Deloitte
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Chapter 5 — Foreign Private Issuers

5.3 China-Based Operating Companies

5.3 China-Based Operating Companies

Examples of SEC Comments
  • To the extent the Division of Corporation Finance’s Sample Letter to China-Based Companies, issued by the Staff in December 2021, requests disclosure on the prospectus cover page or in the prospectus summary, please provide such disclosure in a separate section at the beginning of Item 3 of Form 20-F; in addition, please include a discussion of the transfer of cash within the company in Item 5 of Form 20-F.
  • Refrain from using terms such as “we” or “our” when describing activities or functions of a VIE. For example, disclose, if true, that your subsidiaries and/or the VIE conduct operations in China, that the VIE is consolidated for accounting purposes but is not an entity in which you own equity, and that the holding company does not conduct operations. Disclose clearly the entity (including the domicile) in which stockholders hold an interest.
  • We note that your definition of China and the PRC appears to exclude Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Please revise to include the definition of China at the beginning of Item 3, and to clarify that the legal and operational risks associated with operating in China also apply to operations in Hong Kong and Macau. Additionally, please clarify whether you have any locations, operations or directors/executive officers in Hong Kong; in this regard it is unclear what you mean when you say that [Company X] has been “deregistered.”
  • We note that the consolidated VIEs constitute a material part of your consolidated financial statements. Please provide in tabular form a condensed consolidating schedule that disaggregates the operations and depicts the financial position, cash flows, and results of operations as of the same dates and for the same periods for which audited consolidated financial statements are required. The schedule should present major line items, such as revenue and cost of goods/services, and subtotals and disaggregated intercompany amounts, such as separate line items for intercompany receivables and investment in subsidiary. The schedule should also disaggregate the parent company, the VIEs and its consolidated subsidiaries, the [wholly foreign-owned entities] that are the primary beneficiary of the VIEs, and an aggregation of other entities that are consolidated. The objective of this disclosure is to allow an investor to evaluate the nature of assets held by, and the operations of, entities apart from the VIE, as well as the nature and amounts associated with intercompany transactions. Any intercompany amounts should be presented on a gross basis and when necessary, additional disclosure about such amounts should be included in order to make the information presented not misleading.
  • Please disclose prominently here that you are not a Chinese operating company but a British Virgin Islands holding company with operations conducted by your subsidiaries and through contractual arrangements with a variable interest entity (VIE) based in China and that this structure involves unique risks to investors. If true, disclose that these contracts have not been tested in court. Explain whether the VIE structure is used to provide investors with exposure to foreign investment in China based companies where Chinese law prohibits direct foreign investment in the operating companies, and disclose that investors may never hold equity interests in the Chinese operating company. Your disclosure should acknowledge that Chinese regulatory authorities could disallow this structure, which would likely result in a material change in your operations and/or a material change in the value of your securities, including that it could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless. Provide a cross-reference to your detailed discussion of risks facing the company and its investors as a result of this structure.
  • Disclose that trading in your securities may be prohibited under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or investigate completely your auditor, and that as a result an exchange may determine to delist your securities.
  • Given the Chinese government’s significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of your business, please revise to highlight separately the risk that the Chinese government may intervene or influence your operations at any time, which could result in a material change in your operations and/or the value of the securities you are registering. Also, given recent statements by the Chinese government indicating an intent to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, acknowledge the risk that any such action could significantly limit or completely hinder your ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
  • You state that many of your suppliers are located outside of the U.S. Please tell us whether you import any supplies from the Xinjiang region in China. If so, please revise your next Form 10-Q filing to include a discussion regarding any material impact of the recently enacted Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) on your ability to obtain supplies and fulfill customer orders. Also, if applicable, discuss any efforts taken to mitigate such impact and where possible quantify the impact to your business.
  • In order to clarify the scope of your review, please supplementally describe the steps you have taken to confirm that none of the members of your board or the boards of your consolidated foreign operating entities are officials of the Chinese Communist Party. For instance, please tell us how the board members’ current or prior memberships on, or affiliations with, committees of the Chinese Communist Party factored into your determination. In addition, please tell us whether you have relied upon third party certifications such as affidavits as the basis for your disclosure.
  • With respect to your disclosure pursuant to Item 16I(b)(5), we note that you have included language that such disclosure is “to our best knowledge.” Please supplementally confirm without qualification, if true, that your articles and the articles of your consolidated foreign operating entities do not contain wording from any charter of the Chinese Communist Party.