contain all of the information that you need to consider in making your investment decision. We urge you to read this entire prospectus (as supplemented or amended), including our consolidated financial statements, notes to the consolidated financial statements and other information incorporated by reference in this prospectus from our other filings with the SEC, before making an investment decision.
Company Overview
We are a leading Web 3.0 infrastructure and product solution provider in China, specialized in the development of HTC chips and HPC chips. We have built a comprehensive FPU architecture which offers solution that integrates the features of both HTC and HPC. In addition, we have actively positioned ourselves in the digital assets space, adopting BNB as our primary reserve asset. We have accumulated nearly US$160 million in mainstream digital currencies including BNB and BTC.
We have established an integrated solution platform covering two main business verticals, including HTC solutions and HPC solutions. Our HTC solutions feature our proprietary Cuckoo series chips, which have become alternative ASICs solutions for traditional GPUs. Our HPC solutions offer both HPC chips, Darkbird, and Bitcoin mining machine, iPollo. In addition to HTC and HPC chips, we launched our Darksteel series, which can be applied to both industrial and commercial sectors by offering distributed computing and data storage solutions, in the fourth quarter of 2021.
For a description of our business, financial condition, results of operations and other important information regarding us, see our filings with the SEC incorporated by reference herein. For instructions on how to find copies of these and our other filings incorporated by reference in the accompanying prospectus, see “Where You Can Find More Information About Us” in this prospectus.
Risks and Challenges
Investing in our Class A ordinary shares entails a significant level of risk. Before investing in our Class A ordinary shares, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties summarized below, the risks described under the “Risk Factors,” in addition to all of the other information in this prospectus and documents that are incorporated in this prospectus , as updated by our subsequent filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and, if applicable, in any accompanying prospectus supplement or documents incorporated by reference. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in the section titled “Risk Factors,” alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
Risks Related to this Offering
● | Volatile trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to this Offering—The trading price of our Class A ordinary shares is likely to be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related to this Offering—Sales of our Class A ordinary shares, or the perception of such sales, by the selling shareholders pursuant to this prospectus in the public market or otherwise could cause the market price for our Class A Ordinary Shares to decline.” |
● | Risks related to the use of proceeds. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to this Offering—We have not determined a specific use for a portion of the net proceeds from the securities offering, and we may use these proceeds in ways with which you may not agree.” |
Risks Related to Our Business
● | Uncertainties in our research and development activities. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We may fail to anticipate or adapt to technology innovations in a timely manner, so our IC design may fail to gain recognition from the customers and the IC design industry” in the 2024 20-F. |
1
● | Volatility of the cryptocurrency market. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Our results of operations have been and are expected to continue to be significantly impacted by the volatility of the cryptocurrency market, and in particular, the sharp price decrease of cryptocurrencies” in the 2024 20-F, “We face significant risks relating to our reliance on third-party quantitative trading teams for the custody and trading of our cryptocurrencies, including risks related to market volatility and forced liquidation, trading system and API, counterparty and agency, team competency and trading system, instability of profitability, and arbitrage trading, which could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations” in the current reports on Form 6-K furnished with the SEC on June 24, 2025 (the “June 24 6-K”) and “Market manipulation activities within the cryptocurrency market may materially disrupt market integrity, reduce liquidity, and cause significant price volatility, adversely impacting our trading operations, revenue generation, and business, financial condition and results of operations” in the June 24 6-K. |
● | Network security of cryptocurrencies. See “We face significant risks relating to disruptions, forks, 51% attacks, hacks, network disruptions, or other adverse events or other compromises to the cryptocurrency blockchains, which could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations” and “We face risks relating to the potential compromise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies’ network security by emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing, which may materially and adversely impact our operations and financial condition” in the June 24 6-K. |
● | Uncertainty of the regulation on cryptocurrencies and relevant transaction and trading venue related risks. See “Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, face significant scaling obstacles that can lead to high fees or slow transaction settlement times”, “Bitcoin and other digital assets are novel assets, and are subject to significant legal, commercial, regulatory and technical uncertainty”, “The due diligence procedures conducted by us and our liquidity provider to mitigate transaction risk may fail to prevent transactions with bad actors that have used cryptocurrencies to launder money”, “Banks and financial institutions may not provide banking services, or may cut off services, to businesses that engage in crypto-related activities”, “Due to the unregulated nature and lack of transparency surrounding the operations of many trading venues Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies we hold, these trading venues may experience greater fraud, security failures or regulatory or operational problems than trading venues for more established asset classes, which may result in a loss of confidence in such trading venues and adversely affect the value of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we hold” and “We are not subject to legal and regulatory obligations that apply to investment companies such as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, or to obligations applicable to investment advisers” in the June 24 6-K. |
● | Risks related to stablecoins. See “We are exposed to risks related to the custody, transaction and issuance of stablecoins, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations”, “As a relatively new innovation, stablecoins are particularly susceptible to operational challenges and risks, including due to surges in demand” and “The acceptance of stablecoins could be negatively impacted by the disruptions in secondary marketplace, which could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations” in the June 24 6-K. |
● | Price volatility of cryptocurrencies. See “Cryptocurrency price volatility may materially depress asset valuations, necessitating substantial cash reserves or liquidity buffers to maintain operational resilience. These risks are compounded by the lack of comprehensive regulation governing cryptocurrency trading platforms, which face material exposure to fraud, market manipulation, security breaches, and operational failures that could materially and adversely affect the value of our small-cap cryptocurrency holdings” and “The emergence or growth of other digital assets, including those with significant private or public sector backing, could have a negative impact on the price of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we hold and adversely affect our business” in the June 24 6-K. |
● | Risks related to custodially-held cryptocurrencies. See “Our custodially-held Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies may become part of the custodian’s insolvency estate if one or more of our custodians enters bankruptcy, receivership or similar insolvency proceedings” in the June 24 6-K. |
2
● | Market conditions for HTC and HPC solutions market. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We have derived and may continue to derive revenues primarily from our HTC and HPC solutions. If the market for HTC and HPC solutions ceases to exist or diminishes significantly, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially and adversely affected” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Constant technological changes in the industries we operate in. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Our business growth is dependent on the development of blockchain technology and applications, particularly in the field of Bitcoin, ETC, Grin and Filecoin” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Significant revenue contribution from our cryptocurrency mining machines. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—If cryptocurrencies relating to our products lose their popularity or are replaced by other cryptocurrencies as the mainstream cryptocurrencies, we may not be able to win the market for our future mining machines and our results of operations will be materially and adversely affected” in the 2024 20-F and “We face significant risks relating to income concentration in limited blockchain partners and associated disclosure deficiencies which may trigger regulatory actions or litigation” in the June 24 6-K. |
● | Our reliance on limited suppliers. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Our IC products mainly depend on supplies from third-party foundries, and any failure to obtain sufficient foundry capacity from such foundries would significantly delay the shipment of our products” in the 2024 20-F. |
Risks Related to Our Operations
● | Our ability to achieve or sustain profitability. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Operations—We have incurred net losses and negative cash flows from operating activities in the past, and we may not achieve or sustain profitability” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Our ability to forecast our business and assess the seasonality and volatility in our business. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Operations—Our limited operating history and our volatile historical results of operations could make it difficult for us to forecast our business and assess the seasonality and volatility in our business” in the 2024 20-F and “We face significant risks relating to the ongoing evolution of our business model and inherent future uncertainties, which could materially impair our ability to execute our strategy, achieve profitability, and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations” in the June 24 6-K. |
● | Our ability to obtain significant financial resources. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Operations—Our business requires significant financial resources, but we may not be able to obtain it in a timely manner and on favorable terms or at all” in the 2024 20-F. |
3
● | Our ability to price our products at our desired margins. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Operations—We may not be able to price our products at our desired margins as a result of any decrease in our bargaining power or changes in market conditions” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Credit risks and concentration of credit risks in relation to defaults from counterparties. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Operations—We may be exposed to credit risks and concentration of credit risks in relation to defaults from counterparties” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Our ability to manage our growth or execute our strategies effectively. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Operations—If we are unable to manage our growth or execute our strategies effectively, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Ongoing global coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Operations—Our business, results of operations and financial position could be adversely affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | High customer concentration. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Operations—High customer concentration exposes us to all of the risks faced by our major customers and may subject us to significant fluctuations or declines in revenues” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Liquidity risk in relation to cryptocurrencies. See “Our cryptocurrency holdings are less liquid than our existing cash and cash equivalents and may not be able to serve as a source of liquidity for us to the same extent as cash and cash equivalents” in the June 24 6-K. |
Risks Related to Our Industry
● | Adverse changes in the regulatory environment in China. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Industry—It may be or become illegal to acquire, own, hold, sell or use cryptocurrencies, participate in the blockchain, transfer or utilize similar bitcoin assets in China or overseas markets where we operate due to adverse changes in the regulatory and policy environment in these jurisdictions” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Adverse changes of regulatory environment in foreign markets. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Industry—The current regulatory environment in foreign markets, including the United States, and any adverse changes in that environment, could have a material adverse impact on our blockchain products business” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Increasing mining difficulty, which could result in downward pressure on the expected economic returns. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Industry—Increasing mining difficulty could result in downward pressure on the expected economic returns on cryptocurrency mining” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Concert actions, which could prevent new transactions from gaining confirmations, halt payments between users, and reverse previously completed transactions. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Industry—If any person, institution or a pool of them acting in concert obtains control of more than 50% of the processing power active on the Bitcoin, Ethereum Classic or Grin, such person, institution or a pool of them could prevent new transactions from gaining confirmations, halt payments between users, and reverse previously completed transactions, which would erode user confidence in Bitcoin, Ethereum Classic or Grin” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Challenges against decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Industry—The decentralized nature of cryptocurrency may be subject to challenges, which could negatively affect our results of operations” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Change of algorithm and mining mechanism. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Industry—Change of algorithm and mining mechanism for cryptocurrencies may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations” in the 2024 20-F. |
4
Risks Related to Conducting Business in China
● | Recent regulatory developments in China, which may subject us to additional regulatory review. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—Recent regulatory developments in China may subject us to additional regulatory review or otherwise restrict or completely hinder our ability to offer securities and raise capitals overseas, all of which could materially and adversely affect our business and cause the value of our Class A ordinary shares to significantly decline or become worthless” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Significant influence of PRC government over companies with China-based operations. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—The PRC government has significant influence over companies with China-based operations by enforcing existing rules and regulation, adopting new ones, or changing relevant industrial policies in a manner that may materially increase our compliance cost, change relevant industry landscape or otherwise cause significant changes to our operations in China, which could result in material and adverse changes in our operations and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Possibility of delisting if the PCAOB is unable to inspect auditors with presence in China. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—Our Class A ordinary shares will be delisted and prohibited from trading in the over-the-counter market under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, if the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely auditors located in China for two consecutive years. The delisting of our Class A ordinary shares, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Changes in the political and economic policies of the PRC government. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—Changes in China’s economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Uncertainties regarding the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws, rules and regulations. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to you and us” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | A severe or prolonged downturn in China’s economy. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—A severe or prolonged downturn in China’s economy could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Increased labor costs and enforcement of stricter labor laws and regulations in China. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—Increases in labor costs and enforcement of stricter labor laws and regulations in China and our additional payments of statutory employee benefits may adversely affect our business and profitability” in the 2024 20-F. |
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Governance
● | Investors in our Class A ordinary shares not purchasing equity securities of our subsidiaries that have substantive business operations in China but instead equity securities of a Cayman Islands holding company. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Governance—Investors in our Class A ordinary shares are not purchasing equity securities of our subsidiaries that have substantive business operations in China but instead are purchasing equity securities of a Cayman Islands holding company” in the 2024 20-F. |
5
● | Custodians or authorized users of our controlling non-tangible assets, including chops and seals, failing to fulfill their responsibilities. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Governance—If the custodians or authorized users of our controlling non-tangible assets, including chops and seals, fail to fulfill their responsibilities, or misappropriate or misuse these assets, our business and operations may be materially and adversely affected” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Anti-takeover provisions in our currently effective memorandum and articles of association. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Governance—Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association contain anti-takeover provisions that could have a material adverse effect on the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Dual-class structure of our ordinary shares which could affect the trading market for our Class A ordinary shares. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Governance—The dual-class structure of our ordinary shares may adversely affect the trading market for our Class A ordinary shares” in the 2024 20-F; |
● | Less protection to shareholders due to our home country practices for corporate governance matters. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Governance—You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law and conduct our operations primarily in emerging markets” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Governance—Certain judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Reduced reporting requirements due to our emerging growth company status. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Governance—We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act and may take advantage of certain reduced reporting requirements” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Our exemption from certain provisions applicable to U.S. domestic public companies due to our foreign private issuer status. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Governance—We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to United States domestic public companies” in the 2024 20-F. |
Risks Related to our Class A ordinary shares
● | Failure to maintain the listing of our Class A ordinary shares with a U.S. national securities exchange. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Class A ordinary shares—If we fail to maintain the listing of our Class A ordinary shares with a U.S. national securities exchange, the liquidity and price of our Class A ordinary shares could be adversely affected” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Lack of research or report on the business or change in recommendations regarding our Class A ordinary shares. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Class A ordinary shares—If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding our Class A ordinary shares, the market price for our Class A ordinary shares and trading volume could decline” in the 2024 20-F. |
● | Sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of our Class A ordinary shares. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Class A ordinary shares—The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of our Class A ordinary shares could adversely affect their market price” in the 2024 20-F. |
6
Potential CAC and CSRC Approval Required for Offerings under this Prospectus
The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the Opinions on Severe and Lawful Crackdown on Illegal Securities Activities, which was available to the public on July 6, 2021. These opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities and the supervision on overseas listings by China-based companies. These opinions proposed to take effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems to deal with the risks and incidents facing China-based overseas-listed companies and the demand for cybersecurity and data privacy protection. Moreover, on January 4, 2022, the CAC, and other ministries and commissions (including the CSRC), announced the adoption of the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which became effective on February 15, 2022 and provides that network platform operators possessing personal information of more than one million individual users must undergo a cybersecurity review by the CAC when they seek to have their securities listed on a foreign stock exchange. Furthermore, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed the Personal Information Protection Law of the PRC(“PIPL”), which became effective on November 1, 2021, requires such operators to obtain consent of the user prior to any cross-border transfer of personal information, as well as the satisfaction of at least one of the following conditions: (1) a security assessment organized by competent cybersecurity authorities has been passed; (2) certification of personal information protection from a specialized institution in accordance with the provisions issued by competent cybersecurity authorities has been passed; (3) a model standard contract about both parties’ rights and obligations formulated by competent cybersecurity authorities with the overseas recipient has been entered into; or (4) any other condition prescribed by laws, administrative regulations or by competent cybersecurity authorities has been satisfied. These policies and any related implementation rules to be enacted may subject us to additional compliance requirement. As of the date of this prospectus, no official guidance or related implementation rules have been issued in relation to these issued opinions, and the interpretation and implementation of these opinions remain unclear at this stage. Moreover, the M&A Rules requires an overseas special purpose vehicle that are controlled by PRC companies or individuals formed for the purpose of seeking a public listing on an overseas stock exchange through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies using shares of such special purpose vehicle or held by its shareholders as considerations to obtain the approval of the CSRC, prior to the listing and trading of such special purpose vehicle’s securities on an overseas stock exchange. However, the application of the M&A Rules remains unclear.
In recent years, the PRC government initiated a series of regulatory actions and made a number of public statements on the regulation of 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, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. The PRC government also exerts more control over offerings conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers. In particular, on February 17, 2023, the CSRC released the Trial Measures, which came into effect on March 31, 2023. The Trial Measures apply to overseas securities offerings and/or listings conducted by (1) companies incorporated in the PRC, or PRC domestic companies, directly and (2) companies incorporated overseas with operations primarily in the PRC and valued on the basis of interests in PRC domestic companies, or indirect offerings. The Trial Measures requires (i) the filings of the overseas offering and listing plan by the PRC domestic companies with the CSRC under certain conditions, and (ii) the filing of their underwriters or placement agents with the CSRC under certain conditions and the submission of an annual report to the CSRC within the required timeline. On the same day, the Provisions on Strengthening Confidentiality and Archives Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (the “Confidentiality and Archives Administration Provisions”) promulgated by the CSRC came into effect. Confidentiality and Archives Administration Provisions stipulate that the PRC companies seeking overseas offerings and listings, either directly or indirectly, as well as securities firms and securities service providers (both the PRC and overseas) involved in relevant businesses, must not disclose any state secrets or confidential information of government agencies, nor harm national security and public interests. Additionally, if a domestic company provides accounting archives or copies of such archives to any entities, including securities firms, securities service providers, overseas regulators and individuals, it must comply with due procedures in accordance with applicable regulations. We believe that offerings under this prospectus do not involve the disclosure of any state secret or confidential information of government agencies, nor does it harm national security and public interests. However, we may need to perform additional procedures concerning the provision of accounting archives. The specific requirements of these procedures are currently unclear, and we cannot guarantee our ability to execute them. According to the Notice on Overseas Listing Measures published by the CSRC on February 17, 2023, issuers that had already been listed in an overseas market by March 31, 2023, the date the Trial Measures became effective, are not required to make any immediate filing and are only required to comply with the filing requirements under the Trial Measures when it subsequently seeks to conduct a follow-on offering. Therefore, we are required to go through filing procedures with the CSRC within three working days after the completion of the Private Placement and for our future offerings of our securities in an overseas market, including Nasdaq, under the Trial Measures. Other than the CSRC filing procedure we are required to make within three working days after the completion of the Private Placement, we and our PRC subsidiaries, as advised our PRC legal counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, (1) are not required to obtain permissions from the CSRC, and (2) have not been required to obtain or denied such and other permissions by the CSRC, CAC, or any PRC government authority, under current PRC laws, regulations and rules in connection with the Private Placement or a potential resale made by the selling shareholders pursuant to this prospectus as of the date of this prospectus. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—Recent regulatory developments in China may subject us to additional regulatory review or otherwise restrict or completely hinder our ability to offer securities and raise capitals overseas, all of which could materially and adversely affect our business and cause the value of our Class A ordinary shares to significantly decline or become worthless” in the 2024 20-F.
7
Corporate History and Structure
We are a Cayman Islands holding company and primarily conduct our operations in China through our PRC subsidiaries. We first started our business designing and developing high throughput computing solutions through Zhejiang Haowei Technology Co., Ltd., or Zhejiang Haowei, incorporated in July 2019. Since our inception, we have been devoted to the design and development of computing power solutions.
On January 8, 2021, we incorporated Nano Labs Ltd, our holding company, as an exempted company with limited liability under the laws of the Cayman Islands. In 2021, we underwent a series of corporate reorganization in anticipation of our initial public offering, including incorporation of our company as the listing vehicle, incorporation of our oversea holding companies and issuance of shares to shareholders of Zhejiang Haowei. In May 2021, we completed a one-for-10,000 shares subdivision, following which our authorized share capital of US$50,000 is divided into 500,000,000 ordinary shares of US$0.0001 each.
On July 12, 2022, our American depositary shares representing Class A ordinary shares commenced trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol of “NA.” On December 29, 2023, Citibank N.A. distributed a notification regarding the amendment to the deposit agreement, dated December 19, 2023, as amended, and the termination of American depositary receipts facility for our American depositary shares, effective from February 1, 2024.
Effective from January 31, 2024, we conducted a 2-to-1 share consolidation, which consolidated two shares with a par value of US$0.0001 each in our issued and unissued share capital into one share with a par value of US$0.0002. Upon the effectiveness of such share consolidation, our authorized share capital became US$50,000 divided into 250,000,000 ordinary shares of par value of US$0.0002 each, comprising (1) 121,410,923 Class A ordinary shares of par value of US$0.0002 each, (2) 28,589,078 Class B ordinary shares of par value of US$0.0002 each and (3) 99,999,999 shares of a par value of US$0.0002 each of such class or classes (however designated) as our board of directors may determine in accordance with our memorandum and articles of association, as amended. Effective from November 3, 2024, we conducted a 10-to-1 share consolidation, which consolidated 10 shares with a par value of US$0.0002 each in our issued and unissued share capital into one share with a par value of US$0.002. Upon the effectiveness of such share consolidation, our authorized share capital became US$50,000 divided into 25,000,000 ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each, comprising (1) 12,141,093 Class A ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each, (2) 2,858,908 Class B ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each, and (3) 9,999,999 shares of a par value of US$0.002 each of such class or classes (however designated) as our board of directors may determine in accordance with our memorandum and articles of association, as amended. Unless otherwise indicated, shares and per share amount in this annual report represent the actual ones at the relevant time. Effective from 18 December 2024, we re-designated 2,000,000 undesignated shares as Class A ordinary shares. Upon the effectiveness of such share re-designation, our authorized share capital became US$50,000 divided into 25,000,000 ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each, comprising (1) 14,141,093 Class A Ordinary Shares of par value of US$0.002 each, (2) 2,858,909 Class B Ordinary Shares of par value of US$0.002 each and (3) 7,999,998 shares of a par value of US$0.002 each of such class or classes (however designated) as the board of directors may determine in accordance with our memorandum and articles of association, as amended.
On March 7, 2025, we (1) increased the authorized share capital from US$50,000 divided into 25,000,000 ordinary shares of par value of US$0.002 each to US$4,200,000 dividing into 2,100,000,000 shares with a par value of US$0.002 each, comprising 1,097,141,091 Class A ordinary shares, 2,858,909 Class B ordinary shares, and 1,000,000,000 shares of a par value of US$0.002 each of such class or classes (however designated) as our board of directors may determine in accordance with our memorandum and articles of association, as amended; and (2) increased the votes per Class B ordinary share from 15 to 30.
8
The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure as of the date of this prospectus.
(1) | The remaining 35% equity interest is owned by Hangzhou Lin’an Mantefu Technology Co., Ltd., an unaffiliated third party. |
(2) | The remaining 30% equity interest is owned by Metadata Labs Inc., an unaffiliated third party. |
Holding Company Structure
Nano Labs Ltd is a holding company with no material operations of its own. We conduct our operations primarily through our subsidiaries in China and Hong Kong. As a result, Nano Labs Ltd’s ability to pay dividends depends upon dividends paid by our subsidiaries in China and Hong Kong. If our existing PRC and Hong Kong subsidiaries or any newly formed ones incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing their debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends to us. We face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties related to being based in and having significant operations in China. The PRC government has significant authority to exert influence on the ability of a China-based company, such as us, to conduct its business, accept foreign investments or list on U.S. or other foreign exchanges. For example, we face risks associated with regulatory approvals of offshore offerings and oversight on cybersecurity and data privacy. The PRC government may intervene in or influence our operations at any time, or may exert control over operations of our business, which could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of our Class A ordinary shares. See also “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—The PRC government has significant authority to exert influence on the China operations of an offshore holding company, and offerings conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers, such as us. Changes in China’s economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and the value of our securities” in the 2024 20-F. We may need to make material changes in our operations to comply with those requirements and/or the value of our Class A ordinary shares might be affected. PRC government’s certain administrative requirements in regulating our operations, the overseas offering and listing of China-based issuers, and foreign investments could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer our Class A ordinary shares and/or other securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. The PRC government also has significant discretion over the conduct of our business and may intervene with or influence our operations or the development of the relevant industry as it deems appropriate to further regulatory, political and societal goals, subject to necessary procedures. Uncertainties regarding the enforcement of laws and that the rules and regulations in China can change quickly with little advance notice. See also “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—Uncertainties with respect to the enforcement of and changes in laws and regulations in China could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and future prospects, and cause our Class A ordinary shares to significantly decline in value or become worthless” in the 2024 20-F. Furthermore, the PRC government has recently exerted more oversight and control over overseas securities offerings and foreign investment in China-based companies, and these rules 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 in extreme cases, become worthless. For further details, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China” in the 2024 20-F.
9
In addition, our PRC subsidiaries are permitted to pay dividends to us only out of their retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Pursuant to the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China, or the PRC Company Law, our PRC subsidiaries are required to make contribution of at least 10% of their after-tax profits calculated in accordance with the PRC GAAP to the statutory common reserve. Contribution is not required if the reserve fund has reached 50% of the registered capital of our subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2024, our PRC subsidiaries had reserve fund of RMB6.6 million (US$0.9 million).
None of our PRC subsidiaries has issued any dividends or distributions to respective holding companies or any investors as of the date of this prospectus. Our PRC subsidiaries generate and retain cash generated from operating activities and re-invest it in our business. Historically, our PRC subsidiaries have also received equity financing from its shareholders to fund business operations of our PRC subsidiaries. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, we transferred cash proceeds of US$24.3 million, US$17.5 million and US$13.1 million to our PRC subsidiaries for the settlement of intercompany transactions and as paid-in capital for our PRC subsidiaries. In the future, cash proceeds raised from overseas financing activities may be, and are intended to be, transferred by us through subsidiaries in Hong Kong to our PRC subsidiaries via capital contribution and shareholder loans, as the case may be. Subsidiaries in China that receives such cash proceeds then will transfer funds to its subsidiaries to meet the capital needs of our business operations. For details about the applicable PRC rules that limit transfer of funds from overseas to our PRC subsidiaries, see “Item 14. Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds—Use of Proceeds” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of the securities offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries” in the 2024 20-F.
The structure of cash flows within our organization, and the applicable regulations, are as follows. After foreign investors’ funds enter Nano Labs Ltd, our holding company, subject to the cash demand of our PRC and Hong Kong subsidiaries, the funds can be transferred to our wholly owned Cayman subsidiaries, then to our wholly owned BVI subsidiaries, then to our Hong Kong subsidiaries, which will further distribute the funds to our PRC subsidiaries. If we intend to distribute dividends, PRC subsidiaries will transfer the dividends to our Hong Kong subsidiaries in accordance with the laws and regulations of the PRC, and then our Hong Kong subsidiaries will transfer the dividends all the way up to Nano Labs Ltd, and the dividends will be distributed from Nano Labs Ltd to all shareholders respectively in proportion to the shares they hold, regardless of whether the shareholders are U.S. investors or investors in other countries or regions. The cross-border transfer of funds within our corporate group under our direct holding structure must be legal and compliant with relevant laws and regulations of China. In utilizing the proceeds from the Private Placement, as an offshore holding company, we are permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding to our PRC subsidiaries only through loans or capital contributions and to our affiliated entities only through loans, subject to applicable government reporting, registration and approvals. See “Item 14. Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds—Use of Proceeds” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Conducting Business in China—PRC regulation of loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or prevent us from using the proceeds of the securities offering to make loans or additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries” in the 2024 20-F. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, we transferred cash proceeds of US$24.3 million, US$17.5 million and US$13.1 million to our PRC subsidiaries for the settlement of intercompany transactions and as paid-in capital for our PRC subsidiaries, and none of our PRC subsidiaries has issued any dividends or distributions to respective holding companies or any investors as of the date of this prospectus. We do not have any present plan to pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares. We have, from time to time, transferred cash between our PRC subsidiaries to fund their operations, and we do not anticipate any difficulties or limitations on our ability to transfer cash between such subsidiaries. As of the date of this prospectus, no cash generated from our PRC subsidiaries has been used to fund operations of any of our non-PRC subsidiaries. We may encounter difficulties in our ability to transfer cash between PRC subsidiaries and non-PRC subsidiaries largely due to various PRC laws and regulations imposed on foreign exchange. However, as long as we are compliant with the procedures for approvals from foreign exchange authorities and banks in China, the relevant laws and regulations in China do not impose limitations on the amount of funds that we can transfer out of China. We currently do not have any cash management policy that dictate the transfer of cash between our subsidiaries. See “Item 4. Information of the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—PRC Laws and Regulations relating to Foreign Exchange” in the 2024 20-F for details of such procedures.
10
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company
As a company with less than US$1.235 billion in revenue for the last fiscal year, we qualify as an “emerging growth company” pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include exemption from the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting. Under the JOBS Act, an emerging growth company does not need to comply with any new or revised financial accounting standards until the date that private companies are required to do so. We have elected to take advantage of such exemption, and as a result, while we are an emerging growth company, we will not be subject to new or revised accounting standards at the same time that they become applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (1) the last day of our fiscal year during which we have total annual gross revenues of at least US$1.235 billion; (2) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of completion of our initial public offering; (3) the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than US$1.0 billion in non-convertible debt; or (4) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which would occur if we have been a public company for at least 12 months and the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds US$700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter. Once we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will not be entitled to the exemptions provided in the JOBS Act discussed above.
Corporate Information
Our principal executive office is located at China Yuangu Hanggang Technology Building, 509 Qianjiang Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is (86) 0571-8665 6957. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands.
Investors should submit any inquiries to the address and telephone number of our principal executive offices. Our corporate website is www.nano.cn. The information contained on our websites is not a part of this prospectus. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Cogency Global Inc. located at 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10168.
Selected Consolidated Statements of Operations Data
Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RMB | % | RMB | % | RMB | US$ | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Net revenues: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product sales revenue | 920,653,911 | 93.6 | 71,321,462 | 91.0 | 34,096,450 | 4,743,260 | 84.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Service revenue | 62,514,987 | 6.4 | 7,013,914 | 9.0 | 6,499,466 | 904,160 | 16.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Total net revenues | 983,168,898 | 100.0 | 78,335,376 | 100.0 | 40,595,916 | 5,647,420 | 100.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenues | 753,004,179 | 76.6 | 181,784,576 | 232.1 | 28,993,601 | 4,033,387 | 71.4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Gross profit (loss) | 230,164,719 | 23.4 | (103,449,200 | ) | (132.1 | ) | 11,602,315 | 1,614,033 | 28.6 | |||||||||||||||||||
Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Selling and marketing expenses | 24,431,649 | 2.5 | 15,332,523 | 19.5 | 9,136,203 | 1,270,965 | 22.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
General and administrative expenses | 53,197,248 | 5.4 | 53,402,101 | 68.2 | 50,832,703 | 7,071,491 | 125.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Research and development expenses | 131,851,602 | 13.4 | 88,601,470 | 113.1 | 50,145,125 | 6,975,840 | 123.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Total operating expenses | 209,480,499 | 21.3 | 157,336,094 | 200.8 | 110,114,031 | 15,318,296 | 271.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Profit (loss) from operations | 20,684,220 | 2.1 | (260,785,294 | ) | (332.9 | ) | (98,511,716 | ) | (13,704,263 | ) | (242.7 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Other expenses (income): | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finance expenses (income) | (4,407,504 | ) | (0.5 | ) | 920,055 | 1.1 | 1,386,506 | 192,881 | 3.4 | |||||||||||||||||||
Interest expense | — | 0.0 | — | 0.0 | 6,913,314 | 961,732 | 17.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Interest income | (2,005,580 | ) | (0.2 | ) | (489,098 | ) | (0.6 | ) | (504,348 | ) | (70,161 | ) | (1.2 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Change in fair value of cryptocurrencies | — | 0.0 | — | 0.0 | 15,744,170 | 2,190,219 | 38.8 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Other expenses (income) | (4,021,582 | ) | (0.4 | ) | (6,846,803 | ) | (8.6 | ) | (2,512,309 | ) | (349,495 | ) | (6.1 | ) | ||||||||||||||
Total other expenses (income) | (10,434,666 | ) | (1.1 | ) | (6,415,846 | ) | (8.2 | ) | 21,027,333 | 2,925,176 | 51.9 | |||||||||||||||||
Income (loss) before income tax provision | 31,118,886 | 3.2 | (254,369,448 | ) | (324.7 | ) | (119,539,049 | ) | (16,629,439 | ) | (294.5 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Income tax provision | — | 0.0 | (17,394 | ) | 0.0 | — | — | 0.0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net income (loss) | 31,118,886 | 3.2 | (254,352,054 | ) | (324.7 | ) | (119,539,049 | ) | (16,629,439 | ) | (294.5 | ) |
11
Selected Consolidated Balance Sheets Data
As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
2023 | 2024 | |||||||||||
RMB | RMB | US$ | ||||||||||
ASSETS | ||||||||||||
Current assets: | ||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | 48,164,664 | 32,431,081 | 4,511,585 | |||||||||
Restricted cash | 417,990 | 418,722 | 58,250 | |||||||||
Accounts receivable, net | 1,739,065 | 572,803 | 79,683 | |||||||||
Inventories, net | 12,874,986 | 29,866,418 | 4,154,807 | |||||||||
Prepayments | 24,386,010 | 4,606,066 | 640,764 | |||||||||
Other current assets | 37,908,092 | 55,858,433 | 7,770,635 | |||||||||
Cryptocurrencies | — | 242,889,085 | 33,789,033 | |||||||||
Total current assets | 125,490,807 | 366,642,608 | 51,004,757 | |||||||||
Non-current assets: | ||||||||||||
Property, plant and equipment, net | 169,653,582 | 197,341,915 | 27,452,829 | |||||||||
Intangible asset, net | 47,731,288 | 46,745,444 | 6,502,900 | |||||||||
Operating lease right-of-use assets | 7,424,554 | 5,203,525 | 723,878 | |||||||||
Total non-current assets | 224,809,424 | 249,290,884 | 34,679,607 | |||||||||
TOTAL ASSETS | 350,300,231 | 615,933,492 | 85,684,364 | |||||||||
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) | ||||||||||||
Current liabilities: | ||||||||||||
Short-term debts | 20,000,000 | 18,000,000 | 2,504,034 | |||||||||
Current portion of long-term debts | 3,410,000 | 5,350,000 | 744,255 | |||||||||
Accounts payable | 16,875,586 | 18,101,451 | 2,518,147 | |||||||||
Advance from customers | 107,826,617 | 98,895,905 | 13,757,708 | |||||||||
Operating lease liabilities, current | 3,479,752 | 1,914,109 | 266,277 | |||||||||
Other current liabilities | 90,978,171 | 67,163,217 | 9,343,278 | |||||||||
Total current liabilities | 242,570,126 | 209,424,682 | 29,133,699 | |||||||||
Non-current liabilities: | ||||||||||||
Long-term debts | 120,260,783 | 170,683,636 | 23,744,315 | |||||||||
Operating lease liabilities, non-current | 3,730,672 | 2,917,350 | 405,841 | |||||||||
Total liabilities | 366,561,581 | 383,025,668 | 53,283,855 | |||||||||
Shareholders’ equity (deficit): | ||||||||||||
Class A ordinary shares ($0.002 par value; 12,141,093 and 14,141,093 shares authorized as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively; 4,192,730 and 13,273,596 shares issued as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively; 3,724,236 and 12,815,143 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively)* | 50,106 | 176,842 | 24,601 | |||||||||
Class B ordinary shares ($0.002 par value; 2,858,909 shares authorized; 2,858,909 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and 2024)* | 36,894 | 36,894 | 5,132 | |||||||||
Additional paid-in capital | 428,310,028 | 780,499,664 | 108,577,662 | |||||||||
Accumulated deficit | (452,031,693 | ) | (565,218,741 | ) | (78,629,283 | ) | ||||||
Statutory reserves | 6,647,109 | 6,647,109 | 924,699 | |||||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income | 2,254,558 | 8,647,353 | 1,202,959 | |||||||||
Total Nano Labs Ltd shareholders’ equity (deficit) | (14,732,998 | ) | 230,789,121 | 32,105,770 | ||||||||
Noncontrolling interests | (1,528,352 | ) | 2,118,703 | 294,739 | ||||||||
Total shareholders’ equity (deficit) | (16,261,350 | ) | 232,907,824 | 32,400,509 | ||||||||
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) | 350,300,231 | 615,933,492 | 85,684,364 |
* | After giving effect of the 2-for-1 and 10-for-1 reverse stock split effective on January 31, 2024 and November 3, 2024, respectively. |
12
Selected Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Data
For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||||||||||||
RMB | RMB | RMB | US$ | |||||||||||||
Net cash used in operating activities | (274,940,789 | ) | (133,473,937 | ) | (139,329,150 | ) | (19,382,498 | ) | ||||||||
Net cash used in investing activities | (33,182,870 | ) | (105,482,822 | ) | (256,765,541 | ) | (35,719,428 | ) | ||||||||
Net cash provided by financing activities | 160,996,502 | 199,520,201 | 375,982,804 | 52,304,103 | ||||||||||||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | 1,132,887 | 159,828 | 4,379,036 | 609,179 | ||||||||||||
Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (145,994,270 | ) | (39,276,730 | ) | (15,732,851 | ) | (2,188,644 | ) | ||||||||
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at the beginning of the year | 233,853,654 | 87,859,384 | 48,582,654 | 6,758,479 | ||||||||||||
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at the end of the year | 87,859,384 | 48,582,654 | 32,849,803 | 4,569,835 |
13
THE OFFERING
The summary below describes the principal terms of the offering.
Ordinary shares issued and outstanding prior to the offering | 29,524,214 ordinary shares, including (1) 26,665,305 Class A ordinary shares and (2) 2,858,909 Class B ordinary shares (assuming all the Warrants are fully exercised) | |
Class A ordinary shares offered by the selling shareholders | Up to 5,952,381 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Warrants | |
Ordinary shares issued and outstanding immediately after the offering | 29,524,214 ordinary shares, including (1) 26,665,305 Class A ordinary shares and (2) 2,858,909 Class B ordinary shares (assuming all the Warrants are fully exercised) | |
Use of proceeds | We are not selling any Class A ordinary shares under this prospectus and will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of Class A ordinary shares by the selling shareholders. However, we will receive gross proceeds from the Private Placement transaction solely to the extent such Warrants are exercised for cash. See the section titled “Use of Proceeds” appearing elsewhere in this prospectus for more information. | |
Offering price | The securities offered by this prospectus may be offered and sold at prevailing market prices, privately negotiated prices or such other prices as the selling shareholders may determine. See “Plan of Distribution.” | |
Listing | The Class A ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “NA.” | |
Risk factors | Prospective investors should carefully consider the “Risk Factors” for a discussion of certain factors that should be considered before buying the securities offered hereby. |
14
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 into this prospectus, you should rely on the information contained in the document that was filed later.
We incorporate by reference the documents listed below:
● | our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC on April 11, 2025; |
● | our current reports on Form 6-K furnished with the SEC on June 24, June 25, June 25, June 26, July 2, July 3, July 7, and July 8, 2025; |
● | the description of the securities contained in our registration statement on Form 8-A initially filed with the SEC on June 21, 2022 (File No. 001-41426) pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, together with all amendments and reports filed for the purpose of updating that description; and |
● | with respect to each offering of the securities under this prospectus, all our subsequent annual reports on Form 20-F and any report on Form 6-K that indicates that it is being incorporated by reference that we file or furnish with the SEC on or after the date on which the registration statement is first filed with the SEC and until the termination or completion of the offering by means of this prospectus. |
Our annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC on April 11, 2025 contains a description of our business and audited consolidated financial statements with reports by independent auditors. The consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with the U.S. GAAP.
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, other than exhibits to those documents unless such exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference in this 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:
China Yuangu Hanggang Technology Building,
509 Qianjiang Road, Shangcheng District,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310000
People’s Republic of China
(86) 0571-8665 6957
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.
15
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and any prospectus supplement, and the information incorporated by reference herein may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Sections of this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated herein and therein by reference, particularly the sections entitled “Risk Factors,” “Business” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” among others, discuss factors which could adversely impact our business and financial performance.
You can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include statements about:
● | our goals and strategies; |
● | our business and operating strategies and plans for the development of existing and new businesses, ability to implement such strategies and plans and expected time; |
● | our future business development, results of operations and financial condition; |
● | expected changes in our revenue, costs or expenditures; |
● | our dividend policy; |
● | our expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our products and services; |
● | our projected markets and growth in markets; |
● | our potential need for additional capital and the availability of such capital; |
● | competition in our industry; |
● | relevant government policies and regulations relating to our industry; |
● | general economic and business conditions in China and globally; |
● | our use of the proceeds from offerings under this prospectus; |
● | the length and severity of the COVID-19 or any other pandemic of a large scale and its impact on our business and industry; and |
● | assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. |
The forward-looking statements made in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, or the information incorporated by reference herein relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in such document. Except as required by U.S. federal securities 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 any prospectus supplement, and the information incorporated by reference herein, along with any exhibits thereto, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. Other sections of this prospectus, prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference herein include additional factors which could adversely impact our business and financial performance. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
This prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the information incorporated by reference herein also contains 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. Failure of the market to grow at the projected rate may have a material adverse effect on our business and the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, projections or estimates about our business and financial prospects involve significant risks and uncertainties. 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.
16
RISK FACTORS
Investing in the securities involves risk. Before investing in any of the securities that may be offered or sold pursuant to this prospectus, you should carefully consider the risk factors and uncertainties described in this section related to this offering, and those under the heading “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” in the 2024 20-F and the risk factors and uncertainties described in the June 24 6-K, which are incorporated in this prospectus by reference, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act, and, if applicable, in any or documents incorporated by reference. These risks and uncertainties could materially affect our business, results of operations or financial condition and cause the value of the securities to decline. You could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to this Offering
The trading price of our Class A ordinary shares is likely to be volatile, which could result in substantial losses to investors.
The trading price of our securities has been volatile since they began to trade on Nasdaq following our initial public offering in July 2022. The trading price of our Class A ordinary shares could fluctuate widely due to factors beyond our control. This may happen because of broad market and industry factors, including the performance and fluctuation of the market prices of other companies with business operations located mainly in China that have listed their securities in the United States. In addition to market and industry factors, the price and trading volume for our Class A ordinary shares may be highly volatile for factors specific to our operations including the following:
● | actual or anticipated variations in our revenues, earnings, cash flow and changes or revisions of our expected results; |
● | fluctuations in operating metrics; |
● | announcements of new investments, acquisitions, strategic partnerships or joint ventures by us or our competitors; |
● | announcements of new products and services by us or our competitors; |
● | changes in financial estimates by securities analysts; |
● | announcements of studies and reports relating to the quality of our product and services or those of our competitors; |
● | changes in the performance or market valuations of our competitors; |
● | detrimental negative publicity about us, our competitors or our industry; |
● | additions or departures of key personnel; |
● | release of lockup or other transfer restrictions on our outstanding equity securities or sales of additional equity securities; |
● | regulatory developments affecting us or our industry; |
● | general economic or political conditions affecting China or elsewhere in the world; |
● | fluctuations of exchange rates between the RMB and the U.S. dollar; and |
● | potential litigation or regulatory investigations. |
17
Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which our Class A ordinary shares will trade. The securities of some China-based companies that have listed their securities in the United States have experienced significant volatility since their initial public offerings in recent years, including, in some cases, substantial declines in the trading prices of their securities. The trading performances of these companies’ securities after their offerings may affect the attitudes of investors towards Chinese companies listed in the United States in general, which consequently may impact the trading performance of our Class A ordinary shares, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, any negative news or perceptions about inadequate corporate governance practices or fraudulent accounting, corporate structure or other matters of other Chinese companies may also negatively affect the attitudes of investors towards Chinese companies in general, including us, regardless of whether we have engaged in any inappropriate activities. In particular, the global financial crisis, the ensuing economic recessions and deterioration in the credit market in many countries have contributed and may continue to contribute to extreme volatility in the global stock markets.
Moreover, there have been recent instances of extreme stock price run-ups followed by rapid price declines and strong stock price volatility with a number of recent initial public offerings, particularly among companies with relatively smaller public floats. As we have a relatively small public float, we may experience greater stock price volatility, including aggressive price run-ups and declines, lower trading volume and less liquidity, compared with companies with larger public floats. In particular, our Class A ordinary shares may be subject to rapid and substantial price volatility, low volumes of trades and large spreads in bid and ask prices. Such volatility, including any stock run-up, may be unrelated to our actual or expected operating performance, financial condition or prospects, and industry, market or economic factors, which makes it difficult for prospective investors to assess such rapidly changing value of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, if the trading volumes of our Class A ordinary shares are low, persons buying or selling in relatively small quantities may easily influence prices of our Class A ordinary shares. This low volume of trades could also cause the price of our Class A ordinary shares to fluctuate significantly, with large percentage changes in price occurring in any trading day session. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares may also not be able to readily liquidate their investment or may be forced to sell at depressed prices due to such low-volume trading. As a result of such volatility, investors may experience losses on their investment in our Class A ordinary shares. Such volatility also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional Class A ordinary shares or other securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future, as well as our ability to retain key employees, many of whom have been granted equity incentives. Furthermore, the potential extreme volatility may confuse the public investors of the value of our Class A ordinary shares, distort the market perception of the price of our Class A ordinary shares, and our financial performance and public image, and negatively affect the long-term liquidity of our Class A ordinary shares, regardless of our actual or expected operating performance.
In the past, shareholders of public companies have often brought securities class action suits against companies following periods of instability in the market price of their securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit, which could harm our results of operations. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Sales of our Class A ordinary shares, or the perception of such sales, by the selling shareholders pursuant to this prospectus in the public market or otherwise could cause the market price for our Class A Ordinary Shares to decline.
This prospectus relates to the potential offer and sale from time to time by the selling shareholders of up to 5,952,381 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Warrants. The sale of such ordinary shares in the public market or otherwise, including sales pursuant to this prospectus, or the perception that such sales could occur, could increase the volatility of the market price of our Class A ordinary shares or result in a significant decline in the public trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. Resales of our Class A ordinary shares under this prospectus may cause the market price of our securities to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
Public shareholders who purchased our securities at higher prices than the selling shareholders may experience lower rates of return (if any) than the selling shareholders, due to differences in purchase price and the potential trading price at which they may be able to sell. Given the substantial number of our Class A ordinary shares for potential resale by the selling shareholders pursuant to this prospectus, the sale of our Class A ordinary shares by the selling shareholders, or the perception in the market that the selling shareholders may or intend to sell all or a significant portion of our Class A ordinary shares, could increase the volatility of the market price of our Class A ordinary shares or result in a significant decline in the public trading price of our Class A ordinary shares.
We have not determined a specific use for a portion of the net proceeds from the securities offering, and we may use these proceeds in ways with which you may not agree.
We have not determined a specific use for a portion of the net proceeds of the securities offering other than for general corporate purposes, and our management will have considerable discretion in deciding how to apply these proceeds. You will not have the opportunity to assess whether the proceeds are being used appropriately before you make your investment decision. You must rely on the judgment of our management regarding the application of the net proceeds of the securities offering. We cannot assure you that the net proceeds will be used in a manner that will improve our results of operations or increase the price of our Class A ordinary shares, or that these net proceeds will be placed only in investments that generate income or appreciate in value.
18
USE OF PROCEEDS
We will receive proceeds of up to an aggregate of US$59.52 million from the exercise of the Warrants if all of the Warrants are exercised for cash. We expect to use the net proceeds from the exercise of Warrants for general corporate purposes. There is no assurance that the holders of the Warrants will elect to exercise any or all of such Warrants or that they will exercise any or all of them for cash. The likelihood that warrant holders will exercise the Warrants and any cash proceeds that we would receive is dependent upon the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. Based on the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares at US$7.86 on July 8, 2025, which is less than the exercise price of $10.00 per share pursuant to the terms of the Warrants, we believe holders of the Warrants will be unlikely to exercise their Warrants, and we are unlikely to receive proceeds from the exercise of Warrants. The amount of cash we would receive from the exercise of the Warrants will decrease to the extent that Warrants are exercised on a cashless basis.
We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of Class A ordinary shares in this offering. The selling shareholders will receive all of the proceeds from this offering. However, we will receive proceeds from the exercise, if ever exercised, of the Warrants.
The selling shareholders will bear all commissions and discounts, if any, attributable to the sales of Class A ordinary shares. We will bear all other costs, expenses and fees in connection with the registration of the shares.
19
DESCRIPTION OF THE SECURITIES
This prospectus covers an aggregate of up to 5,952,381 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Warrants issued to the selling shareholders in the Private Placement.
The Warrants are exercisable immediately upon the date of issuance at an initial exercise price of $10.00, subject to customary adjustment. The Warrants have a term of exercise equal to five years from the effective date of this prospectus. The Warrants may also be exercised on a cashless basis pursuant to the terms in the Securities Purchase Agreement.
The information with respect to the Warrants above does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the provisions of the Securities Purchase Agreement and the Warrant, a form of which is filed as exhibits to this registration statement, of which this prospectus forms a part.
Previously on April 11, 2024, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with the purchasers named therein, pursuant to which we agreed to sell to such purchasers certain warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 6,521,737 Class A ordinary shares in a private placement transaction. This transaction was completed on April 15, 2024, and the warrants are exercisable at any time on or after their issuance, at an initial exercise price of US$1.26 per Class A ordinary share. Those warrants expire five years from the date of a resale registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-278977), which was declared effective on July 11, 2024.
20
DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL
We were incorporated as an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, or the Companies Act, on January 8, 2021. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, as amended from time to time and the Companies Act, and the common law of the Cayman Islands.
As of the date of this prospectus, our authorized share capital is US$4,200,000 divided into 2,100,000,000 shares with a par value of US$0.002 each, comprising 1,097,141,091 Class A ordinary shares, 2,858,909 Class B ordinary shares, and 1,000,000,000 shares of a par value of US$0.002 each of such class or classes (however designated) as our board of directors may determine in accordance with our memorandum and articles of association, as amended. As of the date of the prospectus, 20,712,924 Class A ordinary shares and 2,858,909 Class B ordinary shares are issued and outstanding.
Our Fifth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
We adopted the fifth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which had become effective on March 7, 2025.
The following are summaries of material provisions of our currently effective memorandum and articles of association and the Companies Act insofar as they relate to the material terms of our ordinary shares.
The following description of our share capital and provisions of our currently effective memorandum and articles of association are summaries and are qualified by reference to our currently effective memorandum and articles of association. You can find copies of these documents in the 2024 20-F, which has been incorporated by reference herein.
Objects of our company
Under our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, the objects of our company are unrestricted and we have the full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by the law of the Cayman Islands.
Ordinary shares
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. We may not issue shares to bearer. Our shareholders who are non-residents of the Cayman Islands may freely hold and transfer their ordinary shares.
Holders of our Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares have the same rights except for voting and conversion rights. The Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares carry equal rights and rank pari passu with one another, including the rights to dividends and other capital distributions. On a show of hands, every shareholder present at the general meeting shall each have one vote, and on a poll, each Class A ordinary share shall entitle the holder thereof to one (1) vote on all matters subject to vote at our general meetings, and each Class B ordinary share shall entitle the holder thereof to thirty (30) votes on all matters subject to vote at our general meetings. Our ordinary shares are issued in registered form and are issued when registered in our register of members.
Conversion
Each Class B ordinary share is convertible into one Class A ordinary share at any time at the option of the holder thereof. Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. Upon any sale, transfer, assignment or disposition of Class B ordinary shares by a holder thereof to any person or entity that is not Mr. Jianping Kong, Mr. Qifeng Sun or their Affiliate (as defined in our currently effective memorandum and articles of association), or upon a change of ultimate beneficial ownership of any Class B ordinary share to any person who is not Mr. Jianping Kong, Mr. Qifeng Sun or their Affiliate, such Class B ordinary shares will be automatically and immediately converted into an equal number of Class A ordinary shares.
21
Voting rights
Holders of our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares shall, at all times, vote together as one class on all matters submitted to a vote by our shareholders at any general meeting of our company. On a show of hands, every shareholder present at the general meeting shall each have one vote, and on a poll, each Class A ordinary share shall be entitled to one vote, and each Class B ordinary share shall be entitled to 30 votes, on all matters subject to a vote at general meetings of our company. Voting at any meeting of shareholders is by show of hands unless a poll is demanded (before or on the declaration of the result of the show of hands).
A poll may be demanded by the chairperson of such meeting or any shareholder present in person or by proxy. No person shall be entitled to vote or be counted in a quorum, unless such person is duly registered on our register of members as our shareholder.
An ordinary resolution to be passed at a general meeting requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes attaching to all issued and outstanding ordinary shares cast at a general meeting, while a special resolution requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of votes attached to all issued and outstanding ordinary shares cast at a general meeting. Both ordinary resolutions and special resolutions may also be passed by a unanimous written resolution signed by all the shareholders of our company, as permitted by the Companies Act and our currently effective memorandum and articles of association. A special resolution will be required for important matters such as a change of name or making changes to our currently effective memorandum and articles of association. We may, among other things, subdivide or consolidate our shares by ordinary resolution.
General meetings of shareholders
As a Cayman Islands exempted company, we are not obliged by the Companies Act to call shareholders’ annual general meetings. Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association provide that we may (but are not obliged to) in each year hold a general meeting as our annual general meeting in which case we shall specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it, and the annual general meeting shall be held at such time and place as may be determined by our directors.
Shareholders’ general meetings may be convened by a majority of our board of directors or the chairperson of our board of directors. Advance notice of at least ten calendar days is required for the convening of our annual general meeting and any other general meeting of our shareholders. A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of at least one or more shareholder(s) holding shares which carry in aggregate not less than one-third (1/3) of all votes attaching to all shares which carry the right to attend and vote at such general meeting, present in person or by proxy, or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative.
The 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 currently effective memorandum and articles of association provide that upon the requisition of shareholders representing in aggregate not less than one-third (1/3) of all votes attaching to the issued and outstanding shares of our company entitled to vote at general meetings as at the date of the deposit of the requisition, our board is obliged to convene an extraordinary general meeting and put the resolutions so requisitioned to a vote at such meeting. However, our currently effective memorandum and articles of association do not provide our shareholders with any right to put any proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings not called by such shareholders.
Dividends
Subject to the Companies Act, our directors may declare dividends in any currency to be paid to our shareholders. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our directors. Under the laws of the Cayman Islands, dividends may be declared and paid out of our profits or out of the share premium account. Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association provide that dividends may be declared and paid out of the funds of our company lawfully available therefor. In no circumstances may a dividend 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. Holders of our ordinary shares will be entitled to such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors.
22
Transfer of ordinary shares
Subject to any applicable restrictions set forth in our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of his or her shares by an instrument of transfer in the usual or common form or in a form that our directors may approve.
Our directors may decline to register any transfer of any share which is not fully paid up or on which we have a lien. Our directors may also decline to register any transfer of any share unless:
● | the instrument of transfer is lodged with us and is accompanied by the certificate for the shares to which it relates and such other evidence as our directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer; |
● | the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one class of share; |
● | the instrument of transfer is properly stamped (in circumstances where stamping is required); |
● | in the case of a transfer to joint holders, the number of joint holders to whom the share is to be transferred does not exceed four; and |
● | a fee of such maximum sum as the Nasdaq Stock Market may determine to be payable or such lesser sum as our directors may from time to time require is paid to us in respect thereof. |
If our directors refuse to register a transfer they shall, within three calendar months after the date on which the instrument of transfer was lodged, send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of such refusal.
The registration of transfers may, after compliance with any notice requirement of the Nasdaq Stock Market, be suspended and the register closed at such times and for such periods as our board of directors may from time to time determine, provided, however, that the registration of transfers shall not be suspended nor the register closed for more than 30 calendar days in any calendar year as our board may determine.
Liquidation
Subject to any future shares which are issued with specific rights, on the winding up of our company (1) if the assets available for distribution among our shareholders are more than sufficient to repay the whole of the capital paid up at the commencement of the winding up, the excess shall be distributed among those shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares held by them at the commencement of the winding up, subject to a deduction from those shares in respect of which there are monies due, of all monies payable to our company for unpaid calls or otherwise, and (2) if the assets available for distribution among the shareholders as such are insufficient to repay the whole of the paid-up capital, those assets shall be distributed so that, as nearly as may be, the losses shall be borne by the shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares held by them.
Calls on ordinary shares and forfeiture of ordinary shares
Subject to our currently effective memorandum and articles of association and to the terms of allotment, our board of directors may from time to time make calls upon shareholders for any amounts unpaid on their ordinary shares in a notice served to such shareholders at least 14 calendar days prior to the specified time of payment. The ordinary shares that have been called upon and remain unpaid are subject to forfeiture.
Redemption of shares, repurchase and surrender of ordinary shares We are empowered by the Companies Act and our currently effective memorandum and articles of association to purchase our own shares, subject to certain restrictions. We may issue shares on terms that are subject to redemption, at our option or at the option of the holders, on such terms and in such manner as may be determined by our board of directors.
23
We may also repurchase any of our shares on such terms and in such manner as have been approved by our board of directors or by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders.
Under the Companies Act, the redemption or repurchase of any share may be paid out of the company’s profits or out of the proceeds of a fresh issue of shares made for the purpose of such redemption or repurchase, or out of capital (including share premium account and capital redemption reserve) if the company can, immediately following such payment, pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, under the Companies Act, no such share may be redeemed or repurchased (i) unless it is fully paid up, (ii) if such redemption or repurchase would result in there being no shares issued and outstanding, or (iii) if the company has commenced liquidation. In addition, our company may accept the surrender of any fully paid share for no consideration.
Variations of rights of shares
If at any time, our share capital is divided into different classes of shares, the rights attached to any such class may, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to any class, only be materially adversely varied with the consent in writing of the holders of two-thirds of the issued shares of that class or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate general meeting of the holders of the shares of that class.
The rights conferred upon the holders of the shares of any class issued with preferred or other rights shall not, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to the shares of that class, be deemed to be materially adversely varied by the creation, allotment or issue of further shares ranking pani passu with or subsequent to them or the redemption or purchase of any shares of any class by our company. The rights of the holders of shares shall not be deemed to be materially adversely 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.
Issuance of additional shares
Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association authorizes our board of directors to issue additional shares (including, without limitation, preferred shares) from time to time as our board of directors shall determine, to the extent of available authorized but unissued shares.
Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association also authorizes our board of directors to establish from time to time one or more series of preference shares and to determine, with respect to any series of preference shares, the terms and rights of that series, including:
● | the designation of the series; |
● | the number of shares of the series; |
● | the dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, voting rights; and |
● | the rights and terms of redemption and liquidation preferences. |
Our board of directors may issue preference shares without action by our shareholders to the extent authorized but unissued. Issuance of these shares may dilute the voting power of holders of ordinary shares.
Inspection of books and records
Holders of our ordinary shares have no general right under Cayman Islands law to inspect or obtain copies of our register of members or our corporate records (except for our memorandum and articles of association, our register of mortgages and charges and special resolutions passed by our shareholders). However, we will provide our shareholders with annual audited financial statements.
Anti-takeover provisions
Some provisions of our currently effective memorandum and articles of association may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or management that shareholders may consider favorable, including provisions that (1) authorize our board of directors to issue preference shares in one or more series and to designate the price, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of such preference shares without any further vote or action by our shareholders, and (2) limit the ability of shareholders to requisition and convene general meetings of shareholders.
24
However, under Cayman Islands law, our directors may only exercise the rights and powers granted to them under our currently effective memorandum and articles of association for a proper purpose and for what they believe in good faith to be in the best interests of our company.
Appointment and removal of directors
Unless otherwise determined by our company in general meeting, our currently effective memorandum and articles of association provide that our board of directors will consist of not less than three directors. There are no provisions relating to retirement of directors upon reaching any age limit. The directors have the power to appoint any person as a director either to fill a casual vacancy on the board or as an addition to the existing board. Our shareholders may also appoint any person to be a director by way of ordinary resolution.
Subject to restrictions contained in our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, a director may be removed with or without cause by ordinary resolution of our company. In addition, the office of any director shall be vacated if the director (1) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors, (2) dies or is found to be or becomes of unsound mind, (3) resigns his office by notice in writing to our company, (4) without special leave of absence from our board, is absent from three consecutive board meetings and our board resolves that his office be vacated, or (5) is removed from office pursuant to our currently effective memorandum and articles of association.
Proceedings of board of directors
Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association provide that our business is to be managed and conducted by our board of directors. The quorum necessary for board meetings may be fixed by the board and, unless so fixed at another number, will be a majority of the directors. Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association provide that the board may from time to time at their discretion exercise all the powers of our company to raise or borrow money, to mortgage or charge all or any part of the undertaking, property, assets (present and future) and uncalled capital of our company and to issue debentures, debenture stock, bonds and other securities, whether outright or as collateral security for any debt, liability or obligation of our company or of any third party.
Alteration of capital
We may from time to time by ordinary resolution in accordance with the Companies Act alter the conditions of our currently effective memorandum and articles of association to:
● | increase our capital by such sum, to be divided into shares of such amounts, as the resolution shall prescribe; |
● | consolidate and divide all or any of our share capital into shares of larger amounts than our existing shares; |
● | cancel any shares which at the date of the passing of the resolution have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person, and diminish the amount of its share capital by the amount of the shares so cancelled subject to the provisions of the Companies Act; |
● | sub-divide our shares or any of them into shares of smaller amount than is fixed by our currently effective memorandum and articles of association, subject nevertheless to the Companies Act; and |
● | divide shares into several classes and without prejudice to any special rights previously conferred on the holders of existing shares, attach to the shares respectively any preferential, deferred, qualified or special rights, privileges, conditions or such restrictions that in the absence of any such determination in a general meeting may be determined by our directors. |
We may, by special resolution, subject to any confirmation or consent required by the Companies Act, reduce our share capital or any capital redemption reserve in any manner authorized by law.
25
Register of members
Under the Companies Act, we must keep a register of members and there should be entered therein:
● | the names and addresses of our members, together with a statement of the shares held by each member, and such statement shall confirm (i) the amount paid on the shares of each member, (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 memorandum and 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 member; and |
● | the date on which any person ceased to be a member. |
Under the Companies Act, the register of members is prima facie evidence of the registered holder or member of shares of a company. Therefore, a person becomes a registered holder or member of shares of the company only upon entry being made in the register of members. A member registered in the register of members is deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members.
After the completion of the securities offering, the depositary was included in our register of members as the only holder of the shares represented by the ADSs in the securities offering.
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 member of our company, the person or member aggrieved (or any member 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. 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.
Exempted company
We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except that an exempted company:
● | does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies; |
● | is not required to open its register of members for inspection; |
● | does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
● | may issue shares with no par value; |
● | may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for a period of up to 30 years); |
● | may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; |
● | may register as a limited duration company; and |
● | may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
26
Differences in Corporate Law
The Companies Act is modeled after similar laws in the United Kingdom but does not follow recent changes in United Kingdom laws. In addition, the Companies Act differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States, such as in the State of Delaware.
Cayman Islands | Delaware | |||
Mergers and Similar Arrangements | The Companies Act permits mergers and consolidations between Cayman Islands companies and between Cayman Islands companies and non-Cayman Islands companies. For these purposes, (1) “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 (2) 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 (1) a special resolution of the shareholders of each constituent company, and (2) 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 of the Cayman Islands 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 members 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 that is effected in compliance with these statutory procedures. | Under Delaware law, with certain exceptions, a merger, a consolidation, or a sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially all the assets of a corporation must be approved by the board of directors and a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote thereon. However, unless required by its certificate of incorporation, approval is not required by the holders of the outstanding stock of a constituent corporation surviving a merger if:
●  the merger agreement does not amend in any respect its certificate of incorporation;
●  each share of its stock outstanding prior to the merger will be an identical share of stock following the merger; and
●  either no shares of the surviving corporation’s common stock and no shares, securities or obligations convertible into such stock will be issued or delivered pursuant to the merger, or the authorized unissued shares or treasury shares of the surviving corporation’s common stock to be issued or delivered pursuant to the merger plus those initially issuable upon conversion of any other shares, securities or obligations to be issued or delivered pursuant to the merger do not exceed 20% of the shares of the surviving corporation’s common stock outstanding immediately prior to the effective date of the merger. | ||
A merger between a Cayman parent company and its Cayman subsidiary or subsidiaries does not require authorization by a resolution of shareholders of that Cayman subsidiary if a copy of the plan of merger is given to every member of that Cayman subsidiary to be merged unless that member agrees otherwise. For this purpose, a company is a “parent” of a subsidiary if it holds issued shares that together represent at least ninety percent (90%) of the votes at a general meeting of the subsidiary. | Mergers in which one corporation owns 90% or more of a second corporation may be completed without the vote of the second corporation’s board of directors or stockholders. |
27
Cayman Islands | Delaware | |||
The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest over a constituent company is required unless this requirement is waived by a court in the Cayman Islands. | ||||
Save in certain limited circumstances, a shareholder of a Cayman constituent company who dissents from the merger or consolidation is entitled to payment of the fair value of his shares (which, if not agreed between the parties, will be determined by the Cayman Islands court) upon dissenting to the merger or consolidation, provided the dissenting shareholder complies strictly with the procedures set out in the Companies Act. The exercise of 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, save for the right to seek relief on the grounds that the merger or consolidation is void or unlawful. | Generally, a stockholder of a publicly traded corporation does not have appraisal rights in connection with a merger. | |||
Separate from the statutory provisions relating to mergers and consolidations, the Companies Act also contains statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction and amalgamation of companies by way of schemes of arrangement, provided that the arrangement is approved by a majority in number representing seventy-five per cent in value of the creditors or class of creditors (where a compromise or arrangement is proposed between a company and its creditors or any class of them, as the case may be) or seventy-five per cent in value of the members or class of members (where a compromise or arrangement is proposed between a company and its members or class of members, as the case may be), that are 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 court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it determines that: | ||||
●  the statutory provisions as to the required majority vote have been met;
●  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;
●  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
●  the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act. |
28
Cayman Islands | Delaware | |||
The Companies Act also contains a statutory power of compulsory acquisition
which may facilitate the “squeeze out” of a dissentient minority shareholder upon a tender offer. When a tender 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 to the offeror 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 that has been so approved unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith or collusion.
If an arrangement and reconstruction by way of scheme of arrangement is thus approved and sanctioned, or if a tender offer is made and accepted, in accordance with the foregoing statutory procedures, a dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, save that objectors to a takeover offer may apply to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for various orders that the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands has a broad discretion to make, 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.
The Companies Act also contains statutory provisions which provide that 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 (1) is or is likely to become unable to pay its debts within the meaning of section 93 of the Companies Act; and (2) 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 petition may be presented by a company acting by its directors, without a resolution of its members or an express power in its articles of association. On hearing such a petition, the Cayman Islands court may, among other things, make an order appointing a restructuring officer or make any other order as the court thinks fit. |
||||
Shareholders’ Suits | In principle, we will normally be the proper plaintiff, and as a general rule, a derivative action may not be brought by a minority shareholder. However, based on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman | Class actions and derivative actions generally are available to stockholders under Delaware law for, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty, corporate waste and actions not taken in accordance with applicable law. In such actions, the court generally has |
29
Cayman Islands | Delaware | |||
Islands courts can be expected (and have had occasion) to follow and apply the common law principles (namely the rule in Foss v. Harbottle and the exceptions thereto) that permit a minority shareholder to commence a class action against, or derivative actions in the name of, our company to challenge:
●  an act that is ultra vires or illegal and is therefore incapable of ratification by the shareholders;
●  an act that constitutes a “fraud on the minority” where the wrongdoers are themselves in control of the company; and
●  the act complained of, although not ultra vires, could only be effected duly if authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained. |
discretion to permit a winning plaintiff to recover attorneys’ fees incurred in connection with such action. | |||
Indemnification of Directors and Executive Officers and Limitation of Liability | Cayman 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 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 memorandum and articles of association provide that we shall indemnify our directors and officers (but not our auditors) against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by each such indemnified person, other than by reason of their own dishonesty, willful default or fraud, in or about the conduct of our company’s business or affairs (including as a result of any mistake of judgment) or in the execution or discharge of their duties, powers, authorities or discretions, including any costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by them in defending any civil proceedings concerning our company or its affairs in any court | A corporation has the power to indemnify any director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation who was, is or is threatened to be made a party to an action, suit or proceeding who acted in good faith and in a manner they believed to be in the best interests of the corporation, and if with respect to a criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct would be unlawful, against amounts actually and reasonably incurred. Additionally, under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a Delaware corporation must indemnify its present or former directors and officers against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred to the extent that the officer or director has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding brought against him or her by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or officer of the corporation. |
30
Cayman Islands | Delaware | |||
whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere. This standard of conduct is generally the same as permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law for a Delaware corporation. | ||||
In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers that provide such persons with additional indemnification beyond that provided in our memorandum and articles of association. | ||||
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. | ||||
Directors’ Fiduciary Duties | As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a director of a Cayman Islands company is in the position of a fiduciary with respect to the company and therefore it is considered that he owes the following duties to the company: a duty to act in good faith in the best interests of the company, a duty not to make a personal profit based on his position as director (unless the company permits him to do so), a duty not to put himself in a position where the interests of the company conflict with his personal interest or his duty to a third party and a duty to exercise powers for the purpose for which such powers were intended. A director of a Cayman Islands company owes to the company a duty to act with skill and care. It was previously considered that a director need not exhibit in the performance of his duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his knowledge and experience. However, English and Commonwealth courts have moved towards an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands. | 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 acts in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. He or she must not use his corporate position for personal gain or advantage. This duty prohibits self-dealing by a director and mandates that the best interest 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. |
31
Cayman Islands | Delaware | |||
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, the director must prove the procedural fairness of the transaction and that the transaction was of fair value to the corporation. | ||||
Shareholder Action by Written Consent | Our memorandum and articles of association provide that shareholders may approve corporate matters by way of a unanimous written resolution signed by or on behalf of each shareholder who would have been entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting without a meeting being held. | Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may eliminate the right of shareholders to act by written consent by amendment to its certificate of incorporation. | ||
Shareholder Proposals | The Companies Act provides shareholders with only limited rights to call for 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 memorandum and articles of association provide that our shareholders who hold not less than one-third of all votes attaching to all issued and outstanding shares of our company that carry the right to vote at general meetings may requisition a general meeting, in which case our directors are obliged to convene such a meeting and put the requisitioned resolutions to a vote at such meeting. Other than the foregoing, our memorandum and articles do not provide our shareholders with any other right to put proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings. As an exempted Cayman Islands company, we are not obliged by law to call shareholders’ annual general meetings. | 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. 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. |
32
Cayman Islands | Delaware | |||
Cumulative Voting | 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. There are no prohibitions in relation to cumulative voting under the laws of the Cayman Islands but our memorandum and articles of association 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. | Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, cumulative voting for election of directors is not permitted unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation specifically provides for it. | ||
Removal of Directors | Under our memorandum and articles of association, our directors may be removed, with or without cause, by an ordinary resolution of our shareholders. An appointment of a director may be on terms that the director shall automatically retire from office (unless he has sooner vacated office) at the next or a subsequent annual general meeting or upon any specified event or after any specified period in a written agreement between the company and the director, if any; but no such term shall be implied in the absence of express provision. In addition, a director’s office shall be vacated if the director (1) resigns his office by notice in writing delivered to our company, (2) does or is found to be or becomes of unsound mind, (3) without special leave of absence from the board, is absent from meetings of the board for three consecutive meetings and the board resolves that his office be vacated, (4) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors, or (5) is removed from office pursuant to any provision of our memorandum and articles of association. | Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, holders of a majority of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors may remove a director with or without cause, except in certain cases involving a classified board or if the company uses cumulative voting. Unless otherwise provided for in the certificate of incorporation or bylaws, directorship vacancies may be filled by a majority of the directors elected or then in office, or by the stockholders. | ||
Transactions with Interested Shareholders | Cayman Islands law has no comparable statute. As a result, we cannot avail ourselves of the types of protections afforded by the Delaware business | The Delaware General Corporation Law contains a business combination statute applicable to Delaware public corporations whereby, unless the |
33
Cayman Islands | Delaware | |||
combination statute. However, although Cayman Islands law does not regulate transactions between a company and its significant shareholders, it does provide that such transactions must be entered into bona fide in the best interests of the company and not with the effect of constituting a fraud on the minority shareholders. | corporation has specifically elected not to be governed by such statute by amendment to its certificate of incorporation, 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 shares within the past three years. | |||
This statute 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. | ||||
Dissolution; Winding Up | Under Cayman Islands law, a company may be wound up either by an order of the courts of the Cayman Islands or by a special resolution of its members or, if the company is unable to pay its debts, by an ordinary resolution of its members. 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. | 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. | ||
Variation of Rights of Shares | Under our memorandum and articles of association, whenever the capital of our company is divided into different | Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may vary the rights of a class of shares with |
34
Cayman Islands | Delaware | |||
classes, the rights attached to any such class may, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to any class, only be materially adversely varied with the consent in writing of the holders of two-thirds of the issued shares of that class or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of that class. The rights conferred upon the holders of the shares of any class issued with preferred or other rights shall not, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to the shares of that class, be deemed to be materially adversely varied by the creation, allotment or issue of further shares ranking pari passu with or subsequent to them or the redemption or purchase of any shares of any class by our company. The rights of the holders of shares shall not be deemed to be materially adversely 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. | the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of such class, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. | |||
Amendment of Governing Documents | Under Cayman Islands law, our memorandum and articles of association may only be amended with a special resolution of our shareholders. | Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation’s governing documents may be amended with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. | ||
Rights of Non-resident or Foreign Shareholders | There are no limitations imposed by our memorandum and articles of association on the rights of non-resident or foreign shareholders to hold or exercise voting rights on our shares. In addition, there are no provisions in our memorandum and articles of association governing the ownership threshold above which shareholder ownership must be disclosed. | Under Delaware General Corporation Law, there are no restrictions on foreign shareholders, and all the stock or membership interests in a Delaware company can be owned by non-U.S. nationals. |
35
SELLING SHAREHOLDERS
We are registering 5,952,381 Class A ordinary shares, issuable upon the exercise of the Warrants, to permit each of the selling shareholders and their pledgees, donees, transferees or other successors-in-interest that receive their shares after the date of this prospectus to resell or otherwise dispose of the Class A ordinary shares in the manner contemplated under “Plan of Distribution” below.
The following table sets forth the name of each selling shareholder, the number of Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by each of the respective selling shareholders as of June 26, 2025 assuming all the Warrants are fully exercised, the number of Class A ordinary shares that may be offered under this prospectus and the number of Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by the selling shareholders assuming all of the shares covered hereby are sold. The number of Class A ordinary shares in the column “Number of Shares Being Offered” represents all of the Class A ordinary shares that a selling shareholder may offer under this prospectus. The selling shareholders may sell some, all or none of their Class A ordinary shares. We do not know how long the selling shareholders will hold the Class A ordinary shares before selling them, and we currently have no agreements, arrangements or understandings with the selling shareholders regarding the sale or other disposition of any of the Class A ordinary shares. The Class A ordinary shares covered hereby may be offered from time to time by the selling shareholders.
The information set forth below is based upon information obtained from the selling shareholders and upon information in our possession regarding the original issuance of the Warrants. The percentages of shares owned after the offering are based on 29,524,214 ordinary shares outstanding as of June 26, 2025, including 26,665,305 Class A ordinary shares, and (2) 2,858,909 Class B ordinary shares (assuming all the Warrants are fully exercised).
Ordinary
shares beneficially owned prior to offering(1) | Ordinary
shares beneficially owned after offering(1)(2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class A ordinary shares | Class B ordinary shares | Percentage of beneficial ownership (of total Class A and Class B ordinary shares) | Percentage
of total voting power prior to this offering(3) | Number of shares being offered | Class A ordinary shares | Class B ordinary shares | Percentage of beneficial ownership (of total Class A and Class B ordinary shares) | Percentage
of total voting power after this offering(3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Selling shareholders | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CITADEL MULTI-STRATEGY EQUITIES MASTER FUND LTD(4) | 2,262,034 | - | 7.7 | 2.0 | 1,300,000 | 962,034 | - | 3.3 | 0.9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CVI Investments, Inc.(5) | 3,400,000 | - | 11.5 | 3.0 | 1,700,000 | 1,700,000 | - | 5.8 | 1.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alto Opportunity Master Fund, SPC - Segregated Master Portfolio B(6) | 1,904,762 | - | 6.5 | 1.7 | 952,381 | 952,381 | - | 3.2 | 0.8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Anson Investments Master Fund LP(7) | 3,120,000 | - | 10.6 | 2.8 | 1,560,000 | 1,560,000 | - | 5.3 | 1.4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Anson East Master Fund LP(8) | 880,000 | - | 3.0 | 0.8 | 440,000 | 440,000 | - | 1.5 | 0.4 |
(1) | Beneficial ownership information disclosed herein represents direct and indirect holdings of entities owned, controlled or otherwise affiliated with the applicable holder as determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, we have included the 5,952,381 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants. |
36
(2) | For each person or group included in this column, percentage of total voting power represents voting power based on both Class A and Class B ordinary shares held by such person or group with respect to all outstanding shares of our Class A and Class B ordinary shares as a single class. Each holder of our Class A ordinary shares is entitled to one vote per share. Each holder of our Class B ordinary shares is entitled to 30 votes per share. Our Class B ordinary shares are convertible at any time by the holder into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, while Class A ordinary shares are not convertible into Class B ordinary shares under any circumstances. |
(3) | Assumes that all shares being registered in this prospectus are resold to third parties and that with respect to a particular selling shareholder, such selling shareholder sells all ordinary shares registered under this prospectus held by such selling shareholder. |
(4) | Consists of (1) 962,034 Class A ordinary shares, and (2) 1,300,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the Warrants, in each case directly owned by CITADEL MULTI-STRATEGY EQUITIES MASTER FUND LTD (“CEMF”). Citadel Advisors LLC (“Citadel Advisors”) is the Portfolio Manager of CEMF. Citadel Advisors Holdings LP (“CAH”) is the Sole Member of Citadel Advisors. Citadel GP LLC (“CGP”) is the General Partner of CAH. Kenneth Griffin owns a controlling interest in CGP. Mr. Griffin, as the owner of a controlling interest in CGP, may be deemed to have shared power to vote or direct the vote of, and/or shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of, the shares held by CEMF. This disclosure is not and shall not be construed as an admission that Mr. Griffin or any of the Citadel-related entities listed above is the beneficial owner of any securities of the Company other than the securities actually owned by such person (if any). The address of CEMF is c/o Citadel Enterprise Americas LLC, 830 Brickell Plaza, Floor 15, Miami, FL 33131, the United States. |
(5) | Consists of (1) 1,700,000 Class A ordinary shares directly owned by CVI Investments, Inc. (“CVI”), and (2) 1,700,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the Warrants. The address of CVI Investments, Inc. is c/o Heights Capital Management, Inc., 101 California Street, Suite 3250, San Francisco, CA 94111, the United States. Heights Capital Management, Inc., the authorized agent of CVI, has discretionary authority to vote and dispose of the shares held by CVI and may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of these shares. Martin Kobinger, in his capacity as President of Heights Capital Management, Inc., may also be deemed to have investment discretion and voting power over the shares held by CVI. Mr. Kobinger disclaims any such beneficial ownership of the shares. CVI is affiliated with one or more FINRA member, none of whom are currently expected to participate in this Offering. |
(6) | Consists of (1) 952,381 Class A ordinary shares directly owned by Alto Opportunity Master Fund, SPC - Segregated Master Portfolio B (“Alto Fund”), and (2) 952,381 Class A ordinary shares underlying the Warrants. The address of Alto Fund is c/o Ayrton Capital LLC, 55 Post Rd West, 2nd Floor, Westport, CT 06880, the United States. Ayrton Capital LLC, the investment manager to Alto Fund, has discretionary authority to vote and dispose of the shares held by Alto Fund and may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of these shares. Waqas Khatri, in his capacity as Managing Member of Ayrton Capital LLC, may also be deemed to have investment discretion and voting power over the shares held by Alto Fund. Ayrton Capital LLC and Mr. Khatri each disclaim any beneficial ownership of these shares. |
(7) | Consists of (1) 1,560,000 Class A ordinary shares directly owned by Anson Investments Master Fund LP (“AIMF”), and (2) 1,560,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the Warrants. Anson Advisors Inc and Anson Funds Management LP, the co-investment advisers of AIMF, hold voting and dispositive power over the shares held by AIMF. Tony Moore is the managing member of Anson Management GP LLC, which is the general partner of Anson Funds Management LP. Moez Kassam and Amin Nathoo are directors of Anson Advisors Inc. Mr. Moore, Mr. Kassam and Mr. Nathoo each disclaim beneficial ownership of these shares except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. The principal business address of AIMF is Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. |
(8) | Consists of (1) 440,000 Class A ordinary shares directly owned by Anson East Master Fund LP (“AEMF”), and (2) 440,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the Warrants. Anson Advisors Inc and Anson Funds Management LP, the co-investment advisers of AEMF, hold voting and dispositive power over the shares held by AEMF. Tony Moore is the managing member of Anson Management GP LLC, which is the general partner of Anson Funds Management LP. Moez Kassam and Amin Nathoo are directors of Anson Advisors Inc. Mr. Moore, Mr. Kassam and Mr. Nathoo each disclaim beneficial ownership of these shares except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. The principal business address of AEMF is Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. |
Relationships with Selling Shareholders
Except as otherwise disclosed in the footnotes to the table above and as described below, none of the selling shareholders has, or within the past three years has had, any position, office or other material relationship with us.
On June 26, 2025, we entered into the Securities Purchase Agreement with the purchasers named therein, pursuant to which we agreed to sell to the purchasers, in addition to the registered direct offering, Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 5,952,381 Class A ordinary shares in the Private Placement. The Private Placement was completed on June 27, 2025, and the Warrants are exercisable at any time on or after the issuance of the Warrants, at an initial exercise price of US$10.00 per Class A ordinary share, subject to customary adjustment. The Warrants expire five years from the date of an effective registration statement. We received approximately US$50.0 million in gross proceeds from the Private Placement. If all Warrants are fully exercised for cash, we would receive an additional US$59.52 million in gross proceeds.
37
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
The selling shareholders, which shall include donees, pledgees, transferees or other successors-in-interest selling Class A ordinary shares or interests in such securities received after the date of this prospectus from a selling shareholder as a gift, pledge, partnership distribution or other transfer, may, from time to time, sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any or all of their Class A ordinary shares or interests therein on any stock exchange, market or trading facility on which the Class A ordinary shares are traded or in private transactions. These dispositions may be at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of sale, at prices related to the prevailing market price, at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices.
The selling shareholders may use any one or more of the following methods when disposing of Class A ordinary shares or interests therein:
● | ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits purchasers; |
● | block trades in which the broker-dealer will attempt to sell the Class A ordinary shares as agent, but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction; |
● | purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its own account; |
● | an exchange distribution in accordance with the rules of the applicable exchange; |
● | privately negotiated transactions; |
● | short sales effected after the date the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part is declared effective by the SEC; |
● | through the writing or settlement of options or other hedging transactions, whether through an options exchange or otherwise; |
● | through agreements between broker-dealers and the selling shareholders to sell a specified number of such Class A ordinary shares at a stipulated price per share; |
● | a combination of any such methods of sale; and |
● | any other method permitted by applicable law. |
The selling shareholders may, from time to time, pledge or grant a security interest in some or all of the Class A ordinary shares owned by them and, if they default in the performance of their secured obligations, the pledgees or secured parties may offer and sell the Class A ordinary shares, from time to time, under this prospectus, or under an amendment to this prospectus under Rule 424(b) or other applicable provision of the Securities Act amending the list of selling shareholders to include the pledgee, transferee or other successors in interest as selling shareholders under this prospectus. The selling shareholders also may transfer the Class A ordinary shares in other circumstances, in which case the pledgees, transferees or other successors in interest will be the selling beneficial owners for purposes of this prospectus.
In addition, a selling shareholder that is an entity may elect to make a pro rata in-kind distribution of securities to its members, partners or stockholders pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part by delivering a prospectus with a plan of distribution. Such members, partners or stockholders would thereby receive freely tradeable securities pursuant to the distribution through a registration statement. To the extent a distributee is an affiliate of ours (or to the extent otherwise required by law), we may, at our option, file a prospectus supplement in order to permit the distributees to use the prospectus to resell the securities acquired in the distribution.
38
In connection with the sale of our Class A ordinary shares or interests therein, the selling shareholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions, which may in turn engage in short sales of the Class A ordinary shares in the course of hedging the positions they assume. The selling shareholders may also sell Class A ordinary shares short and deliver these securities to close out their short positions, or loan or pledge the Class A ordinary shares to broker-dealers that in turn may sell these securities. The selling shareholders may also enter into options or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions or the creation of one or more derivative securities which require the delivery to each such broker-dealer or other financial institution of Class A ordinary shares offered by this prospectus, which Class A ordinary shares such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell pursuant to this prospectus (as supplemented or amended to reflect such transaction).
The aggregate proceeds to the selling shareholders from the sale of the Class A ordinary shares offered by them will be the purchase price of the Class A ordinary shares less discounts or commissions, if any. Each of the selling shareholders reserves the right to accept and, together with its agents from time to time, to reject, in whole or in part, any proposed purchase of Class A ordinary shares to be made directly or through agents. We will not receive any of the proceeds from this offering.
The selling shareholders also may resell all or a portion of the Class A ordinary shares in open market transactions in reliance upon Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, provided that they meet the criteria and conform to the requirements of that rule.
The selling shareholders and any underwriters, broker-dealers or agents that participate in the sale of the Class A ordinary shares or interests therein may be “underwriters” within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act. Any discounts, commissions, concessions or profit they earn on any resale of the Class A ordinary shares may be underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act. Selling shareholders who are “underwriters” within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act will be subject to the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act.
To the extent required, the Class A ordinary shares to be sold, the names of the selling shareholders, the respective purchase prices and public offering prices, the names of any agents, dealer or underwriter, and any applicable commissions or discounts with respect to a particular offer will be set forth in an accompanying prospectus supplement or, if appropriate, a post-effective amendment to the registration statement that includes this prospectus.
In order to comply with the securities laws of some states, if applicable, the Class A ordinary shares may be sold in these jurisdictions only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers. In addition, in some states the Class A ordinary shares may not be sold unless it has been registered or qualified for sale or an exemption from registration or qualification requirements is available and is complied with.
We have advised the selling shareholders that the anti-manipulation rules of Regulation M under the Exchange Act may apply to sales of Class A ordinary shares in the market and to the activities of the selling shareholders and their affiliates. In addition, to the extent applicable we will make copies of this prospectus (as it may be supplemented or amended from time to time) available to the selling shareholders for the purpose of satisfying the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act. The selling shareholders may indemnify any broker-dealer that participates in transactions involving the sale of the Class A ordinary shares against certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act.
We have agreed to indemnify the selling shareholders against liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act and state securities laws, relating to the registration of the Class A ordinary shares offered by this prospectus.
We have agreed with the selling shareholders to keep the registration statement of which this prospectus constitutes a part effective until no purchasers under the Purchase Agreement owns any Warrants or shares issuable under the Warrants.
39
TAXATION
The following summary of the material Cayman Islands, PRC and United States federal income tax consequences of an investment in the ordinary shares is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. The following summary does not constitute legal or tax advice. The discussion does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in Class A ordinary shares. In particular, the discussion does not address U.S. state or local tax laws, or tax laws of jurisdictions other than the Cayman Islands, the PRC and the federal tax law of the United States. Accordingly, you should consult your own tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of an investment in our Class A ordinary shares. To the extent that the discussion relates to matters of Cayman Islands tax law, it represents the opinion of Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP, our Cayman Islands counsel. To the extent that the discussion relates to matters of PRC tax law, it represents the opinion of Zhong Lun Law Firm, our PRC legal counsel.
Cayman Islands Taxation
The Cayman Islands currently levies no taxes on individuals or corporations based upon profits, income, gains or appreciation 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 except for stamp duties which may be applicable on instruments executed in, or after execution brought within the jurisdiction of the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands is not party to any double tax treaties applicable to payments to or by our company. There are no exchange control regulations or currency restrictions in the Cayman Islands.
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of the shares will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the shares, nor will gains derived from the disposal of the shares be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporate tax.
PRC Taxation
Under the EIT Law and its implementation rules, an enterprise established outside of China with a “de facto management body” within China is considered a resident enterprise and will be subject to the enterprise income tax at the rate of 25% on its global income. The implementation rules define the term “de facto management body” as the body that exercises full and substantial control over and overall management of the business, productions, personnel, accounts and properties of an enterprise. In April 2009, SAT issued Circular Regarding the Determination of Chinese-Controlled Offshore Incorporated Enterprises as PRC Tax Resident Enterprise on the Basis of De Facto Management Bodies, or SAT Circular 82, which provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a PRC-controlled enterprise that is incorporated offshore is located in China. Although SAT Circular 82 only applies to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreigners, the criteria set forth in SAT Circular 82 may reflect the general position of SAT on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining the tax resident status of all offshore enterprises. According to SAT Circular 82, an offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group will be regarded as a PRC tax resident by virtue of having its “de facto management body” in China only if all of the following conditions are met: (1) the primary location of the day-to-day operational management is in China; (2) decisions relating to the enterprise’s financial and human resource matters are made or are subject to approval by organizations or personnel in China; (3) the enterprise’s primary assets, accounting books and records, company seals, and board and shareholder resolutions, are located or maintained in China; and (4) at least 50% of voting board members or senior executives habitually reside in China.
We do not believe that our Cayman Islands holding company meets all of the conditions above. Our Cayman Islands holding company is not a PRC resident enterprise for PRC tax purposes. As a holding company, its key assets are its ownership interests in its subsidiaries, and its key assets are located, and its records (including the resolutions of its board of directors and the resolutions of its shareholders) are maintained, outside China. For the same reasons, we believe our other entities outside of China are not PRC resident enterprises either. However, the tax resident status of an enterprise is subject to determination by the PRC tax authorities and uncertainties remain with respect to the interpretation of the term “de facto management body.” There can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with ours.
40
Zhong Lun Law Firm, our legal counsel as to PRC law, has advised us that if the PRC tax authorities determine that our Cayman Islands holding company is 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 shareholders that are non-resident enterprises with no institutions or premises established in the PRC or income bearing no de facto relationship with the institution or premises established. In addition, non-resident enterprise shareholders may be subject to a 10% PRC tax on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ordinary shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within China. It is unclear whether our non-PRC individual shareholders would be subject to any PRC tax on dividends or gains obtained by such non-PRC individual shareholders in the event we are determined to be a PRC resident enterprise. If any PRC tax were to apply to such dividends or gains, it would generally apply at a rate of 20% unless a reduced rate is available under an applicable tax treaty. However, it is also unclear whether non-PRC shareholders of our Cayman Islands holding company would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and China in the event that our Cayman Islands holding company is treated as a PRC resident enterprise.
Provided that our Cayman Islands holding company is not deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise, holders of the ordinary shares who are not PRC residents will not be subject to PRC income tax on dividends distributed by us or gains realized from the sale or other disposition of our shares. However, where a non-resident enterprise conducts an “indirect transfer” by transferring taxable assets, including, in particular, equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise, indirectly by disposing of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, the non-resident enterprise, being the transferor, or the transferee or the PRC entity which directly owned such taxable assets may report to the relevant tax authority such indirect transfer. Using a “substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may disregard the existence of the overseas 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 PRC enterprise income tax, and the transferee obligated to withhold the applicable taxes, currently at a rate of 10% for the transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise. We and our non-PRC resident investors may be at risk of being required to file a return and being taxed under SAT Circular 7, and we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with SAT Circular 7, or to establish that we should not be taxed thereunder. See “Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Conducting Business in China — We may be subject to enterprise income tax on our worldwide income if our company or any of our subsidiaries were considered a PRC ‘resident enterprise’ under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law.”
United States Federal Income Taxation
The following discussion is a summary of United States federal income tax considerations relating to the purchase, ownership and disposition of our Class A ordinary shares by a U.S. Holder, as defined below, that will acquire our Class A ordinary shares and hold our Class A ordinary shares as “capital assets” (generally, property held for investment) under the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).
This discussion is based upon existing United States federal income tax law, which is subject to differing interpretations or change, possibly with retroactive effect. No ruling has been sought from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) with respect to any United States federal income tax consequences described below, and there can be no assurance that the IRS or a court will not take a contrary position.
This discussion does not address all aspects of United States federal income taxation that may be important to particular investors in light of their individual circumstances, including investors subject to special tax rules, including:
● | financial institutions; |
● | insurance companies; |
41
● | regulated investment companies; |
● | real estate investment trusts; |
● | a dealer in securities or currencies; |
● | a regulated investment company; |
● | traders in securities or other persons that elect mark-to-market treatment; |
● | partnerships or other pass-through entities and their partners or investors; |
● | tax-exempt organizations (including private foundations); |
● | investors that own (directly, indirectly, or constructively) 10% or more of our stock by vote or value; |
● | investors that hold their Class A ordinary shares as part of a straddle, hedge, conversion, constructive sale or other integrated transaction; |
● | investors that have a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar; |
● | certain former U.S. citizens or long-term residents; |
● | investors that hold their Class A ordinary shares through a permanent establishment or fixed base outside the United States; |
● | investors who own stock in an individual retirement or other tax-deferred account; |
● | a person who acquired Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of any employee share option or otherwise as compensation; |
● | a person subject to special tax accounting rules as a result of any item of gross income being taken into account in an “applicable financial statement” (as defined in the Code) with respect to ordinary shares; |
● | investors required to accelerate the recognition of any item of gross income with respect to our Class A ordinary shares as a result of such income being recognized on an applicable financial statement; |
● | a person whose “functional currency” is not the United States dollar. |
In addition, this discussion does not address any state, local, alternative minimum tax, or non-United States tax considerations, or the Medicare contribution tax on net investment income. Each potential investor is urged to consult its tax advisor regarding the United States federal, state, local and non-United States income and other tax considerations of an investment in our Class A ordinary shares.
General
For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of our Class A ordinary shares that is, for United States federal income tax purposes, (1) an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States, (2) a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes) created in, or organized under the laws of, the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (3) an estate the income of which is includible in gross income for United States federal income tax purposes regardless of its source, or (4) a trust (a) the administration of which is subject to the primary supervision of a United States court and which has one or more United States persons who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (b) that has otherwise elected to be treated as a United States person under the Code.
42
If a partnership (or other entity treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) is a beneficial owner of our Class A ordinary shares, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships and partners of a partnership holding our Class A ordinary shares are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding an investment in such ordinary shares.
Passive foreign investment company considerations
A non-United States corporation, such as our company, will be classified as a “passive foreign investment company,” or a PFIC, for United States federal income tax purposes, if, in the case of any particular taxable year, either (1) 75% or more of its gross income for such year consists of certain types of “passive” income or (2) 50% or more of its average quarterly assets during such year is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income. For this purpose, cash is categorized as a passive asset and the company’s unbooked intangibles associated with active business activities may generally be classified as active assets. For purposes of the income test, “gross income” generally consists of sales revenues less the cost of goods sold, together with income from investments and from other sources, and “passive income” generally includes, among other things, dividends, interest, rents, royalties, and gains from the disposition of passive assets. We will be treated as owning our proportionate share of the assets and earning our proportionate share of the income of any other non-United States corporation in which we own, directly or indirectly, more than 25% (by value) of the stock.
Based upon our historical income and assets and the value of our Class A ordinary shares, we do not believe we were a PFIC for the taxable year ended December 31, 2024.
While we reasonably do not expect to become a PFIC in the current or future taxable years, the determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC will depend upon (i) the composition and characterization of our income (which may differ from our historical results and current projections) and (ii) the composition and characterization of our assets and the value of our assets from time to time, including, in particular the value of our goodwill and other unbooked intangibles (which may depend upon the market value of our Class A ordinary shares from time-to-time and which has been and may continue to be volatile). In estimating the value of our goodwill and other unbooked intangibles, we have taken into account our market capitalization, which has fluctuated significantly. Among other matters, if our market capitalization does not increase or continues to decline, we may be or become classified as a PFIC for the current or future taxable years. It is also possible that the IRS may challenge our classification of assets or income or the valuation of our goodwill and other unbooked intangibles, which may result in our company being, or becoming classified as, a PFIC for the current or one or more future taxable years.
The determination of whether we would be or become a PFIC may also depend, in part, on how, and how quickly, we used our liquid assets. Under circumstances where we retain significant amounts of liquid assets, including cash, our risk of being classified as a PFIC may substantially increase. Because there are uncertainties in the application of the relevant rules and PFIC status is a factual determination made annually after the close of each taxable year, there can be no assurance that we will not be a PFIC for the current taxable year ending December 31, 2025 or any future taxable year. If we are classified as a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder holds our Class A ordinary shares, we generally would continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which such U.S. Holder holds our Class A ordinary shares.
43
The discussion below under “Dividends” and “Sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares” is written on the basis that we will not be classified as a PFIC for United States federal income tax purposes. The United States federal income tax rules that apply if we are classified as a PFIC for the current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year are discussed below under “Passive foreign investment company rules.”
Dividends
Subject to the PFIC rules described below, any cash distributions (including the amount of any PRC tax withheld) paid on our Class A ordinary shares out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under United States federal income tax principles, will generally be includible in the gross income of a U.S. Holder as dividend income on the day actually or constructively received by the U.S. Holder of our Class A ordinary shares. Because we do not intend to determine our earnings and profits on the basis of United States federal income tax principles, any distribution will generally be treated as a “dividend” for United States federal income tax purposes. Under current law, a non-corporate recipient of dividend income will generally be subject to tax on dividend income from a “qualified foreign corporation” at the lower applicable net capital gains rate rather than the marginal tax rates generally applicable to ordinary income, provided that certain holding period and other requirements are met.
A non-United States corporation (other than a corporation that is classified as a PFIC for the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year) will generally be considered to be a qualified foreign corporation (1) if it is eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive tax treaty with the United States, which the Secretary of Treasury of the United States determines is satisfactory for purposes of this provision and which includes an exchange of information program, or (2) with respect to any dividend it pays on stock which is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Our Class A ordinary shares are considered for purposes of clause (2) above to be readily tradeable on an established securities market in the United States because they are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. However, there can be no assurance that our Class A ordinary shares will continue to be considered readily tradable on an established securities market in later years. In the event we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the Enterprise Income Tax Law (see “— PRC Taxation”), we may be eligible for the benefits of the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the People’s Republic of China for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Tax Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income, or the United States-PRC income tax treaty (which the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States has determined is satisfactory for this purpose), in which case we would be treated as a qualified foreign corporation with respect to dividends paid on our Class A ordinary shares. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of the reduced tax rate on dividends in their particular circumstances. Dividends received on our Class A ordinary shares will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction allowed to qualifying corporations under the Code.
For United States foreign tax credit purposes, dividends paid on our Class A ordinary shares will generally be treated as income from foreign sources and will generally constitute passive category income. In the event that we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the Enterprise Income Tax Law, a U.S. Holder may be subject to PRC withholding taxes on dividends paid, if any, on our Class A ordinary shares. A U.S. Holder may be eligible, subject to a number of complex limitations, to claim a foreign tax credit in respect of any foreign withholding taxes imposed on dividends received on our Class A ordinary shares. A U.S. Holder who does not elect to claim a foreign tax credit for foreign tax withheld may instead claim a deduction for United States federal income tax purposes in respect of such withholding, but only for a year in which such holder elects to do so for all creditable foreign income taxes. The rules governing the foreign tax credit are complex. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of the foreign tax credit under their particular circumstances.
44
Sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder will generally recognize capital gain or loss, if any, upon the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized upon the disposition and the holder’s adjusted tax basis in such ordinary shares. Any capital gain or loss will be long-term capital gain or loss if our Class A ordinary shares have been held for more than one year and will generally be United States source gain or loss for United States foreign tax credit purposes. Long-term capital gains of non-corporate U.S. Holders are currently eligible for reduced rates of taxation. In the event that we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise under the EIT Law, and gain from the disposition of our Class A ordinary shares is subject to tax in the PRC (see “— PRC Taxation”), such gain may be treated as PRC source gain for foreign tax credit purposes under the United States-PRC income tax treaty. The deductibility of a capital loss may be subject to limitations. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences if a foreign tax is imposed on a disposition of our Class A ordinary shares, including the availability of the foreign tax credit under their particular circumstances.
Passive foreign investment company rules
If we are classified as a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds our Class A ordinary shares, unless the U.S. Holder makes one of certain elections (as described below), the U.S. Holder will, except as discussed below, be subject to special tax rules that have a penalizing effect, regardless of whether we remain a PFIC, on (1) any excess distribution that we make to the U.S. Holder (which generally means any distribution paid during a taxable year to a U.S. Holder that is greater than 125% of the average annual distributions paid in the three preceding fiscal years or, if shorter, the U.S. Holder’s holding period for our Class A ordinary shares), and (2) any gain realized on the sale or other disposition, including, under certain circumstances, a pledge, of such ordinary shares. Under the PFIC rules:
● | the excess distribution and/or gain will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for our Class A ordinary shares; |
● | the amount of the excess distribution or gain allocated to the taxable year of distribution or gain and to any taxable years in the U.S. Holder’s holding period prior to the first fiscal year in which we are classified as a PFIC (each such taxable year, a pre-PFIC year) will be taxable as ordinary income; and |
● | the amount of the excess distribution or gain allocated to each prior taxable year, other than the current taxable year of distribution or gain or a pre-PFIC year, will be subject to tax at the highest tax rate in effect applicable to the individuals or corporations, as appropriate, for that other taxable year, and will be increased by an additional tax equal to interest on the resulting tax deemed deferred with respect to each such other taxable year. |
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds our Class A ordinary shares and any of our non-United States subsidiaries is also a PFIC, such U.S. Holder would be treated as owning a proportionate amount (by value) of the shares of the lower-tier PFIC for purposes of the application of these rules. Each U.S. Holder is advised to consult its tax advisors regarding the application of the PFIC rules to any of our subsidiaries.
As an alternative to the foregoing rules, a U.S. Holder of “marketable stock” in a PFIC may make a mark-to-market election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares, provided that such ordinary shares are “regularly traded” (as specially defined) on Nasdaq. Our Class A ordinary shares started trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on January 1, 2024. However, no assurances may be given regarding whether our Class A ordinary shares will qualify, or will continue to be qualified, as being regularly traded in this regard. If a mark-to-market election is made, the U.S. Holder will generally (1) include as ordinary income for each taxable year that we are a PFIC the excess, if any, of the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares, held at the end of the taxable year over the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in such ordinary shares and (2) deduct as an ordinary loss the excess, if any, of the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in such ordinary shares over the fair market value of such ordinary shares held at the end of the taxable year, but only to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. The U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in our Class A ordinary shares would be adjusted to reflect any income or loss resulting from the mark-to-market election. If a U.S. Holder makes an effective mark-to-market election, in each year that we are a PFIC any gain recognized upon the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income and any loss will be treated as ordinary loss, but only to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election.
45
If a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election in respect of a corporation classified as a PFIC and such corporation ceases to be classified as a PFIC, the U.S. Holder will not be required to take into account the mark-to-market gain or loss described above during any period that such corporation is not classified as a PFIC.
Because a mark-to-market election cannot be made for any lower-tier PFICs that a PFIC may own, a U.S. Holder who makes a mark-to-market election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares may continue to be subject to the general PFIC rules with respect to such U.S. Holder’s indirect interest in any of our non-United States subsidiaries that is classified as a PFIC.
We do not intend to provide information necessary for U.S. Holders to make qualified electing fund elections, which, if available, would result in tax treatment different from the general tax treatment for PFICs described above.
As discussed above under “Dividends,” dividends that we pay on our Class A ordinary shares will not be eligible for the reduced tax rate that applies to qualified dividend income if we are classified as a PFIC for the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year. In addition, if a U.S. Holder owns our Class A ordinary shares during any taxable year that we are a PFIC, the U.S. Holder must file an annual information return with the IRS. Each U.S. Holder is urged to consult its tax advisor concerning the United States federal income tax consequences of purchasing, holding, and disposing the ordinary shares if we are or become a PFIC, including the possibility of making a mark-to-market election and the unavailability of the qualified electing fund election.
46
Information reporting
Certain U.S. Holders are required to report information to the IRS relating to an interest in “specified foreign financial assets” (as defined in the Code), including shares issued by a non-United States corporation, for any year in which the aggregate value of all specified foreign financial assets exceeds $50,000 (or a higher dollar amount prescribed by the IRS), subject to certain exceptions (including an exception for shares held in custodial accounts maintained with a United States financial institution). These rules also impose penalties if a U.S. Holder is required to submit such information to the IRS and fails to do so.
In addition, U.S. Holders may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and backup withholding with respect to dividends on and proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares. Information reporting will apply to payments of dividends on, and to proceeds from the sale or other disposition of, our Class A ordinary shares by a paying agent within the United States to a U.S. Holder, other than U.S. Holders that are exempt from information reporting and properly certify their exemption. A paying agent within the United States will be required to withhold at the applicable statutory rate, currently 24%, in respect of any payments of dividends on, and the proceeds from the disposition of, our Class A ordinary shares within the United States to a U.S. Holder (other than U.S. Holders that are exempt from backup withholding and properly certify their exemption) if the U.S. Holder fails to furnish its correct taxpayer identification number or otherwise fails to comply with applicable backup withholding requirements. U.S. Holders who are required to establish their exempt status generally must provide a properly completed IRS Form W-9.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a U.S. Holder’s United States federal income tax liability. A U.S. Holder generally may obtain a refund of any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS in a timely manner and furnishing any required information. Each U.S. Holder is advised to consult with its tax advisor regarding the application of the United States information reporting rules to their particular circumstances.
47
ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES
We are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability to take advantage of certain benefits associated with being a Cayman Islands exempted company:
● | 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, certain disadvantages accompany incorporation in the Cayman Islands. These disadvantages include, but are not limited to, the following:
● | the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws than the United States and these securities laws provide significantly less protection to investors; and |
● | Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States. |
Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association do not contain provisions requiring that disputes, including those arising under the securities laws of the United States, between us, our officers, directors and shareholders, be arbitrated.
We conduct all of our operations outside the United States, and substantially all of our assets are located outside the United States. Substantially all of our officers are nationals or residents of jurisdictions other than the United States and a substantial portion of their assets are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for a shareholder 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., located at 122 East 42nd Street, 18th Floor, New York, NY, as our agent upon whom process may be served in any action brought against us under the securities laws of the United States.
Cayman Islands
We have been advised by Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP, our counsel as to Cayman Islands law, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (1) to recognize and enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers that are predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or the securities laws of any state in the United States, and (2) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands to impose liabilities against us or our directors or officers that are predicated upon the civil liability provisions of federal securities laws of the United States or the securities laws of any state in the United States so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature.
We have also been advised by Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP that, although there is no statutory recognition in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the federal or state courts of the U.S. (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 money 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 the liquidated sum for which such judgment has been given, provided such judgment (1) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction, (2) imposes on the judgment debtor a liability to pay a liquidated sum for which the judgment has been given, (3) is final and conclusive, (4) is not in respect of taxes, a fine or a penalty, (5) is not inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, and (6) is not impeachable on the grounds of fraud and was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands.
48
However, the Cayman Islands courts are unlikely to enforce a judgment obtained from the United States courts under the civil liability provisions of the securities laws 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.
PRC
Zhong Lun Law Firm, our counsel as to PRC law, has advised us that there is uncertainty as to whether the PRC courts would:
● | recognize or enforce judgments of United States courts or Cayman 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 |
● | entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. |
Zhong Lun Law Firm has further advised us that the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law. PRC courts may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law. Zhong Lun Law Firm has advised us further that under PRC law, a foreign judgment that does not otherwise violate the basic legal principles, national sovereignty, security or public interest may be recognized and enforced by a PRC court, based either on bilateral treaties or international conventions contracted by China and the jurisdiction where the judgment is made or on principles of reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other form of reciprocity with the United States or the Cayman Islands that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in China will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates the basic principles of PRC law or national sovereignty, security or public interest. As a result, it is uncertain whether and on what basis a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States or in the Cayman Islands. Under the PRC Civil Procedures Law, foreign shareholders may originate actions based on PRC law against us in China if they can establish sufficient connection to China for a PRC court to have jurisdiction, and meet other procedural requirements, including, among others, the plaintiff must have a direct interest in the case, and there must be a concrete claim, a factual basis and a cause for the suit. However, it will be difficult for foreign shareholders, by virtue only of holding our Class A ordinary shares or ordinary shares, to establish a sufficient connection to China for a PRC court to have jurisdiction as required under the PRC Civil Procedures Law.
49
LEGAL MATTERS
We are being represented by Baker & McKenzie LLP with respect to certain legal matters of United States federal securities and New York state law. The validity of the Class A ordinary shares, preferred shares, and legal matters as to Cayman Islands law will be passed upon for us by Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP. Certain legal matters as to PRC law will be passed upon for us by Zhong Lun Law Firm. If legal matters in connection with offerings made pursuant to this prospectus are passed upon by counsel to underwriters, dealers or agents, such counsel will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to any such offering. Baker & McKenzie LLP may rely upon Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP with respect to matters governed by Cayman Islands law and Zhong Lun Law Firm with respect to matters governed by PRC law.
50
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements of Nano Labs Ltd incorporated in this registration statement by reference to the Annual Report on Form 20-F as of December 31, 2023 and 2024 and for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2023 and 2024, have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of MaloneBailey, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
The office of MaloneBailey, LLP is located at 10370 Richmond Avenue, Suite 600, Houston, Texas 77042.
51
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT US
We are subject to periodic reporting and other informational requirements of the Exchange Act as applicable to foreign private issuers. Accordingly, we will be required to file reports, including annual reports on Form 20-F, and other information with the SEC. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt under the Exchange Act from, among other things, the rules prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements to shareholders, and our executive officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will not be required under the Exchange Act to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act.
All information filed with the SEC can be obtained over the internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. 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 or visit the SEC website for further information on the operation of the public reference rooms. We also maintain a website at www.nano.cn, but information on our website, however, is not, and should not be deemed to be, a part of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. You should not regard any information on our website as a part of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement.
This prospectus is part of a registration statement we have filed with the SEC. This prospectus omits some information contained in the registration statement in accordance with SEC rules and regulations. You should review the information and exhibits in the registration statement for further information on us and the securities we are offering. Statements in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement concerning any document we filed as an exhibit to the registration statement or that we otherwise filed with the SEC are not intended to be comprehensive and are qualified by reference to these filings. You should review the complete document to evaluate these statements.
52
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 8. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s articles of association may provide indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent that any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as providing indemnification against fraud, dishonesty or the consequences of committing a crime.
Our currently effective memorandum and articles of association provide that each officer or director of our company (but not auditors) shall be indemnified out of our assets against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by such director or officer, other than by reason of such person’s own dishonesty or fraud, in or about the conduct of our company’s business or affairs (including as a result of any mistake of judgment) or in the execution or discharge of his or her duties, powers, authorities or discretions, including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by such director or officer in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning our company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere.
In addition, we have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers that provide such persons with additional indemnification beyond that provided in our fifth amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. A form of the indemnification agreements has been filed as Exhibit 10.1 to our registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-266825) filed with the SEC on August 12, 2022.
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.
Any underwriting agreement entered into in connection with an offering of securities will also provide for indemnification of us and our officers and directors in certain cases.
Item 9. Exhibits.
See Exhibit Index beginning on page II-4 of this registration statement.
Item 10. Undertakings.
(A) | 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, or the Securities Act; |
II-1
(ii) | To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the 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 the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or any decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of 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 SEC 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 the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement; |
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the registration statement is on Form F-3 and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or Exchange Act, that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.
(2) | That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, 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 Exchange 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 (a)(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, with respect to registration statements on Form F-3, a post-effective amendment need not be filed to include financial statements and information required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Exchange Act or Rule 3-19 of Regulation S-K 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 Form F-3. |
(5) | That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser: |
(i) | Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the 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 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of 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 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. |
(B) | 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 Securities and Exchange 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. |
(C) | 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 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. |
(D) | The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file an application for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, or the Act, in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the SEC under section 305(b)(2) of the Act. |
II-3
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit Number |
Description of Document | |
4.1 | Registrant’s Specimen Certificate for Ordinary Shares (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the registration statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-265539), as amended, initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 10, 2022) | |
4.2 | Form of Warrant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the current report on Form 6-K (File No. 001-41426) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 2, 2025) | |
5.1 | Opinion of Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP regarding the validity of Class A ordinary sahres of the company | |
8.1 | Opinion of Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP regarding certain Cayman Islands tax matters (included in exhibit 5.1) | |
10.1 | Form of Securities Purchase Contract (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the current report on Form 6-K (File No. 001-41426) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 2, 2025) | |
10.2 | Placement Agent Agreement dated June 26, 2025 between Nano Labs Ltd and Maxim Group LLC (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the current report on Form 6-K (File No. 001-41426) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 2, 2025) | |
23.1 | Consent of MaloneBailey, LLP | |
23.2 | Consent of Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP (included in exhibit 5.1) | |
23.3 | Consent of Zhong Lun Law Firm | |
24.1 | Powers of Attorney (included as part of signature page of Part II of this registration statement) | |
107 | Exhibit Filing Fees |
II-4
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, 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 registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the city of Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China, on July 9, 2025.
Nano Labs Ltd | |||
By: | /s/ Jianping Kong | ||
Name: | Jianping Kong | ||
Title: | Chairman |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below does hereby constitute and appoint Mr. Jianping Kong as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, each with full power of substitution and re-substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement and sign any registration statement for the same offerings covered by this registration statement that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and all post-effective amendments thereto and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact and agent, or her substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature | Title | Date | ||
/s/ Jianping Kong | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) | July 9, 2025 | ||
Name: Jianping Kong | ||||
/s/ Qifeng Sun | Vice Chairman | July 9, 2025 | ||
Name: Qifeng Sun | ||||
/s/ Nan Hu | Director | July 9, 2025 | ||
Name: Nan Hu | ||||
/s/ Bing Chen | Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President (principal financial and accounting officer) | July 9, 2025 | ||
Name: Bing Chen | ||||
/s/ Jiaming Zhu | Independent Director | July 9, 2025 | ||
Name: Jiaming Zhu | ||||
/s/ Li Zhang | Independent Director | July 9, 2025 | ||
Name: Li Zhang | ||||
/s/ Lizhen Xie | Independent Director | July 9, 2025 | ||
Name: Lizhen Xie |
II-5
SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES
Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of Nano Labs Ltd, has signed this registration statement or amendment thereto in New York on July 9, 2025.
Authorized U.S. Representative | |||
By: | /s/ Colleen A. De Vries | ||
Name: | Colleen A. De Vries | ||
Title: | Senior Vice-President on behalf of Cogency Global Inc. |
II-6