SJ Scienjoy Holding Corporation

ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Summary of Risk Factors

An investment in our securities involves significant risks. Below is a summary of material risks that we face, organized under relevant headings. These risks are discussed fully in “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors.”

Risks Factors Relating to Our Business and Industry

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

Risks related to Investment in our Class A Ordinary Shares

Risks Factors Relating to Our Business and Industry

We may fail to retain our existing users, keep them engaged or further grow our user base.

Our revenue primarily derives from live streaming services, and therefore our ability to maintain and increase the size of our user base and user engagement level is critical to our success. If our user base becomes smaller or our users become less active, it is possible that there would be less spending on the virtual gifts on our platforms. Smaller user base or lower user engagement would make it difficult to retain top broadcasters. Consequently, our financial condition would suffer a decline in revenue, and our business and results of operations will be materially and adversely impacted.

To continue to maintain and improve our existing user base and user engagement, we must ensure that we adequately and timely identify and respond to changes in user preferences, attract and retain enough popular broadcasters, and offer new and attractive features and content. There is no guarantee that we could meet all of these goals. A number of factors could negatively affect user growth, and engagement, including if:

Our revenue growth is primarily dependent on paying users and revenue per paying user. If we fail to continue to grow or maintain our paying user base or fail to continue to increase revenue per paying user, our live streaming revenue may not increase, which may materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Whether we can continue to increase our paying ratio amongst our users or revenue per paying user depends on many factors, and many of them are out of our control. We expect that our business will continue to be heavily dependent on revenue collected from paying users in the near future. Any decline in the number of paying users or revenue per paying user may materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We rely on a single monetization model.

Mobile live streaming platforms use three basic categories of revenue sharing models to monetize their live streaming operations: gift model, advertise model, and shopping model. We currently mainly use the gift model, generating our revenue from virtual gifts purchased by our users. Although we intend to diversify our revenue sharing models, such as by generating revenue from advertisement, there is no guarantee we will succeed. Therefore, decreases in revenues generated from the gift model will materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may fail to offer attractive content on our platforms.

High quality live streaming content is important for us to attract, maintain and increase our user base and user engagement. Our content library is constantly evolving and growing. However, if we fail to expand and diversify our content offerings, identify trending and popular genres, or maintain the quality of our content, we may experience decreasing viewership and user engagement, which may materially and adversely affect our financial conditions and results of operations.

In addition, we largely rely on our broadcasters to create high-quality and fun live streaming content. We have in place a comprehensive incentive mechanism to encourage broadcasters and talent agencies to supply content that is attractive to viewers. Also, talent agencies cooperating with us may guide or influence broadcasters to develop content that is well received by viewers. However, if we fail to identify the latest trends and timely guide broadcasters and talent agencies accordingly, our viewer number may decline and our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

Failure to attract, cultivate, and retain top broadcasters may materially and negatively affect our user engagement and thus our business and operations.

The majority of our revenue is from sale of virtual gifts to users. The charisma and the high-quality content of top broadcasters are primary contributors to user stickiness, and is difficult to be replicated by other less popular broadcasters.

Although we have made efforts to support top broadcasters in order to retain them, there is no guarantee that they will choose to stay with us. Top broadcasters tend to receive more offers with attractive terms than the other broadcasters and some of them may choose to move to other platforms. Their departure may cause a corresponding decline in our user base.

Sometimes we may face legal disputes with competing platforms from which we attract some top broadcasters. Although we are not the primary target of these legal disputes, broadcasters involved may be subject to fines or even injunctions, which may render our investment in recruiting them meaningless. Conversely, some of our top broadcasters have left our platforms for competing platforms despite still being in a contractual relationship with us, which have raised legal disputes. Even if we prevail in all such legal disputes, the departures of any top broadcaster may still have a negative impact on our user engagement and reputation. To retain top broadcasters, we must devise better compensation schemes, improve our monetization capabilities, and help the top broadcasters reach a wider audience. Although we strive to improve in these respects, there is no guarantee that the broadcasters will not leave our platforms.

In terms of broadcaster cultivation, we cannot guarantee that the performance metrics we use to track promising broadcasters will enable us to identify future top broadcasters. Some of the broadcasters we identify as promising may turn out to be underperforming, and we may also fail to spot truly promising broadcasters in the early stages of their career. In addition to a waste of resources, either one of these scenarios could prevent us from cultivating top broadcasters, which could weaken our core competitive strength against competing platforms and thus cause an outflow of users to those platforms.

If we fail to implement an effective revenue sharing fee policy, we may lose our broadcasters and our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and negatively affected.

We pay revenue sharing fees to the broadcasters and talent agencies as compensation, which are determined based on a percentage of revenue from virtual gift sales that are attributed to the broadcasters’ live streaming performance. Failure to implement a satisfactory revenue sharing fee policy may result in undesired departures of broadcasters. For example, in 2018 we lowered our revenue sharing percentage for our broadcasters, resulting in departures of a large number of our broadcasters from our platforms. As a result, our revenue was adversely affected. Since then, we adjusted our revenue sharing fee policy to increase the sharing percentage for broadcasters. However, there is no guarantee that our current and future revenue sharing fee policy will keep our broadcasters satisfied over an extended period of time.

We partner with various talent agencies to manage our broadcasters. If we are not able to maintain our relationship with talent agencies, our operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We work with talent agencies to manage and organize broadcasters on our platforms. Cooperation with talent agencies increases our operational efficiency in terms of discovering, supporting, and managing broadcasters in a more organized and structured manner, and turning amateur broadcasters into full-time broadcasters. If we fail to maintain our relationship with many of the talent agencies we are currently working with, we may not be able to retain or attract broadcasters.

Failure to effectively manage our growth and control our periodic spending to maintain such growth may materially and adversely affect our brand, and our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Our rapid growth has placed, and continues to place, a significant strain on our management and resources. We may need to establish and expand our capacities in all aspects of our business, such as operations, research and development, sales and marketing, and general administration, in order to meet the increasing needs from a rapidly evolving market. We cannot assure you that our current level of growth will be sustainable. We believe that our continued growth will depend on our ability to attract and retain viewers and top broadcasters, to develop an infrastructure to service and support an expanding body of viewers and broadcasters, to explore new monetization avenues, and to convert non-paying users to paying users and increase user engagement levels. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in any of the above.

We expect our costs and expenses to continue to increase in the future as we anticipate that we will need to continue to implement, from time to time, a variety of new and upgraded operational, informational and financial systems, procedures and controls on an as-needed basis, including the continued improvement of our accounting and other internal management systems. We will also need to expand, train, manage and motivate our workforce and manage our relationships with viewers, talent agencies, broadcasters, and other business partners. All of these endeavors involve risks and will require substantial management efforts and skills and significant additional expenditures. We expect to continue to invest in our infrastructure in order to provide our services rapidly and reliably to viewers and broadcasters. Continued growth could end up straining our ability to maintain reliable service levels for all of our viewers and broadcasters, to develop and improve our operational, financial, legal and management controls, and to enhance our reporting systems and procedures. Managing our growth will require significant expenditures and the allocation of valuable management resources. If we fail to achieve the necessary level of efficiency in our organization as we grow, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be harmed.

We may fail to successfully implement our monetization strategies.

Our streaming platforms are free to access, and we generate revenues primarily from live streaming and sales of virtual gifts. As a result, our revenue is affected by our ability to increase user engagement and convert non-paying users into paying users, which in turn depends on our ability to retain quality broadcasters, innovate attractive content, and offer virtual gifts and other services. If we are not successful in enhancing our ability to monetize our existing services or developing new approaches to monetization, we may not be able to maintain or increase our revenues and profits or recover any associated costs. We monitor market developments and may adjust our monetization strategies accordingly from time to time, which may result in decreases of our overall revenue or revenue contributions from some monetization channels. In addition, we may in the future introduce new services to diversify our revenue streams, including services with which we have little or no prior development or operating experience. If these new or enhanced services fail to engage customers or platform partners, we may fail to generate sufficient revenues to justify our investments, and our business and operating results and financial condition may suffer as a result.

Our past growth may not be indicative of our future performance due to our limited operation history with a relatively new business model in a relatively new market.

We commenced business operations in 2012 and has experienced growth in the number of active and paying users and total revenue since 2014 (despite a decline in 2018 due to our lowering our revenue sharing percentage for our broadcasters). However, our past growth may not be indicative of our future performance, as the markets for our live streaming platforms and the related products and services are relatively new and rapidly developing. We must adapt ourselves to overcome challenges in a constantly evolving new market, especially in terms of converting non-paying users to paying users, maintaining a stable paying user base and attracting new paying users. Our business plan relies heavily upon an expanding user base and the resulting increased revenue from live streaming, as well as our ability to explore other monetization avenues. However, our past experience and performance would not guarantee any future success if we are not able to adapt rapidly to the evolving market.

As live streaming industry in China is relatively young, there are few proven methods of projecting user demand or available industry standards on which we can rely. Currently we derive our revenue primarily from sales of virtual gifts on our platforms. Although we intend to expand our monetization avenue, we cannot assure you that our attempts to monetize our viewers and broadcasters will continue to be successful, profitable or accepted, and therefore the income potential of our business is difficult to gauge.

Our growth prospects should be considered in light of the risks and uncertainties that fast-growing early-stage companies with limited operating histories in evolving industries may encounter, including, among others, risks and uncertainties regarding our ability to

Addressing these risks and uncertainties will require significant capital expenditures and allocation of valuable management and employee resources. If we fail to successfully address any of the above risks and uncertainties, the size of our user base, our revenue and operating margin may decline.

We mainly compete with other established entertainment live streaming platforms. If we are unable to compete effectively, our business and operating results may be materially and adversely affected.

Since running a successful live streaming platform requires capital outlay and a large team of quality broadcasters who remain in short supply due to the fact that most have signed contracts with existing platforms, there are high entry barriers for the entertainment live streaming industry. As a result, our major competitors are streaming platforms with an established presence in the industry. We must compete with these established players for user traffic and quality broadcasters and the competition remains intense.

In order to remain competitive, we may be required to spend additional resources, which may adversely affect our profitability. We believe that our ability to compete effectively depends upon many factors both within and beyond our control, including:

Furthermore, if we involved in disputes with any of our competitors that result in negative publicity to us, such disputes, regardless of their veracity or outcome, may harm our reputation or brand image and in turn lead to reduced number of viewers and broadcasters. Our competitors may unilaterally decide to adopt a wide range of measures targeted at us, including approaching our top broadcasters or attacking our platforms. Any legal proceedings or measures we take in response to competition and disputes with our competitors may be expensive, time-consuming, and disruptive to our operations and divert our management’s attention.

If we fail to compete effectively against other entertainment medium, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

Our users have a vast array of entertainment choices. Other forms of entertainment, such as traditional PC and console games, online video services, social media, as well as more traditional mediums such as television, movies, and sports events, are much more well-established in mature markets and may be perceived by users to offer greater variety, affordability, interactivity, and enjoyment. Our platforms compete against these other forms of entertainment for discretionary time and spending of our users. If we are unable to sustain sufficient interest of users in our platforms in comparison to other forms of entertainment, including new forms of entertainment that may emerge in the future, our business model may no longer be viable.

We may fail to expand our business into overseas markets successfully.

Our business objective includes expanding our business into overseas markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South America. As we continue to expand our international footprint, it will be increasingly susceptible to the risks associated with international operations. We have a limited operating history outside of China and the ability to manage our international operations successfully requires significant resources and management attention and is subject to particular challenges of supporting a rapidly growing business in an environment of diverse cultures, languages, customs, legal systems, alternative dispute systems and economic, political and regulatory systems. In addition, we expect to incur significant costs associated with expanding our international operations, including hiring personnel internationally. The risks and challenges associated with doing business internationally and our international expansion include:

Our business depends on a strong brand, and any failure to maintain, protect, and enhance our brand would hurt our ability to retain or expand our user base, or our ability to increase their level of engagement.

We operate six platforms under the brands “Showself” (秀色直播),“Lehai”(乐嗨) and “Haixiu” (嗨秀), BeeLive Chinese (“MiFeng” 蜜疯直播), BeeLive International and Hongle.tv(“Hongle”红人直播). Our business and financial performance is highly dependent on the strength and the market perception of our brands and services. A well-recognized brand is critical to increasing our user base and, in turn, facilitating our efforts to monetize our services and enhancing our attractiveness to users. From time to time, we conduct marketing activities across various media to enhance our brand image and to guide public perception of our brands and services. In order to create and maintain brand awareness and brand loyalty, to influence public perception and to retain existing and attract new mobile users, customers and platform partners, we may need to substantially increase our marketing expenditures. Since we operate in a highly competitive market, brand maintenance and enhancement directly affect our ability to maintain our market position. In addition, we must exercise strict quality control of our platforms to ensure that our brand image is not tarnished by substandard products or services. Any misuse of our platforms and any governmental adverse actions against our platforms may harm our brand and reputation.

We must also find ways to distinguish our platforms from those of our competitors. If for any reason we are unable to maintain and enhance our brand recognition, or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business, results of operations, and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Our core values of focusing on user experience and user satisfaction first and acting for the long-term may conflict with the short-term operating results of our business.

At this time we are mainly focusing on user experience and satisfaction, which we believe is essential to our success and serves the best, long-term interests of our company and our shareholders. We may adopt strategies that we think will benefit our users, even if such strategies may negatively impact our operating results in the short-term. We believe that a high quality user experience on our platforms helps us expand and maintain our current user base and create better monetizing potential in the long-term.

If we fail to obtain or maintain the required licenses and approvals or if we fail to comply with laws and regulations applicable to our industry, our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

In order to conduct and develop business in China, we have obtained the following valid licenses through our PRC variable interest entities: ICP License for provision of Internet information services, Internet Culture Operation License for online performance and music, entertainment and game product provision, Commercial Performance License for providing streamer agency services and License for producing radio and television program.

However, the Internet industry is highly regulated in China. Due to the uncertainties of interpretation and implementation of existing and future laws and regulations, the licenses we currently hold may be deemed insufficient by governmental authorities. In addition, as all licenses are subject to periodic renewal, even though we have successfully renewed such licenses in the past, there is no guarantee that we will be able to continue to do so in the future. These uncertainties may in the future restrain our ability to expand our business scope and may subject us to fines or other regulatory actions by relevant regulators if our practice is deemed as violating relevant laws and regulations. As we develop and expand our business scope, we may need to obtain additional qualifications, permits, approvals, or licenses. Moreover, we may be required to obtain additional licenses or approvals if the PRC government adopts more stringent policies or regulations for our industry. If we fail to obtain, hold, or maintain any of the required licenses or permits or fail to make the necessary filings on time or at all, we may be subject to various penalties, such as confiscation of the net revenues that have been generated through the deemed unlicensed activities, the imposition of fines, and the discontinuation or restriction of our operations. Any such penalties may disrupt our operations and materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims or other allegations by third parties for information or content displayed on, retrieved from or linked to our platforms, or distributed to our users, or for proprietary information appropriated by former employees, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and prospects.

Companies in the Internet, technology, and media industries are frequently involved in intellectual property infringement litigation. In China, the validity, enforceability, and scope of protection of intellectual property rights in Internet-related industries, especially in the evolving live streaming industry, are uncertain. We have been and may in the future be subject to intellectual property infringement claims or other allegations by third parties for information or content displayed on, retrieved from or linked to, recorded, stored or make accessible on our platforms, or otherwise distributed to our users, including in connection with the music, movies, video and games played, recorded or make accessible on our platforms during streaming. For example, we face, from time to time, allegations that we have featured pirated or illegally downloaded music and movies on our platforms, and that we have infringed on the trademarks and copyrights of third parties, including our competitors, or allegations that we are involved in unfair trade practices. As we face increasing competition and as litigation becomes a more common method for resolving commercial disputes in China, we face a higher risk of being the subject of intellectual property infringement claims or other legal proceedings.

We permit broadcasters to upload text and graphics to our platforms and permit our users to share them. Our platforms also permit broadcasters or users to choose their username and profile photo. Under relevant PRC laws and regulations, online service providers, which provide storage space for users to upload content or links to other services or content, could be held liable for copyright infringement under various circumstances, including situations where the online service provider knows or should reasonably have known that the relevant content uploaded or linked to on our platforms infringes upon the copyright of others and the online service provider failed to take necessary actions to prevent such infringement.

We have implemented internal control measures to ensure that the design of our platforms and the content that is streamed on our platforms does not infringe on valid intellectual properties, such as patents and copyrights held by third parties. We also license certain intellectual properties from third parties to implement certain functions available on our platforms.

Some of our employees were previously employed at other competing companies, including our current and potential competitors. To the extent that these employees are involved in the development of content or technology similar to ours at their former employers, we may become subject to claims that such employees or we may have appropriated proprietary information or intellectual properties of the former employers of our employees. If we fail to successfully defend such claims, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Defending claims is costly and can impose a significant burden on our management and employees, and there can be no assurances that favorable final outcomes will be obtained in all cases. Such claims, even if they do not result in liability, may harm our reputation. Any resulting liability or expenses, or changes required to our platforms to reduce the risk of future liability, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and prospects.

Unauthorized use of our intellectual property and the expenses incurred in protecting our intellectual property rights may materially and adversely affect our business.

We consider our copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual properties to be critical to our success, and rely on a combination of trademark and copyright laws, trade secrets protection, restrictions on disclosure and other agreements that restrict the use of our intellectual property to protect these rights. Although we enter into confidentiality agreements and intellectual property ownership agreements with our employees, these confidentiality agreements could be breached and we might not have adequate remedies for any breach. As a result, our proprietary technology, know-how or other intellectual property could otherwise become known to third parties. In addition, third parties may independently discover trade secrets and proprietary information, limiting our ability to assert any trade secret rights against such parties.

The measures we use to protect our proprietary rights may not be adequate to prevent the infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property. In addition, we cannot assure you that any of our trademark applications will ultimately proceed to registration or will result in registration with adequate scope for our business. Some of our pending applications or registrations may be successfully challenged or invalidated by others. If our trademark applications are not successful, we may have to use different marks for affected products or services, or seek to enter into arrangements with any third parties who may have prior registrations, applications, or rights, which might not be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.

Enforcement of intellectual property laws in China has historically been lacking, primarily because of ambiguities in the laws and difficulties in enforcement. Accordingly, intellectual property rights protection in China may not be as effective as in other jurisdictions with a more developed legal framework regulating intellectual property rights. Policing unauthorized use of our proprietary technology, trademarks, and other intellectual property is difficult and expensive, and litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights. Future litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources, and could disrupt our business, as well as materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Some of our products and services contain open source software, which may pose a particular risk to our proprietary software, products, and services in a manner that negatively affects our business.

We use open source software in some of our products and services and will continue to use open source software in the future. There is a risk that open source software licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to provide or distribute our products or services. Additionally, we may face claims from third parties claiming ownership of, or demanding release of, the open source software or derivative works that we have developed using such software. These claims could result in litigation and could require us to make our software source code freely available, purchase a costly license, or cease offering the implicated products or services unless and until we can re-engineer them to avoid infringement. This re-engineering process could require significant additional research and development resources, and we may not be able to complete it successfully.

Furthermore, because any software source code we contribute to open source projects is publicly available, our ability to protect our intellectual property rights with respect to such software source code may be limited or lost entirely. As a result, we may be unable to prevent our competitors or others from using such software source code contributed by us.

Our content monitoring system may not be effective in preventing misconduct by our users and misuse of our platforms.

We operate entertainment live streaming platforms that provide real-time streaming and interactions. Because we do not have full control over how and what broadcasters or viewers will use our platforms to communicate, our platforms may be misused by individuals or groups of individuals to engage in immoral, disrespectful, fraudulent or illegal activities. We have implemented control procedures to detect and block illegal or inappropriate content and illegal or fraudulent activities conducted through the misuse of our platforms, but such procedures may not prevent all such content from being broadcasted or posted or activities from being carried out. Moreover, real time streaming renders it harder for us to filter illegal or inappropriate speeches, conduct, and behavior from our platforms prior to airing. As a result, we may face civil lawsuits or other actions initiated by the affected viewer, or governmental or regulatory actions against us. In response to allegations of illegal or inappropriate activities conducted through our platforms, PRC government authorities may intervene and hold us liable for non-compliance with PRC laws and regulations concerning the dissemination of information on the Internet and subject us to administrative penalties or other sanctions, such as requiring us to restrict or discontinue some of the features and services provided on our websites and mobile applications, or even revoke our licenses or permits to provide Internet content services. We endeavor to ensure all broadcasters are in compliance with relevant regulations, but we cannot guarantee that all broadcasters will comply with all PRC laws and regulations. Therefore, our live streaming service may be subject to investigations or subsequent penalties if content displayed on our platforms is deemed to be illegal or inappropriate under PRC laws and regulations.

As of the date of this annual report, our platform “Showself” (秀色直播) has, since our operation commencement in 2014, received 6 administrative penalties from Beijing Cultural Market Administrative Enforcement Department, all of which are minor penalties of fine, for the inappropriate conducts of broadcasters. The other 2 platforms of our, “Haixiu” (嗨秀秀场) and “Lehai” (乐嗨秀场), each received 2 administrative penalties, respectively, from the same Department for the same reason. Beelive Chinese version (“Mifeng” 蜜疯直播) received 2 administrative penalty from Beijing Cultural Market Administrative Enforcement Department and 1 administrative penalty from Beijing Haidian Security Bureau. Hongle.tv (“Hongle” 红人直播) received 2 administrative penalties from Beijing Cultural Market Administrative Enforcement Department and 1 administrative penalty from Beijing Municipal Tax Bureau. All above mentioned defects have been timely remedied by the platforms and all remedial measures have been reported to the Department for its review and approval.

We may be held liable for information or content displayed on, retrieved from or linked to our platforms, or distributed to our users if such content is deemed to violate any PRC laws or regulations, and PRC authorities may impose legal sanctions on us.

Our users are able to exchange information, generate content and engage in various other online activities on our live streaming platforms. We require our broadcasters and users to agree to our terms of use upon account registration. The terms of use set out types of content strictly prohibited on our platforms. However, signing the terms of use does not guarantee the broadcasters and users will comply with these terms.

In addition, because a majority of the video and audio communications on our platforms is conducted in real time, the content generated by our broadcasters and users on air cannot be filtered before they are streamed on our platforms. Therefore, users may engage in illegal conversations or activities, including the publishing of inappropriate or illegal content on our platforms that may be unlawful under PRC laws and regulations.

Although we have also developed a robust content monitoring system and use our best efforts to monitor content on our platforms, we cannot detect every incident of inappropriate content on our platforms due to the immense quantity of user-generated content. As such, government authorities may hold us liable for inappropriate or illegal content on our platforms and may subject us to fines or other disciplinary actions, including in serious cases suspension or revocation of the licenses necessary to operate our platforms, if we are deemed to have facilitated the appearance of inappropriate content placed by third parties on our platforms under PRC laws and regulations.

Application stores may temporarily take down our applications if the content was deemed to violate relevant PRC laws or regulations.

Meanwhile, we may face claims for defamation, libel, negligence, copyright, patent or trademark infringement, other unlawful activities or other theories and claims based on the nature and content of the information delivered on or otherwise accessed through our platforms. Defending any such actions could be costly and require significant time and attention of the management and other resources, which would materially and adversely affect our business.

The complexity, uncertainties, and changes in PRC regulation of the Internet industry and companies may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

The Internet industry is highly regulated in China, including foreign ownership of, and the licensing and permit requirements pertaining to, companies in the Internet industry. These Internet-related laws and regulations are relatively new and evolving, and their interpretation and enforcement involve significant uncertainty. As a result, sometimes it may be difficult to evaluate the legal risks involved in certain actions or omissions. Issues, risks, and uncertainties relating to PRC regulation of the Internet business include, but are not limited to, the following:

Increases in the costs of content on our platforms may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

To maintain and increase user base and user paying ratio, we must continue offering attractive and engaging content on our platforms. We provide such content mainly through our broadcasters. In order to attract and retain top broadcasters, we need to have an attractive revenue sharing policy and provide marketing resources to support them. If competitor platforms offer higher compensation, our costs to retain our broadcasters may increase. As our business and user base further expand, we also need to continue updating and producing content and activities to meet the more diversified interest of a larger user group. We also need to innovate the content on our platforms to capture and follow the market trends, resulting in higher costs of the contents on our platforms. If we are not able to continue to retain our broadcasters and produce high quality content on our platforms at commercially acceptable costs, our business, financial condition, and results of operations would be adversely impacted.

Our failure to anticipate or successfully implement new technologies could render our proprietary technologies or platforms unattractive or obsolete, and reduce our revenues and market share.

Our technological capabilities and infrastructure underlying our live streaming platforms are critical to our success. The Internet industry is subject to rapid technological changes and innovation. We need to anticipate the emergence of new technologies and assess their market acceptance. We also need to invest significant resources, including financial resources, in research and development to keep pace with technological advances in order to make our development capabilities, our platforms and our services competitive in the market. However, development activities are inherently uncertain, and we might encounter practical difficulties in commercializing our development results. Our significant expenditures on research and development may not generate corresponding benefits. Given the fast pace with which the Internet technology has been and will continue to be developed, we may not be able to timely upgrade our streaming technology, our engines or the software framework for our platforms’ development in an efficient and cost-effective manner, or at all. New technologies in programming or operations could render our technologies, our platforms or products or services that we are developing or expect to develop in the future obsolete or unattractive, thereby limiting our ability to recover related product development costs, outsourcing costs and licensing fees, which could result in a decline in our revenues and market share.

The proper functioning of our platforms is essential to our business. Any disruption to our IT systems could materially affect our ability to maintain the satisfactory performance of our platforms.

Disruptive and malfunctioned platforms will drive away frustrated users of ours and reduce our user base. Smooth and proper functioning of our platforms relies on our IT systems. However, our technology or infrastructure may not function properly at all times. Any system interruptions caused by telecommunications failures, computer viruses, hacking or other attempts to harm our systems could result in the unavailability or slowdown of our platforms and limit the attractiveness of content provided on our platforms. Our servers may also be vulnerable to computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins and similar disruptions, which could lead to system interruptions, website or mobile app slowdown or unavailability or loss of data. Any of such occurrences could cause severe disruption to our daily operations. As a result, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected and our market share could decline.

Any compromise to the cyber security of our platforms could materially and adversely affect our business, reputation, and results of operations.

On November 7, 2016, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress released the PRC Cyber Security Law, which took effect on June 1, 2017. The PRC Cyber Security Law requires network operators to fulfill certain obligations to safeguard security in the cyberspace and enhance network information management.

Our products and services are generally provided through the Internet and involve the storage and transmission of users’ information. Any security breach would expose us to a risk of loss of information and result in litigation and potential liability. As the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade Internet services or sabotage operating systems change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may not be able to anticipate such techniques or implement adequate preventative measures. Upon a security breach, our technical team will be notified immediately and coordinate with the local support staff to diagnose and solve the technical problems. As of the date of this annual report, we have not experienced any material incidents of security breach.

Despite the security measures we have implemented, our facilities, systems, procedures, and those of our third-party providers, may be vulnerable to security breaches, act of vandalism, software viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming or human errors or other similar events which may disrupt our delivery of services or expose the confidential information of our users and others. If an actual or perceived breach of our security occurs, the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures could be harmed, and we may lose current and potential users and be exposed to legal and financial risks, including legal claims, regulatory fines and penalties, which in turn could adversely affect our business, reputation, and results of operations.

Concerns about the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data and other privacy-related and security matters could deter customers and users from using our services and adversely affect our reputation and business.

Concerns about our practices with regard to the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information or other privacy-related and security matters, even if unfounded, could damage our reputation and operations. The PRC Constitution, the PRC Criminal Law, the General Principles of the PRC Civil Law and the PRC Cyber Security Law protect individual privacy in general, which require certain authorization or consent from Internet users prior to collection, use, or disclosure of their personal data and also protection of the security of the personal data of such users. In particular, Amendment 7 to the PRC Criminal Law prohibits institutions, companies, and their employees in the telecommunications and other industries from selling or otherwise illegally disclosing a citizen’s personal information obtained during the course of performing duties or providing services. Our internal policy requires our employees to protect the personal data of our users, and employees who violate such policy are subject to disciplinary actions, including dismissal. While we strive to comply with all applicable data protection laws and regulations, as well as our own privacy policies, any failure or perceived failure to comply may result in proceedings or actions against us by government entities or private individuals, which could have an adverse effect on our business. Moreover, failure or perceived failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations related to the collection, use, or sharing of personal information or other privacy-related and security matters could result in a loss of confidence in us by customers and users, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our operations depend on the performance of the Internet infrastructure and fixed telecommunications networks in China, which may experience unexpected system failure, interruption, inadequacy, or security breaches.

Almost all access to the Internet in China is maintained through state-owned telecommunication operators under the administrative control and regulatory supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or the MIIT. Moreover, we primarily rely on a limited number of telecommunication service providers to provide us with data communications capacity through local telecommunications lines and Internet data centers to host our servers. We have limited access to alternative networks or services in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with China’s Internet infrastructure or the fixed telecommunications networks provided by telecommunication service providers. Web traffic in China has experienced significant growth during the past few years. Effective bandwidth and server storage at Internet data centers in large cities such as Beijing are scarce. With the expansion of our business, we may be required to upgrade our technology and infrastructure to keep up with the increasing traffic on our platforms. We cannot assure you that the Internet infrastructure and the fixed telecommunications networks in China can support the demands associated with the continued growth in Internet usage. If we cannot increase our capacity to deliver our online services, we may not be able to satisfy the increases in traffic we anticipate from our expanding user base, and the adoption of our services may be hindered, which could adversely impact our business and profitability.

In addition, we have no control over the costs of the services provided by telecommunication service providers. If the prices we pay for telecommunications and Internet services rise significantly, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, if Internet access fees or other charges to Internet users increase, some users may be prevented from accessing the mobile Internet and thus cause the growth of mobile Internet users to decelerate. Such deceleration may adversely affect our ability to continue to expand our user base.

We use third-party services and technologies in connection with our business, and any disruption to the provision of these services and technologies to us could result in adverse publicity and a slowdown in the growth of our users, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our business depends upon services and software provided by third parties. For example, our user data is encrypted and saved on the storage cloud provided by a third-party cloud services company. We are relying on the security measures of such third party cloud services company for data protection, and our disaster recovery system to minimize the possibility of data loss or breach ability. If such third-party cloud services company has a system disruption and is not able to recover quickly, our business and operations may be adversely affected.

Our overall network relies on broadband connections provided by third-party operators and we expect this dependence on third parties to continue. The networks maintained and services provided by such third parties are vulnerable to damage or interruption, which could impact our results of operations. See “—Our operations depend on the performance of the Internet infrastructure and fixed telecommunications networks in China, which may experience unexpected system failure, interruption, inadequacy or security breaches.”

We also sell a significant portion of our products and services through third-party online payment systems. If any of these third-party online payment systems suffers security breaches, users may lose confidence in such payment systems and refrain from purchasing our virtual gifts online, in which case our results of operations would be negatively impacted.

We exercise no control over the third parties with whom we have business arrangements. For some of services and technologies such as online payment systems, we rely on a limited number of third-party providers with limited access to alternative networks or services in the event of disruptions, failures, or other problems. If such third parties increase their prices, fail to provide their services effectively, terminate their service or agreements, or discontinue their relationships with us, we could suffer service interruptions, reduced revenues or increased costs, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

User growth and engagement depend upon effective interoperation with operating systems, networks, mobile devices, and standards that we do not control.

We offer access to our platforms across a variety of PC and mobile operating systems and devices. We are dependent on the interoperability of our services with popular mobile devices and mobile operating systems that we do not control, such as Windows, Android, and iOS. Any such operating systems or devices that decide to degrade the functionality of our services or give preferential treatment to competitive services could adversely affect usage of our services. In order to deliver high quality services, it is important that our services work well across a range of mobile operating systems, networks, mobile devices, and standards that we do not control. We may not be successful in developing relationships with key participants in the mobile industry or in developing services that operate effectively with these operating systems, networks, devices and standards. Any difficulties for users and broadcasters in accessing and using our platforms would harm our user growth and user engagement and in turn would adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We rely on our mobile application and PC application to provide services to our users and broadcasters which, if inaccessible, may have material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

We rely on third-party mobile application and PC application distribution channels such as Apple’s App Store, various Android application stores, and websites to distribute our applications to users and broadcasters. We expect a substantial number of downloads of our mobile applications and PC applications will continue to be derived from these distribution channels. The promotion, distribution, and operation of our applications are subject to such distribution platforms’ standard terms and policies for application developers, and such distribution channels have discretion to determine whether we comply with their terms and policies. If any of such distribution channels determines to take down our applications or terminate the relationship with us, our business, results of operations, and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

Continuing efforts of our executive officers, key employees, and qualified personnel are essential to our business and the loss of their services may adversely and negatively impact our business and results of operations.

Our future success depends substantially on the continued efforts of our executive officers and key employees. If one or more of our executive officers or key employees were unable or unwilling to continue their services with us, we might not be able to replace them easily, in a timely manner, or at all. Since live streaming industry is characterized by high demand and intense competition for talent, we cannot assure you that we will be able to attract or retain qualified staffs or other highly skilled employees. In addition, as we are relatively young, our ability to train and integrate new employees into our operations may not meet the growing demands of our business, which may materially and adversely affect our ability to grow our business and hence our results of operations.

If any of our executive officers or key employees joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose users, know-how and key professionals and staff members. Each of our executive officers and key employees has entered into an employment agreement and a non-compete agreement with us. However, certain provisions under the non-compete agreement may be deemed invalid or unenforceable under PRC law. If any dispute arises between our executive officers and key employees and us, we cannot assure you that we would be able to enforce these non-compete agreements in China, where these executive officers reside, in light of uncertainties with China’s legal system.

We are subject to risks relating to litigation.

We have been involved in and may be subject to litigation and claims of various types, including litigation alleging infringement of intellectual property rights and unfair competition, claims and disputes involving broadcasters, customers, our employees and suppliers. Litigation is expensive, subjects us to the risk of significant damages, requires significant management time and attention and could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We may be the subject of allegations, harassing, or other detrimental conduct by third parties, which could harm our reputation and cause it to lose market share, users, and customers.

We have been subject to allegations by third parties, negative Internet postings and other adverse public exposure on our business, operations and staff compensation. We may also become the target of harassment or other detrimental conduct by third parties or disgruntled former or current employees. Such conduct may include complaints, anonymous or otherwise, to regulatory agencies, media or other organizations. We may be subject to government or regulatory investigation or other proceedings as a result of such third-party conduct and may be required to spend significant time and incur substantial costs to address such third-party conduct, and there is no assurance that we will be able to conclusively refute each of the allegations within a reasonable period of time or at a commercially reasonable cost, or at all. Additionally, allegations, directly or indirectly against us, may be posted on the Internet, including social media platforms by anyone, whether or not related to us, on an anonymous basis. Any negative publicity on us or our management can be quickly and widely disseminated. Social media platforms and devices immediately publish the content of their subscribers and participants post, often without filters or checks on the accuracy of the content posted. Information posted may be inaccurate and adverse to us, and it may harm our reputation, business or prospects. The harm may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction. Our reputation may be negatively affected as a result of the public dissemination of negative and potentially false information about our business and operations, which in turn may cause us to lose market share, users or customers.

The appointed Temporary Receiver of Link Motion Inc. (f/k/a NQ Mobile Inc.) may bring an action to restore Link Motion Inc.’s senior position in the Showself businesses, which may result in claims against us.

On December 13, 2018, a shareholder plaintiff filed a derivative lawsuit on behalf of, and against Link Motion Inc. (“LKM”) and three individual defendants, including the chairman of the board of directors of LKM, in the United States District Court for Southern District of New York. In this lawsuit, the shareholder plaintiff alleged certain wrong doing by the individual defendants in connection with the sales of LKM’s corporation assets, including the sale of a 65% equity interest in the Showself businesses (currently is conducted via Zhihui Qiyuan) to Tongfang Investment Fund Series SPC (“TF”) pursuant to a share purchase agreement dated as of March 30, 2017. On February 1, 2019, the court issued a Preliminary Injunction Order which preliminarily enjoins the defendants to take corrective action as necessary to restore LKM’s senior position in the underlying assets of the Showself businesses and appointed a temporary receiver for LKM during the pendency of this action. The temporary receiver has certain statutory powers and specified delineated powers, including but not limited to, commence, continue and/or control any action on behalf of LKM in the U.S., the PRC, or elsewhere. It is possible that we could be sued in connection with these ongoing proceedings, which could be costly to defend, and a judgment against us could result in significant damages. As of the date of this annual report and to our knowledge, the temporary receiver has yet brought any claims in any jurisdiction to restore LKM’s 65% equity interest in the Showself businesses. However we cannot guarantee that such claims will not be brought in the future.

Negative publicity may materially and adversely affect our brand, reputation, business, and growth prospects.

Negative publicity involving us, our broadcasters, our users, our management, our live streaming platforms, or our business model may materially and adversely harm our brand and our business. We cannot assure you that we will be able to defuse negative publicity about us, our management and/or our services to the satisfaction of our investors, users and broadcasters, customers and platform partners. There has been negative publicity about us and the misuse of our services, which has adversely affected our brand, public image, and reputation. Such negative publicity, especially when it is directly addressed against us, may also require us to engage in defensive media campaigns. This may cause us to increase our marketing expenses and divert our management’s attention and may adversely impact our business and results of operations.

Contractual disputes with our talent agencies may harm our reputation, and may be costly or time-consuming to resolve.

We enter into contractual arrangements with talent agencies. Pursuant to these contracts, talent agencies are responsible for recruiting and training broadcasters and providing content for our platforms. We share with the talent agencies a certain percentage of the revenue generated by the broadcasters they manage. Talent agencies will in turn enter into compensation arrangement with the broadcasters they manage. From time to time, there may be contractual disputes between broadcasters and talent agencies, and/or between talent agencies and us. Any such disputes may not only be costly and time-consuming to solve, but may also be detrimental to the quality of the content produced by the broadcasters, or even causing broadcasters to leave our platforms.

We enter into exclusivity agreements with certain of our top broadcasters, pursuant to which such top broadcasters agree not to work for other live streaming platforms in exchange for additional support and resources from us. Although these top broadcasters are required to pay a certain amount of fees if they breach the exclusivity agreements, we cannot guarantee that such exclusivity agreements will be an effective measure to deter these top broadcasters from leaving our platforms.

Key performance metrics used by us, such as QAUs, paying users, ARPPU and paying ratio, may overstate the number of our active and paying users, which may lead to an inaccurate interpretation of our revenue metrics and our business operations by our management and by investors, and may even misleadingly affect management’s business judgment of our operations.

For performance tracking purposes, we monitor metrics such as the number of registered user accounts, active users, and paying users. We calculate certain operating metrics in the following ways: (a) the number of registered users, which refers to the number of users that has registered and logged onto our platforms at least once since registration; (b) the number of active users, which refers to the number of users that has visited our platforms through PC or mobile app at least once in a given period; (c) the number of paying users, which refers to the number of users that has purchased virtual currencies on our platforms at least once in a given period. The actual number of individual users, however, is likely to be lower than that of registered users, active users, and paying users potentially significantly, due to various reasons such as fraudulent representation or improper registration. Some of the user accounts may also be created for specific purposes such as to increase virtual gifting for certain performers in various contests, but the number of registered users, active users, and paying users do not exclude user accounts created for such purposes. We have limited ability to validate or confirm the accuracy of information provided during the user registration process to ascertain whether a new user account created was actually created by an existing user who is registering duplicative accounts. The respective number of our registered users, active users, and paying users may overstate the number of individuals who register on our platforms, sign onto our platforms, purchase virtual gifts or other products and services on our platforms, which may lead to an inaccurate interpretation of our operating metrics. Additionally, a user needs to register a separate account for each our platform to access such platform. When calculating our total numbers of QAUS as a whole, a user with multiple accounts with us may be counted more than once and such numbers may be higher than the actual numbers of users. Additionally, we are able to measure unique users only to the extent that these users are registered using the same identification method. Since we allow a user to register an account on our platforms with the user’s mobile number, Wechat account or QQ account, our ability to identify unique users is limited.

If the tracked growth in the number of our registered users, active users, and paying users is higher than the actual growth in the number of individuals registered, active, or paying users, our user engagement level, sales, and business may not grow as quickly as we expect. In addition, such overstatement may cause inaccurate evaluation of our operations by our management and by investors, which may also materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The security of operations of, and fees charged by, third-party online payment platforms may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Currently, we use third-party online payment platforms, such as China UnionPay, WeChat Pay, and Alipay, to receive a large part of the cash proceeds from sales of our products and services through direct purchases on our platforms. Any scheduled or unscheduled interruption in the ability of our users to use these and other online payment platforms could adversely affect our payment collection, and in turn, our revenue. In addition, in online payment transactions, secure transmission of user information, such as debit and credit card numbers and expiration dates, personal information and billing addresses, over public networks, is essential to user privacy protection and maintaining their confidence in our platforms.

We do not have control over the security measures of our third-party payment platforms, and their security measures may not be adequate at present or may not be adequate with the expected increased usage of online payment platforms. We could be exposed to litigation and possible liability if online transaction safety of our users is compromised in transactions involving payments for our products and services, which could harm our reputation and our ability to attract users and may materially adversely affect our business. We also rely on the stability of such payment transmissions to ensure the continued payment services provided to our users. If any of these third-party online payment platforms fails to process or ensure the security of users’ payments for any reason, our reputation will be damaged and we may lose our paying users and discourage the potential purchases, which in turn, will materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and prospects.

Our users may suffer third-party fraud when purchasing our virtual currency and we may suffer fraud when selling virtual currency to users.

We offer our users multiple options to purchase our virtual currency. Users can purchase these virtual currencies directly on web streaming portal, or make in-app purchases using third-party payment channels including China Union Pay, WeChat pay, Alipay and Apple’s App Store. Users can also purchase virtual currencies through third-party sales agencies officially authorized by us. Other than the above-mentioned purchase channels, there are no other means to purchase our virtual currency. However, from time to time, certain third parties fraudulently claim that they are sales agencies authorized by us and users can purchase our virtual currency through them. If our users choose to purchase our virtual currency from such unauthorized third parties, they may suffer losses from such fraudulent activities by third parties. Although we are not directly responsible for the losses in such case, our user experience may be adversely affected and users may choose to leave our platforms as a result. Such fraudulent activities by third parties might also generate negative publicity, disputes, or even legal claims. The measures we take in response to such negative publicity, disputes, or legal claims may be expensive, time consuming, and disruptive to our operations and divert our management’s attention.

Additionally, there is a risk that even our duly authorized third-party sales agencies may fail to deliver virtual currencies to users after users make payment. In this case, we are responsible to deliver such virtual currencies to users. We may in turn demand payment from the authorized third-party sale agencies but there is no guarantee that we may recover the full payment.

Restrictions on virtual currency may adversely affect our revenues.

Due to the relatively short history of virtual currencies in China, the regulatory framework governing the industry is still under development. On June 4, 2009, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued Notice on the Strengthening of the Administration of Online Game Virtual Currency (the “Virtual Currency Notice”), which defines what a virtual currency is and requires that entities obtain the approval from the competent culture administrative department before issuing virtual currency and engaging in transactions using virtual currencies in connection with online games. The Virtual Currency Notice regulates that virtual currency may only be used to purchase services and products provided by the online service provider that issues the virtual currency, and also prohibit businesses that issue online game virtual currency from issuing virtual currency to game players through means other than purchases with legal currency, and from setting game features that involve the direct payment of cash or virtual currency by players for the chance to win virtual gifts or virtual currency based on random selection through a lucky draw, wager, or lottery. These restrictions on virtual currency may result in lower sales of online virtual currency.

Currently, the PRC government has not promulgated any specific rules, laws, or regulations to directly regulate virtual currencies, except for the above-mentioned Virtual Currency Notice. Although the term “virtual currency” is widely used in live streaming industry, we believe that the “virtual currency” used in our live streaming communities does not fall into a “virtual currency” as defined under the Virtual Currency Notice, and we are not subject to any online game virtual currency laws or regulations for our live streaming business. We have obtained the approval from the competent culture administrative department for issuing a virtual currency for online games (which is set forth in the Internet Culture Operation Licenses that we have acquired). So far, we have not issued any virtual currency for online games as defined under the Virtual Currency Notice. However, due to the uncertainties of the interpretation and implementation of the law and regulation, we cannot assure you that the PRC regulatory authorities will not take a different view, in which case we may be required to obtain additional approvals or licenses or change our current business model and may be subject to fines or other penalties, which could adversely affect our business.

Our results of operations are subject to quarterly fluctuations due to seasonality.

We experience seasonality in our business, reflecting seasonal fluctuations in Internet usage. For example, the number of active users tends to be higher during the last quarter of the year while lower near Chinese New Year season. Furthermore, the number of paying users of our online live streaming platforms correlate with our marketing campaigns and promotional activities, which may coincide with popular western or Chinese festivals. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful.

We do not currently have business insurance to cover our main assets and business. Any uninsured occurrence of business disruption, litigation, or natural disaster could expose us to significant costs, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

We currently do not have any business liability or disruption insurance to cover our operations. Any uninsured occurrence of business disruption, litigation, or natural disaster, or significant damages to our uninsured equipment or facilities could disrupt our business operations, requiring us to incur substantial costs and divert our resources, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Failure to achieve and maintain effective internal and disclosure controls in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 could have a material adverse effect on our business and share price.

Effective internal and disclosure controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud and to operate successfully as a public company. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our reputation and operating results would be harmed. Our management has performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report, as required by Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act.

As of December 31, 2021, we have identified material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting and have concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2021. The requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act are ongoing and also apply to future years. We expect that our internal control over financial reporting will continue to evolve as we continue in our efforts to transform our business. Although we are committed to continue to improve our internal control processes and we will continue to diligently and vigorously review our internal control over financial reporting in order to ensure compliance with the Section 404 requirements, any control system, regardless of how well designed, operated and evaluated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that its objectives will be met. In addition, successful remediation of the control deficiencies identified as of December 31, 2021 is dependent on our ability to hire and retain qualified employees and consultants. Therefore, we cannot be certain that in the future additional material weakness or significant deficiencies will not exist or otherwise be discovered. See “Item 15-Controls and Procedures.”

We may grant share-based awards in the future, which may result in increased share-based compensation expenses and have an adverse effect on our future profit. Exercise of the options or restricted shares granted will increase the number of our shares in circulation, which may adversely affect the market price of our shares.

We adopted an equity incentive plan on February 8, 2021, or the “2021 Plan”, for the purpose of providing additional incentives to employees, directors and consultants and to promote the success of the Company’s business. The maximum aggregate number of Class A ordinary shares we are authorized to issue pursuant to all awards under the 2021 Share Incentive Plan is 3,000,000 Class A ordinary shares. As of the date of this annual report, total of 2,001,605 restricted share units has been granted under 2021 Pan. As a result, our expenses associated with share-based compensation may increase, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Furthermore, exercise of the awards granted under the 2021 Plan by our employees will increase the number of our shares in circulation, which may have an adverse impact on our share price.

Non-compliance on the part of our employees or third parties involved in our business could adversely affect our business.

Our compliance controls, policies, and procedures may not protect us from acts committed by our employees, agents, contractors, or collaborators that violate the laws or regulations of the jurisdictions in which we operate, which may adversely affect our business.

In addition, our business partners or other third parties involved in our business through our business partners (such as contractors, talent agencies, or other third parties entered into business relationship with our third- party business partners) may be subject to regulatory penalties or punishments because of their regulatory compliance failures, which may, directly or indirectly, disrupt our business. When we enter into a business relationship with a third party partner, we cannot be certain whether such third party business partner has infringed or will infringe any other third parties’ legal rights or violate any regulatory requirements or rule out the likelihood of incurring any liabilities imposed on us due to any regulatory failures by such third party business partner. In addition, for those third parties actively involved in our business through our business partners, we cannot assure you that our business partners will be able to supervise and administrate those third parties. The legal liabilities and regulatory actions on our business partners or other third parties involved in our business may affect our business activities and reputation and in turn, our results of operations.

We may not be able to ensure compliance with United States economic sanctions laws.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, administers laws and regulations that generally prohibit U.S. persons and, in some instances, foreign entities owned or controlled by U.S. persons, from conducting activities or transacting business with certain countries, governments, entities or individuals that are targets of U.S. economic sanctions. We do not and will not use any of our funds for any activities or business with any country, government, entity, or individual in violation of U.S. economic sanctions.

While we believe that we have been, and that we continue to be, in compliance with applicable U.S. economic sanctions, our current safeguards may fail to prevent broadcasters and users located in countries that are targets of U.S. economic sanctions from accessing our platforms. Non-compliance with applicable U.S. economic sanctions could subject us to adverse media coverage, investigations, and severe administrative, civil and possibly criminal sanctions, expenses related to remedial measures, and legal expenses, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation.

Spammers and malicious software and applications may affect user experience, which could reduce our ability to attract users and materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Spammers may use our streaming platforms to send spam messages to users, which may affect user experience. As a result, users may reduce using our products and services or stop using them altogether. In spamming activities, spammers typically create multiple user accounts for the purpose of sending a high volume of repetitive messages. Although we attempt to identify and delete accounts created for spamming purposes, we may not be able to effectively eliminate all spam messages from our platforms in a timely fashion. Any spamming activities could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

In addition, malicious software and applications may interrupt the operations of our websites, our PC clients or mobile apps and pass on such malware to our users which could adversely hinder user experience. Although we have been successfully blocking these attacks in the past, we cannot guarantee that this will always be the case, and in the incident if users experience a malware attack by using our platforms, users may associate the malware with our websites, our PC clients or mobile apps, and our reputation, business, and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

Our leased property interests may be defective and our right to lease the properties affected by such defects may be challenged, which could adversely affect our business.

Under PRC laws, all lease agreements are required to be registered with local housing authorities. We lease several premises in China. We cannot assure whether or not all landlords of these premises have registered the relevant lease agreements with the government authorities, or have completed registration of their ownership rights to the premises. Furthermore, we cannot assure that some of the premises do not have a defective title. We may be subject to monetary fines due to failure by the landlords to complete the required registrations.

We may also be forced to relocate our operations if the landlords do not obtain valid title to or complete the required registrations with local housing authorities in a timely manner or at all. We might not be able to locate desirable alternative sites for our operations in a timely and cost-effective manner which may adversely affect our business.

Future strategic alliances or acquisitions may have a material and adverse effect on our business, reputation, and results of operations.

We may enter into strategic alliances, including joint ventures or minority equity investments, with various third parties to further our business purpose from time to time. These alliances could subject us to a number of risks, including risks associated with sharing proprietary information, non-performance by the third party and increased expenses in establishing new strategic alliances, any of which may materially and adversely affect our business. We may have limited ability to monitor or control the actions of these third parties and, to the extent any of these strategic third parties suffers negative publicity or harm to their reputation from events relating to their business, we may also suffer negative publicity or harm to our reputation by virtue of our association with any such third party.

In addition, when appropriate opportunities arise, we may acquire additional assets, products, technologies or businesses that are complementary to our existing business. In addition to possible shareholders’ approval, we may also have to obtain approvals and licenses from relevant government authorities for the acquisitions and to comply with any applicable PRC laws and regulations, which could result in increased delay and costs, and may derail our business strategy if it fails to do so. Furthermore, past and future acquisitions and the subsequent integration of new assets and businesses into our own require significant attention from our management and could result in a diversion of resources from our existing business, which in turn could have an adverse effect on our business operations. Acquired assets or businesses may not generate the expected financial results. Acquisitions could result in the use of substantial amounts of cash, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, the occurrence of significant goodwill impairment charges, amortization expenses for other intangible assets and exposure to potential unknown liabilities of the acquired business. Moreover, the costs of identifying and consummating acquisitions may be significant.

COVID-19 pandemic may have an adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition for the fiscal year 2021.

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) surfaced. COVID-19 has spread rapidly to many parts of the PRC and other parts of the world in the first half of 2020, which has caused significant volatility in the PRC and international markets. In the year ended December 31, 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic did not have a material net impact on our financial positions and operating results. The extent of the impact on our future financial results will be dependent on future developments such as the length and severity of the crisis, the potential resurgence of the crisis, future government actions in response to the crisis and the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy and capital markets, among many other factors, all of which remain highly uncertain and unpredictable. Given this uncertainty, we are currently unable to quantify the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its future operations, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations if the current situation continues, and therefore we cannot guarantee that COVID-19 will not adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition for the fiscal year 2022.

Risk Factors Relating to Our Corporate Structure

We conduct our business through the VIEs by means of contractual arrangements. PRC laws and regulations governing our businesses and the validity of certain of our contractual arrangements are uncertain. If the PRC courts or administrative authorities determine that these contractual arrangements do not comply with applicable regulations, we could be subject to severe penalties and our business could be adversely affected. In addition, changes in such PRC laws and regulations may materially and adversely affect our business.

Current PRC laws and regulations place certain restrictions and conditions on foreign ownership of certain areas of businesses and accordingly to comply with PRC laws and regulations, we conduct such business activities through the VIEs in China. For more detailed discussions, see “--Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to whether the foreign investor’s controlling PRC onshore variable interest entities via contractual arrangements will be recognized as foreign investment and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure and operations.”

WXBJ has entered into contractual arrangements with the VIEs and their respective shareholders, and such contractual arrangements enable us to exercise effective control over, receive substantially all of the economic benefits of, and have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interest and assets in the VIEs when and to the extent permitted by PRC law. We have evaluated the guidance in FASB ASC 810 and concluded that we are the primary beneficiary of the VIEs because of these contractual arrangements. Accordingly, under U.S. GAAP, the financial statements of the VIEs are consolidated as part of our financial statements.

However, Scienjoy Holding Corporation is a British Virgin Islands holding company with no equity ownership in the VIEs and we conduct our operations in China through (i) our PRC subsidiaries and (ii) the VIEs with which we have maintained contractual arrangements. Investors in our Class A Ordinary Shares thus are not purchasing equity interest in our consolidated affiliated entities in China but instead are purchasing equity interest in a British Virgin Islands holding company. If the PRC government deems that our contractual arrangements with the VIEs do not comply with PRC regulatory restrictions on foreign investment in the relevant industries, or if these regulations or the interpretation of existing regulations change or are interpreted differently in the future, we and the VIEs could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations. Our holding company in the British Virgin Islands, the VIEs, and investors of Scienjoy Holding Corporation face uncertainty about potential future actions by the PRC government that could affect the enforceability of the contractual arrangements with the VIEs and, consequently, significantly affect the financial performance of the VIEs and our company as a group.

There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of PRC laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the laws and regulations governing our and the VIEs’ business, or the enforcement and performance of our contractual arrangements with the VIEs and their shareholders. These laws and regulations may be subject to change, and their official interpretation and enforcement may involve substantial uncertainty. New laws and regulations that affect existing and proposed future businesses may also be applied retroactively. Due to the uncertainty and complexity of the regulatory environment, we cannot assure you that we and the VIEs would always be in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the violation of which may have adverse effect on our and the VIEs’ business and our reputation.

Although we believe we, our PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs are not in violation of current PRC laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that the PRC government would agree that our contractual arrangements comply with PRC licensing, registration or other regulatory requirements, with existing policies or with requirements or policies that may be adopted in the future. If the PRC government determines that we or the VIEs do not comply with applicable law, it could revoke the VIEs’ business and operating licenses, require the VIEs to discontinue or restrict the VIEs’ operations, restrict the VIEs’ right to collect revenues, block the VIEs’ websites, require the VIEs to restructure our operations, impose additional conditions or requirements with which the VIEs may not be able to comply, impose restrictions on the VIEs’ business operations or on their customers, or take other regulatory or enforcement actions against the VIEs that could be harmful to their business. Any of these or similar occurrences could significantly disrupt our or the VIEs’ business operations or restrict the VIEs from conducting a substantial portion of their business operations, which could materially and adversely affect the VIEs’ business, financial condition and results of operations. If any of these occurrences results in our inability to direct the activities of any of the VIEs that most significantly impact its economic performance, and/or our failure to receive the economic benefits from any of the VIEs, we may not be able to consolidate these entities in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, our shares may decline in value or become worthless if we are unable to assert our contractual control rights over the assets of our PRC subsidiaries that conduct a significant part of our operations.

Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to whether the foreign investor’s controlling PRC onshore variable interest entities via contractual arrangements will be recognized as “foreign investment” and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure and operations.

On March 15, 2019, the National People’s Congress of the PRC adopted the PRC Foreign Investment Law, which took force on January 1, 2020, and replaced three existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely the PRC Equity Joint Venture Law, the PRC Cooperative Joint Venture Law and Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. The PRC Foreign Investment Law defines the “foreign investment” as the investment activities in China conducted directly or indirectly by foreign investors in the following manners: (i) the foreign investor, by itself or together with other investors establishes a foreign-invested enterprise in China; (ii) the foreign investor acquires shares, equities, asset tranches, or similar rights and interests of enterprises in China; (iii) the foreign investor, by itself or together with other investors, invests and establishes new projects in China; (iv) the foreign investor invests through other approaches as stipulated by laws, administrative regulations or otherwise regulated by the State Council. The PRC Foreign Investment Law keeps silent on how to define and regulate the “variable interest entities,” while adding a catch-all clause that “other approaches as stipulated by laws, administrative regulations or otherwise regulated by the State Council” can fall into the concept of “foreign investment,” which leaves uncertainty as to whether the foreign investor’s controlling PRC onshore variable interest entities via contractual arrangements will be recognized as “foreign investment.” Pursuant to the PRC Foreign Investment Law, PRC governmental authorities will regulate foreign investment by applying the principle of pre-entry national treatment together with a “negative list,” which will be promulgated by or promulgated with approval by the State Council or its authorized governmental department such as Ministry of Commerce. Foreign investors are prohibited from making any investments in the industries which are listed as “prohibited” in such negative list; and, after satisfying certain additional requirements and conditions as set forth in the “negative list,” are allowed to make investments in the industries which are listed as “restricted” in such negative list. For any foreign investor that fails to comply with the negative list, the competent authorities are entitled to ban its investment activities, require such investor to take measures to correct its non-compliance and impose other penalties.

The latest version of the “negative list,” namely, the Special Management Measures (Negative List) for the Access of Foreign Investment (2021), which became effective on January 1, 2022, provides that foreign investment is prohibited in providing the Internet content service, Internet audio-visual program services and online culture activities that we conduct through our consolidated variable interest entities. These operations are subject to foreign investment restrictions/prohibitions set forth in the Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for the Access of Foreign Investment (2021) issued by the Ministry of Commerce.

The PRC Foreign Investment Law leaves leeway for future laws, administrative regulations or provisions of the State Council and its departments to provide for contractual arrangements as a form of foreign investment. It is therefore uncertain whether our corporate structure will be seen as violating foreign investment rules as we are currently using the contractual arrangements to operate certain businesses in which foreign investors are currently prohibited from or restricted to investing. Furthermore, if future laws, administrative regulations or provisions of the State Council and its departments mandate further actions to be taken by companies with respect to existing contractual arrangements, we may face substantial uncertainties as to whether we can complete such actions in a timely manner, or at all. If we fail to take appropriate and timely measures to comply with any of these or similar regulatory compliance requirements, our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We depend upon the contractual arrangements in conducting our business in China, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control.

We are a holding company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. As a holding company with no material operations of our own, we conduct a substantial majority of our operations through the VIEs in China. We entered into the VIE agreements with Zhihui Qiyuan on January 29, 2019 and we generate most of our revenue from operations of the VIEs. Our shares (include Class A ordinary shares and Class A Preferred shares) offered in this offering are shares of our offshore holding company instead of shares of the VIEs or our PRC subsidiaries. we rely on contractual arrangements by and among WXBJ, the VIEs and their shareholders for our business operations, and these contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over the VIEs. We rely on the performance by the VIEs and their shareholders of their obligations under the contracts to receive substantially all of the economic benefits from the VIEs’ operations and be the primary beneficiary of the VIEs for accounting purposes. The shareholders of the VIEs may not act in the best interests of our company or may not perform their obligations under these contracts. Such risks exist throughout the period in which we intend to operate certain portion of our business through the contractual arrangements with the VIEs.

Any failure by the VIEs or their shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material adverse effect on our business. If the VIEs or their shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements. We may also have to rely on legal remedies under PRC law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages. The legal environment in the PRC is not as developed as in other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability, as a British Virgin Islands holding company, to enforce these contractual arrangements and doing so may be quite costly, and these contractual arrangements have not been tested in a court of law.

If the PRC government deems that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our businesses in China do not comply with PRC regulations on foreign investment in Internet and other related businesses, or if these regulations or their interpretation change in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations, and may need to reorganize our current corporate structure to comply with PRC laws and regulations.

PRC laws and regulations impose certain restrictions or prohibitions on foreign ownership of companies that engage in Internet and other related businesses (usually defined as “value-added telecommunication business” under relevant PRC authorities), including the provision of Internet content and online service operations, which fell under the catalogue of negative list published and updated by PRC Ministry of Commerce from time to time. Specifically, foreign ownership is prohibited in industries of online audio and video program services and Internet cultural business (excluding music), foreign ownership of an Internet content provider may not exceed 50%, and the major foreign investor is required to have a record of good performance and operating experience in managing value-added telecommunications business. We are a company registered in the British Virgin Islands and WXBJ and WXZJ (our indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries in China) are foreign-invested enterprises (or called “wholly foreign-owned enterprises”, the “WFOEs”) under PRC laws and regulations. To comply with PRC laws and regulations, we have to conduct our business in China mainly through WXBJ, WXZJ and Zhihui Qiyuan (the VIE) and their respective subsidiaries, based on a series of contractual arrangements by and among WXBJ, Zhihui Qiyuan, and its registered shareholders. As a result of these contractual arrangements, we exert control over the VIEs (namely, Zhihui Qiyuan and its subsidiaries) and consolidate their financial results in our financial statements under U.S. GAAP. The VIEs (namely, Zhihui Qiyuan and its subsidiaries) hold the licenses, approvals, and key assets that are essential for our operations.

In the opinion of our PRC counsel, Feng Yu Law Firm, based on its understanding of the relevant PRC laws and regulations, each of the contracts among WXBJ, Zhihui Qiyuan and its registered shareholders is valid, binding, and enforceable in accordance with its terms. However, we have been further advised by our PRC counsel that there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future relevant PRC laws and regulations. Thus, the PRC government may ultimately take a view contrary to the opinion of our PRC counsel. In addition, PRC government authorities may deem that foreign ownership is directly or indirectly involved in each of the VIEs’ shareholding structure. If our group companies (including our WFOEs and its subsidiaries and the VIEs) are found in violation of any PRC laws or regulations, or if the contractual arrangements among WXBJ, Zhihui Qiyuan and its registered shareholders are determined as illegal or invalid by the PRC court, arbitral tribunal or regulatory authorities, the relevant governmental authorities would have broad discretion in dealing with such violation, including, without limitation:

The imposition of any of these penalties may result in a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business operations. In addition, if the imposition of any of these penalties causes us to lose the rights to direct the activities of our consolidated affiliated entities or the right to receive their economic benefits, we would no longer be able to consolidate their financial results.

We may lose the ability to use and enjoy assets held by the VIEs that are important to our business if the VIEs declare bankruptcy or become subject to a dissolution or liquidation proceeding.

The VIEs hold certain assets that are important to our operations, including the ICP License, SP License, the Internet Culture Operation Permit, the Commercial Performance License, and Radio and Television Program Production and Operating Permit. Under our contractual arrangements, the shareholders of the VIEs may not voluntarily liquidate the VIEs or approve them to sell, transfer, mortgage, or dispose of their assets or legal or beneficial interests in the business in any manner without our prior consent. However, in the event that the shareholders breach this obligation and voluntarily liquidate the VIEs, or the VIEs declare bankruptcy, or all or part of their assets become subject to liens or rights of third-party creditors, we may be unable to continue some or all of our business activities, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Furthermore, if the VIEs undergo a voluntary or involuntary liquidation proceeding, their shareholders or unrelated third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of its assets, hindering our ability to operate our business, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Contractual arrangements may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities. A finding that we owe additional taxes could negatively affect our financial condition and the value of your investment.

Pursuant to applicable PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by PRC tax authorities. We may be subject to adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the contractual arrangements among WXBJ, Zhihui Qiyuan, and its registered shareholders are not on an arm’s length basis and therefore constitute favorable transfer pricing. As a result, the PRC tax authorities could require that VIEs adjust their taxable income upward for PRC tax purposes. Such an adjustment could increase VIEs’ tax expenses without reducing the tax expenses of WXBJ, subject the VIEs to late payment fees and other penalties for under-payment of taxes, and result in the loss of any preferential tax treatment WXBJ may have. As a result, our consolidated results of operations may be adversely affected.

We may rely on dividends paid by our PRC subsidiaries to fund cash and financing requirements. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business and to pay dividends to holders of our ordinary shares.

We and our Hong Kong subsidiary are holding companies, and we may rely on dividends to be paid by our PRC subsidiaries for our cash and financing requirements, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to the holders of the ordinary shares and pay back any debt it may incur. If our PRC subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us.

Under PRC laws and regulations, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise in China, such as WXBJ or WXZJ, may pay dividends only out of its accumulated profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, according to current effective PRC laws and regulations regarding foreign investment which may be updated following the effectiveness of PRC Foreign Investment Law, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, after making up previous years’ accumulated losses, if any, to fund certain statutory reserve funds, until the aggregate amount of such fund reaches 50% of its registered capital. At the discretion of the board of directors of the wholly foreign-owned enterprise, it may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to staff welfare and bonus funds. These reserve funds and staff welfare and bonus funds are not distributable as cash dividends. Any limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

If the custodians or authorized persons 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 China, a company chop or seal serves as the legal representation of the company towards third parties even when unaccompanied by a signature. Each legally registered company in China is required to maintain a company chop, which must be registered with the local Public Security Bureau. In addition to this mandatory company chop, companies may have several other chops which can be used for specific purposes. The chops of our PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs are generally held securely by the personnel designated or approved by us in accordance with our internal control procedures. To the extent those chops are not kept safe, are stolen, or are used by unauthorized persons or for unauthorized purposes, the corporate governance of these entities could be severely and adversely compromised and those corporate entities may be bound to abide by the terms of any documents so chopped, even if they were chopped by an individual who lacked the requisite power and authority to do so. If any of our authorized personnel obtains, misuses, or misappropriates our chops for whatever reason, we could experience disruptions in our operations. We may also have to take corporate or legal action, which could require significant time and resources to resolve while distracting management from our operations. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Risk Factors Relating to Doing Business in China

Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to you and us.

The PRC legal system is based on written statutes where prior court decisions have limited value as precedents. Our PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs, in particular WXBJ and WXZJ, two wholly foreign-owned enterprises, are subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign-invested enterprises as well as various Chinese laws and regulations generally applicable to companies incorporated in China. However, since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations, and rules are not always uniform, and enforcement of these laws, regulations, and rules involves uncertainties.

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

Regulation and censorship of information disseminated over the mobile and Internet in China may adversely affect our business and subject us to liability for streaming content or content posted on our platforms.

Internet companies in China are subject to a variety of existing and new rules, regulations, policies, and license and permit requirements. In connection with enforcing these rules, regulations, policies, and requirements, relevant government authorities may suspend services by, or revoke licenses of, any Internet or mobile content service provider that is deemed to provide illicit content online or on mobile devices, and such activities may be intensified in connection with any ongoing government campaigns to eliminate prohibited content online. For example, in 2016, the Office of the Anti-Pornography and Illegal Publications Working Group, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Public Security jointly launched a “Clean Up the Internet 2016” campaign. Based on publicly available information, the campaign aims to eliminate pornographic information and content in the Internet information services industry by, among other things, holding liable individuals and corporate entities that facilitate the distribution of pornographic information and content. Publicly traded Chinese Internet companies voluntarily initiated self-investigations to filter and remove content from their websites and cloud servers.

We endeavor to eliminate illicit content from our platforms. We have made substantial investments in resources to monitor content that broadcasters generate on our platforms and the way in which our users engage with each other through our platforms. We use a variety of methods to ensure our platforms remain a healthy and positive experience for our users. Although we employ these methods to filter content posted on our platforms, we cannot be sure that our internal content control efforts will be sufficient to remove all content that may be viewed as indecent or otherwise non-compliant with PRC law and regulations. Government standards and interpretations as to what constitutes illicit online content or behavior are subject to interpretation and may change in a manner that could render our current monitoring efforts insufficient. The Chinese government has wide discretion in regulating online activities and, irrespective of our efforts to control the content on our platforms, government campaigns and other actions to reduce illicit content and activities could subject us to negative press or regulatory challenges and sanctions, including fines, suspension or revocation of our licenses to operate in China or a suspension or ban on our mobile or online platform, including suspension or closure of one or more parts of or our entire business. Further, our senior management could be held criminally liable if we are deemed to be profiting from illicit content on our platforms. Although our business and operations have not been materially and adversely affected by government campaigns or any other regulatory actions in the past, there is no assurance that our business and operations will be immune from government actions or sanctions in the future. If government actions or sanctions are brought against us, or if there are widespread rumors that government actions or sanctions have been brought against us, our reputation could be harmed and we may lose users and customers. As a result, our revenues and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected and the value of our Class A Ordinary Shares could be dramatically reduced.

Adverse changes in global or 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.

Our revenues are substantially sourced from China. Accordingly, our results of operations, financial condition and prospects are influenced by economic, political, and legal developments in China. Economic reforms begun in the late 1970s have resulted in significant economic growth. However, any economic reform policies or measures in China may from time to time be modified or revised. China’s economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including with respect to the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. While the PRC economy has experienced significant growth in the past 40 years, growth has been uneven across different regions and among different economic sectors and the rate of growth has been slowing.

China’s economic conditions are sensitive to global economic conditions. The global financial markets have experienced significant disruptions since 2008 and the United States, Europe, and other economies have experienced periods of recession. The global macroeconomic environment is facing new challenges and there is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies. Recent international trade disputes, including tariff actions announced by the United States, the PRC, and certain other countries, and the uncertainties created by such disputes may cause disruptions in the international flow of goods and services and may adversely affect the Chinese economy as well as global markets and economic conditions. There have also been concerns about the economic effect of military conflicts and political turmoil or social instability in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and other places. Any severe or prolonged slowdown in the global economy may adversely affect the Chinese economy which in turn may adversely affect our business and operating results.

The PRC government exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through strategically allocating resources, controlling the payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. Although the PRC economy has grown significantly in the past decade, that growth may not continue, as evidenced by the slow-down of the growth of the PRC economy since 2012.

The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the level of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Although the Chinese government has implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets, and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in China is still owned by the government. In addition, the Chinese government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies.

While the Chinese economy has experienced significant growth over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. Any adverse changes in economic conditions in China, in the policies of the Chinese government or in the laws and regulations in China could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China. Such developments could adversely affect the future business and operating results and the competitive position of the VIEs and our company as a whole. The Chinese government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall Chinese economy but may have a negative effect on the VIEs and our company as a whole. In addition, in the past the Chinese government has implemented certain measures, including interest rate adjustment, to control the pace of economic growth. These measures may cause decreased economic activity in China, which may adversely affect the future business and operating results of the VIEs and our company as a whole.

The PRC government’s significant oversight over our business operation could result in a material adverse change in the operations of the VIEs and our company as a whole and the value of our Class A ordinary shares.

We conduct our business in China primarily through our PRC subsidiaries (including WFOEs) and the VIEs, which are subject to Chinese government’s significant oversight and discretion. The Chinese government may intervene or influence the current and future operations of our PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs at any time, or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in issuers likes ourselves, which could result in a material change in our operations and the value of our securities.

In the event that the Chinese government exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers, relevant Chinese regulatory authorities could disallow contractual arrangement under the VIE agreements and hinder our ability to exert contractual control over or consolidate the VIEs under US. GAAP. the VIEs, which would likely result in a material change in operations and/or value of the Company’s securities, including that it could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless.

Rules and regulations in China can change quickly with little or no advance notice and their interpretation and the implementation involve uncertainty, which could materially and adversely affect the operations of the VIEs and our company as a whole and the value of our securities.

Recently, the PRC government initiated a series of regulatory actions and statements to regulate business operations in China with little advance notice, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, enhancing supervision over China-based companies listed overseas using variable interest entity structures, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. On July 6, 2021, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued an announcement to crack down on illegal activities in the securities market and promote the high-quality development of the capital market, which, among other things, requires the relevant governmental authorities to strengthen cross-border oversight of law-enforcement and judicial cooperation, to enhance supervision over China-based companies listed overseas, and to establish and improve the system of extraterritorial application of the PRC securities laws. On July 10, 2021, the PRC State Internet Information Office issued the Measures of Cybersecurity Review (Revised Draft for Comments, not yet effective), which requires cyberspace operators with personal information of more than 1 million users who want to list abroad to file a cybersecurity review with the Office of Cybersecurity Review. Furthermore, the Chinese education sector is going through a series of reforms and new laws and guidelines have been recently promulgated and released to regulate the education industry. These new laws and regulations can be complex and stringent, and many are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, which could result in claims, change to the data and other business practices of the VIEs and our company, regulatory investigations, penalties, increased cost of operations, or declines in user growth or engagement, or otherwise affect the business of the VIEs. Although our PRC subsidiaries, the VIEs and our company as a whole have not been impacted by these new laws and guidelines, any future quick changes of the laws and rules with little or no advice notice and the uncertainty resulted therefrom could materially and adversely disrupt and affect the operation of our PRC subsidiaries, the VIEs and our company.

Our shares may be delisted and prohibited from being traded under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our auditors for three consecutive years beginning in 2021. The delisting and the cessation of trading of our shares, or the threat of their being delisted and prohibited from being traded, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.

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

On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCA Act. A company will be required to comply with these rules if the SEC identifies it as having a “non-inspection” year under a process to be subsequently established by the SEC. The SEC is assessing how to implement other requirements of the HFCA Act, including the listing and trading prohibition requirements described above.

On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a bill which, if passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into law, would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCA Act from three years to two.

On November 5, 2021, the SEC approved Rule 6100 adopted by the PCAOB to establish a framework for the PCAOB’s determinations under the HFCA Act that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by an authority in that jurisdiction.

On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize the interim final rules previously adopted in March 2021 to implement the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCA Act, which require us to identify in our annual report on Form 20-F, (1) the auditors that provided opinions to the financial statements presented in the annual report, (2) the location where the auditors’ report was issued, and (3) the PCAOB ID number of the audit firm or branch that performed the audit work. If the SEC determines that we have three consecutive non-inspection years, the SEC will issue stop order to prohibit the trading of our shares.

On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a Determination Report which reported that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in: (1) mainland China of the People’s Republic of China, because of a position taken by one or more authorities in mainland China; and (2) Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of the PRC, because of a position taken by one or more authorities in Hong Kong.

Our former auditor, Friedman LLP, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess their compliance with the applicable professional standards. Freidman LLP is not among the PCAOB-registered public accounting firms registered in mainland China or Hong Kong that are subject to PCAOB’s determination on December 16, 2021 of having been unable to inspect or investigate completely. We are not aware of any reasons to believe or conclude that Friedman LLP would not permit an inspection by the PCAOB or that it may not be subject to such inspection. However, given the recent developments, we cannot assure you whether PCAOB or regulatory authorities would apply additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures and quality control procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of resources, geographic reach or experience as it relates to the audit of our financial statements.  Our shares could still be delisted and prohibited from being traded over-the-counter under the HFCA Act PCAOB determines in the future that it is unable to fully inspect or investigate our auditor which has a presence in China.

Our current auditor, OneStop Assurance PAC, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess their compliance with the applicable professional standards. OneStop Assurance PAC is not among the PCAOB-registered public accounting firms registered in mainland China or Hong Kong that are subject to PCAOB’s determination on December 16, 2021 of having been unable to inspect or investigate completely. We are not aware of any reasons to believe or conclude that OneStop Assurance PAC would not permit an inspection by the PCAOB or that it may not be subject to such inspection. However, given the recent developments, we cannot assure you whether PCAOB or regulatory authorities would apply additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures and quality control procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of resources, geographic reach or experience as it relates to the audit of our financial statements.  Our shares could still be delisted and prohibited from being traded over-the-counter under the HFCA Act PCAOB determines in the future that it is unable to fully inspect or investigate our auditor which has a presence in China.

Furthermore, there is no guarantee that future audit reports will be prepared by auditors that are completely inspected by the PCAOB, and, as such, future investors may be deprived of such inspections, which could result in limitations or restrictions to SHC’s access of the U.S. capital markets.

The approval and/or other requirements of the CSRC or other PRC governmental authorities may be required in connection with an offering under PRC rules, regulations or policies, and, if required, we cannot predict whether or how soon we will be able to obtain such approval.

The Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, purport to require offshore special purpose vehicles that are controlled by PRC companies or individuals and that have been formed for the purpose of seeking a public listing on an overseas stock exchange through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies or assets to obtain CSRC approval prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. The interpretation and application of the regulations remain unclear. If a governmental approval is required, it is uncertain how long it will take for us to obtain such approval, and, even if we obtain such approval, the approval could be rescinded. Any failure to obtain or a delay in obtaining the requisite governmental approval for an offering, or a rescission of such CSRC approval if obtained by us, may subject us to sanctions imposed by the relevant PRC regulatory authority, which could include fines and penalties on our and the VIEs’ operations in China, restrictions or limitations on our ability to pay dividends outside of China, and other forms of sanctions that may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our PRC counsel, has advised us that, based on its understanding of the current PRC laws and regulations, we will not be required to submit an application to the CSRC for the approval under the M&A Rules for an offering. However, our PRC counsel has further advised us that there remains some uncertainty as to how the M&A Rules will be interpreted or implemented in the context of an overseas offering, and its opinions summarized above are subject to any new laws, rules and regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations in any form relating to the M&A Rules. We cannot assure you that relevant PRC governmental authorities, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as our PRC counsel, and hence, we may face regulatory actions or other sanctions from them. Furthermore, relevant PRC governmental authorities promulgated the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down Illegal Securities Activities, which provided that the administration and supervision of overseas-listed China-based companies will be strengthened, and the special provisions of the State Council on overseas issuance and listing of shares by such companies will be revised, clarifying the responsibilities of domestic industry competent authorities and regulatory authorities. However, the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down Illegal Securities Activities were only issued recently, leaving uncertainties regarding the interpretation and implementation of these opinions. It is possible that any new rules or regulations may impose additional requirements on us. In addition, on July 10, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued a revised draft of the Measures for Cybersecurity Review for public comments, according to which, among others, operators of “critical information infrastructure” or data processors holding over one million users’ personal information shall apply to the Cybersecurity Review Office for a cybersecurity review before any listing on a foreign stock exchange. It is uncertain when the final measures will be issued and take effect, how they will be enacted, interpreted or implemented, and whether they will affect us. If it is determined in the future that CSRC approval or other procedural requirements are required to be met for and prior to an offering, it is uncertain whether we can or how long it will take us to obtain such approval or complete such procedures and any such approval could be rescinded. Any failure to obtain or delay in obtaining such approval or completing such procedures for an offering, or a rescission of any such approval, could subject us to sanctions by the relevant PRC governmental authorities. The governmental authorities may impose restrictions and penalties on our operations in China, such as the suspension of our apps and services, revocation of our licenses, or shutting down part or all of our operations, limit our ability to pay dividends outside of China, delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from an offering into China or take other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, as well as the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. The PRC governmental authorities may also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt an offering before settlement and delivery of the Class A ordinary shares offered hereby. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to settlement and delivery, you do so at the risk that settlement and delivery may not occur. In addition, if the PRC governmental authorities later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we obtain their approvals for filings, registrations or other kinds of authorizations for an offering, we cannot assure you that we can obtain the approval, authorizations, or complete required procedures or other requirements in a timely manner, or at all, or obtain a waiver of the requisite requirements if and when procedures are established to obtain such a waiver.

On December 24, 2021, the CSRC published the “Overseas Issuance and Listing Regulations Drafts”, which provide principles and guidelines for direct and indirect issuance of securities overseas by a Chinese domestic enterprise. Although such Overseas Issuance and Listing Regulations Drafts are still subject to public comments and formal adoption and promulgation by Chinese authorities, and some provisions leave room for further interpretations by additional future rules and regulations, they have provided and revealed certain examination and filing mechanisms with respect to a Chinese domestic enterprise’s offering of securities overseas.

The definition of “indirect issuance of securities overseas by a Chinese domestic enterprise” under the Overseas Issuance and Listing Regulations Drafts is relatively broad. Under the Overseas Issuance and Listing Regulations Drafts, the substance rather than the form of issuance will govern when determining whether an issuance constitutes indirect issuance of securities overseas by a Chinese domestic enterprise. Under the Overseas Issuance and Listing Regulations Drafts, the following two situations will be deemed as “indirect issuance of securities overseas by a Chinese domestic enterprise”: (1) the income, total profits, total assets or net assets of the domestic company in the latest financial year accounts for more than 50% of the total financials of the issuer in such year on a consolidated basis, or (2) the majority of senior management in charge of business operation are Chinese citizens or have habitual residence within the territory of China, and principal business place is in the territory of China or such business is conducted in China. It still remains uncertain if the aforesaid two conditions shall be met at the same time or not.

In the event any listing and issuance of securities have fallen under the definition of “indirect overseas listing and issuance of securities overseas by a Chinese domestic enterprise”, the issuer shall assign one of its related major Chinese domestic operating entities to make filings with CSRC within three business days after its initial public offering or any offerings after the initial public offering. For the fillings after the initial public offering, the issuer’s related Chinese domestic entity shall submit relevant requisite documents, including but not limited to the filling report and related commitments, opinion from Chinese competent authorities as to the supervisor of the domestic company (if applicable), security assessment opinion from Chinese competent authorities (if applicable), PRC legal opinion, and prospectus. If the company issues such securities to be listed in an overseas public market after its initial public offering, or purchases assets by means of issuance of securities overseas, it shall also file with CSRC within three business days thereafter and make related undertakings, reports, and explanations to CSRC.

It is uncertain when the final regulations will be issued and take effect, and how they will be enacted, interpreted or implemented. If the offerings by us will be deemed as “indirect issuance of securities overseas” by the VIEs, we need to comply with the aforesaid filing requirements. The noncompliance of the filling requirements will lead to penalties imposed on the Chinese domestic enterprises, the controlling shareholder, the actual controller, directors, supervisors, and officers of the Chinese domestic enterprises, and other related responsible persons. Under the Overseas Issuance and Listing Regulations Drafts, the potential penalties for the variable interest entities include fines within the range between RMB 1 million and RMB 10 million. If the noncompliance is deemed severe, the operations of the variable interest entities can be suspended to rectify and the permission and licenses held by variable interest entities s could be canceled.

The VIEs may be subject to a variety of laws and other obligations regarding cybersecurity and data protection, and any failure to comply with applicable laws and obligations could have a material and adverse effect on the business, financial condition and results of operations of the VIEs and our company as a whole.

The VIEs are subject to a variety of laws and other obligations regarding cybersecurity and data protection, and any failure to comply with applicable laws and obligations could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may be subject to various risks and costs associated with the collection, use, sharing, retention, security, and transfer of confidential and private information, such as personal information and other data. This data is wide ranging and relates to our employees, users, anchors, contractors and other counterparties and third parties. 

On June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China promulgated the Data Security Law which shall take effect on September 1, 2021. The Data Security Law provides for data security and privacy obligations of entities and individuals carrying out data activities, prohibits entities and individuals in China from providing any foreign judicial or law enforcement authority with any data stored in China without approval from the competent PRC authority, and sets forth the legal liabilities of entities and individuals found to be in violation of their data protection obligations, including rectification order, warning, fines of up to RMB10 million, suspension of relevant business, and revocation of business permits or licenses.

On August 20, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the Personal Information Security Law, which shall come into force as of November 1, 2021. The Personal Information Protection Law includes the basic rules for personal information processing, the rules for cross-border provision of personal information, the rights of individuals in personal information processing activities, the obligations of personal information processors, and the legal responsibilities for illegal collection, processing, and use of personal information.

In addition, on July 10, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued the Measures for Cybersecurity Review (Revision Draft for Comments) for public comments, which proposes to authorize the relevant government authorities to conduct cybersecurity review on a range of activities that affect or may affect national security, including listings in foreign countries by companies that possess personal data of more than one million users. The PRC National Security Law covers various types of national security, including technology security and information security.

On December 28, 2021, the CAC and twelve other PRC regulatory authorities jointly revised and issued the Cyber Security Review Measures (“the Review Measures”), which became effective on February 15, 2022. The Review Measures provides, among others, (i) the purchase of cyber products and services by critical information infrastructure operators (the “CIIOs”) and the network platform operators (the “Network Platform Operators”) which engage in data processing activities that affects or may affect national security shall be subject to the cybersecurity review by the Cybersecurity Review Office, the department which is responsible for the implementation of cybersecurity review under the CAC; and (ii) the Network Platform Operators with personal information data of more than one million users that seek for listing in a foreign country are obliged to apply for a cybersecurity review by the Cybersecurity Review Office. As advised by our PRC legal counsel, we believe that we and our PRC subsidiaries are not required to apply for a cyber security review with CAC, since we listed our Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq before the effective date of the Review Measures and the requirement of Article 7 of the Review Measures that “Network Platform Operators with personal information of more than one million users that seek for listing in a foreign country are obliged to apply for a cybersecurity review by the Cybersecurity Review Office” should not be applicable to us or our PRC subsidiaries. However, the Review Measures do not provide any explanation or interpretation of “overseas listing” or “affect or may affect national security”, and Chinese government may have broad discretion in interpreting and enforcing these laws and regulations. We cannot predict the impact of the review measures, if any, at this stage, and we will closely monitor and assess the statutory developments in this regard.

The VIEs do not collect, process or use personal information of entities or individuals other than what is necessary for our business and do not disseminate such information. Although we believe the VIEs currently are not required to obtain clearance from the Cyberspace Administration of China under the Measures for Cybersecurity Review or the Opinions on Strictly Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities, we face uncertainties as to the interpretation or implementation of such regulations or rules, and if required, whether such clearance can be timely obtained, or at all.

Compliance with the PRC Cybersecurity Law, the PRC National Security Law, the Data Security Law, the Personal Information Protection Law, the Cybersecurity Review Measures, as well as additional laws and regulations that PRC regulatory bodies may enact in the future, including data security and personal information protection laws, may result in additional expenses to us and subject us to negative publicity, which could harm our reputation among users and negatively affect the trading price of our shares in the future. There are also uncertainties with respect to how the PRC Cybersecurity Law, the PRC National Security Law and the Data Security Law will be implemented and interpreted in practice. PRC regulators, including the Ministry of Public Security, the MIIT, the SAMR and the Cyberspace Administration of China, have been increasingly focused on regulation in the areas of data security and data protection, including for mobile apps, and are enhancing the protection of privacy and data security by rule-making and enforcement actions at central and local levels. We expect that these areas will receive greater and continued attention and scrutiny from regulators and the public going forward, which could increase our compliance costs and subject us to heightened risks and challenges associated with data security and protection. If we are unable to manage these risks, we could become subject to penalties, including fines, suspension of business, prohibition against new user registration (even for a short period of time) and revocation of required licenses, and our reputation and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

It may be difficult for overseas shareholders and/or regulators to conduct investigation or collect evidence within China.

Shareholder claims or regulatory investigation that are common in the United States generally are difficult to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in China. For example, in China, there are significant legal and other obstacles to providing information needed for regulatory investigations or litigation initiated outside China. Although the authorities in China may establish a regulatory cooperation mechanism with the securities regulatory authorities of another country or region to implement cross-border supervision and administration, such cooperation with the securities regulatory authorities in the Unities States may not be efficient in the absence of mutual and practical cooperation mechanism. Furthermore, according to Article 177 of the PRC Securities Law, or Article 177, which became effective in March 2020, no overseas securities regulator is allowed to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within the territory of the PRC. While detailed interpretation of or implementation rules under Article 177 have yet to be promulgated, the inability for an overseas securities regulator, such as the Department of Justice, the SEC, the PCAOB and other authorities, to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within China may further increase difficulties faced by you in protecting your interests.

In the event that the U.S. regulators carry out investigation on us and there is a need to conduct investigation or collect evidence within the territory of the PRC, the U.S. regulators may not be able to carry out such investigation or evidence collection directly in the PRC under the PRC laws. The U.S. regulators may consider cross-border cooperation with securities regulatory authority of the PRC by way of judicial assistance, diplomatic channels or regulatory cooperation mechanism established with the securities regulatory authority of the PRC.

Failure to comply with laws and regulations applicable to our business in China could subject us to fines and penalties and could also cause us to lose customers or otherwise harm our business.

Our business through our PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs in China is subject to regulation by various governmental agencies in China, including agencies responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with various legal obligations, such as value-added telecommunication laws and regulations, privacy and data protection-related laws and regulations, intellectual property laws, employment and labor laws, workplace safety, consumer protection laws, governmental trade laws, import and export controls, anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws, and tax laws and regulations. These laws and regulations impose added costs on our business. Noncompliance with applicable regulations or requirements could subject us to:

If any governmental sanctions are imposed, or if we do not prevail in any possible civil or criminal litigation, our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected. In addition, responding to any action will likely result in a significant diversion of our management’s attention and resources and an increase in professional fees. Enforcement actions and sanctions could materially harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Additionally, companies in the technology industry have recently experienced increased regulatory scrutiny. Any similar reviews by regulatory agencies or legislatures may result in substantial regulatory fines, changes to our business practices, and other penalties, which could negatively affect our business and results of operations.

Changes in social, political, and regulatory conditions or in laws and policies governing a wide range of topics may cause us to change our business practices. Further, our expansion into a variety of new fields also could raise a number of new regulatory issues. These factors could negatively affect our business and results of operations in material ways.

We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our Chinese subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our Chinese subsidiaries to make payments to us could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.

Scienjoy Holding Corporation, the British Virgin Islands holding company, may rely on dividend payments from our PRC subsidiaries for cash and financing requirements we may have, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders or to service any debt we may incur. WXBJ receives payments from the VIEs pursuant to the VIE agreements. WXBJ also receives payments from its PRC operating subsidiaries. WXBJ may make distribution of such payments to Scienjoy International Limited, our Hong Kong subsidiary, then further distribute the funds to Scienjoy Holding Corporation through its fully owned subsidiary, Scienjoy Inc. If any of our PRC subsidiaries or the VIEs incur debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us.

According to the Foreign Investment Law of the People’s Republic of China and its implementing rules, which jointly established the legal framework for the administration of foreign-invested companies, a foreign investor may, in accordance with other applicable laws, freely transfer into or out of China its contributions, profits, capital earnings, income from asset disposal, intellectual property rights, royalties acquired, compensation or indemnity legally obtained, and income from liquidation, made or derived within the territory of China in RMB or any foreign currency, and any entity or individual shall not illegally restrict such transfer in terms of the currency, amount and frequency. According to the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China and other Chinese laws and regulations, our PRC subsidiaries may pay dividends only out of their respective accumulated profits as determined in accordance with Chinese accounting standards and regulations. In addition, each of our PRC subsidiaries is required to set aside at least 10% of its accumulated after-tax profits, if any, each year to fund a certain statutory reserve fund, until the aggregate amount of such fund reaches 50% of its registered capital. Where the statutory reserve fund is insufficient to cover any loss a PRC subsidiary incurred in the previous financial year, its current financial year’s accumulated after-tax profits shall first be used to cover the loss before any statutory reserve fund is drawn therefrom. Such statutory reserve funds and the accumulated after-tax profits that are used for covering the loss cannot be distributed to us as dividends. At their discretion, our PRC subsidiaries may allocate a portion of their after-tax profits based on Chinese accounting standards to a discretionary reserve fund.

Our PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs receive substantially all of their revenue in Renminbi. Renminbi is not freely convertible into other currencies. As result, any restriction on currency exchange may limit the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to use their potential future Renminbi revenues to pay dividends to us. The Chinese government imposes controls on the convertibility of Renminbi into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. Shortages in availability of foreign currency may then restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to remit sufficient foreign currency to our offshore entities for our offshore entities to pay dividends or make other payments or otherwise to satisfy our foreign-currency-denominated obligations. The Renminbi is currently convertible under the “current account,” which includes dividends, trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, but not under the “capital account,” which includes foreign direct investment and foreign currency debt. Currently, our PRC subsidiaries may purchase foreign currency for settlement of “current account transactions,” including payment of dividends to us, without the approval of SAFE by complying with certain procedural requirements. However, the relevant Chinese governmental authorities may limit or eliminate our ability to purchase foreign currencies in the future for current account transactions. The Chinese government may continue to strengthen its capital controls, and additional restrictions and substantial vetting processes may be instituted by SAFE for cross-border transactions falling under both the current account and the capital account. Any existing and future restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to utilize revenue generated in renminbi to fund our business activities outside of China or pay dividends in foreign currencies to holders of our securities. Foreign exchange transactions under the capital account remain subject to limitations and require approvals from, or registration with, SAFE and other relevant Chinese governmental authorities. This could affect our ability to obtain foreign currency through debt or equity financing for our subsidiaries.

In response to the persistent capital outflow in China and renminbi’s depreciation against the U.S. dollar in the fourth quarter of 2016, the People’s Bank of China (“PBOC”) and the SAFE have promulgated a series of capital controls in early 2017, including stricter vetting procedures for domestic companies to remit foreign currency for overseas investments, dividends payments and shareholder loan repayments.

The Chinese government may continue to strengthen its capital controls, and more restrictions and substantial vetting processes may be put forward by SAFE for cross-border transactions falling under both the current account and the capital account. Any limitation on the ability of our Chinese subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other kinds of payments to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

Uncertainties exist with respect to the interpretation and implementation of Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for Internet Platforms and how it may impact the business operations of the VIEs.

In February 2021, the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for Internet Platforms was promulgated by the Anti-monopoly Commission of the PRC State Council. The Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for Internet Platforms is consistent with the Anti-Monopoly Law of PRC and prohibits monopoly agreements, abuse of dominant position and concentration of undertakings that may have the effect of eliminating or restricting competitions in the field of platform economy. More specifically, the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for Internet Platforms outlines certain practices that may, if without justifiable reasons, constitute abuse of dominant position, including without limitation, tailored pricing using big data and analytics, actions or arrangements seen as exclusivity arrangements, using technology means to block competitors’ interface, using bundled services to sell services or products, and compulsory collection of user data. Besides, Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for Internet Platforms expressly states that concentration involving VIE will also be subject to antitrust filing requirements.

In April 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation (the “SAMR”), together with certain other PRC government authorities convened an administrative guidance meeting, focusing on unfair competition acts in community group buying, self-inspection and rectification by major internet companies of possible violations of anti-monopoly, anti-unfair competition, tax and other related laws and regulations, and requesting such companies to comply with relevant laws and regulations strictly and be subject to public supervision. In addition, many internet companies, including the over 30 companies which attended such administrative guidance meeting, are required to conduct a comprehensive self-inspection and make necessary rectification accordingly. The SAMR has stated it will organize and conduct inspections on the companies’ rectification results. If the companies are found to conduct illegal activities, more severe penalties are expected to be imposed on them in accordance with the laws.

Since the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for Internet Platforms are relatively new, uncertainties still exist in relation to its interpretation and implementation, although we do not believe we engage in any foregoing situations, we cannot assure you that our business operations will comply with such regulation in all respects, and any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with such regulation may result in governmental investigations, fines and/or other sanctions on us.

The recent joint statement by the SEC, proposed rule changes submitted by NASDAQ, and an act passed by the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies. These developments could add uncertainties to our future offerings, business operations share price and reputation.

U.S. public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China have been the subject of intense scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity by investors, financial commentators and regulatory agencies, such as the SEC. Much of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity has centered on financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, a lack of effective internal controls over financial accounting, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud.

On December 7, 2018, the SEC and the PCAOB issued a joint statement highlighting continued challenges faced by the U.S. regulators in their oversight of financial statement audits of U.S.-listed companies with significant operations in China. On April 21, 2020, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and PCAOB Chairman William D. Duhnke III, along with other senior SEC staff, released a joint statement highlighting the risks associated with investing in companies based in or have substantial operations in emerging markets including China, reiterating past SEC and PCAOB statements on matters including the difficulty associated with inspecting accounting firms and audit work papers in China and higher risks of fraud in emerging markets and the difficulty of bringing and enforcing SEC, Department of Justice and other U.S. regulatory actions, including in instances of fraud, in emerging markets generally.

On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act requiring a foreign company to certify it is not owned or controlled by a foreign government if the PCAOB is unable to audit specified reports because the company uses a foreign auditor not subject to PCAOB inspection. If the PCAOB is unable to inspect the company’s auditors for three consecutive years, the issuer’s securities are prohibited to trade on a national exchange. On December 2, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act.

On May 21, 2021, NASDAQ filed three proposals with the SEC to (i) apply minimum offering size requirement for companies primarily operating in a “Restrictive Market”, (ii) prohibit Restrictive Market companies from directly listing on NASDAQ Capital Market, and only permit them to list on NASDAQ Global Select or NASDAQ Global Market in connection with a direct listing and (iii) apply additional and more stringent criteria to an applicant or listed company based on the qualifications of the company’s auditors.

As a result of these scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity, the publicly traded stock of many U.S. listed Chinese companies sharply decreased in value and, in some cases, has become virtually worthless. Many of these companies are now subject to shareholder lawsuits and SEC enforcement actions and are conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations. It is not clear what effect this sector-wide scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity will have on us, our future offerings, business and our share price. If we become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, we will have to expend significant resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend our company. This situation will be costly and time consuming and distract our management from developing our growth. If such allegations are not proven to be groundless, we and our business operations will be severely affected and you could sustain a significant decline in the value of our shares.

Currently, there is no law or regulation specifically governing virtual asset property rights and therefore it is not clear what liabilities, if any, live streaming platform operators may have for virtual assets.

While participating on our platforms, our users acquire, purchase, and accumulate some virtual assets, such as gifts or certain status. Such virtual assets can be important to users and have monetary value and, in some cases, are sold for actual money. In practice, virtual assets can be lost for various reasons, often through other users’ unauthorized use of another user account and occasionally through data loss caused by delay of network service, network crash, or hacking activities. Currently, there is no PRC law or regulation specifically governing virtual asset property rights. As a result, there is uncertainty as to who the legal owner of virtual assets is, whether and how the ownership of virtual assets is protected by law, and whether an operator of live streaming platform such as us would have any liability, whether in contract, tort or otherwise, to users or other interested parties, for loss of such virtual assets. Based on recent PRC court judgments, the courts have typically held online platform operators liable for losses of virtual assets by platform users and ordered online platform operators to return the lost virtual items to users or pay damages and losses. In case of a loss of virtual assets, we may be sued by our users and held liable for damages, which may negatively affect our reputation and business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Under the PRC enterprise income tax law, we may be classified as a PRC “resident enterprise,” which could result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our shareholders and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.

Under the PRC enterprise income tax law that became effective on January 1, 2008 and other related rules and regulations published by PRC State Taxation Administration, an enterprise established outside the PRC with “de facto management bodies” within the PRC is considered a “resident enterprise” for PRC enterprise income tax purposes and is generally subject to a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate on our worldwide income. On April 22, 2009, the State Taxation Administration, or the SAT, issued the Circular Regarding the Determination of Chinese-Controlled Overseas 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. Further to SAT Circular 82, on August 3, 2011, the State Taxation Administration issued the Administrative Measures of Enterprise Income Tax of Chinese-Controlled Offshore Incorporated Resident Enterprises (Trial), or SAT Bulletin 45, which became effective on September 1, 2011, to provide more guidance on the implementation of SAT Circular 82.

According to SAT Circular 82, an offshore incorporated enterprise controlled by a PRC enterprise or a PRC enterprise group will be considered a PRC tax resident enterprise by virtue of having our “de facto management body” in China and will be subject to PRC enterprise income tax on our worldwide income only if all of the following conditions are met: (a) the senior management and core management departments in charge of our daily operations function have their presence mainly in the PRC; (b) our financial and human resources decisions are subject to determination or approval by persons or bodies in the PRC; (c) our major assets, accounting books, company seals, and minutes and files of our board and shareholders’ meetings are located or kept in the PRC; and (d) not less than half of the enterprise’s directors or senior management with voting rights habitually reside in the PRC. SAT Bulletin 45 provides further rules on residence status determination, post-determination administration as well as competent tax authorities procedures.

Although SAT Circular 82 and SAT Bulletin 45 apply only to offshore incorporated enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise group and not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreigners, the determination criteria set forth therein may reflect SAT’s general position on how the term “de facto management body” could be applied in determining the tax resident status of offshore enterprises, regardless of whether they are controlled by PRC enterprises, individuals, or foreigners.

We do not meet all of the conditions set forth in SAT Circular 82. Therefore, we believe that we should not be treated as a “resident enterprise” for PRC tax purposes even if the standards for “de facto management body” prescribed in the SAT Circular 82 applied to us. For example, our minutes and files of the resolutions of our board of directors and the resolutions of our shareholders are maintained outside the PRC.

However, it is possible that the PRC tax authorities may take a different view. If the PRC tax authorities determine that we or any Hong Kong subsidiary is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, our world-wide income could be subject to PRC tax at a rate of 25%, which could reduce our net income. In addition, we will also be subject to PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations. Although dividends paid by one PRC tax resident to another PRC tax resident should qualify as “tax-exempt income” under the enterprise income tax law, we cannot assure you that dividends paid by our PRC subsidiary to us or any of our Hong Kong subsidiaries will not be subject to a 10% withholding tax if we or our Hong Kong subsidiary were treated as a PRC resident enterprise. The PRC foreign exchange control authorities, which enforce the withholding tax on dividends, and the PRC tax authorities have not yet issued guidance with respect to the processing of outbound remittances to entities that are treated as resident enterprises for PRC enterprise income tax purposes.

If we are treated as a resident enterprise, non-PRC resident shareholders may also be subject to PRC withholding tax on dividends paid by us and PRC tax on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares, if such income is sourced from within the PRC. The tax would be imposed at the rate of 10% in the case of non-PRC resident enterprise shareholders and 20% in the case of non-PRC resident individual holders. In the case of dividends, we would be required to withhold the tax at source. Any PRC tax liability may be reduced under applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements, but it is unclear whether a non-PRC shareholders company would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties between their country of tax residence and the PRC in the event that we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise. Although we are incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, it remains unclear whether dividends received and gains realized by our non-PRC resident shareholders will be regarded as income from sources within the PRC if we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise. Any such tax will reduce the returns on your investment in us.

There are uncertainties with respect to indirect transfers of PRC taxable properties outside a public stock exchange.

We face uncertainties on the reporting and consequences on private equity financing transactions, private share transfers and share exchange involving the transfer of shares in our company by non-resident investors. According to the Notice on Several Issues Concerning Enterprise Income Tax for Indirect Share Transfer by Non-PRC Resident Enterprises, issued by the State Taxation Administration on February 3, 2015, or SAT Circular 7, an “indirect transfer” of assets of a PRC resident enterprise, including a transfer of equity interests in a non-PRC holding company of a PRC resident enterprise, by non-PRC resident enterprises may be re-characterized and treated as a direct transfer of PRC taxable properties, if such transaction lacks reasonable commercial purpose and was undertaken for the purpose of reducing, avoiding or deferring PRC enterprise income tax. As a result, gains derived from such indirect transfer may be subject to PRC enterprise income tax, and tax filing or withholding obligations may be triggered, depending on the nature of the PRC taxable properties being transferred. According to SAT Circular 7, “PRC taxable properties” include assets of a PRC establishment or place of business, real properties in the PRC, and equity investments in PRC resident enterprises, in respect of which gains from their transfer by a direct holder, being a non-PRC resident enterprise, would be subject to PRC enterprise income taxes. When determining if there is a “reasonable commercial purpose” of the transaction arrangement, features to be taken into consideration include: whether the main value of the equity interest of the relevant offshore enterprise derives from PRC taxable properties; whether the assets of the relevant offshore enterprise mainly consists of direct or indirect investment in China or if its income mainly derives from China; whether the offshore enterprise and its subsidiaries directly or indirectly holding PRC taxable properties have a real commercial nature which is evidenced by their actual function and risk exposure; the duration of existence of the business model and organizational structure; the replicability of the transaction by direct transfer of PRC taxable properties; and the tax situation of such indirect transfer outside China and its applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements. In respect of an indirect offshore transfer of assets of a PRC establishment or place of business of a foreign enterprise, the resulting gain is to be included with the annual enterprise filing of the PRC establishment or place of business being transferred, and would consequently be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%. Where the underlying transfer relates to PRC real properties or to equity investments in a PRC resident enterprise, which is not related to a PRC establishment or place of business of a non-resident enterprise, a PRC enterprise income tax at 10% would apply, subject to available preferential tax treatment under applicable tax treaties or similar arrangements, and the party who is obligated to make the transfer payments has the withholding obligation. Where the payer fails to withhold any or sufficient tax, the transferor shall declare and pay such tax to the competent tax authority by itself within the statutory time limit. Late payment of applicable tax will subject the transferor to default interest. Currently, SAT Circular 7 does not apply to the sale of shares by investors through a public stock exchange where such shares were acquired in a transaction on a public stock exchange.

We cannot assure you that the PRC tax authorities will not, at their discretion, adjust any capital gains and impose tax return filing and withholding or tax payment obligations and associated penalties with respect to any internal restructuring, and our PRC subsidiary may be requested to assist in the filing. Any PRC tax imposed on a transfer of our Class A ordinary shares not through a public stock exchange, or any adjustment of such gains would cause us to incur additional costs and may have a negative impact on the value of your investment in us.

Implementation of the new labor laws and regulations in China may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Pursuant to the labor contract law that took effect in January 2008, its implementation rules that took effect in September 2008 and its amendment that took effect in July 2013, employers are subject to stricter requirements in terms of signing labor contracts, minimum wages, paying remuneration, determining the term of employees’ probation and unilaterally terminating labor contracts. Due to lack of detailed interpretative rules and uniform implementation practices and broad discretion of the local competent authorities, it is uncertain as to how the labor contract law and its implementation rules will affect our current employment policies and practices. Our employment policies and practices may violate the labor contract law or its implementation rules, and we may thus be subject to related penalties, fines, or legal fees. Compliance with the labor contract law and its implementation rules may increase our operating expenses, in particular its personnel expenses. In the event that we decide to terminate some of its employees or otherwise change its employment or labor practices, the labor contract law and its implementation rules may limit its ability to affect those changes in a desirable or cost-effective manner, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations. On October 28, 2010, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the PRC Social Insurance Law, or the Social Insurance Law, which became effective on July 1, 2011. According to the Social Insurance Law and related rules and regulations, employees must participate in pension insurance, work-related injury insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, and maternity insurance and the employers must, together with their employees or separately, pay the social insurance premiums for their employees. If the company has not fully paid such social insurance based on employee’s actual salaries, it may face relevant authorities’ investigation and examination, and subject to penalties or fines.

We expect our labor costs to increase due to the implementation of these laws and regulations, as updated from time to time. As the interpretation and implementation of these laws and regulations are still evolving and become stricter, PRC tax authorities, for example, may become the governmental agencies for collection and examination of each company’s withholding and payment of social insurance after 2019 according to related rules and policies. We cannot assure you that our employment practice will at all times be deemed in full compliance with labor-related laws and regulations in China, which may subject us to labor disputes or government investigations. If our PRC subsidiaries are deemed to have violated relevant labor laws and regulations, they can be required to provide additional compensation to their employees and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

Further, labor disputes, work stoppages or slowdowns at our company or any of our third-party service providers could significantly disrupt our daily operation or our expansion plans and have a material adverse effect on our business.

PRC regulations relating to offshore investment activities by PRC residents may limit the ability of WXBJ and WXZJ (our indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries in China) to increase our registered capital or distribute profits to us or otherwise expose us to liability and penalties under PRC law.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Relating to Domestic Resident’s Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, in July 2014 and related rules and regulations that require PRC residents or entities to register with SAFE or its local branch in connection with their establishment or control of an offshore entity established for the purpose of overseas investment or financing. In addition, such PRC residents or entities must update their SAFE registrations when the offshore special purpose vehicle undergoes material events relating to any change of basic information (including change of such PRC citizens or residents, name, and operation term), increases or decreases in investment amount, transfers or exchanges of shares, or mergers or divisions. According to the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving Policies for the Foreign Exchange Administration of Direct Investment released on February 13, 2015 and amended on December 30, 2019 by the SAFE, local banks will examine and handle foreign exchange registration for overseas direct investment, including the initial foreign exchange registration and amendment registration, under SAFE Circular 37 from June 1, 2015.

If our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents or entities (as applicable) do not complete their registration with the local SAFE branches, our PRC subsidiaries (in particular, the WFOEs) may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may be restricted in our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries (in particular, the WFOEs). Moreover, failure to comply with the SAFE registration described above could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions. However, we may not at all times be fully aware or informed of the identities of all our shareholders or beneficial owners that are required to make such registrations, and we cannot compel our beneficial owners to comply with SAFE registration requirements. As a result, we cannot assure you that all of our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents or entities have complied with, and will in the future make or obtain any applicable registrations or approvals required by SAFE regulations. Failure by such shareholders or beneficial owners to comply with SAFE regulations, or failure by us to amend the foreign exchange registrations of our PRC subsidiaries (in particular, the WFOEs), could subject us to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our overseas or cross-border investment activities, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to make distributions or pay dividends or affect our ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and prospects.

PRC regulation of direct investment and loans by offshore holding companies to PRC entities may delay or limit us to make additional capital contributions or loans to our PRC subsidiaries.

We are an offshore holding company conducting our operations in China through our PRC subsidiaries and the VIEs. We may make loans to our PRC subsidiary and the VIEs or it may make additional capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries.

Any capital contributions or loans that we, as an offshore entity, make to our PRC subsidiaries (in particular, the WFOEs), are subject to PRC regulations. For example, none of our loans to a PRC subsidiary (in particular, the WFOEs) can exceed the difference between our total amount of investment and our registered capital approved under relevant PRC laws, or certain amount calculated based on elements including capital or net assets and the cross-border financing leverage ratio and the loans must be registered with the local branch of SAFE and the competent departments of State Development and Reform Commission in case of any external debts of more than one year. Our capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries (in particular, the WFOEs) must be approved by or filed with the MOFCOM, SAFE, or their respective local counterpart.

On March 30, 2015, SAFE issued the Circular on the Reforming of the Management Method of the Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, which took effect on June 1, 2015 and was amended on December 30, 2019. Under SAFE Circular 19, a foreign-invested enterprise, within the scope of business, may choose to convert its registered capital from foreign currency to RMB on a discretionary basis, and the RMB capital so converted can be used for equity investments within PRC, provided that such usage shall fall into the scope of business of the foreign-invested enterprise, which will be regarded as the reinvestment of foreign-invested enterprise.

In light of the various requirements imposed by PRC regulations on loans to and direct investment in PRC entities by offshore holding companies, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary registration or obtain the necessary approval on a timely basis, or at all. If we fail to complete the necessary registration or obtain the necessary approval, our ability to make loans or equity contributions to our PRC subsidiaries (in particular, the WFOEs) may be negatively affected, which could adversely affect the liquidity of our PRC subsidiaries and their ability to fund their working capital and expansion projects and meet their obligations and commitments.

Governmental control of currency conversion may limit our ability to utilize our revenues effectively and affect the value of your investment.

The PRC government imposes control on the convertibility of the RMB into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of China. We receive substantially all of our revenues in RMB. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments, and trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, can be made in foreign currencies without prior SAFE approval by complying with certain procedural requirements, but may be subject to internal rules of related PRC subsidiary’s bank (in particular, the WFOEs’ capital funds account open in bank), which is also under the monitor of SAFE. Therefore, our PRC subsidiaries (in particular, the WFOEs) is able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to us without prior approval from SAFE, but should still comply with bank’s related rules. However, approval from or registration with appropriate government authorities (including formalities in the bank) is required where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of China to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of loans denominated in foreign currencies. The PRC government may also at its discretion restrict access to foreign currencies for current account transactions in the future. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currencies to satisfy our foreign currency demands, we may not be able to pay dividends in foreign currencies to our shareholders.

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

Pursuant to SAFE Circular 37, PRC residents who participate in share incentive plans in overseas non-publicly-listed companies may submit applications to SAFE or its local branches for the foreign exchange registration with respect to offshore special purpose companies. In the meantime, our directors, executive officers, and other employees who are PRC citizens or who are non-PRC residents residing in PRC for a continuous period of not less than one year, subject to limited exceptions, and who have been granted incentive share awards by us, may follow the Circular on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly-Listed Company, or the SAFE Circular 7, promulgated by the SAFE in 2012. Pursuant to the SAFE Circular 7, PRC citizens and non-PRC citizens who reside in China for a continuous period of not less than one year who participate in any stock incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company, subject to a few exceptions, are required to register with SAFE through a domestic qualified agent, which could be the PRC subsidiaries of such overseas listed company, and complete certain other procedures. In addition, an overseas entrusted institution must be retained to handle matters in connection with the exercise or sale of stock options and the purchase or sale of shares and interests. We and our executive officers and other employees who are PRC citizens or who reside in the PRC for a continuous period of not less than one year and who have been granted options will be subject to these regulations upon consummation of the Business Combination. Failure to complete the SAFE registrations may subject them to fines and legal sanctions, and may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital into our PRC subsidiaries and limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to us. We also face regulatory uncertainties that could restrict our ability to adopt additional incentive plans for our directors, executive officers, and employees under PRC law.

Risks Relating to Our Class A Ordinary Shares.

NASDAQ may apply additional and more stringent criteria for our continued listing.

NASDAQ Listing Rule 5101 provides NASDAQ with broad discretionary authority over the continued listing of securities in NASDAQ and NASDAQ may use such discretion to deny apply additional or more stringent criteria for the continued listing of particular securities, or suspend or delist particular securities based on any event, condition, or circumstance that exists or occurs that makes continued listing of the securities on NASDAQ inadvisable or unwarranted in the opinion of NASDAQ, even though the securities meet all enumerated criteria for continued listing on NASDAQ. In addition, NASDAQ has used its discretion to deny continued listing or to apply additional and more stringent criteria in the instances, including but not limited to where the company engaged an auditor that has not been subject to an inspection by PCAOB, an auditor that PCAOB cannot inspect, or an auditor that has not demonstrated sufficient resources, geographic reach, or experience to adequately perform the company’s audit. For the aforementioned concerns, we may be subject to the additional and more stringent criteria of NASDAQ for our continued listing. 

We are an “emerging growth company” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may make our securities less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We may remain an “emerging growth company” until the fiscal year ended February 8, 2024. However, if our non-convertible debt issued within a three-year period exceeds $1.0 billion or an annual revenue exceeds $1.07 billion, or the market value of its Class A ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million on the last day of the second fiscal quarter of any given fiscal year, we would cease to be an emerging growth company as of the following fiscal year. As an emerging growth company, we are not required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and are exempt from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Additionally, as an emerging growth company, we have elected to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until those standards apply to private companies. As such, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates. As a result, potential investors may be less likely to invest in our securities.

Heshine will control the outcome of our shareholder actions.

As of April 25, 2022, Heshine holds 4,394,708 shares of Class A ordinary shares and 2,625,058 shares of Class B shares. Assuming none of the outstanding warrants has been exercised, holds 52.50% of our aggregate voting power. Heshine’s voting power gives it the power to control actions that require shareholder approval under British Virgin Islands law, our memorandum and articles of association and Nasdaq requirements, including the election and removal of a majority of our board of directors, approval of significant mergers and acquisitions and other business combinations, and changes to our memorandum and articles of association.

Heshine’s control may cause transactions to occur that might not be beneficial to direct or indirect holders of our Class A ordinary shares and may prevent transactions that would be beneficial to you. For example, Heshine’s voting control may prevent a transaction involving a change of control of us, including transactions in which you as a holder of our Class A ordinary shares might otherwise receive a premium for your securities over the then-current market price. In addition, Heshine is not prohibited from selling a controlling interest in us to a third party and may do so without your approval and without providing for a purchase of your Class A ordinary shares. If Heshine is acquired or otherwise undergoes a change of control, any acquirer or successor will be entitled to exercise the voting control and contractual rights of Heshine, and may do so in a manner that could vary significantly from that of Heshine.

We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules and, as a result, may rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that provide protection to shareholders of other companies.

Assuming none of the outstanding warrants has been exercised, we are a “controlled company’’ as defined under the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules because Heshine controls more than 50% of our voting rights. For so long as we remain a controlled company under that definition, we are permitted to elect to rely, and will rely, on certain exemptions from corporate governance rules, including:

As a result, you will not have the same protection afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these corporate governance requirements.

Our dual-class share structure with different voting rights and conversion of certain ordinary shares will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of Class A ordinary shares may view as beneficial.

We are a Foreign Private Issuer and we have adopted a dual-class share structure, which includes reclassification of previous ordinary shares into Class A ordinary shares with one vote per share and authorization and issuance of Class B ordinary shares with ten votes per share. Additionally, together with the adoption of a dual-class share structure, 2,625,058 Class A ordinary shares held by Heshine have been converted into 2,626,058 Class B ordinary shares. Adoption of the dual-class structure and the conversion of certain ordinary shares held by Heshine into Class B ordinary shares has resulted in further concentration of ownership held by Heshine. Consequently, Heshine have considerable influence over matters such as decisions regarding mergers, consolidations and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, election of directors and other significant corporate actions. Heshinemay also take actions that are not in the best interest of the Company or the Company’s other shareholders. In addition to limiting your ability to influence corporate matters, this concentration of ownership may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of the Company, which could have the effect of depriving the Company’s other shareholders of the opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of the Company and may reduce the price of our Class A ordinary shares.

Our dual-class structure of ordinary shares may adversely affect the trading market for our Class A ordinary shares.

In 2017, S&P Dow Jones and FTSE Russell have announced changes to their eligibility criteria for inclusion of shares of public companies on certain indices, including the S&P 500, to exclude companies with multiple classes of shares and companies whose public shareholders hold no more than 5% of total voting power from being added to such indices. In addition, several shareholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of multiple class structures. As a result, the dual class structure of our ordinary shares may prevent the inclusion of our ordinary shares in such indices and may cause shareholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance practices or otherwise seek to cause us to change our capital structure. Any such exclusion from indices could result in a less active trading market for our Class A ordinary shares. Any actions or publications by shareholder advisory firms critical of our corporate governance practices or capital structure could also adversely affect the value of our Class A ordinary shares.

 Fluctuations in exchange rates could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.

The value of the RMB against the U.S. dollar and other currencies is affected by changes in China’s political and economic conditions and by China’s foreign exchange policies, among other things. In July 2005, the PRC government changed its decades-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the U.S. dollar, and the RMB appreciated more than 20% against the U.S. dollar over the following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted and the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar remained within a narrow band. Since June 2010, the RMB has fluctuated against the U.S. dollar, at times significantly and unpredictably. On November 30, 2015, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the regular five-year review of the basket of currencies that make up the Special Drawing Right, or the SDR, and decided that with effect from October 1, 2016, RMB is determined to be a freely usable currency and will be included in the SDR basket as a fifth currency, along with the U.S. dollar, the Euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound. In the fourth quarter of 2016, the RMB has depreciated significantly in the backdrop of a surging U.S. dollar and persistent capital outflows of China. With the development of the foreign exchange market and progress towards interest rate liberalization and RMB internationalization, the PRC government may in the future announce further changes to the exchange rate system and we cannot assure you that the RMB will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policies may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar in the future.

There remains significant international pressure on the Chinese government to adopt a flexible currency policy to allow the RMB to appreciate against the U.S. dollar, especially under the current circumstance of the Sino-US trade conflicts. Significant revaluation of the RMB may have a material adverse effect on your investment. Substantially all of our revenues and costs are denominated in RMB. Any significant revaluation of RMB may materially and adversely affect our revenues, earnings, and financial position. To the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into RMB for capital expenditures and working capital and other business purposes, appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the RMB amount we would receive from the conversion. Conversely, a significant depreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce the U.S. dollar equivalent of our earnings or the US dollar amount available to us.

Very limited hedging options are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited and we may not be able to adequately hedge our exposure or at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert RMB into foreign currency.

Certain provisions of the Fourth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association may be deemed to have an antitakeover effect.

The Fourth Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing or rendering more difficult a change in control of the Company that a shareholder might consider in his or her best interest, including the following:

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 U.S. domestic public companies.

On June 30, 2020, we have made the determination that we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act and filed Form 8-K on July 1, 2020 to announce our determination. Effective immediately after the filing of this Form 8-K, we began reporting under the Exchange Act as a foreign private issuer. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including:

We are required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, 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. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information that would be made available to you were you investing in a U.S. domestic issuer.

We may be subject to additional reporting requirements if we lose our status as a foreign private issuer.

If we lose our status as a foreign private issuer at some future time, then we will no longer be exempt from such rules and, among other things, will be required to file periodic reports and financial statements as if we were a company incorporated in the United States. The costs incurred in fulfilling these additional regulatory requirements could be substantial.

As a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from NASDAQ corporate governance listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with NASDAQ corporate governance listing standards.

As a BVI company listed on NASDAQ, we are subject to NASDAQ corporate governance listing standards. However, NASDAQ rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the British Virgin Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from NASDAQ corporate governance listing standards. For example, neither the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 (as amended) of the British Virgin Islands nor our memorandum and articles of association requires a majority of our directors to be independent and we could include non-independent directors as members of our compensation committee and nominating committee, and our independent directors would not necessarily hold regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present. To the extent we choose to follow home country practice in the future, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would under NASDAQ corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.