Future FinTech Group Inc. - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

OR

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Transition Period from _________ to _________

Commission File Number 001-34502

Future FinTech Group Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s Telephone Number: 888-622-1218

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy statement or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. Yes ☐ No ☐

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

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.   ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of voting and nonvoting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based upon the closing price of $1.16 per share for shares of the registrant’s Common Stock on June 30, 2020, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter as reported by the NASDAQ Capital Market, was approximately $23.76 million.

The number of shares of Common Stock outstanding as of April 12, 2021 was 65,286,192.

FUTURE FINTECH GROUP INC.

Annual Report on Form 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2020

NOTE CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 (“Annual Report”) of Future Fintech Group, Inc. (together with our direct or indirect subsidiaries, “we,” “us,” “our”, “the Company” or “Future FinTech”)  includes forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, Future FinTech’s plans, strategies and prospects, both business and financial. Although Future FinTech believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, Future FinTech cannot assure you that we will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without limitation, the factors described under “Risk Factors” from time to time in Future FinTech’s filings with the SEC. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this presentation may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “should”, “planned”, “will”, “may”, “intend”, “estimated”, “aim”, “on track”, “target”, “opportunity”, “tentative”, “positioning”, “designed”, “create”, “predict”, “project”, “seek”, “would”, “could”, “continue”, “ongoing”, “upside”, “increases” and “potential”, among others. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make in this presentation are set forth in other reports or documents that we file from time to time with the SEC, and include, but are not limited to:

Any or all of our forward-looking statements in this report may turn out to be inaccurate. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions we might make or by known or unknown risks or uncertainties. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Actual future results may vary materially as a result of various factors, including, without limitation, the risks outlined under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements contained in this filing will in fact occur. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events, changed circumstances or the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by law.

PART I

ITEM 1 – BUSINESS

Overview

Future FinTech is a holding company incorporated under the laws of the State of Florida. The Company historically engaged in the production and sale of fruit juice concentrates (including fruit purees and fruit juices), fruit beverages (including fruit juice beverages and fruit cider beverages) in the PRC. Due to drastically increased production costs and tightened environmental laws in China, the Company had transformed its business from fruit juice manufacturing and distribution to a real-name blockchain based e-commerce platform that integrates blockchain and internet technology. The main business of the Company includes an online shopping platform, Chain Cloud Mall (“CCM”), which is based on blockchain technology; a cross-border e-commerce platform (“NONOGIRL”); a blockchain-based application incubator; and technical service and support for real name and blockchain based assets and their operating entities; and the application and development of blockchain-based e-commerce technology and financial technology. The Company is also expanding into financial services.

Chain Cloud Mall adopts a “multi-vendor hosted stores + platform self-hosted stores” model. The platform supports various marketing methods, including point rewards programs, coupons, live webcasts, game interaction, and social media sharing. Besides the blockchain-powered features, CCM is also fully equipped with the same functions and services that other Chinese leading traditional e-commerce platforms provide.

Based on blockchain technology, CCM is established to transform the relationship between companies and consumers from traditional selling and buying relationships to a value-sharing relationship. The platform will fairly distribute the benefit of the entire mall to users who engaged in the promotion, development, and consumption based on their contributions to the platform. The members of CCM are not only consumers and entrepreneurs but also participants, promoters and beneficiaries. The CCM shared shopping mall platform is designed to be a block-chain based shopping mall for merchants and goods, not the exchange of digital currencies, and it currently only accepts payment from credit cards, Alipay and WeChat.

Chain Cloud Mall is an enterprise and customer interactive and comprehensive shopping and sales service platform. It is an open network promotion system with a blockchain based anti-counterfeit system including referral point and discount points issuance and settlement. The new business model creates a completely new source of data traffic for enterprises on our platform.

Merchants on the Chain Cloud Mall issue their own blockchain points and anti-counterfeiting QR codes. Every product comes with unique anti-counterfeiting QR codes on the label. Customers collect the points issued by the merchants by scanning products with their mobile phones on the anti-counterfeiting QR code. These QR codes are generated by blockchain system of Chain Cloud Mall and provided to merchants. The successful collection of the merchant points confirms that the authentication of product from such enterprise. The Chain Cloud Mall records and provides Chain Cloud Mall points to its members upon a successful new member and/or product referral, which can be used as credit when making purchases on CCM. It incentivizes its members to promote the platform and share the products with their social contacts, which in turn increases the sales through Chain Cloud Mall and helps the Company generate greater value.

NONOGIRL started its trial operation in March 2020 and formally launched in July 2020. It is a cross-border e-commerce platform, which aims to build a new s2b2c (supplier to business and consumer) outsourcing sales platform dominated by social media influencers. It is aimed at the growing female consumer market, with the ability to broadcast, short video, and all forms communication through the platform. It can also create a sale oriented sharing ecosystem with other major social media used by customers, etc.

The Company currently has three direct wholly-owned subsidiaries: DigiPay FinTech Limited (“DigiPay”), a company incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Islands, Future FinTech (Hong Kong) Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong, and GlobalKey Shared Mall Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Cayman Islands (“GlobalKey Shared Mall”).   

SkyPeople Foods Holding Limited (“SkyPeople BVI”), a company organized under the laws of the British Virgin Islands, held 100% of the equity interest of HeDeTang Holdings (HK) Ltd. (“HeDeTang HK”), a company organized under the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (“Hong Kong”), and HeDeTang HK holds 73.42% of the equity interest of SkyPeople Juice Group Co., Ltd., (“SkyPeople (China)”), a company incorporated under the laws of the PRC. SkyPeople (China) has eleven subsidiaries in the PRC, which are mainly involved in the production and sales of fruit juice concentrates, fruit juice beverages and other fruit-related products in the PRC and overseas markets. On February 27, 2020, SkyPeople BVI completed the transfer of its ownership of HeDeTang HK to New Continent International Co., Ltd. (the “Buyer”), an unrelated third party and a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands for a total price of RMB 0.6 million (approximately $85,714), pursuant to a Share Transfer Agreement entered into by the Seller and the Buyer on September 18, 2019 and approved at the special shareholders meeting of the Company on February 26, 2020. SkyPeople BVI had no operational assets or business after the transfer and the Company dissolved SkyPeople BVI on July 27, 2020.

Future FinTech (HongKong) Limited (“FinTech HK”) holds 100% of the equity interests of Future Commercial Management Co., Ltd. (formerly known as China Agricultural Silkroad Finance Lease Ltd.), Future Digital Tech (Xi’an) Co., Ltd. (“Digital Tech Xi’an”) , GuangChengJi (Shanghai) Industrial Co., Ltd, Future Commercial Management (Beijing) Co., Ltd. and Future Commercial Group Co., Ltd. Digital Tech Xi’an holds 100% of the equity interest of Chain Future Digital Tech (Beijing) Co., Ltd. Future Commercial Group Co., Ltd. and Future Commercial Management Co., Ltd. holds 90% and 10% of the equity interests of Globalkey Supply Chain Co,. Ltd. respectively. DigiPay FinTech Limited holds 60% equity interest of DCON DigiPay Limited, a company incorporated in Japan. 

GlobalKey Shared Mall holds 100% equity interests of Chain Cloud Mall Network and Technology (Tianjin) Co., Limited (“CCM Network”) and QR (HK) Limited. CCM Network holds 80% equity interest of Chain Cloud Mall Logistics Center (Shaanxi) Co., Limited (“CCM Logistics”) and 90% equity interest of HeDeTang Farm Products Trading Market (Mei County) Co., Ltd. (“HeDeTang Farm”) CCM Logistics owns the remaining 10% equity interest of HeDeTang Farm and 100% equity interest of GlobalKey Supply Chain Limited. On July 24, 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors decided to close the business operation of CCM Logistics and HeDeTang Farm.

On November 12, 2020, CCM Network entered into an Equity Transfer Agreement with Xi’an Yishengkang Information Technology, Ltd. (“Xi’an Yishengkang”), an unrelated third party, pursuant to which CCM Network agreed to sell 90% of total issued and outstanding capital stock of HeDeTang Farm that it owned to Xi’an Yishengkang for RMB9,000 (approximately $1,324). On the same date, CCM Logistics entered into an Equity Transfer Agreement with an individual and unrelated third party, Liyuan Ying, pursuant to which CCM Logistics agreed to sell 10% of total issued and outstanding capital stock of HeDeTang Farm that it owned to Liyuan Ying for RMB1,000 (approximately $147). 

On July 31, 2019, CCM Network, Chain Cloud Mall E-commerce (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., a limited liability company incorporated under the laws of the China (the “E-commerce Tianjin”), and Mr. Zeyao Xue and Mr. Kai Xu, citizens of China and shareholders of E-commerce Tianjin, entered into the following agreements, or collectively, the “Variable Interest Entity Agreements” or “VIE Agreements,” pursuant to which CCM Network has contractual rights to control and operate the business of E-commerce Tianjin (the “VIE”). Mr. Zeyao Xue is a major shareholder of the Company and the son of Mr. Yongke Xue, our Chairman of the Board. Mr. Kai Xu was the Chief Operating Officer of the Company and currently is the Deputy General Manager of FT Commercial Group Ltd. , a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.

Pursuant to Chinese law and regulations, a foreign owned enterprise cannot apply for and hold a license for operation of certain e-commerce businesses. CCM Network is an indirectly wholly foreign owned enterprise of the Company (“WOFE”). In order to comply with Chinese law and regulations, CCM Network agreed to provide E-commerce Tianjin an Exclusive Operation and Use Rights Authorization to operate and use the Chain Cloud Mall System owned by CCM Network.

The following is a summary of the currently effective contractual arrangements relating to E-commerce Tianjin.

Contractual Arrangements with Our Consolidated Affiliated Entity and Its Respective Shareholders

Our contractual arrangements with our VIE and their respective shareholders allow us to (i) exercise effective control over our VIE, (ii) receive substantially all of the economic benefits of our VIE, and (iii) have an exclusive option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in our VIE when and to the extent permitted by PRC law.

As a result of the contractual arrangements with our VIE, we are regarded as the primary beneficiary of our VIE, and we treat them and their subsidiaries as our consolidated affiliated entities under U.S. GAAP. We have consolidated the financial results of our VIE in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Agreements that Allow us to Receive Economic Benefits from our VIE

Exclusive Technology Consulting and Service Agreement.

Pursuant to the Exclusive Technology Consulting and Service Agreement, CCM Network agreed to act as the exclusive consultant of E-commerce Tianjin and provide technology consulting and services to E-commerce Tianjin. In exchange, E-commerce Tianjin agreed to pay CCM Network a technology consulting and service fee, the amount of which is to be equivalent to the amount of net profit before tax of E-commerce Tianjin, payable on a quarterly basis after making up losses of previous years (if necessary) and deducting necessary costs, expenses and taxes related to the business operations of E-commerce Tianjin. Without the prior written consent of CCM Network, E-commerce Tianjin may not accept the same or similar technology consulting and services provided by any third party during the term of the agreement. All the benefits and interests generated from the agreement, including but not limited to intellectual property rights, know-how and trade secrets, will be CCM Network’s sole and exclusive property. This agreement has a term of 10 years and may be extended unilaterally by CCM Network with CCM Network’s written confirmation prior to the expiration date. E-commerce Tianjin cannot terminate the agreement early unless CCM Network commits fraud, gross negligence or illegal acts, or becomes bankrupt or winds up.

Agreements that Provide us with Effective Control over our VIE

Exclusive Purchase Option Agreement.

Pursuant to the Exclusive Purchase Option Agreement, Mr. Zeyao Xue and Mr. Kai Xu granted to CCM Network and any party designated by CCM Network the exclusive right to purchase, at any time during the term of this agreement, all or part of the equity interests in E-commerce Tianjin, or the “Equity Interests,” at a purchase price equal to the registered capital paid by Mr. Zeyao Xue and Mr. Kai Xu for the Equity Interests, or, in the event that applicable law requires an appraisal of the Equity Interests, the lowest price permitted under applicable law. Pursuant to powers of attorney executed by Mr. Zeyao Xue and Mr. Kai Xu, they irrevocably authorized any person appointed by CCM Network to exercise all shareholder rights, including but not limited to voting on their behalf on all matters requiring approval of E-commerce Tianjin’s shareholder, disposing of all or part of the shareholder’s equity interest in E-commerce Tianjin, and electing, appointing or removing directors and executive officers. The person designated by CCM Network is entitled to dispose of dividends and profits on the equity interest without reliance on any oral or written instructions of Mr. Zeyao Xue and Mr. Kai Xu. The powers of attorney will remain in force for so long as Mr. Zeyao Xue and Mr. Kai Xu remain the shareholders of E-commerce Tianjin. Mr. Zeyao Xue and Mr. Kai Xu have waived all the rights which have been authorized to CCM Network’s designated person under the powers of attorney.

Equity Pledge Agreement.

Pursuant to the Equity Pledge Agreements, Mr. Zeyao Xue and Mr. Kai Xu pledged all of the Equity Interests to CCM Network to secure the full and complete performance of the obligations and liabilities on the part of E-commerce Tianjin and them under this and the above contractual arrangements. If E-commerce Tianjin, Mr. Zeyao Xue, or Mr. Kai Xu breaches their contractual obligations under these agreements, then CCM Network, as pledgee, will have the right to dispose of the pledged equity interests. Mr. Zeyao Xue and Mr. Kai Xu agree that, during the term of the Equity Pledge Agreements, they will not dispose of the pledged equity interests or create or allow any encumbrance on the pledged equity interests, and they also agree that CCM Network’s rights relating to the equity pledge should not be interfered with or impaired by the legal actions of the shareholders of E-commerce Tianjin, their successors or designees. During the term of the equity pledge, CCM Network has the right to receive all of the dividends and profits distributed on the pledged equity. The Equity Pledge Agreements will terminate on the second anniversary of the date when E-commerce Tianjin, Mr. Zeyao Xue and Mr. Kai Xu have completed all their obligations under the contractual agreements described above.

Agreements that Provide us with the Option to Purchase the Equity Interests in and Assets of our VIE

See Exclusive Purchase Option Agreement above

Spousal Consent Letters. The spouse of Mr. Kai Xu (Mr. Zeyao Xue is not married), the shareholder of E-commerce Tianjin has signed a spousal consent letter agreeing that the equity interests in E-commerce Tianjin held by and registered under the name of such shareholder will be disposed pursuant to the contractual agreements with CCM Network. The spouse of such shareholder agreed not to assert any rights over the equity interest in E-commerce Tianjin held by such shareholder.

Impact of COVID-19 on our Business

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, the pandemic quickly spread to many provinces, autonomous regions, and cities all over the China and other parts of the world. COVID-19 has materially and adversely affected our business, especially during the first six months of 2020. In early 2020, Chinese government took emergency measures to combat the spread of the virus, including quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of office buildings and facilities in China.

Substantially all of our revenues are generated in China. In response to the evolving dynamics related to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Company is following the guidelines of local authorities as it prioritizes the health and safety of its employees, contractors, suppliers and business partners. Our offices in China was closed and all of the Company’s employees worked from home from Chinese New Year at the end of January 2020 until late March 2020. Other businesses in China started reopening around the end of the first quarter as well, and more and more businesses, transportation, logistic and marketing activities have gradually resumed since then. Our offices currently are in normal operation. However, quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of office buildings have negatively impacted our business during the outbreak. Our suppliers have negatively been affected, and could continue to be negatively affected in their ability to supply and ship products to our customers by any further outbreak or resurgence of COVID-19 in China. Our customers that are negatively impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19 may reduce their budgets to purchase products and services from us, which may materially adversely impact our revenue. The business operations of the third parties’ stores on our platform have been and could continue to be negatively impacted by any further outbreak or resurgence of COVID-19, which may negatively impact their operations and business, which may in turn adversely affect the business of our platform as a whole as well as our financial condition and operating results. The outbreak has had and might continue to have disruption to our supply chain, logistics providers, or customers if there is a resurgence of COVID-19 in China, which could materially adversely impact our business and results of operations, including causing our suppliers to cease manufacturing products for a period of time or materially delay delivery to us and customers, which may also lead to loss of customers, as well as reputational, competitive and business harm to us. The Company’s promotion strategy for our e-commerce platforms mainly relied on the training of members and distributors through meetings and conferences. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chinese government put a restriction on large gatherings and these restrictions made the promotion strategy for CCM Shopping Mall and NONOGIRL difficult to implement, which have caused the decrease in the sales and enrollment of new members. Some of our customers, contractors, suppliers and other business partners are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which may not have strong cash flows or be well capitalized, and may be vulnerable to an epidemic outbreak and slowing macroeconomic conditions. If the SMEs that we work with cannot weather the COVID-19 and the resulting economic impact, or cannot resume business as usual after a prolonged outbreak, our revenues and business operations may be materially and adversely impacted.

The global economy has also been materially negatively affected by the COVID-19 and there is continued uncertainty about the duration and intensity of its impacts. The Chinese and global growth forecast is extremely uncertain, which would seriously affect customer spending in our shopping mall.

While the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, COVID-19 may be difficult to assess or predict, a widespread pandemic may result in significant disruption of global financial markets, reducing our ability to access capital, which could negatively affect our liquidity. In addition, a recession or market correction resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially affect our business and the value of the Company’s Common Stock.

Further, as we do not have access to a revolving credit facility, there can be no assurance that we would be able to secure commercial debt financing in the future in the event that we require additional capital. We currently believe that our financial resources will be adequate to see us through the outbreak. However, in the event that we do need to raise capital in the future, outbreak-related instability in the securities markets could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital.

Consequently, our results of operations have been materially adversely affected. Any future impact to our results will depend on, to a large extent, future developments and new information that may emerge regarding the duration and severity of the COVID-19 and the actions taken by government authorities and other entities to contain the COVID-19 or treat its impact, almost all of which are beyond our control. 

Company Strategy and Principal Products and Services

Our core business historically has been in the production and sale of fruit juice concentrates (including fruit purees and fruit juices), fruit beverages (including fruit juice beverages and fruit cider beverages) in the PRC and internationally. Due to drastically increased production cost and tightened environmental laws in China, the Company has transformed its main business from fruit juice manufacturing and distribution to a real-name blockchain e-commerce platform that integrates blockchain and internet technology in fiscal year 2019. The e-commerce platform contributed 93.7% and 96.4% to the total revenue for fiscal 2020 and 2019 respectively.

On February 27, 2020, the Company completed the transfer of its ownership of HeDeTang HK to New Continent International Co., Ltd. (the “Buyer”), a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, pursuant to a Share Transfer Agreement (the “Agreement”) entered on September 18, 2019. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, the Buyer purchased 100% ownership of HeDeTang HK. (the “Sale Transaction”)

Following the completion of the Sale Transaction, the main business operations of the Company are focused on our real-name and membership-based blockchain shared shopping mall platform and cross-border e-commerce platform NONO Girl which was formally launched in July 2020.

As the Company sold its juice related segment, the financial position and operating results of HeDeTang HK have been classified as discontinued operations within the accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company.

The main business of the Company includes an online shopping platform, Chain Cloud Mall (“CCM”), which is based on blockchain technology; a cross-border e-commerce platform (“NONOGIRL”); a blockchain-based application incubator; and technical service and support for real name and blockchain based assets and their operating entities ; and the application and development of blockchain-based e-commerce technology and financial technology. The Company is also expanding into financial services business.

On July 13, 2020, the Company entered into a Share Exchange Agreement with Joy Rich Enterprises Limited (“Joy Rich”) to acquire 90% of the issued and outstanding shares of Nice Talent Asset Management Limited (“NTAM”), a Hong Kong-based asset management company, from Joy Rich. NTAM is licensed under the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (“SFC”) to carry out regulated activities in Type 4: Advising on Securities and Type 9: Asset Management. The transaction was expected to close before the end of 2020. However, the closing process was impacted by both the Covid-19 global pandemic and slow regulatory approval from Hong Kong regulatory agencies. Consequently, there had been delayed progress as to the closing of the acquisition. The closing date as stipulated in the Agreement was no later than December 31, 2020, but since July 2020 there have been changes in NTAM’s business performance as well as the price of the Company’s common stock. On April 9, 2021, the parties entered into the First Amendment (the “Amendment”) to the Share Exchange Agreements. Pursuant to the Amendment, the parties agree to amend the purchase price and certain earn-out terms as follows: (i) the aggregate purchase price for Nice Shares shall be HK$144,000,000 (the “Purchase Price”) and it shall be paid in the shares of common stock of the Company (the “Company Shares”); (ii) 60% of the Purchase Price or HK$86,400,000 shall be paid in the shares of common stock of the Company based on 95% of the closing price of the Company’s common stock listed on Nasdaq Stock Exchange on the date prior to the date of the Amendment and the foreign exchange rate between HK$ and US$ shall be 7.7:1; (iii) 20% of Purchase Price shall be paid in the shares of common stock of the Company if Nice achieves an Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (the “EBIT”) of HK$14,000,000 (the “2021 EBIT Goal”), as evidenced in its 2021 audited financial statements for fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 audited by the auditor of the Company (the “2021 Earn-Out Shares”); (iv) the final 20% of Purchase Price shall be paid in the shares of common stock of the Company if Nice achieves an EBIT of HK$20,000,000 (the “2022 EBIT Goal”), as evidenced in its 2022 audited financial statements for fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 audited by the auditor of the Company (the “2022 Earn-Out Shares”); (v) if Nice does not achieve the EBIT Goal for a given year, the shortfall between EBIT Goal and the actual EBIT for that year shall be the EBIT Shortfall (the “EBIT Shortfall”) and the amount of an EBIT Shortfall Fee that equals to 10 (ten) times of the EBIT Shortfall amount (the “EBIT Shortfall Fee”) shall be paid in cash by the Seller to the Buyer even though such year’s Earn-Out Shares shall still be issued in full to the Seller.

On February 26, 2021, Future FinTech Group Inc. (the “Company”) and Future Supply Chain Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and a company incorporated under the laws of China entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Sichuan Longma Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., a company incorporated under the laws of China (“Seller”) and Sichuan Ticode Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd., a company incorporated under the laws of China (“Ticode”). Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company, through the Buyer will acquire 60% of the equity interest of Ticode from the Seller in exchange for 7,789,882 shares of common stock of the Company. Ticode provides financial services for the supply chain industry. Ticode’s business includes procurement agent services, sales agent services, inventory pledged loan services, and supply chain financing intermediary services. Ticode’s supply chain related services cover electronic components, technology services to supply chain data management for the electronics industry, and supply chain management for various electronic components and materials, metal materials and raw plastic materials.

On March 18, 2021, the Company filed Articles of Amendment (the “Amendment”) with the Secretary of State for the State of Florida to amend its Second Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation to increase the amount of authorized shares of its common stock, par value $0.001 per share, from 60,000,000 to 300,000,000. The Amendment was approved by the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) on February 12, 2021 and by shareholders holding a majority of the Company’s issued and outstanding capital stock on February 12, 2021. The Amendment does not affect the rights of the Company’s shareholders and was effective immediately upon filing

Chain Cloud Mall (CCM)

The Company has transformed its business from fruit juice manufacturing and distribution to a real-name and membership-based blockchain e-commerce platform that integrates blockchain and internet technology.

The trial operation of CCM started on December 26, 2018. On January 22, 2019, the Company formally launched Chain Cloud Mall, the real-name and membership-based blockchain shared shopping mall platform that integrates blockchain and internet technology and distinguishes itself by utilizing the automatic value distribution system of blockchain and sharing the value of the platform to all the participants in the system.

On June 1, 2019, CCM v2.0 was launched. Compared to the 1.0 version, CCM v2.0 has a wider variety of product categories, easier user interface, more transparent information, more stable operations, a higher security level, and faster logistics.

On May 1, 2020, CCM v3.0 was launched. The latest CCM v3.0 creates a new value cycle system of online shopping mall with the real-name blockchain system with following characteristics:

The blockchain technology enables CCM to record every event or transaction on a distributed ledger and makes the whole process traceable. It also enables the CCM to record and provide CCM points to its members upon a successful new member and/or product referral, which can be used as credit when making purchases on CCM. It incentivizes its members to promote the platform and share the products with their social contacts, which in turn increases the sales through CCM.

Based on blockchain technology, CCM is established to transform the relationship between companies and consumers from a traditional selling and buying relationship to a value-sharing relationship. The platform fairly distributes the benefits of the entire mall to users who engage in promotion, development, and consumption based on their contributions to the platform. The members of CCM are not only consumers and entrepreneurs but also participants, promoters and beneficiaries.

CCM has attracted a growing base of users, including members and non-members. These users are actively purchasing products on the platform. Members are the key participants on CCM and drivers of its growth. Our members typically pay to gain access to a dedicated app that provides access to a curated selection of products, exclusive membership benefits, and features, including discounted prices and point rewards. Members can refer others to become members and are rewarded for doing so. Members can also promote products on various social platforms and are rewarded if those users purchase our products.

Currently, there are three kinds of membership programs with different membership Fees. The members are required to log onto CCM app or web portal in order to download some of their rewarding points each day. The member could download all his/her rewarding points if he/she logs onto the app or web portal for at least 200 days within the membership valid period which is 365 days. Members must renew their membership before expiration to continue earning points and enjoy the discounts. A non-member user can purchase products from the platform but does not enjoy the above-mentioned benefits.

Membership benefits are as follows:

CCM-Points can be used as coupons for the member’s future purchases on our app and website.

CCM had approximately 6,687 and 6,401 users as of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively.

We currently generate revenues primarily from fixed membership fees and selling products on our platform to users, including both members and non-members. Membership revenue is recognized when a member registers and makes his/her first order on CCM app or web portal.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, approximately $0.34 million was recognized for fixed membership fees revenue from 5,362 members and approximately $9,159 for merchandise sales revenue from orders on the Company’s own sales platform, which in total account for 2.47% of our total revenue. 

Competition and our Competitive Advantages

The e-commerce industry in China is intensely competitive. Our competitors include all major e-commerce companies in China, and other internet companies that engage in social e-commerce businesses.

We anticipate that the e-commerce industry will continually evolve and will continue to experience rapid technological change, evolving industry standards, shifting customer requirements, and frequent innovation. We must continually innovate to remain competitive.

We compete primarily on the basis of the following factors: (i) our ability to attract and retain a large number of members and other users and establish strong community bonding and maintain member loyalty through interaction effectively and reward programs; (ii) our shared shopping platform that enables users to buy products easily; (iii) strong fulfillment capabilities, including logistics and online payment, (iv) advanced technology infrastructure, and (v) reliable and flexible supply chain and strong manufacturing partner network. 

We have a unique real-name and membership–based blockchain e-commerce shopping platform that integrates blockchain, internet technology and distinguishes itself by utilizing the automatic value distribution system of the blockchain and sharing the value of the platform to all the participants in the system. In addition to providing value and convenience to our members, we reward them for referring new members and promoting our products and helping to generate transactions. Based on blockchain technology, CCM is established to transform the relationship between companies and consumers from traditional selling and buying relationship to a value-sharing relationship. The platform will fairly distribute the benefit of the entire mall to users who engage in promotion, development, and consumption based on their contributions to the platform.

Our latest CCM v3.0 creates a new value cycle system of online shopping mall with the real-name blockchain system with following characteristics:

Using real-name blockchain technology to carry out anti-counterfeiting for products produced by the enterprises. The essence of anti-counterfeiting is to determine the person responsible for the product. Using real-name blockchain system, it provides the assurance to our customers to the authentication of the products they purchase and solve the problem of counterfeiting products in online shopping mall.

Blockchain points are also discount coupons for merchants, guiding customers to the platform of the merchants, and provide them discounts when purchasing. This process is called secondary data traffic. It is important to maintain old customers. Blockchain anti-counterfeiting technology through scanning of QR codes by the customers helps companies identify such customers and allows them to systematically maintain contacts with such customers.

Points promotion system brings secondary data traffic comes with volume and high turnover ratio. All such sales are directed to the merchants’ stores when customers possess and use merchants’ coupons. With a high level of user stickiness, customers are likely to purchase products again and collect more blockchain points.

Anti-counterfeiting technology plus the Company’s secondary data traffic platform have created great value for the merchants that have stores on our platform. By gathering all loyal customers to a merchant’s store, it can build a community of people with the common interest. Through the community, the merchant can form a self-organizing system with customer groups to maximize the interests of such merchant.

We believe that our management team, which includes Yongke Xue, our Chairman of Board of Directors, Shanchun Huang, Chief Executive Officer, Ming Yi, our Chief Financial Officer, Yang Liu, our Chief Operation Officer and Weicheng Pan, our Chief Strategy Officer, and a seasoned team of senior managers with significant experience in the areas of operations, marketing, technology and finance. 

Industry and Principal Markets

E-commerce Industry and Social E-commerce Platforms in China

According to a PR Newswire report, the total transaction volume of China’s e-commerce market reached $1.87 trillion in 2020, and the market is expected to grow by 70 percent by 2024. In 2020, China has become the world’s largest mobile e-commerce market, with a total transaction volume of $1.18 trillion, three times that of the United States, the second largest mobile e-commerce market. The e-commerce market is expected to reach $3.17 trillion by 2024.

Blockchain Technology and Digital Economy Development

In 2016, the China State Council included blockchain technology as a new technology and started the promotion and development of blockchain technology and applications. Since then, the central and local governments have issued relevant supervision and support policies to support blockchain technology and industry development to enable commercialization.  In April 2020, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (“MITT”) announced that it will strongly support technological innovation and industrial applications such as blockchain technology. Blockchain technology is now widely used by Chinese leading financial organizations and institutions. In early 2020, Alibaba announced its integration of a full-link traceability blockchain system into its importation e-commerce platform, Kaola.

2020 is a year of China-ASEAN digital economic cooperation. Leading high-quality development with a credible digital economy is becoming a new highlight in the development of cooperation between China and ASEAN countries. In the field of digital economy, China and ASEAN countries have a good foundation and environment of cooperation. We believe it is a good time to create application demonstration projects through the construction of digital infrastructure, support for 5G networks, the advancement of artificial intelligence, the initiation of innovative applications of blockchain and other emerging technologies. 

At present, ASEAN countries hope to keep up with the development of the digital economy in order to start the digitalization of border markets, e-commerce, cross-border settlement, smart logistics, supply chain finance and traditional industries as soon as possible. As a basic and systematic technology and facility, the application of blockchain is expected to become an important force for future industrial revolution.

Marketing and Sales

For our CCM shared shopping mall, we incentivize our members to recommend and market products through their own social networks and communities. Customers tend to find recommendations by influencers, including friends and families, who customers tend to deem trustworthy. Members who promote products are rewarded if other users purchase our products based on that promotion. 

Government Regulations

Regulations Relating to E-Commerce 

In January 2014, the former State of Administration of Industry and Commerce (which has been merged into State Administration for Market Regulation or SAMR) adopted the Administrative Measures for Online Trading, or the Online Trading Measures, which took effect in March 2014. Under the Online Trading Measures, e-commerce platform operators are required to examine, register and archive the identity information of the merchants applying for access to their platforms as sellers, and verify and update such information regularly. The Online Trading Measures also provide that e-commerce platform operators must make publicly available (i) the link to or the information contained in the business licenses of the merchants, in the case of business entities, or (ii) a label confirming the verified identity of the merchants, in the case of individuals. A consumer is entitled to return the commodities within seven days after receipt of the commodities without giving a reason, except for the following commodities: customized commodities, fresh and perishable commodities, audio-visual products downloaded online or unpackaged by consumers and computer software and other digital commodities, and newspapers and journals that have been delivered. E-commerce platform operators must, within seven days upon receipt of the returned commodities, provide full refunds to consumers. In addition, operators are prohibited from setting forth provisions in contracts or other terms that are not fair or reasonable to consumers such as those excluding or restraining consumers’ rights, relieving or exempting operators’ responsibilities, and increasing the consumers’ responsibilities, or conducting transactions in a forcible manner taking advantage of contractual terms or technical means.

In March 2016, the State Administration of Taxation, or the SAT, the Ministry of Finance, or the MOF, and the General Administration of Customs jointly issued the Circular on Tax Policy for Cross-Border E-Commerce Retail Imports, which took effect in April 2016. Pursuant to this circular, goods imported through the cross-border e-commerce retail are subject to tariff, import value-added tax, and consumption tax based on the types of goods. Individuals purchasing any goods imported through cross-border e-commerce retail are taxpayers, and e-commerce companies, companies operating e-commerce transaction platforms or logistic companies are required to withhold the taxes.

On August 31, 2018, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the E-Commerce Law, which became effective on January 1, 2019. The E-Commerce Law sets forth a series of requirements on e-commerce platform operators. According to the E-Commerce Law, e-commerce platform operators shall verify and register platform merchants, and cooperate with the market regulatory administrative department and tax administrative department to conduct industry and commerce registrations and tax registrations for merchants. The e-commerce platform operators shall also prepare a contingency plan for cybersecurity events and take technological measures and other measures to prevent online illegal and criminal activities. The E-Commerce Law also expressly requires platform operators to take necessary actions to ensure fair dealing on their platforms to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, including to prepare platform service agreements and transaction information record-keeping and transaction rules, to prominently display such documents on the platform’s website, and to keep such information for no fewer than three years following the completion of a transaction. To legally handle intellectual property infringement disputes, upon receipt of the notice specifying preliminary evidence for alleged infringement, the platform operators are required to take necessary measures in a timely manner, such as deleting, blocking and disconnecting the hyperlinks, terminating transactions and services, and forwarding notices to merchants on its platform. If an e-commerce platform operator fails to take necessary measures when it knows or should have known that a merchant on the platform infringes any third-party intellectual property rights, products or services provided by a merchant on its platform do not meet the requirements regarding personal or property safety, or any merchant otherwise impairs the lawful rights and interests of consumers, the e-commerce platform operator will be held jointly liable with the merchants on its platform.

Moreover, the E-Commerce Law imposes a requirement on operators of e-commerce platforms to assist in tax collection with respect to income generated by sellers from transactions conducted on e-commerce platforms, including among others, submitting to the tax authority information on the identities of sellers on e-commerce platforms and other information relating to tax payment. Failure to comply with the requirement may result in operators of e-commerce platform being subject to fines and, in severe circumstances, suspension of business operations of e-commerce platforms. If the merchants on our platform were deemed to be selling our products on consignment basis, the PRC tax authorities may require our members to make tax registration and request our assistance in these efforts, pursuant to the new E-Commerce Law, and the merchants may be subject to more stringent tax compliance requirements. See “Risk Factors— Failure to comply with the relatively new E-Commerce Law may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial conditions and results of operations.” According to the EIT Law, the VAT Law and other applicable regulations, sellers that conduct transactions on e-commerce platforms are generally subject to enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%, and value-added tax at a rate of 13% or 9% for services or products sold on the e-commerce platforms. Certain sellers that are deemed as small taxpayers under PRC law are subject to reduced value-added tax at a rate of 3%.

Value-Added Telecommunication Business Operating Licenses

The PRC Telecommunications Regulations, or the Telecom Regulations, which were issued by the State Council in 2000 and were most recently amended in February 2016 are the primary governing law on telecommunication services. The Telecom Regulations set out the general framework for the provision of telecommunication services by PRC entities. Under the Telecom Regulations, telecommunications service providers are required to procure operating licenses prior to their commencement of operations. The Telecom Regulations draw a distinction between “basic telecommunications services” and “value-added telecommunications services.” A “Catalog of Telecommunications Business” was issued as an attachment to the Telecom Regulations to categorize telecommunications services as basic or value-added. In December 2015, MIIT released the Catalog of Telecommunication Business (2015 Revision), or the 2015 Telecom Catalog, implemented in March 2016. Under the 2015 Telecom Catalog, both the online data processing and transaction processing business (i.e., operating e-commerce business) and information service business, continue to be categorized as value-added telecommunication services.

In March 2009, MIIT issued the Administrative Measures for Telecommunications Business Operating Permit, or the Telecom Permit Measures, which was implemented in 2009 and most recently amended in 2017. Pursuant to the Telecom Permit Measures, the operation scope of the value-added telecommunication business operating license, or VATS license, shall detail the permitted activities of the enterprise to which it is granted. An approved telecommunication services operator shall conduct its business in accordance with the specifications recorded on its VATS License. The VATS Licenses can be further categorized based on the specific business operations permitted to be carried out under such licenses, including among others, the VATS Licenses for internet information services, or the ICP License, and the VATS License for electronic data interchange business, or the EDI License. In addition, a VATS License holder is required to obtain approval from the original permit-issuing authority prior to any change to its shareholders, business scope or other information recorded on such license. In February 2015, the State Council issued the Decisions on Cancelling and Adjusting a Batch of Administrative Approval Items, which, among other things, replaced the pre-registration approval requirement for telecommunications businesses with a post-registration approval requirement.

In September 2000, the State Council promulgated the Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services, or the Internet Measures, most recently amended in January 2011. Under the Internet Measures, “internet information services” refer to the provision of information through the internet to online users, and are divided into “commercial internet information services” and “non-commercial internet information services”. Commercial internet information services operators shall obtain an ICP License, from the relevant government authorities within China. Chain Cloud Mall E-commerce (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., our VIE, holds our VATS License for our Value-Added Telecommunication businesses.

Regulations Relating to Internet Information Security and Privacy Protection

Internet information in China is regulated from a national security standpoint. The National People’s Congress, or the NPC, enacted the Decisions on Preserving Internet Security in December 2000 and amended in August 2009, which subject violators to potential criminal punishment in China for any attempt to: (i) gain improper entry into a computer or system of strategic importance; (ii) disseminate politically disruptive information; (iii) leak state secrets; (iv) spread false commercial information; or (v) infringe intellectual property rights. The Ministry of Public Security of the PRC, or the MPS, promulgated the Administrative Measures for the Computer Information Network and Internet Security Protection in December 1998 and amended in January 2011, which prohibits use of the internet in ways which, among other things, result in a leak of state secrets or a spread of socially destabilizing content. If an internet information service provider violates these measures, the MPS and its local branches may issue a warning, confiscate the illegal gains, impose fines, and, in severe cases, advise competent authority to revoke its operating license or shut down its websites.

Under the Several Provisions on Regulating the Market Order of Internet Information Services, issued by the MIIT in December 2011 and implemented in March 2012, an internet information service provider may not collect any user personal information or provide any such information to third parties without the consent of the user. An internet information service provider must expressly inform the users of the method, content and purpose of the collection and processing of such user personal information and may only collect such information necessary for the provision of its services. An internet information service provider is also required to properly maintain the user’s personal information, and in case of any leak or likely leak of the user’s personal information, the internet information service provider must take immediate remedial measures and, in severe circumstances, immediately report to the telecommunications authority. Moreover, pursuant to the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law issued by Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (the “SCNPC”) in August 2015 and implemented in November 2015, any internet service provider that fails to fulfill the obligations related to internet information security administration as required by applicable laws and refuses to rectify such failure upon orders, shall be subject to criminal penalty for the result of (i) any dissemination of illegal information in large scale; (ii) any severe effect due to the leakage of the client’s information; (iii) any serious loss of criminal evidence; or (iv) other severe situation. Any individual or entity that (i) sells or provides personal information to others in a way violating the applicable law, or (ii) steals or illegally obtains any personal information, shall be subject to criminal penalty in severe situation. In addition, the Interpretations of the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the PRC on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Infringing Personal Information, issued in May 2017 and implemented in June 2017, clarified certain standards for the conviction and sentencing of the criminals in relation to personal information infringement.

In November 2016, the SCNPC promulgated the Cyber Security Law of the PRC, or the Cyber Security Law, which became effective on June 1, 2017. The Cyber Security Law requires that a network operator, which includes, among other things, internet information services providers, take technical measures and other necessary measures in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and the compulsory requirements of the national and industrial standards to safeguard the safe and stable operation of its networks. We are subject to such requirements as we are operating websites and mobile applications and providing certain internet services mainly through our mobile applications. The Cyber Security Law further requires internet information service providers to formulate contingency plans for network security incidents, report to the competent departments immediately upon the occurrence of any incident endangering cyber security and take corresponding remedial measures.

Internet information service providers are also required to maintain the integrity, confidentiality and availability of network data. The Cyber Security Law reaffirms the basic principles and requirements specified in other existing laws and regulations on personal data protection, such as the requirements on the collection, use, processing, storage and disclosure of personal data, and internet information service providers being required to take technical and other necessary measures to ensure the security of the personal information they have collected and prevent the personal information from being divulged, damaged or lost. Any violation of the Cyber Security Law may subject the internet information service provider to warnings, fines, confiscation of illegal gains, revocation of licenses, cancellation of filings, shutdown of websites or criminal liabilities.

Furthermore, MIIT’s Rules on Protection of Personal Information of Telecommunications and Internet Users promulgated in July 2013, effective September 2013, contain detailed requirements on the use and collection of personal information as well as security measures required to be taken by telecommunications business operators and internet information service providers.

Regulations Relating to Pyramid Selling in the PRC

The Regulations on Prohibition of Pyramid Selling, that were promulgated by the State Council in August 2005 and became effective in November 2005, prohibit pyramid selling activities. According to the Regulations on Prohibition of Pyramid Selling, the following activities taken by organizers or operators are considered as “pyramid selling”: (i) taking in new members and compensating each member by giving material awards or other financial benefits, based upon the number of new members directly or indirectly introduced by such member on a rolling basis, so as to gain illegal benefits; or (ii) requesting a sum of money as entry fee or as a condition to membership for new members, either directly or through purchasing commodities, so as to gain illegal benefits; or (iii) requesting members to introduce additional members to establish a multi-level relationship and compensating each member based on the level of sales generated by the additional members introduced by such member, so as to gain illegal benefits. The PRC laws and regulations have not defined “illegal benefit” and the determination of gaining “illegal benefit” is to a large extent subject to discretionary view of the competent authorities in the PRC. Any individual or entity engaging in organization of pyramid selling may be subject to confiscation of illegal gains and fines ranging from RMB0.5 million to RMB2.0 million (US$0.3 million), and criminal liabilities if a crime is committed. On March 23, 2016, the former State of Administration of Industry and Commerce (which has been merged into SAMR) promulgated the Risk Warning for New Types of Pyramid Selling, which provides that if an activity satisfies the three features stated above at the same time, it will be identified as pyramid selling, regardless of whether any illegal benefit is obtained. We believe we  do not request a sum of money as entry fee through purchasing commodities, our membership package, which individuals are  required purchase to become a member of our platform, include a set of selected products or services and access to our app containing membership benefits and features. Also, we grant to our members upon a successful new member referral to blockchain points, which are not redeemable for cash and can only be used as coupons for future purchases on our platform. We also avoid establishing multi-level relationship of members, we grant members incentives only for products sold directly via the links that such member shares through his/her social network, and not for products sold via links shared by any other member that was originally invited by such member. In addition, since we have provided products of value and services to our members as consideration for purchasing our membership package, and the products on our platform are offered at market prices, we believe our current business practices do not constitute as gaining “illegal benefits.” We believe that our current business model is not in violation of applicable PRC laws and regulations, including the Regulations on the Prohibition of Pyramid Selling. See “Risk Factors—If our business model were found to be in violation of applicable laws and regulations, our business financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.”

Regulations Relating to Intellectual Property in the PRC

Trademark

The PRC Trademark Law and its implementation rules protect registered trademarks. The PRC Trademark Office of State Administration of Industry and Commerce is responsible for the registration and administration of trademarks throughout the PRC. The Trademark Law has adopted a “first-to-file” principle with respect to trademark registration. Registered trademarks are granted a valid term of ten years, which can be renewed each time for another ten years commencing from the day after the expiry date of the last period of validity if the required renewal formalities have been completed. Pursuant to the PRC Trademark Law, counterfeit or unauthorized production of the label of another person’s registered trademark, or sale of any label that is counterfeited or produced without authorization will be deemed as an infringement to the exclusive right to use a registered trademark. The infringing party will be ordered to stop the infringement immediately, a fine may be imposed, and the counterfeit goods will be confiscated. The infringing party may also be held liable for the right holder’s damages, which will be equal to the gains obtained by the infringing party or the losses suffered by the right holder as a result of the infringement, including reasonable expenses incurred by the right holder for stopping the infringement.

Domain Name

The MIIT promulgated the Measures on Administration of Internet Domain Names, or the Domain Name Measures, on August 24, 2017, which took effect on November 1, 2017. The MIIT is the major regulatory body responsible for the administration of PRC internet domain names, under supervision of which the China Internet Network Information Center, or CNNIC, is responsible for the daily administration of “.cn” domain names and Chinese domain names. CNNIC adopts a “first-to-file” principle with respect to the registration of domain names. Applicants for registration of domain names must provide the true, accurate and complete information of their identities to domain name registration service institutions. The applicants will become the holder of such domain names upon the completion of the registration procedure.

Copyright

The PRC Copyright Law, or the Copyright Law, which took effect on June 1, 1991 and was amended in 2001 and 2010, provides that Chinese citizens, legal persons, or other organizations shall, whether published or not, own copyright in their copyrightable works, which include, among other things, works of literature, art, natural science, social science, engineering technology and computer software. Copyright owners enjoy certain legal rights, including the right of publication, right of authorship and right of reproduction. The Copyright Law extends copyright protection to Internet activities, products disseminated over the Internet and software products. In addition, the Copyright Law provides for a voluntary registration system administered by the China Copyright Protection Center, or the CPCC. According to the Copyright Law, an infringer of copyrights shall be subject to various civil liabilities, which include ceasing infringement activities, apologizing to the copyright owners and compensating the loss of copyright owner. Infringers of copyright may also be subject to fines and/or administrative or criminal liabilities in severe situations.

Pursuant to the Computer Software Copyright Protection Regulations promulgated by the State Council on December 20, 2001 and amended on January 30, 2013, Chinese citizens, legal persons and other organizations shall enjoy copyright on software they develop, regardless of whether the software is released publicly. Software copyright commences from the date on which the development of the software is completed. The protection period for software copyright of a legal person or other organizations shall be 50 years, concluding on December 31 of the 50th year after the software’s initial release. The software copyright owner may go through the registration formalities with a software registration authority recognized by the State Council’s copyright administrative department. The software copyright owner may authorize others to exercise that copyright, and is entitled to receive remuneration.

Intellectual Property

The Company previously had 10 trademarks in China, including Hedetang, SkyPeople, Qianmeiduo, VCFruits King, ZhenGuoShu, ZhenMiHouTao, ZhenSangshen, ZhenShiLiu, Quangou, FullMart. All these trademarks are owned by the subsidiaries of HeDeTang HK and were transferred with HeDeTang HK to New Continent International Co., Ltd. on February 27, 2020. 

The Company currently has 30  registered Internet Domain names, including hedejiachuan.com intervalue.vip, intervalue.net.cn, intervalue.com.cn, intervalue.cc, intervalue.ltd, intervalue.top, ftex.ltd, ftex.net.cn, ftex.vip, ftex.top, ftex.cc, dcon.top, dconpay.com, dconio.com, digipay.ink, digipay.vip globalkey.vip, globalkey.shop, globalkey.store, digipay.net.cn, digipay.ltd, globalkey.net.cn, globalkey.cc, globalkey.top, ftft.top, ftftex.com, ftft.com, ftftbank.com, mftftpay.com, inuteam.com. All these Domain names are owned by the subsidiaries of the Company.

The Company owns copyright for the software for its blockchain based e-commerce platform application, including: (i) a blockchain credit points discount settlement system; (ii) a blockchain credit points circulation monitoring system; (iii) a legal currency and credit points synchronization settlement system; (iv) a blockchain credit points flow system; (v) an agent automatic profit distribution system (vi) an agent automatic tax deduction and accounting system; (vii) a manufacturer automatic accounting system; (viii) an e-commerce and blockchain anti-counterfeiting linkage system; (ix) a blockchain discount and promotion automatic balance system; (x) a blockchain real-name authentication and legal responsibility system.

We believe that our continued success and competitive status depend largely on our proprietary technology and ability to innovate. We have taken measures to protect the confidentiality of our proprietary technologies and intellectual property. We rely on a combination of know-how, copyrights for our software and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality agreements to protect our proprietary rights. We will take the necessary action to seek remuneration if we believe our intellectual property rights have been infringed upon. 

Human Capital Resources

We understand that our success depends on our ability to attract, train and retain our employees. We strive to attract, recruit, and retain employees through competitive compensation and benefit programs, learning and development opportunities that support career growth and advancement opportunities, and employee engagement initiatives that foster a strong Company culture. In addition to cash compensation, we offer customary benefits in accordance with local regulatory requirements as well as performance-based stock awards to our employees. We also recognize the importance of keeping our employees safe. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented changes that we determined were in the best interest of our employees and have followed local government orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19

Employees

As of December 31, 2020, we had 31 full-time employees and 1 part-time employee, all of whom are located in the PRC except for two officers are mainly located in the United States. None of our employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement as of the date of this Report. We consider our relationships with our employees to be good.

ITEM 1A – RISK FACTORS

Our business and an investment in our securities are subject to a variety of risks. The following risk factors describe the most significant events, facts or circumstances that could have a material adverse effect upon our business, financial condition, results of operations, ability to implement our business plan and the market price for our securities. Additional risks and uncertainties that presently are not considered material or are not known to us, and therefore are not mentioned herein, may impair our business operations. Many of these events are outside of our control. If any of these risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline and investors in our common stock could lose all or part of their investment.

Risks Related to Our Business

An occurrence of an uncontrollable event such as the COVID-19 pandemic may negatively affect our operations and financial results.

In recent years, there have been outbreaks of epidemics in various countries, including China. Recently, there was an outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) in China, which has spread rapidly to many parts of the world, including the U.S. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in, among other things, quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of office buildings and facilities in China and in the U.S.

Substantially all of our revenues are generated in China. Consequently, our results of operations have been and may continue to be adversely affected, to the extent that COVID-19 harms the Chinese and global economy. Any potential impact to our results will depend on, to a large extent, future developments and new information that may emerge regarding the duration and severity of COVID-19 and the actions taken by government authorities and other entities to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, almost all of which are beyond our control. Potential impacts include, but are not limited to, the following:

Because of the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, the future impact related to the outbreak and potential resurgence as well as the local and global response cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.

The global economy has also been materially negatively affected by the COVID-19 and there is continued severe uncertainty about the duration and intensity of its impacts. The Chinese and global growth forecast is extremely uncertain, which would seriously affect the consumer spending in shopping malls.

While the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, COVID-19 may be difficult to assess or predict, a widespread pandemic could result in significant disruption of global financial markets, reducing our ability to access capital, which could negatively affect our liquidity. In addition, a recession or market correction resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially affect our business and the value of our common stock.

Further, as we do not have access to a revolving credit facility, there can be no assurance that we would be able to secure commercial debt financing in the future in the event that we require additional capital. We currently believe that our financial resources will be adequate to see us through the outbreak. However, in the event that we do need to raise capital in the future, outbreak-related instability in the securities markets could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital.

In general, our business could be adversely affected by the epidemics, including, but not limited to, COVID-19, avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the influenza A virus, the Ebola virus, or other outbreaks. In response to an epidemic or other outbreaks, governments and other organizations may adopt regulations and policies that could lead to severe disruption to our daily operations, including temporary closure of our offices and other facilities. These severe conditions may cause us and/or our partners to make internal adjustments, including but not limited to, temporarily closing down business, limiting business hours, and setting restrictions on travel and/or visits with clients and partners for a prolonged period of time. Various impacts arising from severe conditions may cause business disruption, resulting in material, adverse effects to our financial condition and results of operations.

Economic conditions have had and may continue to have an adverse effect on consumer spending on our products.

The worldwide economy remains volatile and may have entered in global recession. The adverse effect of a sustained international economic downturn, including sustained periods of decreased consumer spending, high unemployment levels, declining consumer or business confidence and continued volatility and disruption in the credit and capital markets, would likely result in reduced demand for our products and service as consumers may forego certain purchases. To the extent an international economic downturn develops, we could experience a reduction in sales volume. If we are unable to reduce our operating costs and expenses proportionately, many of which are fixed, our results of operations would be adversely affected. 

We may not be able to effectively control and manage our growth, and a failure to do so could adversely affect our operations and financial condition.

If our newly developed blockchain based e-commerce business and markets experience significant growth, we will need to expand our business to maintain our competitive position. We may face challenges in managing and financing expansion of our business, facilities and product offerings, including challenges relating to integration of acquired businesses and increased demands on our management team, employees and facilities. Failure to effectively deal with increased demands on us could interrupt or adversely affect our operations and cause production, service and transportation backlogs, longer new products or services development time frames and administrative inefficiencies. Other challenges involved with expansion, acquisitions and operation include:

Even if we obtain benefits of expansion in the form of increased sales, there may be delay between the time when the expenses associated with an expansion or acquisition are incurred and the time when we recognize such benefits, which could negatively affect our earnings.

We may engage in future acquisitions involving significant expenditures of cash, the incurrence of debt or the issuance of stock, all of which could have a materially adverse effect on our operating results.

As part of our business strategy, we review acquisition and strategic investment prospects that we believe would complement our current product offerings, augment our market coverage, enhance our technological capabilities or otherwise offer growth opportunities. From time to time, we review investments in new businesses and we expect to make investments in, and to acquire, businesses, products or technologies in the future. We are in the process to acquire an asset management company in Hong Kong and a supply chain financial service company in China and plan to complete these transactions during the first half of this year. In the event of any future acquisitions, we may expend significant cash, incur substantial debt and/or issue equity securities and dilute the percentage ownership of current shareholders, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and the price of our stock. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully integrate any businesses, products, technologies or personnel that we may acquire in the future, and our failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

If we fail to maintain membership loyalty or sustain membership growth, or fail to maintain member relationships effectively and retain existing members, our business and operating results may be materially and adversely affected.

We are a membership-based value sharing e-commerce platform and therefore membership loyalty and growth are essential to our business. The growth of our business depends on our ability to maintain and increase the number of members on our platform and improve the level of their engagement. Individuals can become our members mainly by purchasing our membership at a fixed price. Our failure to anticipate needs of and provide value-added services to our members, among other things, could also diminish membership loyalty and reduce activity of members on our platform, which could cause our revenue and operating income to decline and negatively impact our profitability. If our existing and new business opportunities and incentives, products, services and other initiatives do not generate sufficient enthusiasm and economic incentive to retain our existing members or attract new members on a sustained basis, our operating results could be adversely affected. As a result, in order to maintain our business growth in the future, we need to increase our retention of existing members and continue to successfully attract additional members.

We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technologies. The process of seeking intellectual property protection can be lengthy and expensive and we cannot guarantee that our existing or future intellectual property rights will be fully protected or bring us the commercial advantages. We also cannot guarantee that our current or potential competitors do not have, and will not obtain, intellectual property rights that will prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to use our technology or sell our products and services in the PRC or other countries.

The implementation and enforcement of PRC intellectual property laws historically have not been vigorous or consistent. Accordingly, intellectual property rights and confidentiality protections in the PRC are not as effective as those in the United States and other countries. We may need to resort to litigation to enforce or defend our rights or to determine the enforceability, scope and validity of our proprietary rights or those of others. Such litigation will require significant expenditures of cash and management efforts and could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. An adverse determination in any such litigation will impair our intellectual property rights and may harm our business, competitive position, business prospects and reputation.

The blockchain related products and services that we are developing have the potential to be used in ways we do not intend, including for criminal or other illegal activities.

Blockchain-related products and services, in particular cryptocurrencies, have the potential to be used for financial crimes or other illegal activities. Because the blockchain platform that we are developing is novel, there are uncertainties regarding any legal and regulatory requirements for preventing blockchain-related products and services from being put to such uses, and there are uncertainties regarding the liabilities and risks to the Company if we are unable to prevent such uses. Even if we comply with all laws and regulations regarding financial and blockchain related products and services, we have no ability to ensure that our customers, partners or others to whom we license or sell our products and services comply with all laws and regulations applicable to them and their transactions.

The Shared Shopping Mall employs security measures common to blockchain technologies, such a multiple identity authentication and multi-signature requirements. The security measures to be employed by our blockchain projects are subject to further improvement and development. There is no guarantee that the security measures that we currently use or any that we may develop in the future will be effective.

Any negative publicity we receive regarding any allegations of unlawful uses of our blockchain platform could damage our reputation. More generally, any negative publicity regarding unlawful uses of blockchain technology in the marketplace could reduce the demand for our products and services. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our financial results and business.

The regulatory regime governing blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and offerings of digital assets is uncertain, and new regulations or policies may materially adversely affect the development and the value of such cryptocurrencies and assets.

Regulation of digital assets, cryptocurrencies, blockchain technologies, and the blockchain platform we are developing is currently undeveloped and likely to rapidly evolve as government agencies take greater interest in them. Regulation also varies significantly among international, federal, state and local jurisdictions and is subject to significant uncertainty. Various legislative and executive bodies in the United States and in other countries may in the future adopt laws, regulations, or guidance, or take other actions, which may severely impact the permissibility of tokens generally and the technology behind them or the means of transaction or in transferring them. Failure by our subsidiaries to comply with any laws, rules and regulations, some of which may not exist yet or are subject to interpretation and may be subject to change, could result in a variety of adverse consequences, including civil penalties and fines.

Intellectual property infringement claims may adversely impact our results of operations.

As we develop and introduce new products and services, we may be increasingly subject to claims of infringement of another party’s intellectual property. If a claim for infringement is brought against us, such claim may require us to modify our products or services, cease selling certain products or engage in litigation to determine the validity and scope of such claims. Any of these events may harm our business and results of operations.

Our business and operations may be subject to disruption from work stoppages, terrorism or natural disasters.

Our operations may be subject to disruption for a variety of reasons, including work stoppages, acts of war, terrorism, pandemics, fire, earthquake, flooding or other natural disasters and events beyond our control. If a major incident were to occur in any of the regions where our facilities or offices are located, our facilities or offices or those of critical suppliers and customers could be damaged or destroyed. Such a disruption could result in a reduction in available products, the temporary or permanent loss of critical data, suspension of operations, delays in shipment of products and disruption of business generally, which would adversely affect our revenue and results of operations.

Our success depends substantially on the continued retention of certain key personnel and our ability to hire and retain qualified personnel in the future to support our growth.

If one or more of our senior executives or other key personnel are unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, our business may be disrupted and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. While we depend on the abilities and participation of our current management team generally, we rely particularly upon Mr. Yongke Xue, our Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”); Mr. Shanchun Huang, our chief executive officer (“CEO”); Mr. Ming Yi, our chief financial officer (“CFO”) and Mr. Yang Liu, our chief operating officer. The loss of the services of Messrs. Yongke Xue, Shanchun Huang, Ming Yi or Yang Liu for any reason could significantly adversely impact our business and results of operations. Competition for senior management and senior technology personnel in the PRC is intense and the pool of qualified candidates is very limited. Accordingly, we cannot guarantee that the services of our senior executives and other key personnel will continue to be available to us, or that we will be able to find a suitable replacement for them if they were to leave.

Our e-commerce business depends on the continued use of the Internet and the adequacy of the Internet infrastructure.

Our e-commerce business depends upon the widespread use of the Internet and e-commerce. Factors which could reduce the widespread use of the Internet for e-commerce include, without limitation, actual or perceived lack of security of information or privacy protection, cyberattacks or other disruptions or damage to the Internet or to users’ computers, whatever the cause, could reduce customer satisfaction with our platforms and services and harm our business.

Our business depends on our website, app, network infrastructure and transaction-processing systems.

Our e-commerce business is completely dependent on our infrastructure. Any system interruption that results in the unavailability of our website, app or reduced performance of our transaction systems could reduce our ability to conduct our business. We use internally and externally developed systems for our website, app and our transaction processing systems. We expect to experience system interruptions due to software failure. We may also experience temporary capacity constraints due to sharply increased traffic during sales or other promotions and during the holiday shopping season. Capacity constraints can cause system disruptions, slower response times, delayed page presentation, degradation in levels of customer service and other problems. We may also experience difficulties with our infrastructure upgrades. Any future difficulties with our transaction processing systems or difficulties upgrading, expanding or integrating aspects of our systems may cause system disruptions, slower response times, and degradation in levels of customer service, additional expense, impaired quality and speed of order fulfilment or other problems.

If the location where all of our computer and communications hardware is located is compromised, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed. If we suffer an interruption or degradation of services at the location for any reason, our business could be harmed. Our success, and in particular, our ability to successfully receive and fulfil orders and provide high-quality customer service, largely depends on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of our computer and communications systems. These limitations could have an adverse effect on our sales. Our disaster recovery plan may be inadequate, and we do not carry business interruption insurance to compensate us for the losses that could occur. Despite our implementation of network security measures, our servers are vulnerable to computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins and similar disruptions, the occurrence of any of which could lead to interruptions, delays, loss of critical data or the inability to accept and fulfil customer orders. The occurrence of any of the foregoing risks could harm our business.

We may be subject to product liability claims if our customers are harmed by the products sold on our internet platform.

We sell products manufactured by third parties, some of which may be defectively designed or manufactured, of inferior quality or counterfeit. Sales and distributions of products on our internet platform could expose us to product liability claims relating to personal injury and may require product recalls or other actions. Third parties that have suffered such injury may bring claims or legal proceedings against us as the retailer of the products or as the marketplace service provider. Although we would have legal recourse against the manufacturers, suppliers or third-party merchants of such products under PRC law, attempting to enforce our rights against the manufacturers, suppliers or third-party merchants may be expensive, time-consuming and ultimately futile. Defective, inferior or counterfeit products or negative publicity as to personal injury caused by products sold on our platform may adversely affect consumer perceptions of our company or the products we sell, which could harm our reputation and brand image. In addition, we do not currently maintain any product liability insurance or third-party liability insurance coverage for the products offered through third-party merchants. As a result, any material product liability claim or litigation could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Even unsuccessful claims could result in the expenditure of funds and managerial efforts in defending them and could have a negative impact on our reputation.

Our platform requires frequent updates on pricing from our vendors. If these updates are inaccurate or do not occur, there could be a negative influence on our business.

We update the prices of products listed on our site frequently from our vendors. If we are unable to obtain, or are not provided updated pricing information from our vendors, or if we fail to act on information from our vendors, then it could require us to remedy the pricing difference to complete the transaction, or source the product from an alternative vendor at their price, which could materially adversely affect our financial results.

We are subject to cyber security risks and may incur increasing costs in an effort to minimize those risks and to respond to cyber incidents.

Our e-commerce business is entirely dependent on the secure operation of our website and systems as well as the operation of the Internet generally. Our business involves the storage and transmission of users’ proprietary information, and security breaches could expose us to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, litigation, and potential liability. A number of large Internet companies have suffered security breaches, some of which have involved intentional attacks. From time to time, we and many other Internet businesses also may be subject to a denial of service attacks wherein attackers attempt to block customers’ access to our Website. If we are unable to avert a denial of service attack for any significant period, we could sustain substantial revenue loss from lost sales and customer dissatisfaction. We may not have the resources or technical sophistication to anticipate or prevent rapidly evolving types of cyberattacks.

Cyberattacks may target us, our customers, our suppliers, banks, payment processors, e-commerce in general or the communication infrastructure on which we depend. If an actual or perceived attack or breach of our security occurs, customer and/or supplier perception of the effectiveness of our security measures could be harmed and we could lose customers, suppliers or both. Actual or anticipated attacks and risks may cause us to incur increasing costs, including costs to deploy additional personnel and protection technologies, train employees, and engage third party experts and consultants. A person who is able to circumvent our security measures might be able to misappropriate our or our users’ proprietary information, cause interruption in our operations, damage our computers or those of our users, or otherwise damage our reputation and business. Any compromise of our security could result in a violation of applicable privacy and other laws, significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation, and a loss of confidence in our security measures, which could harm our business.

Failure to comply with the relatively new E-Commerce Law may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial conditions and results of operations.

As the e-commerce industry is still evolving in China, new laws and regulations may be adopted from time to time to address new issues that arise from time to time. For example, in August 2018, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the E-Commerce Law, which became effective on January 1, 2019. The E-Commerce Law generally provides that e-commerce operators must obtain administrative licenses if business activities conducted by the e-commerce operators are subject to administrative licensing requirements under applicable laws and regulations. In addition, the E-Commerce Law imposes a number of obligations on e-commerce platform operators, including the obligations: (i) to verify and register platform merchants, (ii) to ensure platform cybersecurity, including, but not limited to, data privacy, (iii) to ensure fair dealing and the legitimate rights and interests of consumers on the platform, (iv) to publicize transaction information preservation and transaction rules, and (v) to protect intellectual properties. See “Item 1. Overview—Government Regulations—Regulations Relating to E-Commerce” for further details. As the E-Commerce Law is relatively new, no detailed interpretation and implementation rules have been promulgated, and it remains uncertain how the E-Commerce Law will be interpreted and implemented. We cannot assure you that our current business operations satisfy the obligations provided under the E-Commerce Law in all respects. If the PRC governmental authorities determine that we are not in compliance with all the requirements proposed under the E-Commerce Law, we may be subject to fines and/or other sanctions.

The E-Commerce Law also imposes a requirement on operators of e-commerce platforms, such as our company, to assist in tax collection with respect to income generated by sellers from transactions conducted on e-commerce platforms, including, among others, submitting to the tax authority information on the identities of sellers on e-commerce platforms and other information relating to tax payment. Failure to comply with the requirement may result in operators of e-commerce platforms being subject to fines and, in severe circumstances, suspension of business operations of e-commerce platforms. Substantial uncertainties exist regarding the interpretation and implementation of the E-Commerce Law. We encourage and incentivize merchants to promote the products on our platform. If the merchants were deemed to be selling our products on consignment basis, the PRC tax authorities may require them to make tax registration and request our assistance in these efforts, pursuant to the E-Commerce Law, and the merchants on our platform may be subject to more stringent tax compliance requirements. The PRC government may adopt additional requirements from time to time, and we may be requested by tax authorities to provide further assistance in the enforcement of tax regulations, such as disclosure of transaction records and bank account information of the merchants, and withholding taxes for such merchants. If any of these were to occur, we may lose our existing stores or fail to attract new stores on our platform and the level of activity may be reduced on our platform. We may also incur increased costs and expenses as a result. The tightened tax enforcement by PRC tax authorities in the e-commerce industry, such as imposition of reporting or withholding obligations on operators of e-commerce platforms with respect to tax payable of merchants on e-commerce platforms, may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If our business model were found to be in violation of applicable laws and regulations, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.

In August 2005, the State Council promulgated the Regulations on the Prohibition of Pyramid Selling, which prohibits individuals and entities in China from engaging in pyramid selling. See “Item 1. Overview—Government Regulations—Regulations Relating to Pyramid Selling in the PRC.” We believe that our current business model that provides rewards to members who introduce new members and customers to us is not in violation of applicable PRC laws and regulations, including the Regulations on the Prohibition of Pyramid Selling. However, there is no assurance that the relevant government authorities will find our business model not in violation of any applicable regulations, given the uncertainties in the interpretation and application of existing PRC laws, regulations and policies relating to our current business model, including, but not limited to, regulations regulating pyramid selling. Moreover, new laws, regulations or policies may also be promulgated in the future, and there is no assurance that our current business model will be in full compliance with the new laws, regulations or policies. If our business model were to be found in violation in the future, we will have to make adjustment to our business model or cease certain of our business operations, and the relevant governmental authorities may confiscate any illegal gains and impose a fine, which would have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The relative lack of public company experience of our management team may put us at a competitive disadvantage.

Our management team lacks significant public company experience, which could impair our ability to comply with legal and regulatory requirements such as, but not limited to, those imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“Sarbanes-Oxley”). Our senior management does not have significant experience managing a publicly traded company. Such responsibilities include complying with federal securities laws and making required disclosures on a timely basis. Our senior management may be unable to implement programs and policies in an effective and timely manner or that adequately respond to the increased legal, regulatory and reporting requirements associated with being a publicly traded company. Our failure to comply with all applicable requirements could lead to the imposition of fines and penalties, distract our management from attending to the management and growth of our business, result in a loss of investor confidence in our financial reports and have an adverse effect on our business and stock price.

As a public company, we are obligated to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting. Our internal controls may be determined not to be effective, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, decrease the value of our Common Stock.

The PRC has not adopted management and financial reporting concepts and practices similar to those in the United States. We may have difficulty in hiring and retaining a sufficient number of qualified financial and accounting employees who are familiar with US GAAP and reporting requirements to work in the PRC. As a result of these factors, we may experience difficulty in establishing and maintaining accounting and financial controls, collecting financial data, budgeting, managing our funds and preparing financial statements, books of account and corporate records and instituting business practices that meet investors’ expectations in the United States.

Rules adopted by the SEC, or the Commission, pursuant to Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 require annual assessment of our internal controls over financial reporting. The standards that must be met for management to assess the internal controls over financial reporting as effective are relatively new and complex, and they require significant documentation, testing and possible remediation to meet the detailed standards. This assessment will need to include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting. During the evaluation and testing process, if we identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as we have done previously and this year, we will be unable to assert that our internal controls are effective. If we continue to be unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which could harm our business and cause the price of our stock to decline.

We may need additional capital to fund our future operations and, if it is not available when needed, we may need to reduce our planned development and marketing efforts, which may reduce our sales revenue.

We believe that our existing working capital and cash available from operations will enable us to meet our working capital requirements for at least the next twelve months. However, if cash from future operations is insufficient, or if cash is used for acquisitions or other currently unanticipated uses, we may need additional capital. The development and marketing of new products and services and the expansion of our business and associated support personnel require a significant commitment of resources. In addition, if the markets for our products and services develop more slowly than anticipated, or if we fail to establish significant market share and achieve sufficient net revenues, we may continue to consume significant amounts of capital. As a result, we could be required to raise additional capital. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities or other methods, the issuance of such securities could result in dilution of the shares held by existing shareholders. If additional funds are raised through the issuance of debt securities, such securities may provide the holders certain rights, preferences, and privileges senior to those of common shareholders, and the terms of such debt could impose restrictions on our operations. We cannot guarantee that additional capital, if required, will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to obtain sufficient amounts of additional capital, we may be required to reduce the scope of our planned business development and marketing efforts, which could harm our business, financial condition and operating results.

If our costs and demands upon management increase disproportionately to the growth of our business and revenue as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies, our operating results could be harmed.

As a public company, we do and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting, investor relations and other expenses, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements. We also have incurred and will incur costs associated with current corporate governance requirements, including requirements under Section 404 and other provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley, as well as rules implemented by the SEC and the stock exchange on which our common stock is traded. The expenses incurred by public companies for reporting and corporate governance purposes have increased dramatically over the past several years. These rules and regulations have increased our legal and financial compliance costs substantially and make some activities more time consuming and costly. If our costs and demands upon management increase disproportionately to the growth of our business and revenue, our operating results could be harmed.

There are inherent uncertainties involved in estimates, judgments and assumptions used in the preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or U.S. GAAP. Any changes in estimates, judgments and assumptions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“U.S. GAAP”) involves making estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets (including intangible assets), liabilities and related reserves, revenue, expenses and income. Estimates, judgments and assumptions are inherently subject to change in the future, and any such changes could result in corresponding changes to the amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses and income. Any such changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

We will no longer have any equity participation in HeDeTang HK or in the fruit juice industry. 

After the Sale Transaction closed on February 27, 2020, we have no ongoing equity participation in the fruit juice business in China. We ceased to participate in HeDeTang HK’s future earnings or growth, if any, and will not participate in any potential future sale of HeDeTang HK even if there is significant growth of fruit juice business in China in the future. It is possible that New Continent could sell some or all of its equity in HeDeTang HK following the Sale Transaction at a valuation higher than that being paid in the Sale Transaction and New Continent could realize significant returns on its equity investment in HeDeTang.

We may be exposed to litigation related to the Sale Transaction on February 27, 2020 from the holders of our common stock.

Transactions such as the Sale Transaction are often subject to lawsuits by stockholders. Particularly because the holders of our common stock will not receive any consideration from the Sale Transaction, it is possible that they may sue the Company or the Board of Directors. Such lawsuits could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.

We may have exposure to greater than anticipated tax liabilities.

We are subject to enterprise income tax, value-added tax, and other taxes in each province and city in China where we have operations. Our tax structure is subject to review by various local tax authorities. The determination of our provision for income tax and other tax liabilities requires significant judgment. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Although we believe our estimates are reasonable, the ultimate decisions by the relevant tax authorities may differ from the amounts recorded in our financial statements and may materially affect our financial results in the period or periods for which such determination is made.

We are subject to the risk of increased income taxes, which could harm our business, financial condition and operating results.

We base our tax position upon the anticipated nature and conduct of our business and upon our understanding of the tax laws of the various countries in which we have assets or conduct activities. However, our tax position is subject to review and possible challenge by tax authorities and to possible changes in law, which may have retroactive effect. We currently operate through three direct wholly-owned subsidiaries: DigiPay FinTech Limited, Future FinTech (Hong Kong) Limited, and GlobalKey Shared Mall Limited, and their subsidiaries and VIE in Hong Kong, BVI, Japan, Cayman Islands and China, and we maintain our e-commerce operations in China. Any of these jurisdictions could assert tax claims against us. We cannot determine in advance the extent to which some jurisdictions may require us to pay taxes or make payments in lieu of taxes. If we become subject to additional taxes in any jurisdiction, such tax treatment could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

Increases in income tax rates, changes in income tax laws or disagreements with tax authorities could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and in certain foreign jurisdictions in which we operate. Increases in income tax rates or other changes in income tax laws that apply to our business could reduce our after-tax income from such jurisdiction and could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Our operations outside the United States generate a significant portion of our income. In addition, the United States and many of the other countries in which our products are distributed or sold, including countries in which we have significant operations, have recently made or are actively considering changes to existing tax laws. For example, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “TCJ Act”) was signed into law in the United States. The changes in the TCJ Act are broad and complex and we are continuing to examine the impact the TCJ Act may have on our business and financial results. Additional changes in the U.S. tax regime or in how U.S. multinational corporations are taxed on foreign earnings, including changes in how existing tax laws are interpreted or enforced, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are also subject to regular reviews, examinations and audits by the IRS and other taxing authorities with respect to income and non-income based taxes both within and outside the United States. Economic and political pressures to increase tax revenues in jurisdictions in which we operate, or the adoption of new or reformed tax legislation or regulation, may make resolving tax disputes more difficult and the final resolution of tax audits and any related litigation could differ from our historical provisions and accruals, resulting in an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, in connection with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project, companies are required to disclose more information to tax authorities on operations around the world, which may lead to greater audit scrutiny of profits earned in various countries. 

Risks Related to Doing Business in the PRC  

We face the risk that changes in the policies of the PRC government could have a significant impact upon the business we may be able to conduct in the PRC and the profitability of such business.

We conduct substantially all of our operations and generate most of our revenue in the PRC. Accordingly, economic, political and legal developments in the PRC will significantly affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The PRC economy is in transition from a planned economy to a market oriented economy subject to plans adopted by the government that set national economic development goals. Policies of the PRC government can have significant effects on economic conditions in the PRC. While we believe that the PRC will continue to strengthen its economic and trading relationships with foreign countries and that business development in the PRC will continue to follow market forces, we cannot guarantee that this will be the case. Our interests may be adversely affected by changes in policies by the PRC government, including:

Although the PRC government has been pursuing economic reform policies for more than three decades, the PRC government continues to exercise significant control over economic growth in the PRC through the allocation of resources, controlling payments of foreign currency, setting monetary policy and imposing policies that impact particular industries in different ways. We cannot guarantee that the PRC government will continue to pursue policies favoring a market oriented economy or that existing policies will not be significantly altered, especially in the event of a change in leadership, social or political disruption, or other circumstances affecting political, economic and social life in the PRC.

If we become subject to additional scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity involving U.S.-listed China-based companies, we may have to expend significant resources to investigate and resolve the matter which could harm our business operations, this offering and our reputation and could result in a loss of your investment in our shares, especially if such matter cannot be addressed and resolved favorably.

Recently, 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. Much of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity has centered around financial and accounting irregularities, a lack of effective internal controls over financial accounting, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in some cases, allegations of fraud. As a result of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity, the publicly traded stock of many U.S.-listed China-based companies has decreased in value and, in some cases, has become virtually worthless. Many of these companies have been subject to shareholder lawsuits and SEC enforcement actions and have conducted internal and external investigations into the allegations. On February 21, 2020, the Company received a subpoena from the SEC’s Division of Enforcement requiring us to produce documents and detailed information relating to, among other things, the Company’s accounting procedures, management oversight, and the sale of HeDeTang Holdings (HK) Ltd. to New Continent International Co., Ltd. The Company has provided responsive documents and information requested in the subpoena. It is not clear what effect this sector-wide scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity will have on us and our business. 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 may be a major distraction to our management. If such allegations are not proven to be groundless, our business operations will be severely hindered and your investment in our shares could be rendered worthless.

If the PRC government deems that the contractual arrangements in relation to our consolidated variable interest entities 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 in the future, we could be subject to severe penalties or be forced to relinquish our interests in those operations.

Foreign ownership of internet-based businesses, including value-added telecommunications services, is subject to restrictions under current PRC laws and regulations. To comply with PRC laws and regulations, we conduct our e-commerce operations in China through a series of contractual arrangements entered into among WFOE, our VIE and the shareholders of our VIE. As a result of these contractual arrangements, we exert control over our VIE and consolidate its operating results in our financial statements under U.S. GAAP. For a detailed description of these contractual arrangements, see “Overview - Contractual Arrangements with Our Consolidated Affiliated Entity and Its Respective Shareholders.”

In the opinion of our PRC counsel, our current ownership structure, the ownership structure of our PRC subsidiary and our consolidated VIE, and the contractual arrangements among WFOE, our VIE and the shareholders of our VIE are common practices for the companies listed on stock exchanges in the U.S. engaging in the businesses restricted in China and these contractual arrangements are valid and binding in accordance with their terms and applicable PRC laws and regulations currently in effect. However, our Chinese counsel has also advised us that there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations and there can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with the opinion of our PRC counsel.

If the PRC government finds that our contractual arrangements do not comply with its restrictions on foreign investment in the e-commerce business, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities, including the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) may require us to discontinue or place restrictions or onerous conditions on our operations and it may also imposing fines, confiscating the income from the WFOE or our VIE. The imposition of any of these penalties would result in a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business. In addition, it is unclear what impact the PRC government actions would have on us and on our ability to consolidate the financial results of our VIE in our consolidated financial statements, if the PRC government authorities were to find our VIE structure and contractual arrangements to be in violation of PRC laws and regulations. If the imposition of any of these government actions causes us to lose our right to direct the activities of our VIE or our right to receive substantially all of the economic benefits and residual returns from our VIE and we are not able to restructure our ownership structure and operations in a satisfactory manner, we would no longer be able to consolidate the financial results of our VIE in our consolidated financial statements. Either of these results, or any other significant penalties that might be imposed on us in this event, would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Any failure by our consolidated VIE or their shareholders to perform their obligations under our contractual arrangements with them would have a material adverse effect on our business.

If our consolidated VIE or its 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 laws, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief, and claiming damages, which we cannot assure you will be effective under PRC laws. For example, if the shareholders of our VIE were to refuse to transfer their equity interest in the VIE to us or our designee if we exercise the purchase option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, or if they were otherwise to act in bad faith toward us, then we may have to take legal action to compel them to perform their contractual obligations.

All the agreements under our contractual arrangements are governed by PRC laws. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC laws and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. The legal system in the PRC is not as well established as in some other jurisdictions, such as in the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. Meanwhile, there are some regulations unfavorable to VIEs. However, despite there are very few precedents and little formal guidance as to how contractual arrangements in the context of a consolidated variable interest entity should be interpreted or enforced under PRC laws and there remain significant uncertainties regarding the ultimate outcome of such legal proceedings should legal action become necessary. Currently, almost all of the Chinese companies listed on overseas stock exchanges that are in the internet-based business such as e-commerce or online-gaming have adopted a VIE structure. If the losing parties fail to carry out the court judgement or arbitration awards within a prescribed time limit, the prevailing parties may only enforce them in PRC courts, which would require additional expenses and delay. In the event that we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, or if we suffer significant delay or other obstacles in the process of enforcing these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over our consolidated variable interest entities, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected. 

The shareholders of our consolidated VIE may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

The shareholders of our VIE and their interests in our VIE may differ from their interests of our Company as a whole. These shareholders may breach, or cause our consolidated variable interest entities to breach, the existing contractual arrangements we have with them and our consolidated variable interest entities, which would have a material adverse effect on our ability to effectively control our consolidated variable interest entities and receive economic benefits from them. For example, the shareholders may be able to cause our agreements with E-Commerce Tianjin to be performed in a manner adverse to us by, among other things, failing to remit payments due under the contractual arrangements to us on a timely basis. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise, any or all of these shareholders will act in the best interests of our company or such conflicts will be resolved in our favor.

Currently, we do not have any arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest between these shareholders and our company, except that we could exercise our purchase option under the exclusive option agreements with these shareholders to request them to transfer all of their equity interests in E-Commerce Tianjin to a PRC entity or individual designated by us, to the extent permitted by PRC laws. If we cannot resolve any conflict of interest or dispute between us and the shareholders of our VIE, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in the disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.

PRC laws and regulations governing our current business operations are sometimes vague and uncertain and any changes in such laws and regulations may harm our business.

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 business and the enforcement and performance of our arrangements with customers in certain circumstances. We are considered foreign persons or foreign funded enterprises under PRC laws and, as a result, we are required to comply with PRC laws and regulations related to foreign persons and foreign funded enterprises. These laws and regulations are sometimes vague and may be subject to future changes, and their official interpretation and enforcement may involve substantial uncertainty. The effectiveness of newly enacted laws, regulations or amendments may be delayed, resulting in detrimental reliance. New laws and regulations that affect existing and proposed future businesses may also be applied retroactively. We cannot predict what effect the interpretation of existing or new PRC laws or regulations may have on our business.

We could be restricted from paying dividends to shareholders due to PRC laws and other contractual requirements.

We are a holding company incorporated in the State of Florida and do not have any assets or conduct any business operations other than our investments in our subsidiaries and affiliates. As a result of our holding company structure, we rely entirely on dividend payments from our subsidiaries in China. PRC accounting standards and regulations currently permit payment of dividends only out of accumulated profits, a portion of which is required to be set aside for certain reserve funds. Furthermore, if our subsidiaries and VIE in China incur debt on its own in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict its ability to pay dividends or make other payments. Although we do not intend to pay dividends in the future, our inability to receive all of the profit from our China subsidiaries’ operations may provide an additional obstacle to our ability to pay dividends if we so decide in the future.

Governmental control of currency conversion may affect the value of shareholder investments.

The PRC government imposes controls on the convertibility of RMB into foreign currencies and, in certain cases, the remittance of currency out of the PRC. RMB is currently not a freely convertible currency. Shortages in the availability of foreign currency may restrict our ability to remit sufficient foreign currency to satisfy foreign currency obligations. Under existing PRC foreign exchange regulations, payments of current account items, including profit distributions, interest payments and expenditures from the transaction, can be made in foreign currencies without prior approval by complying with certain procedural requirements. Approval from appropriate governmental authorities, however, is required where RMB is to be converted into foreign currency and remitted out of the PRC to pay capital expenses such as the repayment of bank loans denominated in foreign currencies. In addition, the PRC government could restrict access to foreign currencies for current account transactions in the future. If the foreign exchange control system prevents us from obtaining sufficient foreign currency to satisfy our currency demands, we may not be able to pay certain of our expenses as they come due.

The fluctuation of the RMB may harm shareholder investments.

The value of the RMB against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in the PRC’s political and economic conditions. Any significant revaluation of the RMB may materially and adversely affect our cash flows, revenue and financial condition. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars we receive from an offering of our securities into RMB for our operations, appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would diminish the value of the proceeds of the offering and could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Conversely, if we decide to convert our RMB into U.S. dollars for business purposes and the U.S. dollar appreciates against the RMB, the U.S. dollar equivalent of the RMB we convert would be reduced. In addition, the depreciation of significant U.S. dollar denominated assets could result in a charge to our income statement and a reduction in the value of these assets.

PRC regulations relating to offshore investment activities by PRC residents may limit our PRC subsidiary’s ability to increase its registered capital or distribute profits to us or otherwise expose us or our PRC resident beneficial owners to liability and penalties under PRC law.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange or 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 that requires 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. SAFE Circular 37 is issued to replace the Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for PRC Residents Engaging in Financing and Roundtrip Investments via Overseas Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 75. SAFE promulgated the Notice on Further Simplifying and Improving the Administration of the Foreign Exchange Concerning Direct Investment in February 2015, which took effect on June 1, 2015. This notice has amended SAFE Circular 37 requiring PRC residents or entities to register with qualified banks rather than 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.

If our shareholders who are PRC residents or entities do not complete their registration as required, our PRC subsidiary may be prohibited from distributing its 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 subsidiary.

The failure or inability of the relevant shareholders to comply with the registration procedures set forth in these regulations may subject us to fines and legal sanctions, such as restrictions on our cross-border investment activities, on the ability of our wholly foreign-owned subsidiaries in China to distribute dividends and the proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us. Moreover, failure to comply with the various foreign exchange registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC law for circumventing applicable foreign exchange restrictions. As a result, our business operations and our ability to distribute profits to you could be materially and adversely affected.

Any failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for employee stock incentive plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.

In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plan of Overseas Publicly-Listed Company, replacing earlier rules promulgated in March 2007. Pursuant to these rules, 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 subsidiary 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 have resided in the PRC for a continuous period of not less than one year will be subject to these regulations. 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 subsidiary and limit our PRC subsidiary’s 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. 

Regulatory bodies of the United States may be limited in their ability to conduct investigations or inspections of our operations in China.

From time to time, the Company may receive requests from certain U.S. agencies to investigate or inspect the Company’s operations, or to otherwise provide information. While the Company will be compliant with these requests from these regulators, there is no guarantee that such requests will be honored by those entities who provide services to us or with whom we associate, especially as those entities are located in China. Furthermore, an on-site inspection of our facilities by any of these regulators may be limited or entirely prohibited. Such inspections, though permitted by the Company and its affiliates, are subject to the unpredictability of the Chinese enforcers, and may therefore be impossible to facilitate.

Because our principal assets are located outside of the United States, it may be difficult for investors to use U.S. securities laws to enforce their rights against us, our officers and some of our directors in the United States or to enforce judgments of United States courts against us or them in the PRC.

Most of our present officers and directors reside outside of the United States. In addition, all of our subsidiaries and assets are located outside of the United States. Therefore, it may be difficult for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. securities laws against us in the courts of either the United States or the PRC and, even if civil judgments are obtained in courts of the United States, to enforce such judgments in the PRC courts. Further, it is unclear if extradition treaties now in effect between the United States and the PRC would permit effective enforcement against us or our officers and directors of criminal penalties under the U.S. Federal securities laws or otherwise.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

We are authorized to issue blank check preferred stock, which may be issued without shareholder approval and which may adversely affect the rights of holders of our Common Stock.

We are authorized to issue 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock. The Board is authorized under our articles of incorporation, as amended, to provide for the issuance of shares of preferred stock by resolution and by filing a certificate of designations under Florida law, to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each such series of preferred stock and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof without any further vote or action by the shareholders. As of December 31, 2020, there were no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Any shares of preferred stock that are issued are likely to have priority over our Common Stock with respect to dividend or liquidation rights. In the event of issuance, the preferred stock could be utilized under certain circumstances as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control, which could have the effect of discouraging bids to acquire us and thereby prevent shareholders from receiving the maximum value for their shares. We have no present intention to issue any shares of preferred stock in order to discourage or delay a change of control or for any other reason. However, there can be no assurance that preferred stock will not be issued at some time in the future.

Zeyao Xue has control over key decision making as a result of his control of a substantial amount of our voting stock.

Mr. Zeyao Xue, the son of our Chairman of the Board of Directors, indirectly and directly beneficially owns 13,012,622 shares, or approximately 19.93%, of our outstanding common stock as of April 12, 2021. Mr. Zeyao Xue’s beneficial ownership of 19.93% of Future FinTech’s issued and outstanding common stock will likely give him the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to shareholders for approval, including but not limited to the election of directors and any merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets. This concentrated control could delay, defer, or prevent a change of control, merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets that other shareholders support, or conversely this concentrated control could result in the consummation of such a transaction that other shareholders do not support. This concentrated control could also discourage a potential investor from acquiring the common stock of the Company due to the limited voting power of such shares. As a shareholder, even a controlling shareholder, Mr. Zeyao Xue is entitled to vote his shares, and shares over which he has voting control, in his own interests, which may not always be in the interests of our shareholders generally.

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Florida law could discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our Company and may affect the trading price of our Common Stock.

As a Florida corporation, we are subject to certain provisions of the Florida Business Corporation Act that have anti-takeover effects and may inhibit a non-negotiated merger or other business combination. Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws also contain other provisions which could have anti-takeover effects. These provisions include, without limitation, the authority of our Board of Directors to issue additional shares of preferred stock and to fix the relative rights and preferences of the preferred stock without the need for any shareholder vote or approval, as discussed above, and advance notice procedures to be complied with by our shareholders in order to make shareholder proposals or nominate directors, such as:

For more information regarding these and other provisions, see the exhibit titled “Description of Our Securities — Anti-Takeover Effects of Certain Provisions of Florida Law.”

In recent years, our Common Stock has been in danger of being delisted from the NASDAQ Stock Market (“NASDAQ”).

On February 28, 2019, the Company received a letter from NASDAQ notifying the Company that, because the closing bid price for the Company’s common stock listed on NASDAQ was below $1.00 for 30 consecutive trading days, the Company no longer met the minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on NASDAQ under NASDAQ Marketplace Rule 5550(a)(2). On May 7, 2019, the Company received a written notification from the NASDAQ Stock Market Listing Qualifications Staff indicating that the Company has regained compliance with the $1.00 minimum closing bid price requirement and that the matter is now closed.

On April 17, 2019, the Company received a notification letter from NASDAQ stating the Company was not in compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5250(c)(1), due to its failure to timely file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 (the “2018 10-K”). On May 21, 2019, the Company received a notification letter from NASDAQ stating the Company was not in compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5250(c)(1), due to its failure to timely file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. On August 20, 2019, the Company received a notification letter from the NASDAQ stating the Company was not in compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5250(c)(1), due to its failure to timely file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019.

On October 16, 2019, the Company received a letter from the NASDAQ notifying the Company that it has regained compliance with NASDAQ’s periodic filing requirements for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The letter noted that as a result of the September 3, 2019 filing of the Form 10-K for the year ended on December 31, 2018 and the September 30, 2019 filing of the Forms 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, and June 30, 2019 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Company has regained compliance with Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) and the matter is now closed.

On September 4, 2019, the Company received written notice from the NASDAQ stating that the Company did not meet the requirement of maintaining a minimum of $2,500,000 in stockholders’ equity for continued listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market, as set forth in NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(b)(1), the Company also does not meet the alternative of market value of listed securities of $35 million under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(b)(2) or net income from continuing operations of $500,000 in the most recently completed fiscal year or in two of the last three most recently completed fiscal years under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(b)(3), and the Company is no longer in compliance with the NASDAQ Listing Rules. On March 18, 2020, the Company received written notice form NASDAQ stating that the Company complies with the Listing Rule 5550(b)(1).

On November 4, 2019, the Company received a letter from the Nasdaq notifying the Company that, because the closing bid price for the Company’s common stock listed on Nasdaq was below $1.00 for 30 consecutive trading days, the Company no longer meets the minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on Nasdaq under Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5550(a)(2), which requires a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share. On April 14, 2020, the Company received a written notification from the Nasdaq indicating that the Company has regained compliance with the $1.00 minimum closing bid price requirement and that the matter is now closed.

ITEM 1B – UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not applicable.

ITEM 2 – PROPERTIES

Our principal executive office is located at Americas Tower, 1177 Avenue of The Americas, Suite 5100, New York, NY 10036 and we lease such office for a term of one year from December 1, 2020. We also lease offices at Room 2103, 21st Floor, SK Tower 6A, Jianguomenwai Avenue, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China for a term from September 1, 2020 to August 31, 2022, and 23/F, China Development Bank Tower, No. 2 Gaoxin 1st Road, Hi-Tech Industrial Zone, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China. We believe that our current offices are adequate to meet our needs.

ITEM 3 – LEGAL PROCEEDINGS   

Legal case with FT Global Capital, Inc.

In January 2021, FT Global Capital, Inc. (“FT Global”), a former placement agent of the Company filed a lawsuit against the Company in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia.  FT Global served the complaint upon the Company in January 2021.  In the complaint, FT Global alleges claims, most of which attempt to hold the Company liable under legal theories that relate back to an alleged breach of an exclusive placement agent agreement between FT Global and the Company in July 2020 which had a term of three months.  FT Global claims that the Company failed to compensate FT Global for securities purchase transactions between December 2020 and April 2021, pursuant to the terms of the expired exclusive placement agent agreement.  Allegedly, the exclusive placement agent agreement required the Company to pay FT Global for capital received during the term of the agreement and for the 12-month period following the termination of the agreement involving any investors that FT Global introduced and/or wall-crossed to the Company.  However, the Company believes the securities purchase transactions at issue did not involve the one investor which FT Global introduced or wall-crossed to the Company during the term of the agreement.  FT Global claims approximately $7,000,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees.

The Company timely removed the case to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (the (“Court) on February 9, 2021 based on diversity of jurisdiction.  On March 9, 2021, the Company filed a motion to dismiss based on FT Global’s failure to state a claim which is pending before the Court. On March 23, 2021, FT Global filed its response to the Company’s motion to dismiss.  FT Global argues that the Court should deny the Company’s motion to dismiss.  However, if the Court is inclined to grant the Company’s motion to dismiss, FT Global requested that the Court permit it to file an amended complaint.  On April 8, 2021, the parties filed a Joint Preliminary Report and Discovery Plan.  On April 12, 2021, the Court approved the Joint Preliminary Report and Discovery Plan and issued a Scheduling Order placing this case on a six-month discovery tract. The Company will continue to vigorously defend the action against FT Global.

Certain former subsidiaries of the Company were involved in litigations as described in Note 17 “Commitments and Contingencies” to our consolidated financial statements, and these former subsidiaries have been transferred along with HeDengTang HK to New Continent International Co., Ltd. on February 27, 2020.

ITEM 4 – MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5 – MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our Common Stock is currently traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “FTFT.” Prior to December 31, 2018, our stock traded on the Nasdaq Global Market, and before that, on the NYSE Amex.

As of April 12, 2021, there were 65,286,192 shares of our Common Stock issued and outstanding, and the Company had approximately 69 record holders of Common Stock. The number of holders of record does not include the number of persons whose stock is in nominee or “street name” accounts through brokers.

Dividend Policy

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our Common Stock. The payment of dividends is at the discretion of the Board and is contingent on our revenues and earnings, capital requirements, financial condition and the ability of our operating subsidiaries to obtain governmental approval to send funds out of the PRC. We currently intend to retain all earnings, if any, for use in business operations. Accordingly, we do not anticipate declaring any dividends in the near future.

The PRC’s national currency, the RMB or yuan, is not a freely-convertible currency. Please refer to the risk factors “Governmental control of currency conversion may affect the value of shareholder investment,” and “PRC regulations relating to mergers and the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents, if applied to us, may limit our ability to operate our business as we see fit.”

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities and Use of Proceeds

The Company did not make any sales of unregistered securities during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 that were not previously disclosed in a quarterly report on Form 10-Q or a current report on Form 8-K.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table sets forth information as of December 31, 2020, with respect to our equity compensation plans previously approved by stockholders and equity compensation plans not previously approved by stockholders. 

ITEM 6 – SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Not Applicable.

ITEM 7 – MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of the consolidated financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this report. This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results could differ materially from the results described in or implied by these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly under the heading “Risk Factors.”

Overview

Future FinTech is a holding company incorporated under the laws of the State of Florida. The Company historically engaged in the production and sale of fruit juice concentrates (including fruit purees and fruit juices), fruit beverages (including fruit juice beverages and fruit cider beverages) in the PRC. Due to drastically increased production costs and tightened environmental laws in China, the Company had transformed its business from fruit juice manufacturing and distribution to a real-name blockchain based e-commerce platform that integrates blockchain and internet technology. The main business of the Company includes an online shopping platform, Chain Cloud Mall (CCM), which is based on blockchain technology; a cross-border e-commerce platform (NONOGIRL); a blockchain-based application incubator; and technical service and support for real name and blockchain based assets and their operating entities; and the application and development of blockchain-based e-commerce technology and financial technology. The Company is also expanding into financial services.

On July 13, 2020, the Company entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Joy Rich Enterprises Limited (“Joy Rich”) to acquire 90% of the issued and outstanding shares of NTAM, a Hong Kong-based asset management company. However, the closing process was impacted by both the Covid-19 global pandemic and slow regulatory approval from Hong Kong regulatory agencies. Consequently, there had been delayed progress as to the closing of the acquisition. The closing date as stipulated in the Agreement was no later than December 31, 2020, but since July 2020 there have been changes in NTAM’s business performance as well as the price of FTFT’s common stock. The parties have agreed to renegotiate the purchase price in accordance with a new valuation of NTAM and the recent stock price level of the Company for the share exchange transaction. On April 9, 2021, the parties entered into the First Amendment (the “Amendment”) to the Share Exchange Agreements. Pursuant to the Amendment, the parties agree to amend the purchase price and certain earn-out terms as follows: (i) the aggregate purchase price for Nice Shares shall be HK$144,000,000 (the “Purchase Price”) and it shall be paid in the shares of common stock of the Company (the “Company Shares”); (ii) 60% of the Purchase Price or HK$86,400,000 shall be paid in the shares of common stock of the Company based on 95% of the closing price of the Company’s common stock listed on Nasdaq Stock Exchange on the date prior to the date of the Amendment and the foreign exchange rate between HK$ and US$ shall be 7.7:1; (iii) 20% of Purchase Price shall be paid in the shares of common stock of the Company if Nice achieves an Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (the “EBIT”) of HK$14,000,000 (the “2021 EBIT Goal”), as evidenced in its 2021 audited financial statements for fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 audited by the auditor of the Company (the “2021 Earn-Out Shares”); (iv) the final 20% of Purchase Price shall be paid in the shares of common stock of the Company if Nice achieves an EBIT of HK$20,000,000 (the “2022 EBIT Goal”), as evidenced in its 2022 audited financial statements for fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 audited by the auditor of the Company (the “2022 Earn-Out Shares”); (v) if Nice does not achieve the EBIT Goal for a given year, the shortfall between EBIT Goal and the actual EBIT for that year shall be the EBIT Shortfall (the “EBIT Shortfall”) and the amount of an EBIT Shortfall Fee that equals to 10 (ten) times of the EBIT Shortfall amount (the “EBIT Shortfall Fee”) shall be paid in cash by the Seller to the Buyer even though such year’s Earn-Out Shares shall still be issued in full to the Seller.

On February 26, 2021, the Company and Future Supply Chain Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and a company incorporated under the laws of China (“Buyer”) entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Sichuan Longma Electronic Technology Co. Ltd. (“Longma”) and Sichuan Ticode Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. (the “Ticode”) to acquire a 60% equity interest of Ticode from Longma in exchange for 7,789,882 shares of common stock of the Company. Ticode provides financial services for the supply chain industry and its business includes procurement agent services, sales agent services, inventory pledged loan services, and supply chain financing intermediary services. Ticode’s supply chain related services cover electronic components, technology services to supply chain data management for the electronics industry, and supply chain management for various electronic components and materials, metal materials and raw plastic materials.

Business

Chain Cloud Mall adopts a “multi-vendor hosted stores + platform self-hosted stores” model. The platform supports various marketing methods, including point rewards programs, coupons, live webcasts, game interaction, and social media sharing. Besides the blockchain-powered features, CCM is also fully equipped with the same functions and services that other Chinese leading traditional e-commerce platforms provide.

Based on blockchain technology, CCM is established to transform the relationship between companies and consumers from traditional selling and buying relationships to a value-sharing relationship. The platform will fairly distribute the benefit of the entire mall to users who engaged in the promotion, development, and consumption based on their contributions to the platform. The members of CCM are not only consumers and entrepreneurs but also participants, promoters and beneficiaries. The CCM shared shopping mall platform is designed to be a block-chain based shopping mall for merchants and goods, not the exchange of digital currencies, and it currently only accepts payment from credit cards, Alipay and WeChat.

Chain Cloud Mall is an enterprise and customer interactive and comprehensive shopping and sales service platform. It is an open network promotion system with a blockchain based anti-counterfeit system including referral point and discount points issuance and settlement. The new business model creates a completely new source of data traffic for enterprises on our platform.

Merchants on the Chain Cloud Mall issue their own blockchain points and anti-counterfeiting QR codes. Every product comes with unique anti-counterfeiting QR codes on the label. Customers collect the points issued by the merchants by scanning products with their mobile phones on the anti-counterfeiting QR code. These QR codes are generated by blockchain system of Chain Cloud Mall and provided to merchants. The successful collection of the merchant points confirms that the authentication of product from such enterprise. The Chain Cloud Mall records and provides Chain Cloud Mall points to its members upon a successful new member and/or product referral, which can be used as credit when making purchases on CCM. It incentivizes its members to promote the platform and share the products with their social contacts, which in turn increases the sales through Chain Cloud Mall and helps the Company generate greater value.

NONOGIRL started its trial operation in March 2020 and formally launched in July 2020. It is a cross-border e-commerce platform, which aims to build a new s2b2c (supplier to business and consumer) outsourcing sales platform dominated by social media influencers. It is aimed at the growing female consumer market, with the ability to broadcast, short video, and all forms communication through the platform. It can also create a sale oriented sharing ecosystem with other major social media used by customers.

CCM shopping mall membership

Members are the key participants on CCM and drivers of its growth. Our members typically pay to gain access to a dedicated app that provides access to a curated selection of products, exclusive membership benefits, and features, including discounted prices and point rewards. Members can refer others to become members and are rewarded for doing so. Members can also promote products on various social platforms and are rewarded if those users purchase our products.

Sales of Goods

We have a unique real-name and membership–based blockchain e-commerce shopping platform that integrates blockchain, internet technology and distinguishes itself by utilizing the automatic value distribution system of the blockchain and sharing the value of the platform to all the participants in the system.

Our latest CCM v3.0 creates a new value cycle system of online shopping mall with the real-name blockchain system with following characteristics:

Using real-name blockchain technology to carry out anti-counterfeiting for products produced by the enterprises. The essence of anti-counterfeiting is to determine the person responsible for the product. Using real-name blockchain system, it provides the assurance to our customers to the authentication of the products they purchase and solve the problem of counterfeiting products in online shopping mall.

Blockchain points are also discount coupons for merchants, guiding customers to the platform of the merchants, and provide them discounts when purchasing. This process is called secondary data traffic. It is important to maintaining old customers. Blockchain anti- counterfeiting technology through scanning of QR codes by the customers helps companies identify such customers and allows them to systematically maintain contacts with such customers.

Points promotion system brings secondary data traffic comes with volume and high turnover ratio. All such sales are directed to the merchants’ stores when customers possess and use merchants’ coupons. With a high level of user stickiness, customers are likely to purchase products again and collect more blockchain points. 

Anti-counterfeiting technology plus the Company’s secondary data traffic platform have created great value for the merchants that have stores on our platform. By gathering all loyal customers to a merchant’s store, it can build a community of people with the common interest. Through the community, the merchant can form a self-organizing system with customer groups to maximize the interests of such merchant.

Recent Developments Related to the COVID-19 Outbreak

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, the pandemic quickly spread to many provinces, autonomous regions, and cities all over the China and other parts of the world. COVID-19 has materially and adversely affected our business, especially during the first six months of 2020. In early 2020, Chinese government took emergency measures to combat the spread of the virus, including quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of office buildings and facilities in China.

Substantially all of our revenues are generated in China. In response to the evolving dynamics related to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Company is following the guidelines of local authorities as it prioritizes the health and safety of its employees, contractors, suppliers and business partners. Our offices in China was closed and all of the Company’s employees worked from home from Chinese New Year at the end of January 2020 until late March 2020. Other businesses in China started reopening around the end of the first quarter as well, and more and more businesses, transportation, logistic and marketing activities have gradually resumed since then. Our offices currently are in normal operation. However, quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of office buildings have negatively impacted our business during the outbreak. Our suppliers have negatively been affected, and could continue to be negatively affected in their ability to supply and ship products to our customers by any further outbreak or resurgence of COVID-19 in China. Our customers that are negatively impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19 may reduce their budgets to purchase products and services from us, which may materially adversely impact our revenue. The business operations of the third parties’ stores on our platform have been and could continue to be negatively impacted by any further outbreak or resurgence of COVID-19, which may negatively impact their operations and business, which may in turn adversely affect the business of our platform as a whole as well as our financial condition and operating results. The outbreak has had and might continue to have disruption to our supply chain, logistics providers, or customers if there is a resurgence of COVID-19 in China, which could materially adversely impact our business and results of operations, including causing our suppliers to cease manufacturing products for a period of time or materially delay delivery to us and customers, which may also lead to loss of customers, as well as reputational, competitive and business harm to us. The Company’s promotion strategy for our e-commerce platforms mainly relied on the training of members and distributors through meetings and conferences. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chinese government put a restriction on large gatherings and these restrictions made the promotion strategy for CCM Shopping Mall difficult to implement, which have caused the decrease in the sales and enrollment of new members. Some of our customers, contractors, suppliers and other business partners are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which may not have strong cash flows or be well capitalized, and may be vulnerable to an epidemic outbreak and slowing macroeconomic conditions. If the SMEs that we work with cannot weather the COVID-19 and the resulting economic impact, or cannot resume business as usual after a prolonged outbreak, our revenues and business operations may be materially and adversely impacted.

The global economy has also been materially negatively affected by the COVID-19 and there is continued uncertainty about the duration and intensity of its impacts. The Chinese and global growth forecast is extremely uncertain, which would seriously affect customer spending in our shopping mall.

While the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, COVID-19 may be difficult to assess or predict, a widespread pandemic may result in significant disruption of global financial markets, reducing our ability to access capital, which could negatively affect our liquidity. In addition, a recession or market correction resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially affect our business and the value of the Company’s Common Stock.

Further, as we do not have access to a revolving credit facility, there can be no assurance that we would be able to secure commercial debt financing in the future in the event that we require additional capital. We currently believe that our financial resources will be adequate to see us through the outbreak. However, in the event that we do need to raise capital in the future, outbreak-related instability in the securities markets could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital.

Consequently, our results of operations have been materially adversely affected. Any future impact to our results will depend on, to a large extent, future developments and new information that may emerge regarding the duration and severity of the COVID-19 and the actions taken by government authorities and other entities to contain the COVID-19 or treat its impact, almost all of which are beyond our control.

Discontinued Operations

On September 18, 2019, SkyPeople Foods Holdings Limited, entered into a Share Transfer Agreement (the “Agreement”) with New Continent International Co., Ltd., (the “Buyer”) a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, the Buyer purchased 100% ownership of HeDeTang HK from SkyPeople Foods Holdings Limited, which value is primarily derived from HeDeTang HK’s wholly-owned subsidiary HeDeJiaChuan Holdings Co., Ltd. and 73.41% owned subsidiary SkyPeople Juice Group Co., Ltd., for a total price of RMB 600,000 (approximately $85,714) (the “Sale Transaction”). The Sale Transaction was closed on February 27, 2020. In accordance with ASC Topic 205, Presentation of Financial Statement Discontinued Operations (“ASC Topic 205”), the Company presented the operation results from HeDeTang HK’s and subsidiaries as a discontinued operation, as the Company believed that no continued cash flow would be generated by the discontinued component and that the Company would have no significant continuing involvement in the operations of the discontinued component. The total assets of HeDeTang HK were $106.85 million as of February 27, 2020 and the total liabilities of HeDeTang HK were $231.21 million as of February 27, 2020, resulting in a gain on disposal of $123.69 million. There was no income or loss from HeDeTang HK from January 1, 2020 to the sale.

The discontinued operation presented in the financial statement for the period ended June 30, 2019 includes Huludao Wonder operation, a subsidiary which produces concentrated apple juice. In December 2016, the Company established a winding-down plan to close this operation. Based on the restructuring plan and in accordance with ASC 205-20, the Company presented the operating results from Huludao Wonder as a discontinued operation, as the Company believed that no continued cash flow would be generated by the disposed component (Huludao Wonder) and that the Company would have no significant continuing involvement in the operation of the discontinued component. Management of the Company initiated a plan to sell the property located in Huludao in December 2016, and ceased the depreciation of the property in accordance with ASC 205-20. In accordance with the restructuring plan, the Company intended to transfer the concentrated fruit juice production equipment in Huludao Wonder to another subsidiary and to sell the land use right and facilities upon favorable circumstances. On February 27, 2020 pursuant to a Share Transfer Agreement entered into SkyPeople Foods Holdings Limited and New Continent International Co., Ltd. on September 18, 2019, the ownership of Huludao Wonder was transferred as a subsidiary of HeDeTang HK to New Continent International Co., Ltd.

On  March 11, 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors passed a resolution to sell the operation of Globalkey Supply Chain limited and Zhonglian Hengxin Assets Management Co., Ltd (“Zhonglian Hengxin”) and close the operation of Digital Online Marketing Limited, Future Digital Fintech (Xi’an) Co., Ltd., SkyPeople Foods Holding Ltd. and Chain Future Digital Tech (Beijing) Co., Ltd. Based on the disposal plan and in accordance with ASC 205-20, the Company presented the operating results from these operations as a discontinued operation.

On  July 24, 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors passed a resolution to sale the operation of Hedetang Farm Products Trading Markets (Mei County) Co., Ltd. and close the operation of Chain Cloud Mall Logistics Center (Shaanxi) Co., Ltd, a subsidiary located in the national kiwifruit Industrial Park of Baoji City. On July 27,2020, Skypeople Foods Holdings Limited was dissolved; On July 28, 2020, Digital Online Marketing Limited was dissolved; On October 31, 2020, Chain Cloud Mall Network and Technology (Tianjin) Co., Limited and Chain Cloud Mall Logistics Center (Shanxi) Co., Ltd. completed the transfer of its ownership in Hedetang Farm Products Trading Markets (Mei county) Co., Ltd.

On November 12, 2020, CCM Tianjin, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company entered into an Equity Transfer Agreement with Xi’an Yishengkang Information Technology, Ltd. (“Xi’an Yishengkang”), an unrelated third party, pursuant to which CCM Tianjin agreed to sell 90% of total issued and outstanding capital stock of Hedetang Market that it owns to Xi’an Yishengkang for RMB9,000 (approximately $1,324). On the same date, CCM Logistics entered into another Equity Transfer Agreement with an individual and unrelated third party, Liyuan Ying, pursuant to which CCM Tianjin agreed to sell 10% of total issued and outstanding capital stock of Hedetang Market that it owns to Liyuan Ying for RMB1,000 (approximately $147).

Segment Information Reclassification

Historically, the Company operated in five segments: concentrated apple juice and apple aroma, concentrated kiwifruit juice and kiwifruit puree, concentrated pear juice, fruit juice beverages, and others.

As the Company classified the juice related operation into discontinued operation in the beginning of year 2019, and in accordance with the Company’s new business strategy, the Company classified business segment into CCM Shopping Mall Membership, sales of goods and others. 

Use of Estimates

The Company’s consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and this requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure at contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. The significant areas requiring the use of management estimates include the allowance for doubtful accounts receivable, estimated useful life and residual value of property, plant and equipment, impairment of long-lived assets, provision for staff benefit, valuation of change in fair value of warrant liability, recognition and measurement of deferred income taxes and valuation allowance for deferred tax assets. Although these estimates are based on management’s knowledge of current events and actions management may undertake in the future, actual results may ultimately differ from those estimates.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

On January 1, 2009, the Company adopted FASB Accounting Standard Codification Topic on Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820”), which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in GAAP, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. ASC 820 does not require any new fair value measurements, but provides guidance on how to measure fair value by providing a fair value hierarchy used to classify the source of the information. In February 2008, FASB deferred the effective date of ASC 820 by one year for certain non-financial assets and non-financial liabilities, except those that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis (at least annually). The Company adopted the provisions of ASC 820, except as it applies to those non-financial assets and non-financial liabilities for which the effective date has been delayed by one year.

ASC 820 establishes a three-level valuation hierarchy of valuation techniques based on observable and unobservable input, which may be used to measure fair value and include the following:

Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 - Input other than Level 1 that is observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other input that is observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3 - Unobservable input that is supported by little or no market activity and that is significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities. Classification within the hierarchy is determined based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

Revenue Recognition

The Company adopted ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, from January 1, 2018. The adoption had no impact on the Company’s retained earnings as of January 1, 2018 as well as the Company’s financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019. To achieve that core principle, we apply the five steps defined under Topic 606: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer, (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (iii) determine the transaction price, (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. We assess its revenue arrangements against specific criteria in order to determine if it is acting as principal or agent. Revenue is recognized upon the transfer of control of promised goods or services to a customer. Historically, the Company has not had any returned products. Accordingly, no provision has been made for returnable goods. The Company is not required to rebate or credit a portion of the original fee if it subsequently reduces the price of its product and the distributor still has rights with respect to that product.

Foreign Currency and Other Comprehensive Income

The financial statements of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries are measured using the local currency as the functional currency; however, the reporting currency of the Company is the United States dollar (“USD”). Assets and liabilities of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries have been translated into USD using the exchange rate at the balance sheet date, while equity accounts are translated using historical exchange rate. The average exchange rate for the period has been used to translate revenues and expenses. Translation adjustments are reported separately and accumulated in a separate component of equity (cumulative translation adjustment).

Other comprehensive income for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 represented foreign currency translation adjustments and were included in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.

There is no guarantee the RMB amounts could have been, or could be, converted into USD at rates used in translation.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are provided on an asset and liability approach for financial accounting and reporting of income taxes. Any tax paid by subsidiaries during the year is recorded. Current tax is based on the profit or loss from ordinary activities adjusted for items that are non-assessable or disallowable for income tax purpose and is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted at the balance sheet date. Deferred income tax liabilities or assets are recorded to reflect the tax consequences in future years of differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and the financial reporting amounts at each period end. A valuation allowance is recognized if it is more likely than not that some portion, or all, of a deferred tax asset will not be realized.

ASC 740 provides guidance for recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions, and it prescribes a threshold condition that a tax position must meet for any of the benefits of the uncertain tax position to be recognized in the financial statements. ASC 740 also provides accounting guidance on derecognizing, classification and disclosure of these uncertain tax positions.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

In accordance with the FASB ASC 360-10, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, long-lived assets, such as property, plant and equipment and purchased intangibles subject to amortization are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. It is reasonably possible that these assets could become impaired as a result of technological or other industrial changes. Determination of recoverability of assets to be held and used is by comparing the carrying amount of an asset to future net undiscounted cash flows to be generated by the assets.

If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13 (“ASU 2016-13”) “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses” (“ASC 326”): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments” which requires the measurement and recognition of expected credit losses for financial assets held at amortized cost. ASU 2016-13 replaces the existing incurred loss impairment model with an expected loss model which requires the use of forward-looking information to calculate credit loss estimates. It also eliminates the concept of other-than-temporary impairment and requires credit losses related to available-for-sale debt securities to be recorded through an allowance for credit losses rather than as a reduction in the amortized cost basis of the securities. These changes will result in earlier recognition of credit losses. In November 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-10 “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326), Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815), and Leases (Topic 842)” (“ASC 2019-10”), which defers the effective date of ASU 2016-13 to fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years, for public entities which meet the definition of a smaller reporting company. The Company will adopt ASU 2016-13 effective January 1, 2023. Management is currently evaluating the effect of the adoption of ASU 2016-13 on the consolidated financial statements. The effect will largely depend on the composition and credit quality of our investment portfolio and the economic conditions at the time of adoption.

In December 2019, the FASB issued the amendments in ASU 2019-12 ASC Topic 740, Income Taxes: Simplifying Accounting for Income Taxes, which removes specific exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740 in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The amendments eliminate the need for an organization to analyze whether the specific exceptions apply in a given period, improve financial statement preparers’ application of income tax-related guidance and simplify GAAP. The amendments are effective for all entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, and interim periods within those fiscal years. While early application is permitted, including adoption in an interim period, the Company has not elected to early adopt. The effectiveness of this update is not expected to have a significant effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

We have reviewed all the recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements and we do not believe any of these pronouncements will have a material impact on the Company.

Comparison of Operation Results of years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019

Revenue

The following table presents our consolidated revenues for our main products for the fiscal years 2020 and 2019, respectively, (in thousands):

In 2019, the Company started to sell products on its on-line shopping platform, Chain Cloud Mall (CCM) based on blockchain technology to its members or non- members.

In fiscal year 2020, the Company’s main business was on-line shopping platform, Chain Cloud Mall (CCM) based on blockchain technology to its members or non- members.

In order to increase the repeat sales from customers and drive sales growth, the Company also subscribes members on its sales platform. Currently, there are three kinds of membership programs, Diamond Elite, Gold Elite and Silver Elite, with different membership fees and benefits. The higher membership fee provides more benefits to the members. Members can earn points on the Company’s sales platform and enjoy discounts on their purchases. Members can refer others to become members and are rewarded for doing so. Members can also promote products on various social platforms and are rewarded if those users purchase the Company’s products. Membership revenue is recognized when member registers and makes his/her first order on our sales platform. Due to the Covid-19 and change of marketing and business development model due to the restriction of large gathering for meetings and conference which primarily used by us before the pandemic, the Company had less new member subscription in 2020.

Revenue decreased from $0.94 million in 2019 to $0.37 million in 2020, decrease of $0.57 million or 61%. The decrease in revenue was mainly due to a decrease in sales through the e-commerce business.

The revenue generated by the CCM Shopping Mall Membership segment in fiscal year 2020 was $0.34 million, which accounted for 91% of total revenue. Decrease in revenue is due to less new member subscription.

The revenue generated by the sale of goods segment in fiscal year 2020 was $0.009 million, which accounted for 2% of total revenue, due to the business is mainly fruit juice related goods and ceased to operate in 2020.

As a percentage of total revenue, the revenue generated by others was 6% of total revenue in fiscal years 2020, and the revenue was mainly services charge for companies to use the CCM platform.

Gross Margin

(in thousands)

Overall gross margin as a percentage of revenue was 90% in fiscal year 2020, an increase of 42% compared to gross margin 49% in fiscal year 2019. The increase in gross margin as a percentage of revenue was mainly attributable to the CCM Shopping Mall Membership segments, which has high gross margin. In terms of dollar value, the overall gross profit for fiscal year 2020 was $0.36 million, a decrease of $0.13 million, compared to gross profit of $0.49 million for fiscal year 2019. The decrease in the dollar value of overall gross profit was mainly due to the change of marketing and business development model caused by Covid-19 pandemic resulting less new member subscription.

The gross margin as a percentage of revenue in the CCM Shopping Mall Membership segment was 99.0% in fiscal year 2020, this is mainly due to there is very minimal costs related to the revenue.

The gross margin as a percentage of revenue in the sale of goods segment was 22.0% in the fiscal year 2020. There is no significant changes in margin as the business is mostly fruit juice related goods and it ceased to operate in 2020. 

The gross margin as a percentage of revenue in the other revenue segment was (4) % in fiscal year 2020, as compared to gross margin of 7% in fiscal year 2019. The decrease in gross margin percentage was due to increase in labor costs.

Operating Expenses

The following table presents consolidated operating expenses and operating expenses as a percentage of revenue for 2020 and 2019, respectively, (in thousands):

General and administrative expenses remained stable as there is no significant changes to the overhead structure, changes in general expenses are mainly due to reclassification of discontinued operation related costs.

Selling expenses decreased by $0.40 million to $0.04 million in 2020 as compared to $0.44 million in 2019, mainly due to a decrease in selling expenses from our E-commerce business.

The Company recorded $1.76 million of impairment loss in fiscal year 2020 related with the equity investment in INU that Digipay Finteh Limited invested in June 2018. According to the understanding that INU is currently in a state of cessation of operation, the investment has been unable to bring economic benefits to company. The Company decided to fully impair the investment in fiscal year 2020. In addition, the intangible assets include patent rights, software and e-platform, of which $1.86 million for the shared platform system  of Chain Cloud Mall that completed its final development and construction stage and became intangible assets in 2020, and it was fully impaired of the assets in fiscal year 2020.

Loss from Operations

Loss from operations increased by $7.44 million to $15.02 million for 2020 from $7.58 million for 2019, mainly due to an increase in stock compensation expenses and reclassification of operating expenses to discontinued operation.

Noncontrolling Interests

As of December 31, 2020, Shaanxi Chunlv Ecological Agriculture Co., Ltd. (“Shaanxi Chunlv”) holds 20.0% interest in CCM logistics, Nature Worldwide Resources Ltd. holds 40% interest in DCON DigiPay Limited (“DCON Digipay”). 

Loss from Continuing Operations

Loss from continuing operations increased by $42.53 million from $10.95 million in 2019 to $53.48 million in 2020 as the result a decrease in revenue and an increase in bad debt and Impairment Loss.

Loss per Share

Basic and diluted loss per share from continuing operations were $1.41 and $1.41 in fiscal 2020, as compared to $0.35 and $0.35 in fiscal 2019, respectively. Basic and diluted income per share attributable to discontinued operations was $3.75 and $3.32 for fiscal year 2019 as compared to $0.45 and $0.45 for fiscal year 2019, respectively.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of December 31, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents of $9.79 million, an increase of $9.6 million, from $0.19 million as of December 31, 2019. The increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash was mainly due to financing from the issuance of shares of common stock and issuance of debt instruments.

Our working capital has historically been generated from our operating cash flows, advances from our customers and loans from bank facilities. Our working capital was positive $10.34 million as of December 31, 2020, an increase of $113.21 million from negative $102.87 million as of December 31, 2019, mainly due to a decrease in current liabilities.

In 2020, net cash generated in our operating activities was $3.98 million compared to net cash used in operating activities of $26.32.84 million in 2019. The decrease in net cash used in our operating activities was primarily due to a decrease in gain on sale of discontinued operations in the fiscal year 2020 as compared to the fiscal year 2019. In additions, as the fruit juice business is causing cash loss, the business was transferred in operation in beginning of 2020 also reflected positive in the operating cash.

In 2020, net cash used in our investing activities was $7.36 million compared to net cash used in operating activities of $0.05 million in 2019. The increase in net cash used in our investing activities was primarily due to an increase in short-term loan investment and intangible assets in the fiscal year 2020 as compared to the fiscal year 2019.

In 2020, cash provided by financing activities was $16.71 million as compared to cash used in financing activities $0.63 million in 2019. In 2020, we issued shares of common stock, promissory note and impairment of long-term investment.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of December 31, 2020, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.

ITEM 7A – QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Not applicable.

ITEM 8 – FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

The information called for by this item is included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements beginning on page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

ITEM 9 – CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

Not applicable.

ITEM 9A – CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our CEO and CFO, has evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act, as of December 31, 2020

The term “disclosure controls and procedures” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) means controls and other procedures of the Company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in reports, such as this report, that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives, and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

Based on that evaluation, our CEO and CFO concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2020, due to a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we currently lack sufficient accounting personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience and training in U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting requirements.

Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurances regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our accounting policies and internal controls over financial reporting, established and maintained by management, are under the general oversight of the Board’s audit committee.

Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree or compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Management assessed our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020.

The standard measures adopted by management in making its evaluation are the measures in the Internal-Control Integrated Framework published by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

Based on management’s assessment using the COSO criteria, our CEO and CFO concluded that our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020 was ineffective.  We have taken, and are taking, certain actions to remediate the material weakness related to our lack of U.S. GAAP experience. We engaged consultants with U.S. GAAP knowledge and experience to supplement our current internal accounting personnel and assist us in the preparation of our financial statements to ensure that our financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP in 2020 and we also hired a new CFO who has more SEC reporting experience.

The Company continues to make efforts to implementing our existing and newly adopted procedures to improve our disclosure controls and internal controls over financing reporting.

Changes to Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Other than discussed above, there has been no change to our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this annual report on Form 10-K that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 9B – OTHER INFORMATION

None 

PART III

ITEM 10 – DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Directors and Executive Officers

The following table sets forth as of April 15, 2021, the names, positions and ages of our current executive officers and directors. Our directors serve until the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are elected and qualified. Our officers are elected by the Board and their terms of office are, except to the extent governed by an employment contract, at the discretion of the Board.

Yongke Xue, Chairman of Board of Directors

Mr. Yongke Xue served as our CEO from January 31, 2018 to March 4, 2020. Mr. Xue also served in that position from February 26, 2008 to February 18, 2013, and from December 24, 2014 to September 2, 2016. Mr. Yongke Xue currently serves as the Chairman of the Board. Mr. Yongke Xue has served as the director of SkyPeople (China) from December 2005 to February 2020. Mr. Xue served as the general manager of Hede from December 2005 to June 2007. Prior to that, he served as the business director of the investment banking division of Hualong Securities Co., Ltd. from April 2001 to December 2005. He also acted as the vice general manager of Shaanxi Huaye Foods Co., Ltd. from July 1998 to March 2001. Mr. Xue graduated from Xi’an Jiaotong University with an MBA in 2000. Mr. Xue graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Metal Material & Heat Treatment from National University of Defense Technology in July 1989. The Board believes that Mr. Xue’s vision, leadership and extensive knowledge of the Company is essential to the development of its strategic vision.

Shanchun Huang, Chief Executive officer and Director of the Board

Mr. Huang was appointed as our CEO and director of the Board on March 4, 2020. Mr. Huang served as the president of Wealth Index (Beijing) Fund Management Co., Ltd., which provides private equity fund management service, from March 2011 to March 2020, and as the president of Wealth Index (Beijing) International Investment Consulting Co., Ltd., which provides investment management and consulting services for non-securities related business, from August 2004 to March 2020. From May 2001 to June 2004, Mr. Huang was the vice president of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Corporation, a global automobile company headquartered in Hangzhou, China. Mr. Huang graduated from Hefei Staff University of Science and Technology in July 1986, majoring in news collection and editing. The Board believes that Mr. Huang’s extensive business and operational knowledge and expertise qualifies him to serve the CEO of the Company and as a member of the Board.

Ming Yi, Chief Financial Officer

On November 30, 2020, the Board of the Directors appointed Mr. Ming Yi as the CFO of the Company.

Mr. Yi has served as an independent director of Hudson Capital Inc. (Nasdaq: HUSN) since March 31, 2020. Mr. Yi was the CFO of SSLJ.com Limited from July 2018 to July 2019. From June 2011 to August 2018, Mr. Yi was the CFO and a board member of Wave Sync Corp. (formerly known as China Bio-Energy Corp). From September 2009 to April 2011, he served as a senior manager at Qi He Certified Public Accountants Co. Ltd. Form July 2007 to August 2010, Mr. Yi was a senior auditor at Ernst & Young. Mr. Yi received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from School of Business Administrations of Liaoning University in 2004 and his Master of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from Victory University, Australia in 2006. Mr. Yi is a Certified Public Accountant in Australia. The Board believes that Mr. Yi’s significant accounting and public company experience will be important to the Company and the Board.

Yang Liu, Chief Operating Officer

On November 16, 2020, the board of directors appointed Mr. Yang Liu as the COO of the Company.

Mr. Liu served as Chairman and CEO of Color Star Technology Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq: HHT) from March 2019 to July 2020. Mr. Liu served as President of MagniFinTech from May 2017 to March 2019 and served as CEO of Wave Sync Corporation from July 2017 to August 2018. Mr. Liu served as the Murex Regional Manager at UBS from November 2015 to May 2017. From June 2008 to November 2015, Mr. Liu served as a Senior Consultant, Client Coordinator and Single-point of Contact at Murex North America. Mr. Liu holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electric Engineering from Tsinghua University in China and two Master’s degrees in Financial Mathematics and Electrical Engineering from New Mexico State University. Mr. Liu’s significant financial, operational and management expertise qualifies him to serve as the COO of the Company.

Johnson Lau, Director

On December 23, 2014, the Board appointed Johnson Lau as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company and he also serves as the Chairman of Audit committee and a member of the Compensation Committee of the Board.

Mr. Lau is the CFO of Precious Fresh Limited, a private company since November 2019. Mr. Lau is a Certified Public Accountant of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and CPA Australia. Mr. Lau has over 20 years of experience in the accounting profession. Mr. Lau started his career in Deloitte in Hong Kong and Beijing from 1997 to 2004. Prior to joining Precious Fresh Limited in 2019, Mr. Lau worked in various public companies in the United States, England and Hong Kong as director of finance and CFO for over ten years. He holds a bachelor degree in commerce from Monash University, Australia. The Board believes that Mr. Lau’s extensive knowledge and experience in accounting and his public company experience is important to the Company’s internal controls and financial reporting and its status as a US traded public company. During the period between 2004 and 2019, Mr. Lau worked in various public companies listed in the United States, England and Hong Kong as director of finance and CFO. Mr. Lau was the CFO and was subsequently an executive director of Haike Chemical Group Limited, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: HAIK.L), from December 2006 to March 2009. Mr. Lau subsequently resigned as CFO and was redesignated as a non-executive director of Haike Chemical Group Limited in March 2009. He retired as a non-executive director in January 2010. From April 2009, Mr. Lau was employed by AutoChina International Limited, a company listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market and subsequently quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board (Nasdaq/OTC: AUTCF) as CFO. He was redesignated as the director of finance in July 2009 and subsequently departed in June 2013. From June 2010 to January 2013, Mr. Lau was an independent director of Lizhan Environmental Corporation (Nasdaq: LZEN). Mr. Lau was the CFO of SGOCO Group, Ltd. (Nasdaq: SGOC), from July 2013 to June 2015. Mr. Lau was the CFO of China Golden Classic Group Limited (HKEX: 8281.HK) from July 2015 to July 2018. Mr. Lau was the CFO of Dafy Holdings Limited. (HKEX: 1826.HK) from August 2018 to October 2019. He was an independent non-executive director of Winshine Science Company Limited (HKEX: 209.HK) from October 2017 to April 2019. The Board believes that Mr. Lau’s qualifications and strong experience stated above is sufficient and helpful to our Company’s future development and serve as a member of the Board.  

Fuyou Li, Director

On May 8, 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors appointed Mr. Fuyou Li as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors and a member of Compensation Committee and Audit Committee of the Board. The Board of Directors also appointed Mr. Li as a member of both the audit and compensation committees of the Board. Mr. Li graduated from Xi’an Jiaotong University with a doctor’s degree in economics. He has taught international finance as a professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University since 2000. The Board believes his professional background and expertise in international finance qualifies him to serve as a member of the Board.

Mingjie Zhao, Director

On July 15, 2020, the Board appointed Mr. Mingjie Zhao as a member of the Board and Chairman of the Compensation Committee and a member of Audit Committee of the Board. Mr. Zhao has served as a director of New York Hua Yang, Inc. since April 2018. From July 2016 to March 2018, Mr. Zhao served as CEO of TD Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as China Commercial Credit Inc. and Nasdaq: CLG). Mr. Zhao was the COO and a director of New York Hua Yang, Inc. from September 2011 to July 2016. Mr. Zhao obtained his Master of Business Administration degree from University of Bridgeport in Connecticut in May 2003 and his Bachelor of Science degree from China Eastern Normal University in Shanghai, China in July 1985. The Board believes that Mr. Zhao’s extensive business expertise and public companies experience qualify him to serve as a member of the Board.

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires that directors, certain officers of the Company and ten percent shareholders file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the Commission as to the Company’s securities beneficially owned by them. Such persons are also required by SEC rules to furnish the Company with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file.

Based solely on its review of copies of such forms received by the Company, or on written representations from certain reporting persons, the Company believes that, all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to its officers, directors and greater than ten percent shareholders were complied with during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, except for the following: Mr. Yang Liu did not file a Form 3 for appointment as COO of the Company in November 2020, Mr. Ming Yi did not file a Form 3 for appointment as CFO of the Company in November 2020, Form 4 for Mr. Yongke Xue, Chairman of the Board for the grant of stock award for 500,000 shares on December 28, 2020, Form 3 for appointment as COO of the Company in November 2020, Form 3 for Mr. Shanchun Huang’s appointment as CEO on March 4, 2020 was filed on March 12, 2021, Form 3 for Mr. Mingjie Zhao’s appointment as a director of the Company on July 15, 2020 was filed on March 12, 2021.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics that applies to all of our employees, officers and directors, including those officers responsible for financial reporting. Our code of business conduct and ethics is available on our website at www.ftftex.com and may be found by first clicking on “Investors,” then “Corporate Governance” and then “Governance Documents.” We intend to disclose any amendments to the code, or any waivers of its requirements, on our website.

Committees of the Company’s Board of Directors

The Board held 8 regularly scheduled and special meetings during fiscal year 2020. All of the directors attended (in person or by telephone) all of the Board meetings and any committees of the Board on which they served during the fiscal year. Directors are expected to use their best efforts to be present at the shareholders annual meeting. All of our directors attended the December 18, 2020 shareholders annual meeting by tele-conference or in person.

Audit Committee

On April 25, 2008, the Board formed an audit committee. Messrs. Lau, Li and Zhao currently serve on the audit committee, which is chaired by Mr. Lau. Each member of the audit committee is “independent” as that term is defined in the rules of the SEC and within the meaning of such term as defined under the rules of the NASDAQ Capital Market. The Board has determined that each audit committee member has sufficient knowledge in financial and auditing matters to serve on the audit committee. The audit committee held four meetings during fiscal year 2020, and all audit committee members attended each of those meetings. Our Board has determined that Mr. Lau is an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined under the applicable SEC rules. 

Compensation Committee

On April 25, 2008, the Board formed a compensation committee. Messrs. Lau, Li and Zhao currently serve on the compensation committee, which is chaired by Mr. Zhao. Each member of the compensation committee is “independent” as that term is defined in the SEC rules and within the meaning of such term as defined under the rules of the NASDAQ Capital Market, a “nonemployee director” for purposes of Section 16 of the Exchange Act. No interlocking relationship exists between the Board or the compensation committee and the Board or compensation committee of any other company, nor has any interlocking relationship existed during the last fiscal year. The compensation committee held two meetings during fiscal year 2020.

Other Committees

The Board may on occasion establish other committees, as it deems necessary or required. We do not currently have a standing nominating committee, or a committee performing similar functions. The full Board currently serves this function. Our directors believe that it is not necessary to have such committees, at this time, because the functions of such committees can be adequately performed by the Board. The Board will assess all candidates, whether submitted by management or shareholders, and make recommendations for election or appointment. There have been no material changes to the procedures by which security holders may recommend nominees to the Board.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of the Company’s executive officers has served as a member of a compensation committee, or other committee serving an equivalent function, of any other entity whose executive officers serve as a director of the Company or member of the Company’s compensation committee.

ITEM 11 – EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Compensation Objectives

We operate in a highly competitive and rapidly changing industry. The key objectives of our executive compensation programs are to:

Stock Incentive Plans

On March 13, 2018, the Company’s shareholders approved the 2017 Omnibus Equity Plan at the annual shareholders meeting, which permits the grant of incentive stock options (“ISOs”), nonqualified stock options (“NQSOs”), stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted stock, unrestricted stock and restricted stock units (“RSUs”) to its employees of up to 1,300,000 shares of Common Stock. On December 21, 2018, the Company issued 1,300,000 shares of the Company’s unrestricted common stock to seven of the Company’s employees pursuant to our 2017 Omnibus Equity Plan. As of December 31, 2020, there were no shares of stock available for award under the 2017 Omnibus Equity Plan.

On October 9, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Company approved and adopted the Future FinTech Group Inc. 2019 Omnibus Equity Plan (the “2019 Equity Plan”), which was approved by the shareholders of the Company on February 26, 2020. The 2019 Equity Plan permits the grant of incentive stock options (“ISOs”), nonqualified stock options (“NQSOs”), stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted stock, unrestricted stock and restricted stock units (“RSUs”) to its employees of up to 3,000,000 shares of Common Stock. The 2019 Equity Plan has a total of 3,000,000 shares of Common Stock. The Company grant the 3,000,000 shares under 2019 Equity Plan to nine officers, employees and director of the Company on December 28, 2020. As of December 31, 2020, no shares of stock available for award under the 2019 Equity Plan.

The Board of Directors of the Company approved and adopted the Future FinTech Group Inc. 2020 Omnibus Equity Plan (the “2020 Equity Plan”) on October 27, 2020, which was approved by the shareholders at the shareholders annual meeting on December 18, 2020. The 2020 Equity Plan has a total of 5,000,000 shares of Common Stock. The Company has not granted any shares under the 2020 Equity Plan.

We believe that the future success of the Company depends, in large part, upon the ability of the Company to maintain a competitive position in attracting, retaining and motivating key personnel.

What Our Compensation Program is Designed to Reward

Our compensation program is designed to reward each individually named executive officer’s contribution to the advancement of our overall performance and execution of our goals, ideas and objectives. It is designed to reward and encourage exceptional performance at the individual level in the areas of organization, creativity and responsibility while supporting our core values and ambitions. This in turn aligns the interest of our executive officers with the interests of our shareholders, and thus with our interests.

Determining Executive Compensation

The Board’s compensation committee reviews and approves the compensation program for executive officers annually after the close of each year. Reviewing the compensation program at such time allows the compensation committee to consider the overall performance of the past year and the financial and operating plans for the upcoming year in determining the compensation program for the upcoming year.

A named executive officer’s base salary is determined by an assessment of his/her sustained performance against individual job responsibilities, including, where appropriate, the impact of his/her performance on our business results, current salary in relation to the salary range designated for the job, experience and mastery, and potential for advancement. The compensation committee also annually reviews market compensation levels with comparable jobs in the industry to determine whether the total compensation for our officers remains in the targeted median pay range.

Role of Executive Officers in Determining Executive Compensation

The compensation committee determines the compensation for the CEO, which is based on various factors, such as level of responsibility and contributions to our performance. The CEO recommends the compensation for our executive officers (other than the compensation of the CEO) to the compensation committee. The compensation committee reviews the recommendations made by the CEO and determines the compensation of the CFO and the other executive officers.

Employment Agreements

We did not have an employment agreement with our Mr. Yongke Xue when he served as our CEO. We entered into an Employment Agreement with our CEO, Mr. Shanchun Huang, on March 7, 2020 with a term of one year, which was renewed for another year on March 20, 2021. Mr. Huang will receive compensation in the amount of $1 per year.

On November 16, 2020, the Company entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Yang Liu as COO of the Company. The agreement provides that Mr. Liu will receive compensation in the amount of $1 per year and the term of the agreement is for one (1) year.

On May 21, 2019, the Company entered into an Employment agreement with Ms. Jing Chen as the CFO for a period of one year. The Employment agreement with the CFO was renewed on May 21, 2020 for a period of one year. Ms. Chen would receive a salary of RMB 624,000 (approximately $90,620) per year after tax. On November 26, 2020, Ms. Chen resigned the position of CFO, effective on November 30, 2020. Ms. Chen was appointed as the Vice President of the Company on November 30, 2020.  

On December 1, 2020, the Company entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Ming Yi as CFO of the Company. The agreement provides that Mr. Yi will receive compensation in the amount of $4,000 per month before tax and the term of the agreement is for one (1) year.

Summary Compensation of Named Executive Officers

Our executive officers do not receive any compensation from the Company for also serving as directors of the Company. Our former CEO, Yongke Xue, has not received any compensation from us or any of our subsidiaries for his services in the past three years. The following table sets forth information concerning cash and non-cash compensation paid by the Company to our named executive officers for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Outstanding Equity Awards at December 31, 2020

No outstanding equity awards held by named executive officers as of December 31, 2020. 

Compensation of Directors

The following table sets forth information concerning cash and non-cash compensation paid by us to our directors during 2020.

ITEM 12 – SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

The following table provides information concerning beneficial ownership of our capital stock as of April 12, 2021, by:

The following table lists the number of shares and percentage of shares beneficially owned based on 65,286,192 shares of our Common Stock outstanding as of April 12, 2021.

Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the SEC rules, and generally includes voting power and/or investment power with respect to the securities held. Shares of Common Stock subject to options and warrants currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of April 12, 2021or issuable upon conversion of convertible securities which are currently convertible or convertible within 60 days of April 12, 2021 are deemed outstanding and beneficially owned by the person holding those options, warrants or convertible securities for purposes of computing the number of shares and percentage of shares beneficially owned by that person, but are not deemed outstanding for purposes of computing the percentage beneficially owned by any other person. Except as indicated in the footnotes to this table, and subject to applicable community property laws, the persons or entities named have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of our Common Stock shown as beneficially owned by them.

Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes, the principal address of each of the shareholders, named executive officers, and directors below is c/o Future FinTech Group, Inc., Americas Tower, 1177 Avenue of The Americas, Suite 5100, New York, NY 10036.

Shares Beneficially Owned

ITEM 13 – CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

For details of related party transactions, see Note 9 “Related Party Transaction” to our consolidated financial statements.

Director Independence

We currently have five directors. Three of our current directors, Messrs. Johnson Lau, Fuyou Li and Mingjie Zhao, have been determined by our Board to be “independent directors” as defined under the rules of the NASDAQ Capital Market, constituting a majority of independent directors of the Board as required by the rules of the NASDAQ Capital Market.

ITEM 14 – PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES

The following table shows the fees that we paid or accrued for audit and other services for fiscal years 2020 and 2019. All of the services described in the following fee table were approved in conformity with the audit committee’s pre-approval process.

Audit Fees

Audit Fees

The amounts set forth opposite “Audit Fees” above reflect the aggregate fees billed or billable by auditor BF Borgers CPA PC (“BF Borgers”), Simon & Edward, LLP (“Simon & Edward”), Yu Certified Public Accountant, P.C.(Yu) and Wang Certified Public Accountant, P.C. (“Wang”), for the audit of our annual consolidated financial statements, review of quarterly financial information and audit services that are normally provided by the principal accountant in connection with regulatory filings or engagements. 

Simon & Edward provided professional services for the audit of our fiscal year 2018 financial statements and $45,000 was billable to Simon & Edward for the audit of consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2018 during 2019. Yu provided professional services for the audit of our fiscal year 2018 financial statements and $60,000 was billable to Yu for the audit of consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2018 during 2019. Wang provided professional services for the audit of our fiscal year 2018 financial statements and quarterly review of 2018 and $175,000 was paid to Wang for audit of our fiscal year 2018 financial statements and quarterly review. Wang provided professional services for the quarterly review of 2019 and $45,000 was paid to Wang for the 2019 quarterly review. On April 3, 2020, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company dismissed Wang as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, effective immediately. On April 3, 2020, the Audit Committee approved the engagement of BF Borgers as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, effective immediately.

BF Borgers provided professional services for the audit of our fiscal year 2019 financial statements and $190,000 was paid to BF Borgers for audit of our fiscal year 2019 financial statements.

BF Borgers provided professional services for the audit of our fiscal year 2020 financial statements and $211,000 was paid to BF Borgers for audit of our fiscal year 2020 financial statements.

Tax Fees

The Board audit committee’s policy is to pre-approve all audit services and all non-audit services that our independent accountants are permitted to perform for us under applicable federal securities regulations. The audit committee’s policy utilizes an annual review and general pre-approval of certain categories of specified services that may be provided by the independent accountant, up to pre-determined fee levels. Any proposed services not qualifying as a pre-approved specified service, and pre-approved services exceeding the pre-determined fee levels, require further specific pre-approval by the audit committee. The audit committee has delegated to the Chairman of the audit committee the authority to pre-approve audit and non-audit services proposed to be performed by the independent accountants. Our audit committee was established in April 2008. All the services provided by our auditors in fiscal years 2020 were pre-approved by the audit committee.

Changes in Registrant’s Certified Accountant

On April 3, 2020, the Audit Committee of the Company dismissed Wang as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, effective immediately.

On April 3, 2020, the Audit Committee approved the engagement of BF Borgers as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, effective immediately. The Audit Committee also approved BF Borgers to act as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. There is no change of independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

In deciding to engage BF Borgers, the Audit Committee of Board of Directors reviewed auditor independence and existing commercial relationships with BF Borgers, and concluded that BF Borgers has no commercial relationship with the Company that would impair its independence. During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018, respectively, and in the subsequent period through April 2, 2020, neither the Company nor anyone acting on its behalf has consulted with BF Borgers regarding: (i) the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered with respect to the Company’s financial statements, and neither a written report nor oral advice provided to the Company by BF Borgers that was an important factor considered by the Company in reaching a decision as to any accounting, auditing or financial reporting issue; or (ii) any matter that was the subject of a “disagreement” or “reportable event” as those terms are defined in Item 304(a)(1) of Regulation S-K.

On January 9, 2019, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Future FinTech Group, Inc. (the “Company”) dismissed Wang Certified Public Accountant P.C. (“Wang”) as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, effective immediately.

Wang’s audit reports on the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of and for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 did not contain an adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.

During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, and in the subsequent interim period through January 8, 2019, there were (i) no disagreements between the Company and Wang on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Wang, would have caused Wang to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreement in their reports on the financial statements for such years, and (ii) no “reportable events” as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K

On January 9, 2019, the Audit Committee approved the engagement of Yu Certified Public Accountant P.C. (“Yu”) as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, effective immediately. The Audit Committee also approved Yu to act as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 and through January 8, 2019, neither the Company nor anyone on its behalf consulted Yu regarding (i) the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the consolidated financial statements of the Company; or (ii) any matter that was either the subject of a disagreement or a reportable event as described above; and there was neither a written report nor was oral advice provided to the Company by Yu that was an important factor considered by the Company in reaching a decision as to an accounting, auditing or financial reporting issue.

On March 21, 2019, the Audit Committee dismissed Yu as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, effective immediately.

The Company engaged Yu during the period from January 9, 2019 to March 21, 2019 (the “Engagement Period”). During the Engagement Period, Yu did not issue any reports on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

During the Engagement Period, there were: (1) no disagreements between the Company and Yu on matters of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Yu, would have caused Yu to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreement in its report on the consolidated financial statements, and (2) no “reportable events” as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K. Yu issued no audit reports on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

On March 21, 2019, the Audit Committee approved the engagement of Simon & Edward, LLP (“Simon & Edward”) as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, effective immediately. The Audit Committee also approved Simon & Edward to act as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018.

In deciding to engage Simon & Edward, the Audit Committee of Board of Directors reviewed auditor independence and existing commercial relationships with Simon & Edward, and concluded that Simon & Edward has no commercial relationship with the Company that would impair its independence.  During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2018, and December 31, 2017, respectively, and in the subsequent period through March 20, 2019, neither the Company nor anyone acting on its behalf has consulted with Simon & Edward regarding either (i) the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered with respect to the Company’s financial statements; or (ii) any matter that was the subject of a “disagreement” or “reportable event” as those terms are defined in Item 304(a)(1) of Regulation S-K; and there was neither a written report nor oral advice provided to the Company by Simon & Edward that was an important factor considered by the Company in reaching a decision as to any accounting, auditing or financial reporting issue.

On April 26, 2019, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors dismissed Simon & Edward, LLP (“Simon & Edward”) as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

During the Engagement Period, there were: (1) no disagreements between the Company and Simon & Edward on matters of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Simon & Edward, would have caused Simon & Edward to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreement in its report on the consolidated financial statements, and (2) no “reportable events” as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K. Simon & Edward issued no audit reports on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

On April 26, 2019, the Audit Committee of Board of Directors of the Company approved the engagement of Wang Certified Public Accountant P.C. (“Wang”) as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, effective immediately. The Audit Committee also approved Wang to act as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

In deciding to engage Wang, the Audit Committee of Board of Directors reviewed auditor independence and existing commercial relationships with Wang, and concluded that Wang has no commercial relationship with the Company that would impair its independence. During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2018, and December 31, 2017, respectively, and in the subsequent period through April 25, 2019, neither the Company nor anyone acting on its behalf has consulted with Wang regarding: (i) the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered with respect to the Company’s financial statements, and neither a written report nor oral advice provided to the Company by Wang that was an important factor considered by the Company in reaching a decision as to any accounting, auditing or financial reporting issue; or (ii) any matter that was the subject of a “disagreement” or “reportable event” as those terms are defined in Item 304(a)(1) of Regulation S-K, other than in its capacity as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2018, and December 31, 2017 respectively, and in the interim period of January 1, 2019 through January 8, 2019.

The Company reported its changes in auditors in Current Reports on Form 8-K, filed on January 15, 2019, March 25, 2019, May 1, 2019, and April 9, 2020.

PART IV

ITEM 15 – EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

(a) (1) FINANCIAL STATEMENTS:

The following documents are filed as part of or are included in this Annual Report:

(b) EXHIBITS:

Exhibit Index

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Shanchun Huang and Ming Yi, and each of them, their attorneys-in-fact and agents, each with the power of substitution, for them in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact, or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirement of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacity and on the dates indicated.

Signature

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the shareholders and the board of directors of Future Fintech Group, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Future FinTech Group, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss), stockholders’ equity, and cash flows, for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Going Concern Uncertainty

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Company has suffered recurring losses from operations and has a net capital deficiency that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 2. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. 

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Emphasis of a Matter

As disclosed in Note 15 to the financial statements, the Company completed the disposition of its certain subsidiaries during the year ended December 31, 2020. The disposal gain was reported in the financial statements.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

Valuation of Loan Receivable

As described in Note 3 to the financial statements, the Company assessed the impairment loss of loan receivables based on the Company’s best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in the existing receivable balances. As disclosed in Note 4 to the financial statements, the Company made a loan of $5.36 million during the year and the balance was outstanding as of December 31, 2020.

The principal considerations for our determination that auditing management’s assessment of impairment of loan receivable is a critical audit matter are there was significant judgment made by management when considering factors in management’s assessment on collectability of the loan receivables as described above, as well as the likelihood of the occurrence of these factors impacting the collectability. In turn, such management’s assessment led to challenging and subjective auditor judgment in performing our audit procedures.

Our audit of valuation of loan receivables includes, but not limits to, the following procedures:

Legal Proceedings Contingencies

As described in Note 17 to the financial statements, management disclosed legal proceedings that involved the Company’s current subsidiaries, disposed subsidiaries, or the Company’s senior management where liability is not probable or the amount of the liability is not estimable, or both, if management believes there is at least a reasonable possibility that the Company has assessed the obligations, or a loss may be incurred when obligations were not discharged.

Our principal considerations to determine that the legal proceedings contingencies is a critical audit matter as there was significant judgment made by management when assessing the likelihood of a loss being incurred and when estimating the loss or range of loss for each claim, which in turn led to significant auditor judgment, subjectivity, and effort in performing procedures and evaluating management’s assessment of the liabilities and disclosures related to legal proceedings contingencies.

Our audit of legal proceeding contingencies included, among others:

FUTURE FINTECH GROUP INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

FUTURE FINTECH GROUP INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements. 

FUTURE FINTECH GROUP INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

FUTURE FINTECH GROUP INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS