UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

OR

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

OR

OR

Date of event requiring this shell company report _____________

For the transition period from _______ to _______

Commission file number: 001-33765

AIRNET TECHNOLOGY INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Not Applicable

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

Cayman Islands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

Suite 301 No. 26

Dongzhimenwai Street
Dongcheng District, Beijing 100027
The People’s Republic of China 

(Address of principal executive offices)

Herman Man Guo
Chief Executive Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer
AirNet Technology Inc.

Suite 301 No. 26

Dongzhimenwai Street
Dongcheng District, Beijing 10027
The People’s Republic of China
Phone:+86 10 8460 8818
Email: herman@ihangmei.com 

(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

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

*            Not for trading, but only in connection with the listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market of American depositary shares.

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act.

None

(Title of Class)

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act.

None

(Title of Class)

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report: As of December 31, 2020, 149,541,085 ordinary shares (excluding 2,032,278 ordinary shares and ordinary shares represented by ADSs reserved for settlement upon exercise of our incentive share awards), par value US$0.001 per share, were outstanding.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

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.

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).

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

If an emerging growth company that prepare its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

†The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

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 which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement Item the registrant has elected to follow.

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.

AIRNET TECHNOLOGY INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Except as otherwise indicated by the context, in this annual report:

Although AirNet does not directly or indirectly own any equity interests in its consolidated VIEs or their subsidiaries, AirNet is the primary beneficiary of and effectively controls these entities through a series of contractual arrangements with these entities and their record owners. We have consolidated the financial results of these VIEs and their subsidiaries in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States, or U.S. GAAP. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure,” “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” for further information on our contractual arrangements with these parties.

Our financial statements are expressed in U.S. dollars, which is our reporting currency. Certain Renminbi figures in this annual report are translated into U.S. dollars solely for the reader’s convenience. Unless otherwise noted, all convenience translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars in this annual report were made at a rate of RMB6.5250 to $1.00, the exchange rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board on December 31, 2020. We make no representation that any Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate, at the rate stated above, or at all.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report contains statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements are made under the “safe harbor provisions” of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

You can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “likely to” or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include but are not limited to:

You should read this annual report and the documents that we refer to in this annual report thoroughly and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from and worse than what we expect. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking statements made in this annual report relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this annual report. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

PART I

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

A.            Selected Financial Data

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

The following table represents our selected consolidated financial information. The selected consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2019 and 2020 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in this annual report. The selected consolidated statements of operations data for the year ended December 31, 2016 and 2017 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2016, 2017 and 2018, except for the impact of retrospective adjustments for the deconsolidation of our media business in airports (excluding digital TV screens in airports and TV-attached digital frames) and all billboard and LED media business outside of airports (excluding gas station media network and digital TV screens on airplanes), all of which have been classified as discontinued operations, have been derived from our financial statements for the relevant periods, which are not included in this annual report. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

These selected consolidated financial data below should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this annual report and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” below. Our historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future periods. 

The following table presents a summary of our consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020:

B.            Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable.

C.            Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

D.            Risk Factors

Summary Risk Factors

Our business is subject to a number of risks, including risks that may prevent us from achieving our business objectives or may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and prospects. These risks are discussed more fully below and include, but are not limited to, risks related to:

Risks Related to Our Business

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

Risks Related to the Market for Our ADSs

Risks Related to Our Business

We incurred net losses in the past and we may incur losses in the future.

In an effort to realign our business, we:

In anticipation of the immediate impacts of COVID-19, we diverted our resources into the development of mining of cryptocurrencies since the beginning of 2021 while the staggering effects of COVID-19 on the economy and airline industry were being evaluated.

We have incurred net losses in recent years, and notwithstanding we recorded net income in 2020 and in spite of our efforts to transition into our new business, we may incur loss in the future. With respect to the termination of our advertising service at gas station and our on-train Wi-Fi business, we no longer pay concession fees. With respect to providing contents on flights, we have paid, and expect to continue to pay concession fees to secure time intervals to play advertising contents. With respect to our in-flight connectivity business, we have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, substantial expenses in the form of acquisition of concession rights, initial system development and installation investments and ongoing system operation and maintenance costs. In the event of any significant technology development, we may need to incur further system development expenses.

Concession fees constitute a significant part of our cost of revenues and most of our concession fees are fixed under the concession rights contracts with an escalation clause. These fees payments are usually due in advance. However, our revenues may fluctuate significantly from period to period for various reasons. For instance, when new concession rights contracts are signed for a period, additional concession fees are incurred immediately, but it may take some time for us to generate revenues from these concession rights contracts because it takes time to find advertisers for the time slots and locations made available under these new contracts. Similarly, we need to purchase the bandwidth before we sell our Wi-Fi services to users and we need to maintain our system regardless of the level of revenue. If we are not able to attract enough advertisers and customers, or at all, our revenue will decrease and we may continue to incur losses given most of our costs and expenses are fixed.

We have a limited operating history, which may make it difficult for you to evaluate our business and prospects.

Although we began our business operations in August 2005, we started to explore our in-flight connectivity business in 2015, and began operating our in-flight content business in 2015 as well divested our airport travel advertising business in 2015. As a result of our business realignment, our advertising service at long-haul buses and gas stations were terminated and on-train Wi-Fi business were scaled down significantly in 2018 and in early 2019 ceased operations for Wi-Fi services on trains altogether. Our limited operating history may not provide a meaningful basis for you to evaluate our business, financial performance and prospects. It is also difficult to evaluate the viability of our business model because we do not have sufficient experience to address the risks that we may encounter as we conduct our businesses. Certain members of our senior management team, especially those who joined us only recently due to our Wi-Fi business, have worked together for a relatively short period of time and it may be difficult for us to evaluate their effectiveness, on an individual or collective basis, and their ability to address future challenges to our business. Because of our limited operating history, we may not be able to:

We may fail to successfully implement our new business initiatives in cryptocurrency mining, where we have limited experience.

We have established a new line of business in relation to cryptocurrency mining to mitigate the adversary impacts of COVID-19 on our in-flight connectivity business. On December 30, 2020 and February 4, 2021, we entered into investment agreements with Unistar Group Holdings Limited and Northern Shore Group Limited, respectively, pursuant to which we issued ordinary shares in exchange for the delivery and transfer of computer servers specifically designed for mining cryptocurrencies. We will generate revenue from the cryptocurrency we earn through our mining activities, which we may hold for our own account and or sell at prices and times as determined by our executive management team in accordance with our corporate strategy. However, cryptocurrency mining is substantially different from our existing business in many ways, such as business model and governmental and regulatory requirements. In addition, the cryptocurrency mining industry is characterized by constant changes, including rapid technological evolution, continual shifts in government regulations, frequent introductions of new products and solutions and constant emergence of new industry standards and practices. Specifically, relevant restrictions from existing and future regulations on mining, holding, using, or transferring of cryptocurrencies may adversely affect our future business operations and results of operations. For example, although mining activities have not been explicitly prohibited by the PRC government, any further order of the PRC government to limit cryptocurrency mining may result in a crackdown on the cryptocurrency market and adversely affect the outcome of our new business initiatives. It is possible that the cryptocurrency market may respond to such regulations by moving to other countries or changing its practices to comply. However, it is unclear how various countries will regulate the blockchain or how the market will respond to such regulations. If any jurisdictions impose limitations on the mining, use, holding or transferring of cryptocurrencies or any other cryptocurrency-related activities, we may fail to achieve the expected benefits, and our business prospects may be materially and adversely affected. Based on our limited experience in cryptocurrency mining business and the unpredictable policy changes towards such business, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in implementing our new business initiatives in cryptocurrency mining, and our existing business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

If advertisers or the viewing public do not accept, or lose interest in, our air travel media network, we may be unable to generate sufficient cash flow from our operating activities and our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Our success in our air travel media business depends on the acceptance of our advertising network by advertisers and their interest in it as a part of their advertising strategies. In this annual report, the term “advertisers” refer to the ultimate brand-owners whose brands and products are being publicized by our advertisements, including both advertisers that purchase advertisements directly from us and advertisers that do so through third-party advertising agencies. Our advertisers may elect not to use our services if they believe that consumers are not receptive to our media network or that our network is not a sufficiently effective advertising medium. If consumers find our network to be disruptive or intrusive, airplane companies may refuse to allow us to place our programs on airplanes, and our advertisers may reduce spending on our network.

If we are not able to adequately track air traveler responses to our programs, in particular track the demographics of air travelers most receptive to air travel media, we will not be able to provide sufficient feedback and data to existing and potential advertisers to help us generate demand and determine pricing. Without improved market research, advertisers may reduce their use of air travel media and instead turn to more traditional forms of advertising that have more established and proven methods of tracking the effectiveness of advertisements.

Demand for our advertising services and the resulting advertising spending by our advertisers may fluctuate from time to time, and our advertisers may reduce the money they spend to advertise on our network for any number of reasons. If a substantial number of our advertisers lose interest in advertising on our media network for these or other reasons or become unwilling to purchase advertising time slots or locations on our network, we will be unable to generate sufficient revenues and cash flow to operate our business, and our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

If we do not succeed in launching our in-flight business, our future results of operations and growth prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Driven by innovation, we gradually reinvented ourselves and shaped our core competence in providing in-flight solutions to connectivity, entertainment and digital multimedia in China. We began to explore the in-flight business in 2018, which has sustained adversary impacts caused by the spread of COVID-19 and the measurements taken to contain such spread. We collaborated with partners to deliver in-flight connectivity solutions and a wide range of in-flight entertainment and advertising contents streaming via the connectivity. We may face unexpected new risks as we continue to launch this new business. As a result, we cannot assure you that we will be able to generate enough, or any, revenue from this business. If we fail to do so, our considerable amounts of investment on system development, will materially and adversely affect our business and financial results.

In our new business, we may face new competition. If we cannot successfully address the foregoing new challenges and compete effectively, we may not be able to develop a sufficiently large advertiser base, recover costs incurred for developing and marketing our new business, and eventually achieve profitability from these businesses, and, consequently, our future results of operations and growth prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

We may be adversely affected by a significant or prolonged economic downturn in the level of consumer spending in the industries and markets served by our customers.

Our business depends on demand for our advertising services from our customers, which is affected by the level of business activity and economic condition of our customers and is in turn affected by the level of consumer spending in the markets our customers serve. Therefore, our businesses and earnings are affected by general business and economic conditions in China as well as abroad.

Advertising revenues from advertisers in the automobile industry accounted for a significant portion of our revenues. Any significant or prolonged slowdown or decline of this industry or the economy of China, countries with close economic ties with China or the overall global economy will affect consumers’ disposable income and consumer spending in these industries, and lead to a decrease in demand for our services.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations was and may continue to be adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The recent outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus, the COVID-19, has spread rapidly to many parts of the world. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 a pandemic, which has resulted in quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of facilities in China and many other countries for the past few months. The spread of the pandemic and efforts to contain and counter the spread of the pandemic has restrained the flow of travelers both domestically and internationally. As our primary business is to provide in-flight connectivity and contents in the nature of information and entertainment to travelers by air, our results of operations and financial condition have been adversely affected and may continue to be adversely affected by the COVID-19, to the extent that COVID-19 exerts long-term negative impact on the global economy.

Government efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 through city lockdowns or “stay-at-home” orders, widespread business closures, restrictions on travel and emergency quarantines, among others, have caused significant and unprecedented disruptions to the global economy and normal business operations across sectors and countries. In 2020, many businesses and social activities in China and other countries and regions were severely disrupted. The COVID-19 pandemic may also affect our business, financial condition and results of operations for the full year 2021 to some extent. The extent to which this outbreak impacts our results of operations will depend on future developments which are highly uncertain and unpredictable, including new outbreaks of COVID-19, the severity of the disease, the success or failure of efforts to contain or treat the disease, and future actions we or the authorities may take in response to these developments.

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from the provision of air travel media services. A contraction in the air travel media industry in China may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Approximately 99.7% of our revenues from continuing operations in 2020 was generated from the provision of air travel media services through the display of advertisements on digital TV screens on airplanes. We expect digital TV screens on airplanes to contribute substantially all of our air travel network revenue and a majority of all our revenue in the foreseeable future. If we cannot successfully generate revenues from our Wi-Fi business, this situation will continue into the foreseeable future. A contraction in air travel media industry in China could therefore have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

If we are unable to carry out our operations as specified in existing concession rights contracts, retain or renew existing concession rights contracts or to obtain new concession rights contracts on commercially advantageous terms, we may be unable to maintain or expand our network coverage and our costs may increase significantly in the future.

Except for our new cryptocurrency business started in early 2021, our ability to carry out almost all of our wi-fi and advertising business depends on the availability of the necessary concession rights. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to carry out our operations as specified in our concession rights contracts, and any failure to perform may affect the availability of our concession rights and materially and negatively affect our business.

We may also be unable to retain or renew concession rights contracts when they expire. Most of our concession rights contracts have no automatic renewal provisions. We cannot assure you that we will be able to renew any or all of our concession contracts when they expire. In particular, failure to renew our Wi-Fi concession right contracts will render it hard or impossible for us to recoup our investment in related system development and installation. We enter into Wi-Fi contracts with private companies operating those vehicles or the relevant advertising companies or agencies operated or hired by the relevant airline companies, and those companies are usually price sensitive and may choose not to renew our concession rights but instead enter into contracts with other players who can offer more competitive pricing. Furthermore, even if we manage to renew a concession right contract, the terms of the new contract may not be commercially favorable to us. The concession fees that we incur under our concession rights contracts comprise a significant portion of our cost of revenues, which may further increase upon renewals. If we cannot pass increased concession costs onto our customers, our earnings and our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, many of our concession rights contracts contain provisions granting us certain exclusive concession rights. We cannot assure you that we will be able to retain these exclusivity provisions when we renew these contracts. If we were to lose exclusivity, our advertisers may decide to advertise with our competitors or otherwise reduce their spending on our network and we may lose market share.

We cannot assure you that our concession rights contracts will not be unilaterally terminated during their terms, whether with or without justification. In addition, many of our concession rights contracts were entered into with the advertising companies operated by or advertising agencies hired by airline companies, and not with the airline companies directly. Although these advertising companies and agents have generally represented to us in writing that they have the rights to operate advertising media on airplanes and all of them have performed their contractual obligations, we cannot assure you that airline companies will not challenge or revoke the contractual concession rights granted to us by their advertising companies or agents; if such challenges or revocations occur, our revenues and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to properly perform our existing concession rights contracts, retain existing concession rights contracts or obtain new concession rights contracts on commercially advantageous terms, we may be unable to maintain or expand our network coverage and our costs may increase significantly in the future.

A significant portion of our revenues has been derived from a limited number of airline companies in China. If any of these airline companies experiences a material business or flight disruption or if there are changes in our arrangements with these airline companies, we may incur substantial losses of revenues.

We derived a significant portion of our revenues from operations in 2020 from six airline companies in China. As of the date of this annual report, we have concession rights contracts to place our programs on China Southern Airline, China Eastern Airline, Shanghai Airline, Xiamen Airline, Air China and Shenzhen Airline, which in the aggregate contributed more than a majority of our revenue from digital TV screens on airplanes in 2020. A material business or flight disruption of any of those airline companies could negatively affect our advertising media on airplanes operated by those companies.

We expect our advertising platform with these abovementioned airline companies to continue to contribute a significant portion of our revenues in the foreseeable future. If any such companies experience a material business or flight disruption, we would likely lose a substantial amount of revenues.

We depend on third-party program producers to provide the non-advertising content that we include in our programs. Failure to obtain high-quality content on commercially reasonable terms could materially reduce the attractiveness of our network, harm our reputation and materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The programs on the majority of our digital TV screens include both advertising and non-advertising content. Third-party content providers and various other television stations and television production companies have contracts with us to provide the majority of the non-advertising content played on our digital TV screens on airplanes. There is no assurance that we will be able to renew these contracts, enter into substitute contracts to obtain similar contents or obtain non-advertising content on satisfactory terms, or at all. To make our programs more attractive, we must continue to secure contracts with third-party content providers. If we fail to obtain a sufficient amount of high-quality content on a cost-effective basis, advertisers may find advertising on our network unattractive and may not wish to purchase advertising time slots or locations on our network, which would materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

When our current advertising network of digital TV screens and LED screens becomes saturated on the airlines where we operate, we may be unable to offer additional time slots or locations to satisfy all of our advertisers’ needs, which could hamper our ability to generate higher levels of revenues and profitability over time.

When our network of digital TV screens and LED screens in airplanes becomes saturated in any particular airline where we operate, we may be unable to offer additional advertising time slots or locations to satisfy all of our advertisers’ needs. We would need to increase our advertising rates for advertising in such airlines or other locations to increase our revenues. However, advertisers may be unwilling to accept rate increases, which could hamper our ability to generate higher levels of revenues over time. In particular, the utilization rates of our advertising time slots and locations on the three largest airlines in China are higher than those on other airlines, and saturation or oversaturation of digital TV screens on these airlines could have a material adverse effect on our growth prospects.

Our advertising agencies could engage in activities that are harmful to our reputation in the industry and to our business.

We engage third-party advertising agencies to help source advertisers from time to time. These third-party advertising agencies assist us in identifying advertisers and introduce advertisers to us. In return, we pay fees to these advertising agencies if they generate advertising revenues for us. Fees that we pay to these third-party agencies are calculated based on a pre-set percentage of revenues generated from the advertisers introduced to us by the third-party agencies and are paid when payments are received from the advertisers. Our contractual arrangements with these advertising agencies do not provide us with control or oversight over their everyday business activities, and one or more of these agencies may engage in activities that violate PRC laws and regulations governing the advertising industry and related non-advertising content, or other laws and regulations. If the advertising agencies we use violate PRC advertising or other laws or regulations, it could harm our reputation in the industry and have detrimental effects on our business operations.

Because we rely on third-party advertising agencies to help obtain advertisers, if we fail to maintain stable business relations with key third-party agencies or to attract additional agencies on competitive terms, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We engage third-party advertising agencies to help obtain advertisers from time to time. We do not have long-term or exclusive agreements with these advertising agencies, including our key third-party advertising agencies, and cannot assure you that we will continue to maintain stable business relations with them. Furthermore, the fees we pay to these third-party advertising agencies constitute a significant portion of our cost of revenues. If we fail to retain key third-party advertising agencies or to attract additional advertising agencies, we may not be able to retain existing advertisers or attract new advertisers or advertising agencies, or the fees we pay them may have to significantly increase. If any of the above happens, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

A limited number of advertisers have historically accounted for a significant portion of our revenues and this dependence may reoccur in the future, which would make us more vulnerable to the loss of major advertisers or delays in payments from these advertisers.

A limited number of advertisers historically accounted for a significant portion of our revenues, for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020, two, four and two individual customers accounted for over 10% of total revenue, respectively.

If we fail to sell our services to one or more of our major advertisers in any particular period, or if a major advertiser purchases fewer of our services, fails to purchase additional advertising time on our network, or cancels some or all of its purchase orders with us, our revenues could decline and our operating results could be adversely affected. The dependence on a small number of advertisers could leave us more vulnerable to payment delays from these advertisers. We are required under some of our concession rights contracts to make prepayments and although we do receive some prepayments from advertisers, there is typically a lag between the time of our prepayment of concession fees and the time that we receive payments from our advertisers. As our business expands and revenues grow, we have experienced and may continue to experience an increase in our accounts receivable. If any of our major advertisers are significantly delinquent with its payments, our liquidity and financial conditions may be materially and adversely affected.

We face significant competition in the advertising industry in China, and if we do not compete successfully against new and existing competitors, we may lose our market share, and our profits may be reduced.

We face significant competition in the advertising industry in China. We compete for advertisers primarily on the basis of price, program quality, the range of services offered and brand recognition. We primarily compete for advertising dollars spent in the air travel media industry. We may also face competition from new competitors as we enter into new markets.

Significant competition could reduce our operating margins and profitability and lead to a loss of market share. Some of our existing and potential competitors may have competitive advantages such as significantly greater brand recognition, a longer history in the out-of-home advertising industry and financial, marketing or other resources, and may be able to mimic and adopt our business model. In addition, several of our competitors have significantly larger advertising networks than we do, which gives them an ability to reach a larger number of overall potential consumers and which may make them less susceptible than we are to downturns in particular advertising sectors, such as air travel. Moreover, significant competition will provide advertisers with a wider range of media and advertising service alternatives, which could lead to lower prices and decreased revenues, gross margins and profits focus. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully compete against new or existing competitors, and failure to compete may reduce for existing market share and profits.

Our results of operations are largely subject to fluctuations in the demand for air travel. A decrease in the demand for air travel may make it difficult for us to sell our advertising time slots and locations.

To a large extent, our results of operations are linked to the demand for air travel, which fluctuates greatly from period to period, and is subject to seasonality due to holiday travel and weather conditions. Other factors that may affect our results include:

If the demand for air travel within our network decreases for any of these or other reasons, advertisers may be reluctant to advertise on our network and we may be unable to sell our advertising time slots or locations or charge premium prices.

Past and future acquisitions may have an adverse effect on our ability to manage our business.

We have acquired and may continue to acquire businesses, technologies, services or products which are complementary to our business in relation to cryptocurrency mining in the future. Past and future acquisitions may expose us to potential risks, including risks associated with:

Any of these potential risks could have a material and adverse effect on our ability to manage our business, our revenues and net income.

We may need to raise additional debt or sell additional equity securities to make future acquisitions. The raising of additional debt funding by us, if required, would increase debt service obligations and may lead to additional operating and financing covenants, or liens on our assets, that would restrict our operations. The sale of additional equity securities could cause additional dilution to our shareholders.

Our acquisition strategy also depends on our ability to obtain necessary government approvals. See “—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—The M&A Rule sets forth complex procedures for acquisitions conducted by foreign investors which could make it more difficult to pursue growth through acquisitions.”

Our quarterly and annual operating results are difficult to predict and have fluctuated and may continue to fluctuate significantly from period to period.

Our quarterly and annual operating results are difficult to predict and have fluctuated and may continue to fluctuate significantly from period to period based on the performance of our new business, the seasonality of air travel, consumer spending and corresponding advertising trends in China. Air travel, and advertising spending in China generally tend to increase during major national holidays in October and tend to decrease during the first quarter of each year. Air travel and advertising spending in China is also affected by certain special events and related government measures. As a result, and also due to the unpredictable performance of our new business, you may not be able to rely on period-to-period comparisons of our operating results as an indication of our future performance. Other factors that may cause our operating results to fluctuate include a deterioration of economic conditions in China and potential changes to the regulation of the advertising industry in China. If our revenues for a particular quarter are lower than we expect, we may be unable to reduce our operating costs and expenses for that quarter by a corresponding amount, and it would harm our operating results for that quarter relative to our operating results for other quarters.

Our business depends substantially on the continuing efforts of our senior executives and other key employees, and our business may be severely disrupted if we lose their services.

Our future success heavily depends upon the continued services of our senior executives and other key employees. We rely on their industry expertise, their experience in business operations and sales and marketing, and their working relationships with our advertisers, airlines, and relevant government authorities.

If one or more of our senior executives and other key employees were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we might not be able to replace them easily or at all. If any of our senior executives and other key employees joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose advertisers, suppliers, key professionals and staff members. Each of our executive officers and other key employees has entered into an employment agreement with us which contains non-competition provisions. However, if any dispute arises between any of our executive officers and other key employees and us, we cannot assure you the extent to which any of these agreements could be enforced in China, where most of these executive officers and other key employees reside, in light of the uncertainties with China’s legal system. See “—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could limit the legal protections available to us or result in substantial costs and the diversion of resources and management attention.”

Failure to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting and effective disclosure controls and procedures could have a material and adverse effect on the trading price of our ADSs.

We are subject to reporting obligations under the U.S. securities laws. The SEC, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, adopted rules requiring every public company to include a management report on such company’s internal control over financial reporting in its annual report, which must also contain management’s assessment of the effectiveness of the company’s internal control over financial reporting. SEC rules also require every public company to include a management report containing management’s assessment of the effectiveness of such company’s disclosure controls and procedures in its annual report.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting in the past. If we fail to develop or maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, current and potential stockholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our securities. In connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, our management concluded we had material weaknesses in our internal controls. Despite our continued efforts and the improvement achieved, our management has concluded that we had not maintained effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weakness as of December 31, 2020 was related to the weak operating effectiveness and lack of monitoring of controls over financial reporting due to inadequate resources or resources with insufficient experience or training in our financial reporting team, administration team and human resource team. See “Item 15. Controls and Procedures.” Any failure to achieve and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could negatively affect the reliability of our financial information and reduce investors’ confidence in our reported financial information, which in turn could result in lawsuits being filed against us by our shareholders, otherwise harm our reputation or negatively impact the trading price of our ADSs. Furthermore, we have incurred and anticipate that we will continue to incur considerable costs and use significant management time and other resources in an effort to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. 

We may need additional capital which, if obtained, could result in dilution or significant debt service obligations. We may not be able to obtain additional capital on commercially reasonable terms, which could adversely affect our liquidity and financial position.

We may require additional cash resources due to changed business conditions or other future developments, especially given our investment in our cryptocurrency mining business. If our current resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain a credit facility. The sale of convertible debt securities or additional equity securities could result in additional dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations and liquidity.

In addition, our ability to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms is subject to a variety of uncertainties, including:

We cannot assure you that financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Any failure to raise additional funds on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and financial condition.

Compliance with PRC laws and regulations may be difficult and could be costly, and failure to comply could subject us to government sanctions.

As an advertising service provider, we are obligated under PRC laws and regulations to monitor the advertising content shown on our network for compliance with applicable law. Violation of these laws or regulations may result in penalties, including fines, confiscation of advertising fees, orders to cease dissemination of the offending advertisements and orders to publish advertisements correcting the misleading information. In case of serious violations, the PRC authorities may revoke our license for advertising business operations. In general, the advertisements shown on our network have previously been broadcast over public television networks and have been subjected to internal review and verification by such networks, but we are still required to independently review and verify these advertisements for content compliance before displaying them. In addition, if a special government review is required for certain product advertisements before they are shown to the public, we are required to confirm that such review has been performed and approval obtained. For advertising content related to certain types of products and services, such as food products, alcohol, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and medical procedures, we are required to confirm that the advertisers have obtained requisite government approvals, including review of operating qualifications, proof of quality inspection of the advertised products, government pre-approval of the contents of the advertisement and filing with local authorities.

We endeavor to comply with such requirements through means such as requesting relevant documents from the advertisers. However, we cannot assure you that each advertisement that an advertiser provides to us and which we include in our network programs is in full compliance with all relevant PRC advertising laws and regulations or that such supporting documentation and government approvals provided to us are complete. Although we employ qualified advertising inspectors who are trained to review advertising content for compliance with relevant PRC laws and regulations, the content standards in the PRC are less certain and less clear than those in more developed countries such as the United States and we cannot assure you that we will always be able to properly review all advertising content to comply with the PRC standards imposed on us with certainty.

In addition, although we use our best efforts to comply with all relevant laws and regulations and to obtain all necessary certificates, registrations and approvals for our business, due to the complexity of local laws and regulations across China governing outdoor media advertising platforms, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain or maintain all necessary approvals. For example, our Wi-Fi business might be regarded as value-added telecommunication service. To provide this type of services, we are required to obtain the relevant telecommunication license from the communication authorities. As a result, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain the necessary license soon, if at all, to provide Wi-Fi service. Any delay or failure in obtaining such approvals or licenses could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

We may be subject to, and may expend significant resources in defending against government actions and civil suits based on the content we provide through our advertising network.

Because of the nature and content of the information displayed on our network, civil claims may be filed against us for fraud, defamation, subversion, negligence, copyright or trademark infringement or other violations. Offensive and objectionable content and legal standards for defamation and fraud in China are less defined than in other more developed countries and we may not be able to properly screen out unlawful content. If consumers find the content displayed on our network to be offensive, the relevant airlines, gas stations, railway bureaus and long-haul bus companies may seek to hold us responsible for any consumer claims or may terminate their relationships with us.

In addition, if the security of our content management system is breached and unauthorized images, text or audio sounds are displayed on our network, viewers or the PRC government may find these images, text or audio sounds to be offensive, which may subject us to civil liability or government censure despite our efforts to ensure the security of our content management system. Any such event may also damage our reputation. If our advertising viewers do not believe our content is reliable or accurate, our business model may become less appealing to viewers in China and our advertisers may be less willing to place advertisements on our network.

Furthermore, we have established a new line of business in relation to cryptocurrency mining since early 2021. Governmental authorities are likely to continue to issue new laws, rules and regulations governing the cryptocurrency industry and enhance enforcement of existing laws, rules and regulations. For example, seven PRC governmental authorities including the People’s Bank of China, promulgated an announcement in September 2017 prohibiting financial institutions from engaging in initial coin offering transactions. Some jurisdictions, including the PRC, restrict various uses of cryptocurrencies, including the use of cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange, the conversion between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies or between cryptocurrencies, the provision of trading and other services related to cryptocurrencies by financial institutions and payment institutions, and initial coin offerings and other means of capital raising based on cryptocurrencies. In addition, cryptocurrencies may be used by market participants for black market transactions, to conduct fraud, money laundering and terrorism-funding, tax evasion, economic sanction evasion or other illegal activities. As a result, governments may seek to regulate, restrict, control or ban the mining, use, holding and transferring of cryptocurrencies. We may not be able to eliminate all instances where other parties use our products to engage in money laundering or other illegal or improper activities. We cannot assure you that we will successfully detect all money laundering or other illegal or improper activities which may adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims, which may force us to incur substantial legal expenses and, if determined adversely against us, may materially and adversely affect our business.

Our commercial success depends to a large extent on our ability to operate without infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties. We cannot assure you that our displays or other aspects of our business do not or will not infringe patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. We may become subject to legal proceedings and claims from time to time relating to the intellectual property of others in the ordinary course of our business. If we are found to have violated the intellectual property rights of others, we may be enjoined from using such intellectual property, incur licensing fees or be forced to develop alternatives. In addition, we may incur substantial expenses and diversion of management time in defending against these third-party infringement claims, regardless of their merit. Successful infringement or licensing claims against us may result in substantial monetary liabilities, which may materially and adversely affect our business.

We face risks related to natural disasters, health epidemics and other outbreaks, which could significantly disrupt our operations.

Our business could be materially and adversely affected by natural disasters or the outbreak of health epidemic. Any such occurrences could cause severe disruption to our daily operations, and may even require a temporary closure of our facilities. In August 2014, a strong earthquake hit part of Yunnan province in south, and resulted in significant casualties and property damage. While we did not suffer any loss or experience any significant increase in cost resulting from these earthquakes, if a similar disaster were to occur in the future affecting Beijing or another city where we have major operations in China, our operations could be materially and adversely affected due to loss of personnel and damages to property. In addition, any outbreak of avian flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), influenza A (H1N1), H7N9, Ebola, COVID-19 or other adverse public health epidemic in China may have a material and adverse effect on our business operations. These occurrences could require the temporary closure of our offices or prevent our staff from traveling to our customers’ offices to provide services. Such closures could severely disrupt our business operations and adversely affect our results of operations. These occurrences could reduce air and train traveling in China and adversely affect the results of operations of our related business.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our China business do not comply with PRC governmental restrictions on foreign investment in the advertising industry and in the operating of non-advertising content, our business could be materially and adversely affected.

Substantially all of our operations are conducted through contractual arrangements with our consolidated VIEs in China: Yuehang Sunshine Network Technology Group Co., Ltd. (previously known as AirMedia Online Network Technology Group Co., Ltd.), or AirNet Online, Beijing Linghang Shengshi Advertising Co., Ltd., or Linghang Shengshi, Wangfan Tianxia Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Iwangfan. As the Foreign-invested Advertising Enterprise Management Regulations, or the Foreign-invested Advertising Regulations, which became effective on October 1, 2008 and has been abolished on June 29, 2015, it permitted 100% foreign ownership of companies that provide advertising services, subject to approval by relevant PRC government authorities. Also according to the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2020 Edition), which became effective on July 23, 2020, the television program production and operation falls into the category of prohibited foreign investment industry, but the advertising business still does not fall into the category of restricted or prohibited foreign investment industry. We believe that these regulations apply to our business and are therefore carrying out the portions of our business that involve the production of non-advertising content through our VIEs. Our wholly owned Hong Kong subsidiary Air Net (China) Limited, or AN China, the 100% shareholder of our three wholly foreign owned subsidiaries in China, has been operating an advertising business in Hong Kong since 2008, and thus it is allowed to directly invest in advertising business in China. In December 2014, we transferred 100% equity interest in Shenzhen Yuehang Information Technology Co., Ltd., or Shenzhen Yuehang, to AN China to provide advertising services in China directly. In July 2015, Shenzhen Yuehang obtained the approval to include advertising in its scope of business. We therefore intent to gradually shift our advertising business to Shenzhen Yuehang to gradually reduce our reliance on the current VIE structure in terms of our advertising business. Our advertising business is currently primarily provided through our contractual arrangements with certain of our consolidated VIEs in China. These entities directly operate our air advertising network, enter into concession rights contracts related to our air advertising network and sell advertising time slots and locations to our advertisers. In addition, under current PRC regulations, a foreign entity is prohibited from owning more than 50% of any PRC entity that provides value-added telecommunication services, and Wi-Fi services might be regarded as value-added telecommunication business. As a result, we enter into concession rights contracts related to our Wi-Fi business via AirNet Online, which is expected to directly operate this business. We have contractual arrangements with these VIEs pursuant to which we, through Yuehang Chuangyi Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or Chuangyi Technology, provide technical support and consulting services and other services to these entities. We also have agreements with our VIEs and each of their individual shareholders (except Yi Zhang) that provide us with the substantial ability to control these entities. For a description of these contractual arrangements, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure” and “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Contractual Arrangements.”

In January 2016, we, through the nominee shareholders of the respective VIEs, transferred 3.5% equity interest in each of AirNet Online and Linghang Shengshi to Yi Zhang. Yi Zhang is an unrelated third-party minority shareholder of those VIEs and did not enter into the same VIE arrangements with us as did the other nominee shareholders. In December 2018 and February 2020, Yi Zhang withdrew all his equity interests in Linghang Shengshi and AirNet Online, respectively. Accordingly, we can exert control over the equity interests in the VIEs previously owned by Yi Zhang.

Some of our VIE arrangements with Linghang Shengshi may expire on June 13, 2027 if any party thereto sends a no-extension notice to the other at least twenty (20) days in advance. Although we believe we can renew those agreements with the VIEs and their shareholders at that time, if we fail to do so, our control over such VIEs might be adversely affected.

In the opinion of Commerce & Finance Law Offices, our PRC counsel, except as described in this annual report, the VIE arrangements between Chuangyi Technology and our consolidated VIEs, as described in this annual report, do not violate PRC law and are valid, binding and legally enforceable. However, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements and if the shareholders of the VIEs were to reduce their interest in us, their interests may diverge from ours and that may potentially increase the risk that they would seek to act contrary to the contractual terms, for example by influencing the VIEs not to pay the service fees when required to do so.

Our ability to control the VIEs also depends on the power of attorney Chuangyi Technology has to vote on all matters requiring shareholder approval in the VIEs. As noted above, we believe this power of attorney is legally enforceable but may not be as effective as direct equity ownership.

In addition, if the PRC government were to find that the VIE arrangements do not comply with PRC governmental restrictions on foreign investment in the advertising industry and in the operating of non-advertising content, or if the legal structure and contractual arrangements were found to be in violation of any other existing PRC laws and regulations, the PRC government could:

While we do not believe that any penalties imposed or actions taken by the PRC government would result in the liquidation of us, Chuangyi Technology, or the VIEs, the imposition of any of these penalties may result in a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business. In addition, if the imposition of any of these penalties causes us to lose the power to direct the activities of the VIEs (and VIEs’ subsidiaries) that most significantly impact the VIEs (and VIEs’ subsidiaries) economic performance or the right to receive substantially all of the benefits from the VIEs (and VIEs’ subsidiaries), we would no longer be able to consolidate the VIEs (and VIEs’ subsidiaries).

In December 2018, the National People’s Congress of the PRC, or the NPC, released another draft of foreign investment law, or the Foreign Investment Law, for soliciting public comments. On March 15, 2019, the Foreign Investment Law was enacted by the NPC and was effective on January 1, 2020. Although the Foreign Investment Law does not explicitly define the contractual arrangements with VIEs as a form of foreign investment, it contains an ambiguous clause that covers other form stipulated in laws, administrative regulations or other methods prescribed by the State Council within its definition of foreign investment. Therefore, uncertainties still exist about whether our contractual arrangements with VIEs will be deemed to violate the market access requirements for foreign investment under the PRC laws. Additionally, if the State Council or laws, administrative regulations require further actions regarding the existing contractual arrangements with VIEs, we may not complete such actions in a timely manner, or at all, which may materially and adversely affect our business operation and financial condition.

Because some of the shareholders of our VIEs in China are our directors and officers, their fiduciary duties to us may conflict with their respective roles in the VIEs, and their interest may not be aligned with the interests of our unaffiliated public security holders. If any of the shareholders of our VIEs fails to act in the best interests of our company or our shareholders, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Certain of our directors and officers are shareholders in the VIEs, namely AirNet Online, Linghang Shengshi, and Iwangfan. Mr. Herman Man Guo, our chairman and chief executive officer, in addition to holding 15.35% in our company, also directly and indirectly holds approximately 80.00% of AirNet Online, 86.9193% of Linghang Shengshi and 90.00% of Iwangfan. Mr. Qing Xu, our director and executive president, in addition to holding 1.3% of our company, also directly and indirectly holds approximately 15.00% of AirNet Online, and 12.9954% of Linghang Shengshi. In addition, Mr. Guo is a director of AirNet Online, Linghang Shengshi and Iwangfan, the general manager of Linghang Shengshi, and the legal representative of AirNet Online and Linghang Shengshi; Mr. Xu is a director of Linghang Shengshi, the general manager and legal representative of Iwangfan. For these directors and officers, their fiduciary duties toward our company under Cayman Islands law — to act honestly, in good faith and with a view to our best interests — may conflict with their roles in the VIEs, as what is in the best interest of the VIEs may not be in the best interests of our company or the unaffiliated public shareholders of our company.

Currently, we do not have agreements in place that solely target to resolve conflicts of interest arising between our company and the VIEs and their operations. In addition, we have not appointed a separate fiduciary — one without potential conflicts of interest — to serve as the fiduciary of the public unaffiliated security holders of our company. Although our independent directors or disinterested officers may take measures to prevent the parties with dual roles from making decisions that may favor themselves as shareholders of the VIEs, we cannot assure you that these measures would be effective in all instances. If the parties with dual roles do find ways to make and carry out decisions on our behalf that are detrimental to our interest, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Certain provisions in the contractual agreements between Chuangyi Technology and our VIEs do impose limits on the rights of the shareholders of the VIEs. For example, each of the individual shareholders of the VIEs (except Yi Zhang) has signed an irrevocable power of attorney authorizing the person designated by Chuangyi Technology to exercise its rights as shareholder, including the voting rights, the right to enter into legal documents and the right to transfer its equity interest in the VIEs. However, we cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise that each of our VIEs and its respective shareholders will act completely in our interests or that conflicts of interests will be resolved in our favor, or that the above contractual provisions would be sufficient protection for us in the event that shareholders of the VIEs fail to perform under their contracts with Chuangyi Technology. In any such event, we would have to rely on legal remedies under PRC law, which may not be effective. See “—We rely on contractual arrangements with our consolidated variable interest entities and their shareholders for a substantial portion of our China operations, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control” and “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Contractual Arrangements.”

We rely on contractual arrangements with our consolidated variable interest entities and their shareholders for a substantial portion of our China operations, which may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing operational control.

We rely on contractual arrangements with AirNet Online, Linghang Shengshi, and Iwangfan to operate our Wi-Fi and air advertising business. For a description of these arrangements, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure” and “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Contractual Arrangements.” These contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing control over our VIEs. Under these contractual arrangements, if our VIEs or their shareholders fail to perform their respective obligations, we may have to incur substantial costs and resources to enforce such arrangements and rely on legal remedies under PRC law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief and claiming damages, and we may not be successful.

Many of these contractual arrangements are governed by PRC law and provide for disputes to be resolved through arbitration or litigation in the PRC. The legal environment in the PRC is not as developed as in other jurisdictions such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements, which may make it difficult to exert effective control over our VIEs, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected.

We have not registered the pledge of equity interest by certain shareholder of our consolidated affiliated entities with the relevant authority, and we may not be able to enforce the equity pledge against any third parties who acquire the equity interests in good faith in the relevant consolidated affiliated entities before the pledge is registered.

The individual shareholders of our VIEs, each a consolidated affiliated entity of ours, have pledged all of their equity interests, including the right to receive declared dividends, in the relevant VIEs to Chuangyi Technology, our wholly-owned subsidiary. An equity pledge agreement becomes effective among the parties upon execution, but according to the PRC Civil Code, an equity pledge is not perfected as a security property right unless it is registered with the relevant local administration for industry and commerce. We have not yet registered the share pledges by shareholders of AirNet Online, Linghang Shengshi and Iwangfan. As the registration of these pledges has not yet been completed so far, the pledges, as property rights, have not yet become effective under the PRC Civil Code. Before the registration procedures are completed, we cannot assure you that the effectiveness of these pledges will be recognized by PRC courts if disputes arise with respect to certain pledged equity interests or that Chuangyi Technology’s interests as pledgee will prevail over those of third parties. Chuangyi Technology may not be able to successfully enforce these pledges against any third parties who have acquired property right interests in good faith in the equity interests in AirNet Online, Linghang Shengshi and Iwangfan. As a result, if AirNet Online, Linghang Shengshi or Iwangfan breaches their respective obligations under the various agreements described above, and there are third parties who have acquired equity interests in good faith, Chuangyi Technology would need to resort to legal proceedings to enforce its contractual rights under the equity pledge agreements, or the underlying agreements secured by the pledges. We do not have agreements that pledge the assets of the VIEs and their respective subsidiaries for the benefit of us or our wholly owned subsidiaries.

Contractual arrangements we have entered into among our subsidiaries and variable interest entities may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities and a finding that we owe additional taxes could substantially increase our taxes owed and reduce our net income and the value of your investment.

Under PRC law, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be audited or challenged by the PRC tax authorities. If any transactions we have entered into among Chuangyi Technology and our VIEs are found not to be on an arm’s length basis, or to result in an unreasonable reduction in tax under PRC law, the PRC tax authorities have the authority to disallow our tax savings, adjust the profits and losses of our respective PRC entities and assess late payment interest and penalties. A finding by the PRC tax authorities that we are ineligible for the tax savings we achieved would substantially increase our taxes owed and reduce our net income and the value of your investment.

We may rely principally on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our wholly-owned operating subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our operating subsidiaries to pay dividends to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business.

We are a holding company, and we may rely principally on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by Chuangyi Technology, Shenzhen Yuehang and Xi’an Shengshi Dinghong Information Technology Co., Ltd., or Xi’an Shengshi for our cash requirements, including the funds necessary to service any debt we may incur. If Chuangyi Technology, Shenzhen Yuehang or Xi’an Shengshi incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict the ability of these entities to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may require us to adjust our taxable income under the contractual arrangements Chuangyi Technology currently has in place with our VIEs in a manner that would materially and adversely affect Chuangyi Technology’s ability to pay dividends and other distributions to us.

Furthermore, relevant PRC laws and regulations permit payments of dividends by Chuangyi Technology, Shenzhen Yuehang and Xi’an Shengshi only out of their accumulated profits, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Under PRC laws and regulations, Chuangyi Technology, Shenzhen Yuehang and Xi’an Shengshi are also required to set aside at least 10% of after-tax income based on PRC accounting standards each year to their general reserves until the accumulative amount of such reserves reaches 50% of their respective registered capital.

The registered capital of Chuangyi Technology, Shenzhen Yuehang and Xi’an Shengshi is $42.0 million, $96.4 million (approximately RMB700 million) and $50.0 million, respectively. Xi’an Shengshi and Chuangyi Technology have made the applicable annual appropriations required under PRC law. Shenzhen Yuehang is not currently required to fund any statutory surplus reserve because Shenzhen Yuehang still has accumulated losses. Any direct or indirect limitation on the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to distribute dividends and other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to make investments or acquisitions at the holding company level, pay dividends or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

Although none of Chuangyi Technology, Shenzhen Yuehang or Xi’an Shengshi has any present plan to pay any cash dividends to us in the foreseeable future, any limitation on the ability of Chuangyi Technology, Shenzhen Yuehang or Xi’an Shengshi to pay dividends or make other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, or otherwise fund and conduct our business.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

Adverse changes in the political and economic policies of the PRC government could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China, which could reduce the demand for our services and have a material adverse effect on our competitive position.

Substantially all of our assets are located in China and substantially all of our revenues are derived from our operations in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects are affected significantly by China’s economic, political and legal developments. The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the level of government involvement and the level and growth rate of economic development.

While the Chinese economy has experienced significant growth in the past decades, growth has been uneven both geographically and among various sectors of the economy, and the rate of growth has been slowing. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may benefit the overall Chinese economy, but may also have a negative effect on us. We cannot predict the future direction of political or economic reforms or the effects such measures may have on our business, financial position or results of operations. Any adverse change in the political or economic conditions in China, including changes in the policies of the PRC government or in laws and regulations in China, could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China and the industries in which we operate. Such developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, lead to a reduction in demand for our services and materially and adversely affect our competitive position.

Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could limit the legal protections available to us or result in substantial costs and the diversion of resources and management attention.

We conduct our business primarily through Beijing Yuehang Digital and AirNet Online, which are subject to PRC laws and regulations applicable to foreign investment in China and, in particular, laws applicable to wholly-foreign owned companies. The PRC legal system is based on written statutes. Prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. PRC legislation and regulations afford significant protections to various forms of foreign investments in China, but since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and the enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involve uncertainties, which may limit the legal protections available to us. In addition, any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and the diversion of resources and management attention.

A severe or prolonged downturn in the global or Chinese economy could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The global macroeconomic environment is facing challenges, including the economic slowdown in the Eurozone since 2014, potential impact of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union on January 31, 2020, and the adverse impact on the global economies and financial markets as the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve into a worldwide health crisis in 2020. The growth of the PRC economy has slowed down since 2012 compared to the previous decade and the trend may continue. There is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China. There have been concerns over unrest and terrorist threats in the Middle East, Europe and Africa and over the conflicts involving Ukraine, Syria and North Korea. There have also been concerns on the relationship among China and other Asian countries, which may result in or intensify potential conflicts in relation to territorial disputes, and the trade disputes between the United States and China. The ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China may have tremendous negative impact on the economies of not merely the two countries concerned, but the global economy as a whole. It is unclear whether these challenges and uncertainties will be contained or resolved, and what effects they may have on the global political and economic conditions in the long term.

Economic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions, changes in domestic economic and political policies, and the expected or perceived overall economic growth rate in China. While the economy in China has grown significantly over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy, and the rate of growth has been slowing in recent years. Although growth of China’s economy remained relatively stable, there is a possibility that China’s economic growth may materially decline in the near future. Any severe or prolonged slowdown in the global or PRC economy may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Fluctuations in the value of the Renminbi may have a material adverse effect on your investment.

The value of the RMB against the U.S. dollar and other currencies is affected by changes in China’s political and economic conditions and by China’s foreign exchange policies, among other things. In July 2005, the PRC government changed its decades-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the U.S. dollar, and the RMB appreciated more than 20% against the U.S. dollar over the following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted and the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar remained within a narrow band. Since June 2010, the RMB has fluctuated against the U.S. dollar, at times significantly and unpredictably. Since October 1, 2016, Renminbi has joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s basket of currencies that make up the Special Drawing Right (SDR), along with the U.S. dollar, the Euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound. In the fourth quarter of 2016, Renminbi has depreciated significantly in the backdrop of a surging U.S. dollar and persistent capital outflows of China. While appreciating approximately by 7% against the U.S. dollar in 2017, the Renminbi in 2018 depreciated approximately by 5% against the U.S. dollar.  Starting from the beginning of 2019, the Renminbi has depreciated significantly against the U.S. dollar again. In early August 2019, the PBOC set the Renminbi's daily reference rate at RMB7.0039 to US$1.00, the first time that the exchange rate of Renminbi to U.S. dollar exceeded 7.0 since 2008. With the development of the foreign exchange market and progress towards interest rate liberalization and Renminbi internationalization, the PRC government may in the future announce further changes to the exchange rate system and there is no guarantee that Renminbi will not appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the U.S. dollar in the future. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar in the future.

The reporting and functional currency of our Cayman Islands parent company is the U.S. dollar. However, substantially all of the revenues and expenses of our consolidated operating subsidiaries and affiliate entities are denominated in Renminbi. Substantially all of our sales contracts are denominated in Renminbi and substantially all of our costs and expenses are denominated in Renminbi. Any significant appreciation or depreciation of the RMB may materially and adversely affect our revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ADSs in U.S. dollars. To the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into Renminbi for our operations, depreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the Renminbi amount we receive from the conversion. Conversely, if we decide to convert our Renminbi into U.S. dollars for the purpose of dividend distribution or for other business purposes, depreciation of the U.S. dollar against the Renminbi would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us. Fluctuations in the exchange rate will also affect the relative value of any dividend we issue which will be exchanged into U.S. dollars and earnings from and the value of any U.S. dollar-denominated investments we make in the future.

Very limited hedging transactions are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited so that we may not be able to successfully hedge our exposure at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert Renminbi into foreign currency. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates may have a material adverse effect on your investment.

Restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to receive and use our revenues or financing effectively.

Substantially all of our revenues and expenses are denominated in Renminbi. We may need to convert a portion of our revenues into other currencies to meet our foreign currency obligations, including, among others, payments of dividends declared, if any, in respect of our ordinary shares or ADSs. Under China’s existing foreign exchange regulations, Chuangyi Technology, Shenzhen Yuehang and Xi’an Shengshi are able to pay dividends in foreign currencies, without prior approval from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or the SAFE, by complying with certain procedural requirements. However, we cannot assure you that the PRC government will not take measures in the future to restrict access to foreign currencies for current account transactions.

Foreign exchange transactions by our subsidiaries and VIEs in China under capital accounts continue to be subject to significant foreign exchange controls and require the approval of, or registration with, PRC governmental authorities. In particular, if we or other foreign lenders make foreign currency loans to our subsidiaries or VIEs in China, these loans must be registered with the SAFE, and if we finance them by means of additional capital contributions, these capital contributions must be approved by or registered with certain government authorities including the SAFE, the Ministry of Commerce or their local counterparts. These limitations could affect the ability of our subsidiaries in China to exchange the foreign currencies obtained through debt or equity financing, and could affect our business and financial condition.

On August 29, 2008, SAFE promulgated the Circular on the Relevant Operating Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Administration of the Payment and Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign Invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 142, regulating the conversion by a foreign-invested enterprise of foreign currency registered capital into RMB by restricting how the converted RMB may be used. SAFE Circular 142 provides that the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise may only be used within the purpose within the business scope approved by the applicable government authority and unless otherwise provided by law, such RMB capital may not be used for equity investments within the PRC. In addition, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the RMB capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested company. The use of such RMB capital may not be altered without SAFE approval, and such RMB capital may not in any case be used to repay RMB loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used. Violations of SAFE Circular 142 could result in severe monetary or other penalties. On November 9, 2011, SAFE promulgated the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Issues Relating to Further Clarification and Regulation of Certain Capital Account Items under Foreign Exchange Control (“Circular 45”) to further strengthen and clarify its existing regulations on foreign exchange control under SAFE Circular 142. Circular 45 expressly prohibits foreign invested entities, including wholly foreign owned enterprises such as Chuangyi Technology, from converting RMB funds derived from settlement of foreign exchange capital for the purpose of domestic equity investment, granting certain loans, repayment of inter-company loans, and repayment of bank loans which have been transferred to a third party. Further, Circular 45 generally prohibits a foreign invested entity from converting RMB funds derived from settlement of foreign exchange capital for the payment of various types of cash deposits. If our VIEs require financial support from us or our wholly foreign-owned enterprises in the future and we find it necessary to use foreign currency-denominated capital to provide such financial support, our ability to fund the VIEs’ operations will be subject to statutory limits and restrictions, including those described above.

Circular 45 was abolished by SAFE on March 19, 2015 according to a Circular on Promulgating the Abolishment and Invalidation of 50 Foreign Exchange-related Regulatory Documents. On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Reforming the Management Approach Regarding the Foreign Exchange Capital Settlement of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, which took effect on June 1, 2015 and replaced SAFE Circular 142. On June 9, 2016, the SAFE promulgated the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming and Regulating Policies on the Control over Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital Accounts, or SAFE Circular 16, which revised some provisions of SAFE Circular 19. SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16 allow foreign-invested enterprises to settle 100% of their foreign exchange capitals on a discretionary basis and allows ordinary foreign-invested enterprises to make domestic equity investments by capital transfer in the original currencies, or with the amount obtained from foreign exchange settlement, subject to complying with certain requirements. According to SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16, the RMB funds obtained by foreign-invested enterprises from the discretionary settlement of foreign exchange capitals shall be managed under the accounts pending for foreign exchange settlement payment, and foreign-invested enterprise shall not use its capital and the RMB funds obtained from foreign exchange settlement for the purposes within the following negative list: for expenditure beyond its business scope or expenditure prohibited by laws and regulations, for investments in securities or other investments than banks’ principal-secured products, for the granting of loans to non-affiliated enterprises, except where it is expressly permitted in the business license, or for construction or expenses related to the purchase of real estate not for self-use, unless it is a foreign-invested real estate enterprise. Nevertheless, it is still not clear whether foreign-invested enterprises like our PRC subsidiaries are allowed to extend intercompany loans to our VIEs.

PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents and registration requirements for employee stock ownership plans or share option plans may subject our PRC resident beneficial owners or the plan participants to personal liability, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us, or may otherwise adversely affect us.

Regulations promulgated by the SAFE require PRC residents and PRC corporate entities to register with local branches of the SAFE in connection with their direct or indirect offshore investment activities. These regulations apply to our shareholders who are PRC residents and may apply to any offshore acquisitions that we make in the future.

On February 15, 2012, the SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in an Employee Share Incentive Plan of an Overseas-Listed Company (which replaced the old Circular 78, “Application Procedure of Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in an Employee Stock Holding Plan or Stock Option Plan of an Overseas-Listed Company” promulgated on March 28, 2007), or the New Share Incentive Rule. Under the New Share Incentive Rule, PRC citizens who participate in a share incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company are required to register with SAFE and complete certain other procedures. All such participants need to retain a PRC agent through a PRC subsidiary to register with SAFE and handle foreign exchange matters such as opening accounts, transferring and settlement of the relevant proceeds. The New Share Incentive Rule further requires that an offshore agent should also be designated to handle matters in connection with the exercise or sale of share options and proceeds transferring for the share incentive plan participants.

We and our PRC employees who have been granted stock options are subject to the New Share Incentive Rule. We are in the process of completing the registration and procedures which the New Share Incentive Rule requires, but the application documents are subject to the review and approval of SAFE, and we can make no assurance as to when the registration and procedures could be completed. If we or our PRC employees fail to comply with the New Share Incentive Rule, we and/or our PRC employees may face sanctions imposed by the foreign exchange authority or any other PRC government authorities.

In addition, the State Administration of Taxation, or SAT, has issued a few circulars concerning employee stock options. Under these circulars, our employees working in China who exercise stock options will be subject to PRC individual income tax. Our PRC subsidiaries have obligations to file documents related to employee stock options with relevant tax authorities and withhold individual income taxes of those employees who exercise their stock options. If our employees fail to pay and we fail to withhold their income taxes, we may face sanctions imposed by tax authorities or any other PRC government authorities.

Under the SAFE regulations, PRC residents who make, or have previously made, direct or indirect investments in offshore companies, will be required to register those investments. In addition, any PRC resident who is a direct or indirect shareholder of an offshore company is required to file or update the registration with the local branch of the SAFE, with respect to that offshore company, any material change involving its round-trip investment and capital variation. The PRC subsidiaries of that offshore company are required to urge the PRC resident shareholders to make such updates. If any PRC shareholder fails to make the required SAFE registration or file or update the registration, the PRC subsidiaries of that offshore parent company may be prohibited from distributing their profits and the proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation, to their offshore parent company, and the offshore parent company may also be prohibited from injecting additional capital into their PRC subsidiaries. Moreover, failure to comply with the various SAFE registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions, such as restrictions on distributing dividend to our offshore entities or monetary penalties against us. We cannot assure you that all of our shareholders who are PRC residents will make or obtain any applicable registrations or approvals required by these SAFE regulations. The failure or inability of our PRC resident shareholders to comply with these SAFE registration procedures may subject us to fines and legal sanctions, restrict our cross-border investment activities, or limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to or obtain foreign-exchange-dominated loans from our company.

As it is uncertain how the SAFE regulations will be interpreted or implemented, we cannot predict how these regulations will affect our business operations or future strategy. For example, we may be subject to more stringent review and approval process with respect to our foreign exchange activities, such as remittance of dividends and foreign-currency-denominated borrowings, which may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, if we decide to acquire a PRC domestic company, we cannot assure you that we or the owners of such company, as the case may be, will be able to obtain the necessary approvals or complete the necessary filings and registrations required by the SAFE regulations. This may restrict our ability to implement our acquisition strategy and could adversely affect our business and prospects.

Certain measures promulgated by the People’s Bank of China on foreign exchange for individuals set forth the respective requirements for foreign exchange transactions by PRC individuals under either the current account or the capital account. Implementing rules for these measures were promulgated by the SAFE which, among other things, specified approval requirements for certain capital account transactions such as a PRC citizen’s participation in the employee stock ownership plans or stock option plans of an overseas publicly-listed company. The SAFE also promulgated rules under which PRC citizens who are granted stock options by an overseas publicly-listed company are required, through a PRC agent or PRC subsidiary of such overseas publicly-listed company, to register with the SAFE and complete certain other procedures. We and our PRC employees who have been granted stock options are subject to these rules, and we are in the process of completing the required registration and procedures, but the application documents are subject to the review and approval of SAFE, and we can make no assurance as to when the registration and procedures could be completed. If we or our PRC optionees fail to comply with these regulations, we or our PRC optionees may be subject to fines and legal sanctions. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation— SAFE Regulations on Offshore Investment by PRC Residents and Employee Stock Options.”

The M&A Rule sets forth complex procedures for acquisitions conducted by foreign investors which could make it more difficult to pursue growth through acquisitions. 

Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rule, sets forth complex procedures and requirements that could make merger and acquisition activities by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex. Part of our growth strategy includes acquiring complementary businesses or assets. Complying with the requirements of the M&A Rule to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the Ministry of Commerce, may delay or inhibit the completion of such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share. In addition, if any of our acquisitions were subject to the M&A Rule and were found not to be in compliance with the requirements of the M&A Rule in the future, relevant PRC regulatory agencies may impose fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, limit our operating privileges in the PRC, or take other actions that could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Changes in laws and regulations governing air travel media or otherwise affecting our business in China may result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

There are no existing PRC laws or regulations that specifically define or regulate air travel media. Changes in existing laws and regulations or the implementation of new laws and regulations governing the content of air travel media and our business licenses or otherwise affecting our business in China may result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and may materially and adversely affect our business prospects and results of operations.

The enforcement of the Labor Contract Law and other labor-related regulations in China may adversely affect our business and our results of operations.

The Labor Contract Law, which came into effect January 1, 2008 and was amended on December 28, 2012, established more restrictions and increased costs for employers to dismiss employees under certain circumstances, including specific provisions relating to fixed-term employment contracts, non-fixed-term employment contracts, task-based employment, part-time employment, probation, consultation with the labor union and employee representative’s council, employment without a contract, dismissal of employees, compensation upon termination and for overtime work, and collective bargaining. Under the Labor Contract Law, unless otherwise provided by law, an employer is obligated to sign a labor contract with a non-fixed term with an employee, if the employer continues to hire the employee after the expiration of two consecutive fixed-term labor contracts, or if the employee has worked for the employer for 10 consecutive years. Severance pay is required if a labor contract expires and is not renewed because of the employer’s refusal to renew or seeking to renew with less favorable terms. In addition, under the Regulations on Paid Annual Leave for Employees, which became effective on January 1, 2008, employees who have served more than one year for an employer are entitled to a paid vacation for five to 15 days, depending on the employee’s number of years of employment. Employees who waive such vacation at the request of employers are entitled to compensation that equals to three times their regular daily salary for each waived vacation day. As a result of these new labor protection measures, our labor costs are expected to increase, which may adversely affect our business and our results of operations. It is also possible that the PRC government may enact additional labor-related legislations in the future, which would further increase our labor costs and affect our operations.

We have limited insurance coverage in China, and any business disruption or litigation we experience may result in our incurring substantial costs and the diversion of resources.

Insurance companies in China offer limited business insurance products and do not, to our knowledge, offer business liability insurance. While business disruption insurance is available to a limited extent in China, we have determined that the risks of disruption, cost of such insurance and the difficulties associated with acquiring such insurance on commercially reasonable terms make it impractical for us to have such insurance. As a result, except for our liability insurance for directors and officers, we do not have any business liability, disruption or litigation insurance coverage for our operations in China. Any business disruption or litigation may result in our incurring substantial costs and the diversion of resources.

We may have claims and lawsuits against us that may result in material adverse outcomes.

We have been and will be possibly subject to a variety of claims and lawsuits. See “Item 8. Financial Information—A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Legal Proceedings.” This litigation and other claims that may be made against us from time to time are subject to inherent uncertainties. Adverse outcomes in one or more of those claims may result in significant monetary damages or injunctive relief that could adversely affect our ability to conduct our business. A material adverse impact on our financial statements also could occur for the period in which the effect of an unfavorable final outcome becomes probable and reasonably estimable.

If one or more of our PRC subsidiaries fails to maintain or obtain qualifications to receive PRC preferential tax treatments, we will be required to pay more taxes, which may have a material adverse effect on our result of operations.

The Enterprise Income Tax Law (revised in 2018), or the EIT law, which became effective on December 29, 2018, imposes a uniform income tax rate of 25% on most domestic enterprises and foreign investment enterprises. Under this law, entities that qualify as “high and new technology enterprises strongly supported by the state,” or HNTE, are entitled to the preferential EIT rate of 15%. A company’s status as a HNTE is valid for three years, after which the company must re-apply for such qualification in order to continue to enjoy the preferential EIT rate. In addition, according to relevant guidelines, “new software enterprises” can enjoy an income tax exemption for two years beginning with their first profitable year and a 50% tax reduction to a rate of 12.5% for the subsequent three years.

Wangfan Linghang Mobile Network Technology Co., Ltd., one of our PRC subsidiaries, or Linghang received the HNTE certificate at the end of 2017 and was entitled to an EIT rate of 15% from 2017, expiring on December 26, 2020, and will be entitled to an EIT rate of 25% afterwards.

Air Esurfing Information Technology Co., Ltd., one of our PRC subsidiaries, or Air Esurfing received the HNTE certificate in 2018 and entitled to an EIT rate of 15% from 2018, expiring on September 10, 2021.

We cannot assure you that our PRC subsidiaries will be able to maintain or obtain qualifications to receive the above preferential tax treatments; we will be required to pay more taxes if they fail to become or continue to be eligible to receive PRC tax benefits, which may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Dividends payable to us by our wholly-owned operating subsidiaries may be subject to PRC withholding taxes, or we may be subject to PRC taxation on our worldwide income, and dividends distributed to our investors may be subject to more PRC withholding taxes under PRC tax law.

Under the EIT Law and related regulations, dividends payable by a foreign-invested enterprise in China to its foreign investors who are non-resident enterprises are subject to a 10% withholding tax, unless any such foreign investor’s jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a different withholding arrangement. The British Virgin Islands, or BVI, where Broad Cosmos Enterprises Ltd., or Broad Cosmos, our wholly-owned subsidiary, is incorporated, does not have such a tax treaty with AN China, the 100% shareholder of Chuangyi Technology, Shenzhen Yuehang and Xi’an Shengshi, is incorporated in Hong Kong. According to the Mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Arrangement on Avoiding Double Taxation or Evasion of Taxation on Income between China and Hong Kong and the relevant rules, dividends paid by a foreign-invested enterprise in China to its direct holding company in Hong Kong will be subject to withholding tax at a rate of 5% (if the foreign investor owns directly at least 25% of the shares of the foreign-invested enterprise). However, under recently implemented PRC regulations, now our Hong Kong subsidiary must obtain approval from the competent local branch of the State Administration of Taxation in accordance with the double-taxation agreement among the PRC and Hong Kong in order to enjoy the 5% preferential withholding tax rate. In February 2009, SAT issued Notice No. 81. According to Notice No. 81, in order to enjoy the preferential treatment on dividend withholding tax rates, an enterprise must be the “beneficial owner” of the relevant dividend income, and no enterprise is entitled to enjoy preferential treatment pursuant to any tax treaties if such enterprise qualifies for such preferential tax rates through any transaction or arrangement, the major purpose of which is to obtain such preferential tax treatment. The tax authority in charge has the right to make adjustments to the applicable tax rates, if it determines that any taxpayer has enjoyed preferential treatment under tax treaties as a result of such transaction or arrangement. In October 2009, SAT issued another notice on this matter, or Notice No. 601, to provide guidance on the criteria to determine whether an enterprise qualifies as the “beneficial owner” of the PRC sourced income for the purpose of obtaining preferential treatment under tax treaties. Pursuant to Notice No. 601, the PRC tax authorities will review and grant tax preferential treatment on a case-by-case basis and adopt the “substance over form” principle in the review. Notice 601 specifies that a beneficial owner should generally carry out substantial business activities and own and have control over the income, the assets or other rights generating the income. Therefore, an agent or a conduit company will not be regarded as a beneficial owner of such income. Since the two notices were issued, it has remained unclear how the PRC tax authorities will implement them in practice and to what extent they will affect the dividend withholding tax rates for dividends distributed by our subsidiaries in China to our Hong Kong subsidiary. If the relevant tax authority determines that our Hong Kong subsidiary is a conduit company and does not qualify as the “beneficial owner” of the dividend income it receives from our PRC subsidiaries, the higher 10% withholding tax rate may apply to such dividends. On February 3, 2018, SAT issued Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues concerning “Beneficial Owners” in Tax Treaties, or Circular 9, which became effective on April 1, 2018 and superseded Notice No. 601. In comparison with Notice No. 601, Circular 9 enlarging and further explaining the scope of beneficial owner, supplementing the applicants deemed as beneficial owners who obtain proceeds from China as direct or indirect 100% shareholder, increasing the certainty of identifying beneficial owner.

Under the EIT Law and EIT Implementation Rules, an enterprise established outside of the PRC with “de facto management bodies” within the PRC is considered a PRC resident enterprise and is subject to the EIT at the rate of 25% on its worldwide income. The EIT Implementation Rules define the term “de facto management bodies” as “establishments that carry out substantial and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operations, personnel, accounting, properties, etc. of an enterprise.” The SAT issued the Notice Regarding the Determination of Chinese-Controlled Overseas Incorporated Enterprises as PRC Tax Resident Enterprises on the Basis of De Facto Management Bodies, or SAT Circular 82, on April 22, 2009. SAT Circular 82 provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a Chinese-controlled overseas-incorporated enterprise is located in China.

In addition, the SAT issued a bulletin on July 27, 2011 to provide more guidance on the implementation of SAT Circular 82 with an effective date to be September 1, 2011. The bulletin made clarification in the areas of resident status determination, post-determination administration, as well as competent tax authorities. It also specifies that when provided with a copy of the Chinese tax resident determination certificate from a resident Chinese controlled offshore incorporated enterprise, the payer should not withhold 10% income tax when paying the Chinese-sourced dividends, interest, royalties, etc. to the Chinese controlled offshore incorporated enterprise. Although both SAT Circular 82 and the bulletin only apply to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises, not to those that, like our company, are controlled by PRC individuals, the determination criteria set forth in SAT Circular 82 and administration clarification made in the bulletin may reflect the SAT’s general position on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining the tax residency status of offshore enterprises and the administration measures that should be implemented, regardless of whether they are controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC individuals.

After consulting with our PRC counsel, we do not believe that our holding company and other overseas subsidiaries should be deemed PRC resident enterprises as, among other things, certain of our company’s key assets and records, including register of members, board resolutions and shareholder resolutions, are located and maintained outside of the PRC, and we also hold our board and board committee meetings outside of the PRC from time to time. However, we have been advised by our PRC counsel, Commerce & Finance Law Offices, that because there remains uncertainty regarding the interpretation and implementation of the EIT Law and EIT Implementation Rules, it is uncertain whether we will be deemed a PRC resident enterprise. If the PRC authorities were to subsequently determine, or any further regulations provide, that we should be treated as a PRC resident enterprise, we would be subject to a 25% EIT on our global income. To the extent our holding company earns income outside of China, a 25% EIT on our global income may increase our tax burden and could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

If we are regarded as a PRC resident enterprise, dividends distributed from our PRC subsidiaries to us could be exempt from the PRC dividend withholding tax, since such income is exempt under the EIT Law and the EIT Implementation Rules to the extent such dividends are deemed “dividends among qualified PRC resident enterprises.” If we are considered a resident enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes, dividends we pay with respect to our ADSs or ordinary shares may be considered income derived from sources within the PRC and subject to PRC withholding tax of 10%. In addition, non-PRC shareholders may be subject to PRC tax on gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares, if such income is treated as sourced from within the PRC. It is unclear whether our non-PRC shareholders would be able to claim the benefits of any tax treaties between their tax residence and the PRC in the event that we are considered as a PRC resident enterprise.

With the 10% PRC dividend withholding tax, we will incur an incremental PRC tax cost when we distribute our PRC profits to our ultimate shareholders if we are deemed not to be a PRC resident enterprise. On the other hand, if we are determined to be a PRC resident enterprise under the EIT Law and receive income other than dividends, our profitability and cash flow would be adversely impacted due to our worldwide income being taxed in China under the EIT Law.

Moreover, under the EIT Law, foreign ADS holders may be subject to a 10% withholding tax upon dividends payable by us and gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares, if we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise and such income is deemed to be sourced from within the PRC. Although we are incorporated in the Cayman Islands, it is unclear whether the dividends payable by us or the gains our foreign ADS holders may realize on disposition will be regarded as income from sources within the PRC if we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise. Any such tax on our dividend payments will reduce the returns of your investment.

Scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on potential acquisitions we may pursue in the future.

In connection with the EIT Law, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation jointly issued, on April 30, 2009, the Notice on Issues Concerning Process of Enterprise Income Tax in Enterprise Restructuring Business, or Circular 59. On December 10, 2009, the State Administration of Taxation issued the Notice on Strengthening the Management on Enterprise Income Tax for Non-resident Enterprises Equity Transfer, or Circular 698. Both Circular 59 and Circular 698 became effective retroactively on January 1, 2008. By promulgating and implementing these circulars, the PRC tax authorities have enhanced their scrutiny over the direct or indirect transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise by a non-resident enterprise. However, SAT issued Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Matters concerning Withholding of Income Tax of Non-resident Enterprises at Source, or Circular 37, which became effective on December 1, 2017 and superseded Circular 698. In comparison with Circular 698, Circular 37 releases the obligations of withholding agent, taxpayer by adopting straightforward procedures and simple calculation concerning withholding income tax of non-resident enterprises at source.

On February 3, 2015, the SAT issued the Announcement on Several Issues concerning the Enterprise Income Tax on Indirect Transfers of Properties by Non-Resident Enterprises, or Public Notice 7, to supersede tax rules in relation to the Indirect Transfer of Shares under the original SAT Circular 698. Public Notice 7 covers transactions involving not only Indirect Transfer of Shares as set forth under SAT Circular 698 but also transactions involving an overseas company’s indirect transfer of other property or assets (such as real properties) located in China (collectively, ‘‘PRC Taxable Properties’’) through transfer of shares of an offshore intermediary company. Pursuant to Public Notice 7, in the event that non-residential enterprises indirectly transfer PRC Taxable Properties without reasonable commercial purposes in order to evade PRC enterprise income tax, such indirect transfer will be deemed as direct transfer of PRC Taxable Properties and, therefore, be subject to PRC enterprise income tax. In addition, Public Notice 7 provides clearer criteria on how to assess reasonable commercial purposes and allows for safe harbor scenarios applicable to internal group restructurings. Under Public Notice 7, subject to certain exceptions such as internal group restructurings and purchase and sale of shares of the same publicly-listed oversea enterprise in a public securities market, an indirect transfer of PRC Taxable Properties shall be directly deemed as having no reasonable commercial purposes if the following circumstances are satisfied: (i) more than 75% of the value of overseas enterprises’ shares directly or indirectly comes from PRC Taxable Properties; (ii) at any time within one year before the indirect transfer of PRC Taxable Properties, more than 90% the total amount of overseas enterprises’ assets (excluding cash) are directly or indirectly constituted by their investment within the PRC, or within one year before the indirect transfer of PRC Taxable Properties, more than 90% of the overseas enterprises’ income directly or indirectly derive from the PRC; (iii) the overseas enterprises and their controlling enterprises, which directly or indirectly hold PRC Taxable Properties, cannot justify the economic substance of the corporate structure; and (iv) overseas tax payment regarding indirect transfer of PRC Taxable Properties is lower than PRC tax payment regarding direct transfer of PRC Taxable Properties. Public Notice 7 also brings uncertainties to the offshore transferor and transferee of the indirect transfer of PRC Taxable Properties as they have to make self-assessment on whether the transaction should be subject to PRC tax and to file or withhold the PRC tax accordingly. As a result, where non-resident investors were involved in our private equity financing or share transfer of our company between two or more offshore parties, if such transactions were determined by the tax authorities to lack reasonable commercial purpose, we and our non-resident investors may become at risk of being taxed under Circular 37 and Public Notice 7 and may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Circular 37 and Public Notice 7 or to establish that we should not be taxed under Circular 37 and Public Notice 7, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The PRC tax authorities have the discretion under Public Notice 7 to make adjustments to the taxable capital gains based on the difference between the fair value of the equity interests transferred and the cost of investment. We may pursue acquisitions in the future that may involve complex corporate structures. If we are considered a non-resident enterprise under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law and if the PRC tax authorities make adjustments to the taxable income of the transactions under SAT Circular 59, Circular 37 or Public Notice 7, our income tax costs associated with such potential acquisitions will be increased, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Although Circular 37 requires less scrutiny on withholding income tax of non-resident enterprises at source, we cannot assure you that the PRC government will not take harsh measures in the future with respect to tax related regulations over acquisition transactions.

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

Occasionally, U.S. public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China, particularly companies which have completed so-called reverse merger transactions, have been the subject of intense scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity by investors, financial commentators and regulatory agencies, such as the SEC. Much of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity has centered around financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, a lack of effective internal controls over financial accounting, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud. For example, in December 2012, the SEC initiated administrative proceedings against the China affiliates of the Big Four public accounting firms for allegedly refusing to produce audit work papers and other documents related to certain China-based companies under investigation by the SEC for potential accounting fraud against U.S. investors. Although the firms reached a settlement with the SEC and although we were not and are not subject to any ongoing SEC investigations, many U.S. listed Chinese companies are now subject to, or may become subject to, shareholder lawsuits and SEC enforcement actions and are conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations. As a result of this proceeding and the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity, the publicly traded stock of many U.S. listed Chinese companies has sharply decreased in value and, in some cases, has become virtually worthless. It is not clear what effect this sector-wide scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity will have on our Company, our business and our stock price. If we become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, we will have to expend significant resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend our company. This situation will be costly and time consuming and distract our management from growing our company.

If additional remedial measures are imposed on the “Big Four” PRC-based accounting firms, including Deloitte, our previous independent registered public accounting firm, in administrative proceedings brought by the SEC alleging the firms’ failure to meet specific criteria set by the SEC, with respect to requests for the production of documents, investors’ confidence in our reported financial information and the price of our ADSs could be adversely affected.

Starting in 2011, the Chinese affiliates of the “big four” accounting firms, including Deloitte, our previous independent registered public accounting firm, were affected by a conflict between the United States’ and Chinese laws. Specifically, for certain U.S. listed companies operating and audited in mainland China, the SEC and the PCAOB sought to obtain from these Chinese accounting firms access to their audit work papers and related documents. The firms were, however, advised and directed that under PRC law they could not respond directly to the U.S. regulators on those requests, and that requests by foreign regulators for access to such papers in China had to be channeled through the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC.

In late 2012, this impasse led the SEC to commence administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against the Chinese accounting firms, including Deloitte. A first instance trial of the proceedings in July 2013 in the SEC’s internal administrative court resulted in an adverse judgment against the firms. The administrative law judge proposed penalties on the firms including a temporary suspension of their right to practice before the SEC, although such proposed penalties did not take effect pending review by the Commissioners of the SEC. On February 6, 2015, before a review by the Commissioner had taken place, the firms reached a settlement with the SEC. Under the settlement, the SEC accepts that future requests by the SEC for the production of documents will normally be made to the CSRC. The firms will receive matching Section 106 requests, and are required to abide by a detailed set of procedures with respect to such requests, which in substance require them to facilitate production via the CSRC. If they fail to meet the specified criteria, the SEC retains authority to impose a variety of additional remedial measures on the firms, depending on the nature of the failure. Under the terms of the settlement, the underlying proceeding against the four PRC-based accounting firms was deemed dismissed with prejudice at the end of four years starting from the settlement date, which was February 6, 2019. We cannot predict if the SEC will further challenge the four PRC-based accounting firms’ compliance with U.S. law in connection with U.S. regulatory requests for audit work papers or if the results of such a challenge would result in the SEC imposing penalties such as suspensions.

In the event that the SEC restarts the administrative proceedings, depending upon the final outcome, listed companies in the United States with major PRC operations may find it difficult or impossible to retain auditors in respect of their operations in the PRC, which could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act and possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about any such future proceedings against these audit firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding China-based, United States-listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.

The custodians or authorized users of our controlling non-tangible assets, including chops and seals, may fail to fulfill their responsibilities, or misappropriate or misuse these assets.

Under the PRC law, legal documents for corporate transactions, including agreements and contracts are executed using the chop or seal of the signing entity or with the signature of a legal representative whose designation is registered and filed with relevant PRC market regulation administrative authorities.

In order to secure the use of our chops and seals, we have established internal control procedures and rules for using these chops and seals. In any event that the chops and seals are intended to be used, the responsible personnel will submit the application through our office automation system and the application will be verified and approved by authorized employees in accordance with our internal control procedures and rules. In addition, in order to maintain the physical security of our chops, we generally have them stored in secured locations accessible only to authorized employees. Although we monitor such authorized employees, the procedures may not be sufficient to prevent all instances of abuse or negligence. There is a risk that our employees could abuse their authority, for example, by entering into a contract not approved by us or seeking to gain control of one of our subsidiaries or our affiliated entities or their subsidiaries. If any employee obtains, misuses or misappropriates our chops and seals or other controlling non-tangible assets for whatever reason, we could experience disruption to our normal business operations. We may have to take corporate or legal action, which could involve significant time and resources to resolve and divert management from our operations.

It may be difficult for overseas regulators to conduct investigations or collect evidence within China.

Shareholder claims or regulatory investigations that are common in jurisdictions outside China are difficult to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in China. For example, in China, there are significant legal and other obstacles to providing information needed for regulatory investigations or litigation initiated outside China. Although the authorities in China may establish a regulatory cooperation mechanism with the securities regulatory authorities of another country or region to implement cross-border supervision and administration, such cooperation with the securities regulatory authorities in the United States or other jurisdictions may not be efficient in the absence of a mutual and practical cooperation mechanism. Furthermore, according to Article 177 of the PRC Securities Law, or Article 177, which became effective in March 2020, no overseas securities regulator is allowed to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within the territory of the PRC, and without the consent by the Chinese securities regulatory authorities under the State Council and the relevant competent departments under the State Council, no entity or individual may provide documents or materials related to securities business to any foreign party. While detailed interpretation of or implementation rules under Article 177 has yet to be promulgated, the inability of an overseas securities regulator to directly conduct investigation or evidence collection activities within China and the potential obstacles for information provision may further increase difficulties you face in protecting your interests. See “—You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law, conduct substantially all of our operations in China and most of our directors and officers reside outside the United States” for risks associated with investing in us as a Cayman Islands company.

You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law, conduct substantially all of our operations in China and most of our directors and officers reside outside the United States.

We are an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands have a less developed body of securities laws than the United States. Some states in the United States, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States.

Shareholders of exempted companies in Cayman Islands like us have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records (other than our memorandum and articles of association, special resolutions passed by our shareholders, and our register of mortgages and chargers) or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. Our directors have discretion to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder resolution or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.

Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, differ significantly from requirements for companies incorporated in other jurisdictions such as the United States. If we choose to follow home country practice in the future, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would under rules and regulations applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.

In addition, we conduct substantially all of our business operations in China, and substantially all of our directors and senior management are based in China. The SEC, U.S. Department of Justice and other authorities often have substantial difficulties in bringing and enforcing actions against non-U.S. companies and non-U.S. persons, including company directors and officers, in certain emerging markets, including China. Additionally, our public shareholders may have limited rights and few practical remedies in emerging markets where we operate, as shareholder claims that are common in the United States, including class action securities law and fraud claims, generally are difficult or impossible to pursue as a matter of law or practicality in many emerging markets, including China. For example, in China, there are significant legal and other obstacles for the SEC, the DOJ and other U.S. authorities to obtaining information needed for shareholder investigations or litigation. Although the competent authorities in China may establish a regulatory cooperation mechanism with the securities regulatory authorities of another country or region to implement cross-border supervision and administration, the regulatory cooperation with the securities regulatory authorities in the United States has not been efficient in the absence of a mutual and practical cooperation mechanism. In China, without the consent of the Chinese securities regulatory authorities under the State Council and the relevant competent departments under the State Council, no organization or individual may provide the documents and materials relating to securities business activities to foreign securities regulators. See “—It may be difficult for overseas regulators to conduct investigations or collect evidence within China.”

As a result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States.

Risks Related to the Market for Our ADSs

The trading price of our ADSs has been and may continue to be volatile.

The trading price of our ADSs has been and may continue to be subject to wide fluctuations. During the year of 2020, the trading prices of our ADSs on the Nasdaq Capital Market ranged from $0.64 to $2.19 per ADS, and the last reported trading price on May 5, 2021 was $3.51 per ADS. Effective on April 11, 2019, we adjusted the ratio of our ADSs to ordinary shares from one ADS representing two ordinary shares to one ADS representing ten ordinary shares. The aforementioned trading prices have not been adjusted for the ADS ratio change. The price of our ADSs may fluctuate in response to a number of events and factors including, changes in the economic performance or market valuations of other advertising companies, conditions in the air travel media industry and the sales or perceived potential sales of additional ordinary shares or ADSs.

In addition, the securities market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also have a material adverse effect on the market price of our ADSs.

Additional sales of our ordinary shares in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could also cause the market price of our ADSs to decline.

If we fail to comply with the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq, we would face possible delisting, which would result in a limited public market for our ADSs and make obtaining future debt or equity financing more difficult for us.

Our ADSs are currently listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ANTE.” We are required to meet certain qualitative and financial requirements to maintain the listing of our ADSs on Nasdaq.

We received a notification letter from Nasdaq on March 30, 2020 indicating that the closing bid price per ADS had been below $1.00 for a period of 30 consecutive business days and that we did not meet the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Rule 5550(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules. Due to the tolling of compliance period through June 30, 2020, as determined by Nasdaq, we had until December 10, 2020, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. We received a notification letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq dated November 13, 2020 notifying us that we have regained compliance with the requirement.

In addition, we received a notification letter from Nasdaq on September 16, 2020 indicating that we failed to comply with Rule 5550(b) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules, which requires a minimum $2.5 million stockholders’ equity, or $35 million market value of listed securities, or $500,000 of net income from continuing operations. The letter also noted that we have until November 2, 2020 to submit a plan to Nasdaq to regain compliance with Rule 5550(b) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules. After reviewing the compliance plan which we submitted, Nasdaq granted us an extension to regain compliance. Under the terms of the extension, we must, on or before March 15, 2021, complete the actions undertaken by us in the compliance plan and evidence compliance with the Rule 5550(b) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules. We received a notification letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq dated February 18, 2021, notifying us that we have regained compliance with the market value requirement.

However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to continue to maintain our compliance with the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq. If we fail to satisfy the requirements going forward or fail to regain compliance on a timely basis, our ADSs could be delisted from Nasdaq Capital Market and they would likely be traded on the over-the-counter markets. As a result, selling our ADSs could be more difficult because smaller quantities of shares would likely be bought and sold, and security analysts’ coverage of us may be reduced. In addition, in the event our ADSs are delisted, broker-dealers would bear certain regulatory burdens which may discourage them from effecting transactions in our ADSs and further limit the liquidity. These factors could result in lower trading prices and larger spreads in the bid and ask prices for our ADSs. Such delisting from Nasdaq could also greatly impair our ability to raise additional funds through equity or debt financing.

We have been named as a defendant or respondent in legal proceedings that could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operation, cash flows and reputation.

We will have to defend against the legal proceedings described in “Item 8. Financial Information—A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Legal Proceedings,” including any appeals of such legal proceedings should our initial defense be unsuccessful. We are currently unable to estimate the possible loss or possible range of loss, if any, associated with the resolution of these legal proceedings. In the event that our initial defense of these legal proceedings is unsuccessful, there can be no assurance that we will prevail in any appeal. Any adverse outcome of these cases, including any plaintiff’s or claimant’s appeal of a judgment in these legal proceedings, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operation, cash flows and reputation. In addition, there can be no assurance that our insurance carriers will cover all or part of the defense costs, or any liabilities that may arise from these matters. The legal proceeding process may utilize a significant portion of our cash resources and divert management’s attention from the day-to-day operations of our company, all of which could harm our business. We also may be subject to claims for indemnification related to these matters, and we cannot predict the impact that indemnification claims may have on our business or financial results.

You may not have the same voting rights as the holders of our ordinary shares and may not receive voting materials in time to be able to exercise your right to vote.

Except as described in this annual report and in the deposit agreement, holders of our ADSs will not be able to exercise voting rights attaching to the shares evidenced by our ADSs on an individual basis. Holders of our ADSs will appoint the depositary or its nominee as their representative to exercise the voting rights attaching to the shares represented by the ADSs. You may not receive voting materials in time to instruct the depositary to vote, and it is possible that you, or persons who hold their ADSs through brokers, dealers or other third parties, will not have the opportunity to exercise a right to vote.

Your right to participate in any future rights offerings may be limited, which may cause dilution to your holdings and you may not receive cash dividends if it is impractical to make them available to you.

We may from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire our securities. However, we cannot make rights available to you in the United States unless we register both the rights and the securities to which the rights relate under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, or an exemption from the registration requirements is available. Under the deposit agreement, the depositary bank will not make rights available to you unless both the rights and the underlying securities to be distributed to ADS holders are either registered under the Securities Act or exempt from registration under the Securities Act. We are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to any such rights or securities or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective and we may not be able to establish a necessary exemption from registration under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution in your holdings.

The depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on our ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary may, at its discretion, decide that it is inequitable or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, the depositary may determine that it is not practicable to distribute certain property through the mail, or that the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may decide not to distribute such property to you.

You may be subject to limitations on transfer of your ADSs.

Your ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its transfer books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties.

In addition, the depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary deem it advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.

Anti-takeover provisions in our memorandum and articles of association and rights agreement could adversely affect the rights of holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs.

We have included certain provisions in our memorandum and articles of association that could limit the ability of others to acquire control of our company and deprive our shareholders of the opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over the prevailing market price by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transactions. The following provisions in our articles may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of our company:

On August 13, 2020, our board of directors adopted a rights agreement between us and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, as the rights agent, and declared a dividend distribution of one right with respect to each of our outstanding ordinary share held of record at the close of business on August 24, 2020. When exercisable, each right will entitle the registered holder to purchase one ordinary share of our company at an exercise price of US$0.9 per right, subject to adjustment. In general terms, it works by imposing a significant penalty upon any person or group that acquires 15% or more of our ordinary shares without the approval of our board of directors. As a result, the overall effect of the rights agreement and the issuance of the rights may be to render more difficult or discourage a merger, tender or exchange offer or other business combination involving us that is not approved by our board. The issuance of additional ordinary shares of our company pursuant to the rights agreement would cause substantial dilution to a person or group that attempts to acquire us on terms not approved by our board of directors.

Our corporate actions are substantially controlled by our principal shareholders who could exert significant influence over important corporate matters, which may reduce the price of our ADSs and deprive you of an opportunity to receive a premium for your shares.

Certain principal shareholders hold a substantial percentage of the outstanding shares of our company. For example, as of March 31, 2021, our principal shareholder, Mr. Herman Man Guo, along with his wife, Ms. Dan Shao, beneficially owned approximately 25.0% of our outstanding ordinary shares. Mr. Guo and other principal shareholders of our company could exert substantial influence over matters such as electing directors and approving material mergers, acquisitions or other business combination transactions. This concentration of ownership may also discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could have the dual effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and reducing the price of our ADSs. These actions may be taken even if they are opposed by our other shareholders.

We are a “foreign private issuer,” and have disclosure obligations that are different from those of U.S. domestic reporting companies so you should not expect to receive the same information about us at the same time as a U.S. domestic reporting company may provide.

We are a foreign private issuer and, as a result, we are not subject to certain of the requirements imposed upon U.S. domestic issuers by the SEC. For example, we are not required by the SEC or the federal securities laws to issue quarterly reports or proxy statements with the SEC. We are required to file our annual report within four months of our fiscal year end. We are not required to disclose certain detailed information regarding executive compensation that is required from U.S. domestic issuers. Further, our directors and executive officers are not required to report equity holdings under Section 16 of the Securities Act. We are also exempt from the requirements of Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure) which, generally, are meant to ensure that select groups of investors are not privy to specific information about an issuer before other investors. We are, however, still subject to the anti-fraud and anti-manipulation rules of the SEC, such as Rule 10b-5. Since many of the disclosure obligations required of us as a foreign private issuer are different from those required by other U.S. domestic reporting companies, our shareholders should not expect to receive information about us in the same amount and at the same time as information is received from, or provided by, other U.S. domestic reporting companies. We are liable for violations of the rules and regulations of the SEC which do apply to us as a foreign private issuer. Violations of these rules could affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We believe we were a passive foreign investment company for our taxable year ended December 31, 2020, which could subject United States investors in the ADSs or ordinary shares to significant adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.

Based on the market price of our ADSs and composition of our assets (in particular the retention of a substantial amount of cash), we believe that we were a “passive foreign investment company,” or “PFIC,” for U.S. federal income tax purposes for our taxable year ended December 31, 2020, and we may be a PFIC for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2021 unless the market price of our ADSs increases and/or we invest a substantial amount of cash and other passive assets we hold in assets that produce or are held for the production of non-passive income. A non-U.S. corporation will be considered a PFIC for any taxable year if either (1) 75% or more of its gross income for such year consists of certain types of “passive” income or (2) 50% or more of the average quarterly value of its assets (as generally determined on the basis of fair market value) during such year produce or are held for the production of passive income.

If we were to be classified as a PFIC in any taxable year, a U.S. Holder (as defined in Item 10. Additional Information—E.—Taxation—U.S. Federal Income Taxation) may incur significantly increased U.S. income tax on gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares and on the receipt of distributions on the ADSs or ordinary shares to the extent such gain or distribution is treated as an “excess distribution” under the U.S. federal income tax rules. Furthermore, a U.S. Holder will generally be treated as holding an equity interest in a PFIC in the first taxable year of the U.S. Holder’s holding period in which we become a PFIC and subsequent taxable years even if, we, in fact, cease to be a PFIC in subsequent taxable years. Accordingly, a U.S. Holder of our ADSs or ordinary shares is urged to consult its tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares, including the possibility of making a “mark-to-market” election. For more information, see “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—U.S. Federal Income Taxation.”

A.            History and Development of the Company

We were incorporated in the Cayman Islands on April 12, 2007 and conducted our operations in China through our subsidiaries, consolidated VIEs and the VIEs’ subsidiaries. We commenced operations in August 2005 in China through Linghang Shengshi, a consolidated variable interest entity of our principal subsidiary, Chuangyi Technology. Later, we established additional PRC consolidated VIEs to conduct our operations in China. Substantially all of our current operations are conducted through contractual arrangements with these VIEs.

On November 7, 2007, we listed our ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “AMCN.” We and certain of our then shareholders completed the initial public offering of 17,250,000 ADSs, representing 34,500,000 of our ordinary shares, on November 13, 2007. Our ADSs were subsequently transferred to the Nasdaq Global Select Market, and transferred to the Nasdaq Capital Market in November 2018. On April 11, 2019, we changed our ADS share ratio from one ADS representing two ordinary shares to one ADS representing ten ordinary shares. Our trading symbol on the Nasdaq Capital Market has been changed from “AMCN” to “ANTE” effective on June 13, 2019.

During 2014 and 2015, we dissolved certain non-operating holding entities, including Glorious Star Investment Limited, Dominant City Ltd. and Easy Shop Limited.

In 2015, we sold all equity interest of Jinsheng Advertising, the operating entity of our TV-attached digital frames business. In connection with such equity interest transfer, we have transferred all relevant assets, liabilities and managerial duties related to the TV-attached digital frames operated by Jinsheng Advertising with net carrying value of $1.1 million. In 2015, we also divested our digital TV screens in airports and did not renew the relevant concession right contracts as they expired. As a result, we ceased our operation of the business line of digital TV screens in airports.

In June 2015, we entered into an equity interest transfer agreement with Beijing Longde Wenchuang Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd. to sell 75% equity interest of AM Advertising, for a consideration of RMB2.1 billion in cash. In November 2015, Beijing Longde Wenchuang Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd. assigned and transferred its rights and obligations under the equity interest transfer agreement relating to 46.43% equity interest of AM Advertising to Beijing Cultural Center Construction and Development Fund (Limited Partnership) (“Culture Center”). As part of the transaction, we effected an internal business reorganization and transferred all our media business in airports (excluding digital TV screens in airports and TV-attached digital frames) and all billboard and LED media business outside of airports (excluding gas station media network and digital TV screens on airplanes) to AM Advertising to form the target business to be sold (the “Disposed Business”) and transferred our other business out of AM Advertising. To effectuate the sale, we removed the VIE structure with respect to AM Advertising. The change in the equity ownership of AM Advertising was registered with the local branch of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, or the SAIC (which has merged into the State Administration for Market Regulation, or the SAMR, in March 2018), in December 2015. We have ceased to consolidate the results of AM Advertising after the sale. 

In addition, the agreement’s earnout provisions will continue to apply until all profit targets are achieved. In the event the adjusted net profit of AM Advertising after the provided restructuring in 2015, 2016 and 2017 is less than the profit target provided for in the agreement, we, as a shareholder of AM Advertising, will be obligated to compensate the buyers for the deficiency by nil-consideration equity interest transfers or other means of compensation. On March 28, 2018, August 23, 2018 and November, 2018, we entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and its supplemental agreement respectively, with, among others, Beijing Longde Wenchuang Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd and Beijing Cultural Center Construction and Development Fund (Limited Partnership), under which, among other things, Linghang Shengshi, Mr. Guo and Mr. Xu have agreed to pay or make available to AM Advertising on or prior to May 30, 2018 and further extended to September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2018 an aggregate of RMB304.5 million to hedge the following amounts (i) the RMB152.0 million profits attributable to Linghang Shengshi, Mr. Guo and Mr. Xu for the first nine months of 2015, based on a third-party pro forma audit report on the Target Business; (ii) the loan of RMB88.0 million in principal balance and RMB7.8 million in interests; and (iii) the payment of RMB56.7 million in cash after the sale of the 20.32% equity interests in AM Advertising, which consisted of 20.18% equity interests held by us and 0.14% equity interests held by Mr. Man Guo and Mr. Qing Xu on behalf of our company, and following the completion of the foregoing arrangements, our obligations with respect to the profit target for 2015, the earnout provision for the first nine months of 2015 and the loans between AM Advertising and Linghang Shengshi shall be deem completed. As the primary rights and obligations of the MoU have been fulfilled including the transfer all its media business in airports (excluding digital TV screens in airports and TV-attached digital frames) and all billboard and LED media business outside of airports (excluding gas station media network and digital TV screens on airplanes) to AM Advertising, and transfer of the trademark to AM advertising, and we did not received any notice of cancellation of the MoU from Beijing Longde Wenchuang Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd and Beijing Cultural Center Construction and Development Fund (Limited Partnership), we believe the MoU is legally valid. We will make payment according to the MoU once the application for tax refund of AM Advertising finishes as agreed in the MoU. And once the tax refund finishes, the net settlement amount may be reduced pursuant to the MoU.

In January 2021, we were informed that two of Linghang Shengshi’s bank accounts amounted to $1 in aggregate was frozen by the court as Culture Center applied to the court regardless of the arbitration process in the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (the “CIETAC”) in connection with the sale by us of 75% equity interests in AM Advertising. We believed the application is non-excused as it conflicted with the arbitration proceeding already submitted by the Culture Center to the CIETAC and defended the actions by applying to the court to unfreeze Linghang Shengshi’s bank accounts. In March 2021, we discovered that the equity interest of AirNet Online held by Mr. Herman Man Guo and Mr. Qing Xu was frozen by the court, which was applied to the court by AM Advertising to urge all parties to settle the Transfer (the “Case”). However, we believed that the court has no right of jurisdiction to judge this Case as it was an arbitration process in the CIETAC and would be conflicting, and we submitted the objection to the court. The judge of the Case has orally approved the objection and the Case will be withdrawn.

In April 2015, we established AirNet Online, a variable interest entity of us, to operate the Wi-Fi business.

In January 2017, we, through AirNet Online, established Unicom AirNet (Beijing) Network Co., Ltd., or Unicom AirNet, jointly with Unicom Broadband Online Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of China Unicom, and Chengdu Haite Kairong Aeronautical Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of a listed company providing aeronautical technical services. Pursuant to a capital contribution agreement entered into by the relevant parties, AirNet Online invested an aggregate of RMB117.9 million in Unicom AirNet. AirNet Online currently holds 39% of equity interests in Unicom AirNet, and can designate three directors to its seven-member board. We and the other two shareholders of Unicom AirNet intend to build global network for aeronautical communication and provide in-flight Internet and other value-added services through this newly established company. We believe that our respective expertise and advantages in telecommunication and aeronautical technology can be fully utilized under this joint venture.

In November 2018, Linghang Shengshi, Mr. Guo and Mr. Xu entered into an equity transfer agreement with Jiangsu Hongzhou Investment Co., Ltd., an independent third party to sell 20.32% equity interest of AM Advertising for an initial transfer price of RMB 580 million in cash. We have completed the equity interest transfer and have received the installment payment of RMB 200 million for the transfer pursuant to this equity transfer agreement and a supplemental agreement entered into by the same parties in November 2019.

In conjunction with the realignment of our business to further develop the in-flight connectivity business, our shareholders resolved to change our name from “AirMedia Group Inc.” to “AirNet Technology Inc.” in an extraordinary general meeting on May 20, 2019.

We have established a new line of business in relation to cryptocurrency mining to mitigate the adversary impacts of COVID-19 on our in-flight connectivity business. On December 30, 2020, we entered into an investment agreement with Unistar Group Holdings Limited (“Unistar”), an unaffiliated party. Pursuant to the agreement, we issued 23,876,308 ordinary shares, or approximately 19% of our then outstanding ordinary shares, to Unistar on December 31, 2020, in exchange for the delivery and transfer by Unistar to us of computer servers specifically designed for mining cryptocurrencies. On February 4, 2021, we entered into an investment agreement with Northern Shore Group Limited (“Northern Shore”), an unaffiliated party. Pursuant to the agreement, we issued 28,412,806 ordinary shares, or approximately 19% of our then outstanding ordinary shares, to Northern Shore in exchange for the delivery and transfer by Northern Shore to us of computer servers specifically designed for mining cryptocurrencies.

Our principal executive offices are located at Suite 301 No. 26 Dongzhimenwai Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100027, People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86-10-8450-8818 and our fax number is +86-10-8460-8658. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is at the offices of Maples Corporate Services Limited, P.O.  Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands.

B.            Business Overview

General

Driven by innovation, we gradually reinvented ourselves and shaped our core competence in providing in-flight solutions to connectivity, entertainment and digital multimedia in China. Collaborating with our partners, we provide Chinese airlines with seamless and immersive Internet connections through a network of satellites and land-based beacons, furnish airline travelers with interactive entertainment and coverage of breaking news, and provide corporate clients with advertisements tailored to the changing perceptions of the travelers.

Collaborating with China Unicom, we are licensed to provide in-flight connectivity over the Internet. Furthermore, backed by our partners’ next-generation satellite communications hardware, we are able to provide airline travelers with a seamless and immersive Internet connection delivering the same experience as it would’ve been otherwise on the ground. Moreover, our strategic partnership with China Eastern Airlines Media Co., Ltd. enables us to deliver multimedia contents to travelers on airplanes operated by China Eastern Airlines through a mobile app.

In addition to our active endeavors in in-flight connectivity, we maintain a wide range of in-flight entertainment and advertising contents. As of May 6, 2021, we have access to in-flight entertainment and advertising contents including exclusive in-flight copyrights to over 80% of movies previously shown in domestic theaters, more than 900 archived films, and thousands of hours of multimedia programs of entertainment nature covering a variety of topics such as sports, comedies, local attractions, reality shows, commentaries, documentaries. As of May 6, 2021, we were engaged to provide copyrighted entertainment contents to more than 30 airlines. Furthermore, we are engaged by hundreds of corporate clients to provide advertising contents across different in-flight entertainment systems. Built upon our experiences, we are capable of developing entertainment contents independently and producing advertising contents tailored to the needs of corporate clients.

Our entertainment contents usually show as individual programs lasting from approximately 45 minutes to 120 minutes of which approximately 3 minutes to 15 minutes are divided into slots sold to advertisers to show advertising contents of their choice. Our contents are usually showed on digital TV screens that are highly visible to travelers or on mobile devices brought by travelers. We usually offer advertising time slots to the advertisers at a fix duration, time and frequency of displaying advertisements. Payments of certain offering are subject to the receipt of monitoring reports verified by the advertisers. We generally require a screening of the advertising contents at least 10 working days for digital media or 14 working days for conventional media before the contents are to be aired. We reserve the right to refuse providing the service shall the advertising content fail to meet the requirements under PRC laws and regulations.

Our products and services combine in-flight connectivity and entertainment. To further grow our business, we are committed to take full advantage of our partnership with China Unicom and partners to improve travelers’ experience when they connect to the Internet en route of their travel. Meanwhile, we are devoted to maintaining a versatile collection of entertainment contents covering a variety of aspects of lifestyles attracting traveling consumers. We are also satisfying the advertising needs of corporate clients through our influence on travelling consumers.

Advertisers, Sales and Marketing

Our Advertisers

Our advertisers purchase advertising time slots and locations on our advertising network either directly from us or through advertising agencies. Many advertisers negotiate the terms of the advertising purchase agreements directly with us, however we also rely on advertising agencies for a significant portion of our sales.

We have a broad base of international and domestic advertisers in various industries. In each of 2018, 2019 and 2020, advisors from one industry, which is automobiles, accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues from continuing operations. There were two, four and two of our customers accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues for 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Sales and Marketing

We rely on our experienced sales team to assist advertisers in structuring advertising campaigns by analyzing advertisers’ target audiences and the form and contents of the advertisement they may be interested in, as well as consumer products and services. We conduct market research, consumer surveys, demographic analysis and other advertising industry research for internal use to help our advertisers to create effective advertisements. We also use third-party market research firms from time to time to obtain the relevant market study data, and at the same time hire such research firms to evaluate the effects of our advertising, so as to evaluate the effectiveness of our network for our advertisers and to illustrate to our advertisers our ability to reach targeted demographic groups effectively.

Our experienced advertising sales team is organized by region and city with a presence in many cities in China. We provide in-house education and training to our sales force to ensure they provide our current and prospective advertisers with comprehensive information about our services, the advantages of using our advertising network as a marketing channel, and relevant information regarding the advertising industry. Our performance-linked compensation structure and career-oriented training are key drivers that motivate our sales employees.

We actively attend various public relation events to promote our brand image and the value of air travel digital advertising. We market our advertising services by displaying our name and logo on all of our digital TV screens on airplanes and gas station LED screens and by placing advertisements on third-party media from time to time, including China Central Television. We also engage third-party advertising agencies to help source advertisers.

Pricing

The listing prices of our air travel media services depend on the passenger flow of each airline, the needs of each airline, the number of time slots and display locations purchased, the cost of the relevant media assets, our costs for the relevant concession rights, and competition. Going forward, we intend to review our listing prices periodically and make adjustments as necessary in light of market conditions.

Prices for advertisements on our network are fixed under our sales contracts with advertisers or advertising agencies, typically at a discount to our listing prices.

Programming

Our digital TV screens on network airplanes play programs ranging from 45 minutes to 120 minutes once per flight. We compile each cycle from advertisements of 5-, 15- or 30-seconds in length provided by advertisers to us and from non-advertising content generated by our VIEs in China or provided by third-party content providers. We generally create a programming list on a weekly and monthly basis for programs played on airplanes, respectively. We create this list by first fixing the schedule for advertising content according to the respective sales contracts with our advertisers to guarantee the agreed duration, time and frequency of advertisements for each advertiser, then adding the non-advertising content to achieve an optimal blend of advertising and non-advertising content.

Substantially all of the advertisements on our network are provided by our advertisers. All of the advertising content displayed on our advertising network is reviewed by us to ensure compliance with PRC laws and regulations. See “—Regulation—Regulation of Advertising Services—Advertising Content.” We update advertising content for our programs played on digital TV screens on airplanes on a monthly basis. A majority of the non-advertising content played on our network is provided by third-party content providers such as Dragon TV, the Travel Channel and various satellite and cable television stations and television production companies. In January 2014, we entered into a strategic partnership with China Radio International Oriental Network (Beijing) Co., Ltd, which manages the internet TV business of China International Broadcasting Network, to operate the CIBN-AirNet channel to broadcast network TV programs to air travelers in China.

Our programming team edits, compiles and records into digital format for all of our network programs according to the programming list. Each programming list and pre-recorded program is carefully reviewed to ensure the accuracy of the order, duration and frequency as well as the appropriateness of the programming content.

Display Equipment Supplies and Maintenance

The primary hardware required for the operation of our air travel media network are the digital TV screens that we use in our media network. The majority of our digital TV screens consist of plasma display panels and LCDs. Maintaining a steady supply of our display equipment is important to our operations and the growth of our network. Our TV screen suppliers typically provide us with one-year warranties. Our service team cleans, maintains and monitors our digital TV screens on airplanes regularly.

For our gas stations media network, the primary hardware consisted of basic display equipment that we install and maintain. In early 2018, the management assessed the operational underperformance of our Wi-Fi services on trains, long-haul buses and gas station media service, which indicated that the underperformance could be ascribed to i) the wide spread of 4G technology and affordable data plans; and ii) the depleting marketing budget of some of our advertisers. In order to prevent further losses while seizing the opportunities from other components such as air travel media service, we terminated our advertising service at long-haul buses and gas stations completely and scaled down our on-train Wi-Fi business significantly in 2018 and in early 2019 ceased operations for Wi-Fi services on trains altogether. 

Customer Service

Our customer service team is responsible for contacting third-party research firms to compile evaluation reports based on selective sampling of the status of advertising on our network and providing advertisers with monthly monitoring reports once the relevant advertising campaign is launched on our network. At the same time, we also provide our advertisers with monthly reports prepared by third parties that verify the proper functioning of our displays and the proper dissemination of the advertisement when required by our advertisers; such reports are done through online survey to analyze the effectiveness of and public reaction to the advertisements. In addition, our network airlines, as well as trains are also actively involved in the monitoring process.

Competition

We compete primarily with several different groups of competitors in the air travel media market:

We compete for advertisers primarily on the basis of location, price, program quality, range of services offered and brand recognition. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We face significant competition in the PRC advertising industry, and if we do not compete successfully against new and existing competitors, we may lose our market share, and our profits may be reduced.”

Intellectual Property

To protect our brand and other intellectual property, we rely on a combination of trademark and trade secret laws as well as confidentiality agreements with our employees, sales agents, contractors and others. As of May 6, 2021, we have registered 23 major trademarks and one patent in China, including “往返”, “忘返” and “众伴”. We cannot be certain that our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights will be adequate or that third parties will not infringe or misappropriate these rights.

Regulation

We operate our business in China under a legal regime consisting of the State Council, which is the highest authority of the executive branch of the National People’s Congress, and several ministries and agencies under its authority including the SAMR.

China’s Advertising Law was promulgated in 1994, and was revised in 2015 and further revised in 2018. In addition, the State Council, SAIC (which has merged into the SAMR in March 2018) and other ministries and agencies have issued regulations that regulate our business, all of which are discussed below.

Limitations on Foreign Ownership in the Advertising Industry

Investment activities in the PRC by foreign investors are principally governed by the Catalogue of Industries for Encouraged Foreign Investment (2020 Edition) and the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2020 Edition). The Catalogue of Industries for Encouraged Foreign Investment (2020 Edition) and the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2020 Edition) classified the foreign-invested industries into two categories, namely (i) encouraged industries and (ii) industries within the catalogue of special administrative measures. As updated and clarified by the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2020 Edition), industries within the catalogue of special administrative measures are further divided into two sub-categories: “restricted” industries and “prohibited” industries. Unless otherwise prescribed by the PRC laws, industries which are not set out in the Catalogue of Industries for Encouraged Foreign Investment (2020 Edition) and the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2020 Edition) are permitted foreign-invested industries. Applicable regulations and approval requirements vary based on the different categories. Investments in the PRC by foreign investors through wholly foreign-owned enterprises must be in compliance with the applicable regulations, and such foreign investors must obtain governmental approvals as required by these regulations. Since the advertising industry is not listed in the Catalogue of Industries for Encouraged Foreign Investment (2020 Edition) or the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2020 Edition), it falls into the permitted foreign investment category.

Since December 10, 2005, foreign investors have been permitted to directly own a 100% interest in advertising companies in China. PRC laws and regulations do not permit the transfer of any approvals, licenses or permits, including business licenses containing a scope of business that permits engaging in the advertising industry. In the event we are permitted to acquire the equity interests of our VIEs under the rules allowing for complete foreign ownership, our VIEs would continue to hold the required advertising licenses consistent with current regulatory requirements.

Currently, our advertising business is mainly conducted through contractual arrangements with our consolidated VIEs in China, including AirNet Online, Linghang Shengshi and Iwangfan.

Our VIEs are the major companies through which we provide advertising services in China. Our subsidiary, Chuangyi Technology, has entered into a series of contractual arrangements with AirNet Online, Linghang Shengshi and Iwangfan and their shareholders under which:

See “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure” and “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Contractual Arrangements.”

In the opinion of our PRC legal counsel, Commerce & Finance Law Offices, save as described in this annual report, the respective ownership structures of Chuangyi Technology and our consolidated VIEs do not violate existing PRC laws and regulations, and the contractual arrangements among Chuangyi Technology and our consolidated VIEs, in each case governed by PRC law, are valid, binding and enforceable.

We have been advised by our PRC legal counsel, however, that there are some uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current and future PRC laws and regulations. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the PRC regulatory authorities, in particular the SAMR (which regulates advertising companies), will not in the future take a view that is contrary to the opinion of our PRC legal counsel. We have been further advised by our PRC counsel that if the PRC government determines that the agreements establishing the structure for operating our PRC advertising business do not comply with PRC government restrictions on foreign investment in the advertising industry, we could be subject to certain penalties. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—If the PRC government finds that the agreements that establish the structure for operating our China business do not comply with PRC governmental restrictions on foreign investment in the advertising industry and in the operating of non-advertising content, our business could be materially and adversely affected.”

Regulation on Foreign Investment

On March 15, 2019, the Foreign Investment Law was enacted by the National People’s Congress, which became effective on January 1, 2020 and replaced the trio of existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely, the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. The Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected PRC regulatory trend to rationalize its foreign investment regulatory regime in line with prevailing international practice and the legislative efforts to unify the corporate legal requirements for both foreign and domestic investments.

The Foreign Investment Law does not explicitly define the contractual arrangements with VIEs as a form of foreign investment. It contains an ambiguous clause that covers other form stipulated in laws, administrative regulations or other methods prescribed by the State Council within its definition of foreign investment. Therefore, uncertainties still exist about whether the contractual arrangements with VIEs will be deemed to violate the market access requirements for foreign investment under the PRC laws.

Moreover, the Foreign Investment Law establishes a foreign investment information reporting system. Foreign investors or foreign-funded enterprises shall submit the investment information to competent authorities through the enterprise registration system and the enterprise credit information publicity system. The contents and scope of foreign investment information to be reported shall be determined by the principle of necessity. Where foreign-investors or foreign-invested enterprises are found to be non-compliant with these information reporting obligations, competent commerce authority shall ask for corrections with a specified period; if such corrections are not made in time, a penalty of not less than RMB100,000 yet not more than RMB500,000 shall be imposed. Other than reporting foreign investment information, the Foreign Investment Law also establishes a security examination mechanism for foreign investment and conducts security review of foreign investment that affects or may affect national security. The decision made upon the security examination in accordance with the law shall be final.

Regulation of Advertising Services

Business License for Advertising Companies

Under applicable regulations governing advertising businesses in China, companies that engage in advertising activities must obtain from the SAMR or its local branches a business license which specifically includes within its scope the operation of an advertising business. Companies conducting advertising activities without such a license may be subject to penalties, including fines, confiscation of advertising income and orders to cease advertising operations. The business license of an advertising company is valid for the duration of its existence, unless the license is suspended or revoked due to a violation of any relevant law or regulation. We do not expect to encounter any difficulties in maintaining our business licenses. Each of our VIEs which conducts such advertising business has obtained such a business license from the local branches of the SAMR as required by existing PRC regulations.

Advertising Content

PRC advertising laws and regulations set forth certain content requirements for advertisements in China, which include prohibitions on, among other things, misleading content, superlative wording, socially destabilizing content or content involving obscenities, superstition, violence, discrimination or infringement of the public interest. Advertisements for anesthetic, psychotropic, toxic or radioactive drugs are prohibited. The dissemination of tobacco advertisements via media is also prohibited as well as the display of tobacco advertisements in public areas. There are also specific restrictions and requirements regarding advertisements that relate to matters such as patented products or processes, pharmaceuticals, medical instruments, agrochemicals, foodstuff, alcohol and cosmetics. In addition, all advertisements relating to pharmaceuticals, medical instruments, agrochemicals and veterinary pharmaceuticals advertised through any media, together with any other advertisements subject to censorship by administrative authorities under relevant laws and administrative regulations, must be submitted to the relevant administrative authorities for content approval prior to dissemination. We do not believe that advertisements containing content subject to restriction or censorship comprise a material portion of the advertisements displayed on our network.

Advertisers, advertising operators and advertising distributors are required by PRC advertising laws and regulations to ensure that the content of the advertisements they prepare or distribute are true and in full compliance with applicable law. In providing advertising services, advertising operators and advertising distributors must review the prescribed supporting documents provided by advertisers for advertisements and verify that the content of the advertisements comply with applicable PRC laws and regulations. In addition, prior to distributing advertisements for certain items which are subject to government censorship and approval, advertising distributors are obligated to ensure that such censorship has been performed and approval has been obtained. Violation of these regulations may result in penalties, including fines, confiscation of advertising income, orders to cease dissemination of the advertisements and orders to publish an advertisement correcting the misleading information. In circumstances involving serious violations, the SAMR or its local branches may revoke violators’ licenses or permits for advertising business operations. Furthermore, advertisers, advertising operators or advertising distributors may be subject to civil liability if they infringe the legal rights and interests of third parties in the course of their advertising business.

Outdoor Advertising

The PRC Advertising Law stipulates that the exhibition and display of outdoor advertisements must not:

In addition, according to a relevant SARFT circular, displaying audio-video programs such as television news, films and television shows, sports, technology and entertainment through public audio-video systems located in automobiles, buildings, airports, bus or train stations, shops, banks and hospitals and other outdoor public systems must be approved by the SARFT. The relevant authority in China has not promulgated any implementation rules on the procedure of applying for the requisite approval pursuant to the SARFT circular.

PRC Policies and Regulations relating to the Bitcoin Industry

According to the Circular of the People’s Bank of China, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China Banking Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, and China Insurance Regulatory Commission on the Prevention of Risks from Bitcoin jointly promulgated by People’s Bank of China, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China Banking Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, and China Insurance Regulatory Commission on December 3, 2013, or the Circular, Bitcoin shall be a kind of virtual commodity in nature, which shall not be in the same legal status with currencies and shall not be circulated as currencies and used in markets as currencies. The Circular also provides that financial institutions and payment institutions shall not engage in business in connection with Bitcoin.

According to Announcement of the People’s Bank of China, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission on Preventing Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) Risks promulgated by seven PRC governmental authorities including the People’s Bank of China on September 4, 2017, or the Announcement, activities of offering and financing of tokens, including initial coin offerings, have been forbidden in the PRC since they may be suspected to be considered as illegal offering of securities or illegal fundraising. All so-called token trading platform should not (i) engage in the exchange between any statutory currency with tokens and “virtual currencies,” (ii) trade or trade the tokens or “virtual currencies” as central counterparties, or (iii) provide pricing, information agency or other services for tokens or “virtual currencies.” The Announcement further provides that financial institutions and payment institutions shall not engage in business in connection with transactions of offering and financing of tokens. 

Regulations on Foreign Exchange

The principal regulation governing foreign currency exchange in China is the Foreign Currency Administration Rules, which became effective in 1996, and was further amended in 2008. Under these Rules, RMB is freely convertible for current account items, such as trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, but not for capital account items, such as direct investment, loan or investment in securities outside China unless the prior approval of, and/or registration with, SAFE or its local counterparts (as the case may be) is obtained.

On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Reforming the Management Approach Regarding the Foreign Exchange Capital Settlement of Foreign-invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 19, which will took effect on June 1, 2015. On June 9, 2016, the SAFE promulgated the Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Reforming and Regulating Policies on the Control over Foreign Exchange Settlement of Capital Accounts, or SAFE Circular 16, which revised some provisions of SAFE Circular 19. SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16 allows foreign-invested enterprises to settle 100% of their foreign exchange capitals on a discretionary basis and allows ordinary foreign-invested enterprises to make domestic equity investments by capital transfer in the original currencies, or with the amount obtained from foreign exchange settlement, subject to complying with certain requirements. According to SAFE Circular 19 and SAFE Circular 16, the RMB funds obtained by foreign-invested enterprises from the discretionary settlement of foreign exchange capitals shall be managed under the accounts pending for foreign exchange settlement payment, and foreign-invested enterprise shall not use its capital and the RMB funds obtained from foreign exchange settlement for the purposes within the following negative list: for expenditure beyond its business scope or expenditure prohibited by laws and regulations, for investments in securities or other investments than banks’ principal-secured products, for the granting of loans to non-affiliated enterprises, except where it is expressly permitted in the business license, or for construction or expenses related to the purchase of real estate not for self-use, unless it is a foreign-invested real estate enterprise. Moreover, on January 26, 2017, SAFE promulgated Circular of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Further Advancing the Reform of Foreign Exchange Administration and Improving Examination of Authenticity and Compliance, or Circular 3. The Circular 3 states several control measures with respect to the outbound remittance of any profit from domestic entities to offshore entities, including (i) under the principle of genuine transaction, banks should review board resolutions, the original version of tax filing records and audited financial statements before wiring the foreign exchange profit distribution of a foreign-invested enterprise exceeding $50,000; and (ii) domestic entities should hold income to make up previous years’ losses before remitting the profits to offshore entities. Meanwhile, verification on the genuineness and compliance of foreign direct investments in domestic entities has also been tightened in accordance with Circular 3,

Pursuant to SAFE Circular 19, SAFE Circular 16 and SAFE Circular 3, foreign invested enterprises in China may convert part or all of the amount of the foreign currency in its capital account, special account for foreign debt or special account for overseas listing into RMB at any time after going through capitals review process with bank and supplement necessary supporting documents upon bank’s request for verification on genuineness and compliance. Nevertheless, it is still not clear whether foreign-invested enterprises like our PRC subsidiaries are allowed to extend intercompany loans to our VIEs.

Regulations on Dividend Distribution

Under applicable PRC regulations, wholly foreign-owned companies in the PRC may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Additionally, these wholly foreign-owned companies are required to set aside at least 10% of their respective accumulated profits each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds until their cumulative total reserve funds have reached 50% of the companies’ registered capitals. At the discretion of these wholly foreign-owned companies, they may allocate a portion of their after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to staff welfare and bonus funds. These reserve funds and staff welfare and bonus funds are not distributable as cash dividends except in the event of liquidation and cannot be used for working capital purposes.

In addition, under the EIT Law and its implementing rules, dividends generated after January 1, 2008 and payable by a FIE in China to its foreign investors who are non-resident enterprises will be subject to a 10% withholding tax unless any such foreign investor’s jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a different withholding arrangement. BVI, where Broad Cosmos, our wholly owned subsidiary, is incorporated, does not have such a tax treaty with China. AN China, the 100% shareholder of Chuangyi Technology, Shenzhen Yuehang and Xi’an Shengshi, is incorporated in Hong Kong. According to the Mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Arrangement on Avoiding Double Taxation or Evasion of Taxation on Income agreed between China and Hong Kong in August 2006, dividends paid by a foreign-invested enterprise in China to its direct holding company in Hong Kong will be subject to withholding tax at a rate of 5% (if the foreign investor owns directly at least 25% of the shares of the foreign-invested enterprise). On October 14, 2019, the State Administration of Taxation, or the SAT, issued Announcement of the State Taxation Administration on Issuing the Measures for Non-resident Taxpayers' Enjoyment of Treaty Benefits, or SAT Circular 35, which became effective on January 1, 2020. Under these measures, our Hong Kong subsidiary needs to obtain approval from the competent local branch of the State Administration of Taxation in order to enjoy the preferential withholding tax rate of 5% in accordance with the Double Taxation Arrangement. In February 2009, SAT issued Notice No. 81. According to Notice No. 81, in order to enjoy the preferential treatment on dividend withholding tax rates, an enterprise must be the “beneficial owner” of the relevant dividend income, and no enterprise is entitled to enjoy preferential treatment pursuant to any tax treaties if such enterprise qualifies for such preferential tax rates through any transaction or arrangement, the major purpose of which is to obtain such preferential tax treatment. The tax authority in charge has the right to make adjustments to the applicable tax rates, if it determines that any taxpayer has enjoyed preferential treatment under tax treaties as a result of such transaction or arrangement. In October 2009, SAT issued another notice on this matter, or Notice No. 601, to provide guidance on the criteria to determine whether an enterprise qualifies as the “beneficial owner” of the PRC sourced income for the purpose of obtaining preferential treatment under tax treaties. Pursuant to Notice No. 601, the PRC tax authorities will review and grant tax preferential treatment on a case-by-case basis and adopt the “substance over form” principle in the review. Notice 601 specifies that a beneficial owner should generally carry out substantial business activities and own and have control over the income, the assets or other rights generating the income. Therefore, an agent or a conduit company will not be regarded as a beneficial owner of such income. On February 3, 2018, SAT issued Announcement of the State Administration of Taxation on Issues concerning “Beneficial Owners” in Tax Treaties, or Circular 9, which became effective on April 1, 2018 and superseded Notice No. 601. In comparison with Notice No. 601, Circular 9 enlarging and further explaining the scope of beneficial owner, supplementing the applicants deemed as beneficial owners who obtain proceeds from China as direct or indirect 100% shareholder, increasing the certainty of identifying beneficial owner. Since the two notices were issued, it has remained unclear how the PRC tax authorities will implement them in practice and to what extent they will affect the dividend withholding tax rates for dividends distributed by our subsidiaries in China to our Hong Kong subsidiary. If the relevant tax authority determines that our Hong Kong subsidiary is a conduit company and does not qualify as the “beneficial owner” of the dividend income it receives from our PRC subsidiaries, the higher 10% withholding tax rate may apply to such dividends.

The EIT Law provides, however, that dividends distributed between qualified resident enterprises are exempted from the withholding tax. According to the Implementation Regulations of the EIT Law, the qualified dividend and profit distribution from equity investment between resident enterprises shall refer to investment income derived by a resident enterprise from its direct investment in other resident enterprises, except the investment income from circulating stocks issued publicly by resident enterprises and traded on stock exchanges where the holding period is less than 12 months. As the term “resident enterprises” needs further clarification and interpretation, we cannot assure you that the dividends distributed by Chuangyi Technology, Shenzhen Yuehang and Xi’an Shengshi to their direct shareholders would be regarded as dividends distributed between qualified resident enterprises and be exempted from the withholding tax.

Under the EIT Law and related regulations, an enterprise established outside of the PRC with “de facto management bodies” within the PRC is considered a PRC resident enterprise and is subject to the EIT at the rate of 25% on its worldwide income. The related regulations define the term “de facto management bodies” as “establishments that carry out substantial and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operations, personnel, accounting, properties, etc. of an enterprise.” The SAT issued the Notice Regarding the Determination of Chinese-Controlled Overseas Incorporated Enterprises as PRC Tax Resident Enterprises on the Basis of De Facto Management Bodies, or SAT Circular 82, on April 22, 2009, which was amended in 2013 and 2017 respectively. SAT Circular 82 provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a Chinese-controlled overseas-incorporated enterprise is located in China. In addition, the SAT issued a bulletin on July 27, 2011 to provide more guidance on the implementation of SAT Circular 82 with an effective date to be September 1, 2011. The bulletin provided clarification in the areas of resident status determination, post-determination administration, as well as competent tax authorities. It also specifies that when provided with a copy of a Chinese tax resident determination certificate from a resident Chinese controlled offshore incorporated enterprise, the payer should not withhold 10% income tax when paying the Chinese-sourced dividends, interest, royalties, etc. to the Chinese controlled offshore incorporated enterprise. Although both SAT Circular 82 and the bulletin only apply to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises, not to those that, like our company, are controlled by PRC individuals, the determination criteria set forth in SAT Circular 82 and administration clarification made in the bulletin may reflect the SAT’s general position on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining the tax residency status of offshore enterprises and the administration measures that should be implemented, regardless of whether they are controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC individuals.

Moreover, under the EIT Law, if we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise and such income is deemed to be sourced from within the PRC, foreign ADS holders may be subject to a 10% withholding tax upon dividends payable by us and gains realized on the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares.

See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Business—Dividends payable to us by our wholly-owned operating subsidiaries may be subject to PRC withholding taxes, or we may be subject to PRC taxation on our worldwide income, and dividends distributed to our investors may be subject to more PRC withholding taxes under the PRC tax law.”

SAFE Regulations on Offshore Investment by PRC Residents and Employee Stock Options

In October 2005, the SAFE issued the Notice on Issues Relating to the Administration of Foreign Exchange in Fund-raising and Return Investment Activities of Domestic Residents Conducted via Offshore Special Purpose Companies, or SAFE Circular 7, which became effective as of November 1, 2005. SAFE Circular 7 suspends the implementation of two prior regulations promulgated in January and April of 2005 by the SAFE. On July 4, 2014, SAFE issued the SAFE’s Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for PRC Residents to Engage in Outbound Investment and Financing and Inbound Investment via Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, which has superseded SAFE Circular 75. Under SAFE Circular 75, SAFE Circular 37 and other relevant foreign exchange regulations, PRC residents who make, or have previously made, prior to the implementation of these foreign exchange regulations, direct or indirect investments in offshore companies will be required to register those investments. In addition, any PRC resident who is a direct or indirect shareholder of an offshore company is also required to file or update the registration with the local branch of SAFE, with respect to that offshore company for any material change involving its round-trip investment, capital variation, such as an increase or decrease in capital, transfer or swap of shares, merger, division, long-term equity or debt investment or the creation of any security interest. If any PRC shareholder fails to make the required registration or update the previously filed registration, the PRC subsidiary of that offshore parent company may be prohibited from distributing their profits and the proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to their offshore parent company, and the offshore parent company may also be prohibited from injecting additional capital into its PRC subsidiary. Moreover, failure to comply with the various foreign exchange registration requirements described above could result in liability under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions.

In December 2006, the People’s Bank of China, or the PBOC, promulgated the Administrative Measures of Foreign Exchange Matters for Individuals, or the PBOC Regulation, setting forth the respective requirements for foreign exchange transactions by PRC individuals under either the current account or the capital account. In January 2007, the SAFE issued implementing rules for the PBOC Regulation, which, among other things, specified approval requirements for certain capital account transactions such as a PRC citizen’s participation in the employee stock ownership plans or stock option plans of an overseas publicly-listed company. On February 15, 2012, the SAFE promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in an Employee Share Incentive Plan of an Overseas-Listed Company (which replaced the old Circular 78, “Application Procedure of Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in an Employee Stock Holding Plan or Stock Option Plan of an Overseas-Listed Company” promulgated on March 28, 2007), or the New Share Incentive Rule. Under the New Share Incentive Rule, PRC citizens who participate in a share incentive plan of an overseas publicly listed company are required to register with SAFE and complete certain other procedures. All such participants need to retain a PRC agent through a PRC subsidiary to register with SAFE and handle foreign exchange matters such as opening accounts and transferring and settlement of the relevant proceeds. The New Share Incentive Rule further requires that an offshore agent should also be designated to handle matters in connection with the exercise or sale of share options and proceeds transferring for the share incentive plan participants.

We and our PRC employees who have been granted stock options are subject to the New Share Incentive Rule. We are in the process of completing the required registration and the procedures for the New Share Incentive Rule under PRC laws, but the application documents are subject to the review and approval of the SAFE, and we can make no assurance as to when the registration and procedures will be completed. If we or our PRC employees fail to comply with the New Share Incentive Rule, we and/or our PRC employees may face sanctions imposed by the foreign exchange authority or any other PRC government authorities.

In addition, the State Administration of Taxation has issued a few circulars concerning employee stock options. Under these circulars, our employees working in China who exercise stock options will be subject to PRC individual income tax. Our PRC subsidiaries have obligations to file documents related to employee stock options with relevant tax authorities and withhold individual income taxes of those employees who exercise their stock options. If our employees fail to pay and we fail to withhold their income taxes, we may face sanctions imposed by tax authorities or any other PRC government authorities.

Seasonality

Our operating results and operating cash flows historically have been subject to seasonal variations. This pattern may change, however, as a result of new market opportunities or new product introductions.

C. Organizational Structure

The following diagram illustrates our principal subsidiaries, VIEs and VIEs’ subsidiaries as of May 6, 2021:  

Notes:

Substantially all of our operations are conducted through contractual arrangements with our consolidated VIEs in China, namely Linghang Shengshi, Iwangfan and AirNet Online. We do not have any equity interests in our VIEs, but instead enjoy the economic benefits derived from them through a series of contractual arrangements. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Contractual Arrangements” for a description of these arrangements.

D.            Property, Plants and Equipment

As of May 6, 2021, our headquarters locates in Beijing, China, where we lease approximately 417.01 square meters of office space. Our branch offices lease approximately 865 square meters of office space in four other locations.

In addition, we own approximately 2,109 square meters of office space in China. In September 2014 and April 2015, we entered into the agreements to purchase an office space of approximately 2,109 square meters in Beijing for a total consideration of RMB65 million ($9.4 million).

None.

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this annual report. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements. See “Forward-looking Information.” Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements because of various factors, including those set forth under “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” or in other parts of this annual report.

A.            Operating Results

Important Factors Affecting the Results of Operations of Our Air Travel Media Network Business

In early 2018, the management assessed the operational underperformance of our Wi-Fi services on long-haul buses and gas station media service and terminated Wi-Fi services on long-haul buses and gas station media network service in 2018, and scaled down operations in providing Wi-Fi services on trains and in early 2019 ceased operations for Wi-Fi services on trains altogether. 

The operating results of our air travel media network are substantially affected by the following factors and trends.

Demand for Our Advertising Time Slots and Locations

The demand for our advertising time slots and locations for each of the last three fiscal years was directly related to our customers’ available advertising budgets and the attractiveness of our network to our customers. Our network’s attractiveness is largely affected by the coverage of our network, which in turn depends on the number of intended audience that our network has the ability to reach. The number of intended audience of our air travel media network we can reach is largely affected by the number of air travelers in China in generally and the scale of our network. The demand for air travel is in turn affected by general economic conditions, the affordability of air travel in China and certain special events that may attract air travelers into and within China. Our customers’ advertising spending was also particularly sensitive to changes in general economic conditions. The demand for our time slots and locations on airline is related to the amount of our customers’ advertising spending budget and the attractiveness of our services as a platform across major airlines for their advertisements. The amount of available advertising budget is largely affected by the general economic conditions in China. The attractiveness of our services as an advertising platform across major airlines depends on whether our service has the ability to reach the advertisers’ intended audience, which will in turn be affected by factors including the number and types of travelers who will use our service and whether advertisements on our platform can effectively attract the attention of such travelers.

Number of Our Advertising Time Slots and Locations Available for Sale

The number of time slots available for our digital TV screens on airplanes during the period presented is calculated by multiplying the time slots per month for a given airline by the number of months during the period presented when we had operations on such airline and then calculating the sum of all the time slots for each of our network airlines.

Pricing

The average selling price for our advertising time slots is generally calculated by dividing our advertising revenues from these time slots by the number of 30-second equivalent advertising time slots for digital TV screens on airplanes sold during that period. The primary factors that affect the effective price we charge advertisers for time slots and locations on our network and our utilization rate include the attractiveness of our network to advertisers, which depends on the number of displays and locations, the number and scale of airplanes in our network, the level of demand for time slots and locations, and the perceived effectiveness by advertisers of their advertising campaigns placed on our network. We may increase the selling prices of our advertising time slots and locations from time to time depending on the demand for our advertising time slots, spaces and locations.

A significant percentage of the programs played on our digital TV screens on airplanes included non-advertising content such as TV programs or public service announcements. We also generated revenues from non-advertising content obtained from third party content providers by providing to airlines. We believe that the combination of non-advertising content with advertising content makes people more receptive to our programs, which in turn makes the advertising content more effective for our advertisers. We believe this in turn allows us to charge a higher price for each advertising time slot. We closely track the program blend and advertiser demand to optimize our ability to generate revenues for each program cycle.

Utilization Rate

The utilization rate of our advertising time slots is the total time slots sold as a percentage of total time slots available during the relevant period. In order to provide meaningful comparisons of the utilization rate of our advertising time slots, we generally normalize our time slots into 30-second units for digital TV screens on airplanes, which we can then compare across network airlines and periods to chart the normalized utilization rate of our network by airlines over time. Our overall utilization rate was primarily affected by the demand for our advertising time slots and locations and our ability to increase the sales of our advertising time slots and locations.

Network Coverage and Concession Fees

The demand for our advertising time slots and locations and the effective price we charged advertisers for time slots and locations on our network depended on the attractiveness and effectiveness of our network as viewed by our advertisers which, in turn, related to the breadth of our network coverage, including significant coverage on major airlines that advertisers wish to reach. As a result, it has been, and will continue to be, important for us to secure and retain concession rights contracts to place our programs on major airlines and to increase the number of programs we place on those airlines. It is also important to our results of operations of our advertising business that we secure and retain these concession rights contracts on commercially advantageous terms.

Concession fees constituted a significant portion of our cost of revenues. Concession fees tend to increase over time, and a significant increase in concession fees will increase our cost while our revenues may not increase proportionately, or at all. Therefore, it will be important to our results of operations that we secure and retain these concession rights contracts on commercially advantageous terms.

Recent Developments

On December 30, 2020, we entered into an investment agreement with Unistar Group Holdings Limited (“Unistar”), an unaffiliated party. Pursuant to the agreement, we issued 23,876,308 ordinary shares, or approximately 19% of our then outstanding ordinary shares, to Unistar on December 31, 2020, in exchange for the delivery and transfer by Unistar to us of computer servers specifically designed for mining cryptocurrencies. On February 4, 2021, we entered into an investment agreement with Northern Shore Group Limited (“Northern Shore”), an unaffiliated party. Pursuant to the agreement, we issued 28,412,806 ordinary shares, or approximately 19% of our then outstanding ordinary shares, to Northern Shore in exchange for the delivery and transfer by Northern Shore to us of computer servers specifically designed for mining cryptocurrencies. We will generate revenue from the cryptocurrency we earn through our mining activities, which we may hold for our own account and or sell at prices and times as determined by our executive management team in accordance with our corporate strategy. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We may fail to successfully implement our new business initiatives in cryptocurrency mining, where we have limited experience.”

We expect to restructure our business in 2021 by selling our air travel media network business to our chairman and chief executive officer, Mr. Herman Man Guo, and then primarily focus on cryptocurrency mining business. Such restructuring plan has not been considered or approved by our board of directors as of the date of this annual report.

Revenues

We mainly generate revenues from the sale of advertising time slots and locations on our advertising network.

Revenues from Air Travel Media Network and Other Media

Our air travel media network revenues from operations in 2018, 2019 and 2020 mainly consisted of revenues from advertising and programming on digital TV screens on airplanes and other revenues in air travel.

Revenues from our air travel media network accounted for 89.7%, 99.0% and 99.7% of our total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. Our network consisted of seven airlines as of December 31, 2018, and six airlines as of December 31, 2019 and 2020.

Revenues from other media were primarily revenues from our trains Wi-Fi advertising promotion, public account promotion, long-haul buses Wi-Fi advertising. Starting from early 2018, we gradually ceased our operations of Wi-Fi service on long-haul buses, and scaled down operations in providing Wi-Fi services on trains, which was then ceased in 2019.

The most significant factors that directly or indirectly affect our revenues from digital TV screens on airplanes and other revenues in air travel include the following:

Revenues from Gas Station Media Network

Revenues from our gas station media network, consisting of outdoor advertising platforms such as LED screens, billboards and light boxes at Sinopec gas stations in China, accounted for 1.6%of our total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2018. In early 2018, the management assessed the operational underperformance of our gas station media service, which indicated that the underperformance could be ascribed to (i) the wide spread of 4G technology and affordable data plans; and (ii) the depleting marketing budget of some of our advertisers. In order to prevent further losses while seizing the opportunities from other components such as air travel media network, we ceased our operations of our gas station media services in 2018. No further revenues will be generated from gas station media network in 2019 and thereafter.

Business Tax, Value-added Tax (“VAT”) and Other Sales Related Tax

Our PRC subsidiaries are subject to value-added tax at a rate of 6% on revenues from advertising services and paid after deducting input VAT on purchases. The net VAT balance between input VAT and output VAT is reflected in the account under input VAT receivable or other taxes payable. Our gross revenue is presented net of the VAT.

Our net revenue is presented net of such business tax and other sale related taxes. Pursuant to the Circular on Comprehensively Promoting the Pilot Program of Replacing Business Tax with Value Added Tax promulgated by the Ministry of Finance of China and the State Administration of Taxation of China on March 23, 2016, which took effect on May 1, 2016, the Chinese government will levy VAT in lieu of business tax on a trial basis across China, and the tax rate for taxpayers who are service providers, such as us, is 6%.

Pursuant to the Circular on Adjustment of Governmental Funds by the Ministry of Finance of China on April 22, 2019, which took effect on July 1, 2019, the construction fee for cultural undertakings attributed to the central government reduces by 50%, and the construction fee for cultural undertakings attributed to regional government reduced by a percentage within the limits of 50%.

Cost of Revenues

During the periods covered by this annual report, our cost of revenues consisted primarily of concession fees, agency fees and advertisement publishing fees, non-deductible input VAT that generate in prior years and other costs, including equipment depreciation costs, operating costs and non-advertising content costs. The following table sets forth the major components of our cost of revenues, both in amounts and as percentages of net revenues for the periods indicated.

Concession Fees

We incur concession fees to airlines for placing our programs on their digital TV screens, to gas stations for operating our media displays and to train administration authorities for our Wi-Fi business. This type of fee constitutes a significant portion of our cost of revenues. Most of the concession fees paid to airlines were fixed under the relevant concession rights contracts with escalation clauses, which required fixed fee increases over each year of the relevant contract, and payments were usually due three or six months in advance.

We recorded these concession fees related to Wi-Fi business in the amount of $5.1 million, nil and nil in 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. The concession fee related to Wi-Fi business decreased significantly from 2018 and 2019 mainly due to the winding down of our operations of Wi-Fi service on long-haul buses and scaled down operations in providing Wi-Fi services on trains since early 2018. In early 2019, we completely ceased operations for Wi-Fi services on trains.

The rest of our concession fees consisted of those related to our non-Wi-Fi business, that is air travel media network business and gas station business, and decreased from $15.9 million in 2018 to $13.5 million in 2019 and $10.8 million in 2020. The decreased from 2018 to 2019 was mainly because that we ceased our gas station business in 2018. No further confession fees related to non-Wi-Fi business will be generated from gas stations thereafter. The further decrease from 2019 to 2020 was mainly because that airline companies discounted concession fees during the outbreak of COVID-19.

Agency Fees and Advertisement Publishing Fees

We engaged third-party advertising agencies to help source advertisers from time to time or to help advertise publishing. These third-party advertising agencies assisted us in identifying and introducing advertisers to us or help us to publish advertisement. In return, we paid fees to these third-party agencies if they generated advertising revenues or published advertisement for us. Fees that we paid to these third-party agencies were calculated based on a pre-set percentage of revenues generated from the advertisers by the third-party agencies and were paid when payments were received from the advertisers. We recorded these agency fees and advertisement publishing fees as cost of revenues ratably over the period in which the related advertisements were displayed.

Non-deductible input VAT that generate in prior years

We recognized the certified and estimated input VAT as asset. We written off the estimated input VAT and recognized a cost of non-deductible input VAT that was generated in prior years of nil, $11.0 million and $1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. In 2018, we ceased operation in gas station media network and on long-haul bus Wi-Fi, and planned to dispose the assets related to these businesses. The input VAT was expected to be used to deduct the output VAT of assets disposal. However, in 2019, only a small part of the related assets has been discarded instead of disposal, and for the remaining, we estimated that these assets would not be disposed in the future, and no such output VAT would be generated. Apart from that, the entities with relevant business were not expected to generate enough revenue of which the output VAT could cover the balance of input VAT. As a result, we wrote off $11.0 million of the input VAT that was estimated to be used from the sale of assets or generation of revenue in 2019 in the year ended December 31, 2019. In 2020, the economy was adversely affected by COVID-19 and we determined that the possibility of receiving invoices to offset the remaining estimated input VAT was remote. Therefore, we wrote off the remaining balance of $1.3 million in the year ended December 31, 2020 as cost.

Others

Other cost of revenues includes the following:

As we ceased our operations in long haul buses, gas stations and trains since early 2019, our other cost of revenues decreased from 2018 to 2019 and remained at a consistent level in 2020 compared to 2019.

Operating Expenses

During the periods covered by this report, our operating expenses consisted of general and administrative expenses, selling and marketing expenses and research and development expenses. The following table sets forth the three components of our operating expenses, and as a percentage of net revenues for the periods indicated.

General and Administrative Expenses

Our general and administrative expenses consisted primarily of office and utility expenses, salaries and benefits for general management, finance and administrative personnel, allowance for doubtful accounts, depreciation of office equipment, public relations related expenses and other administration related expenses.

Selling and Marketing Expenses

Our selling and marketing expenses consisted primarily of salaries and benefits for our sales and marketing personnel, office and utility expenses related to our selling and marketing activities, travel expenses incurred by our sales personnel, expenses for the promotion, advertisement, and other sales and marketing related expenses.

Research and Development Expenses

Our research and development expenses consisted primarily of salaries and benefits for our research and development personnel, office and utility expenses related to our research and development activities, travel expenses incurred by our research and development personnel and other research and development related expenses.

Impairment of fixed assets, prepaid equipment cost and intangible assets

We accrued a fully impairment loss for the leasehold improvement and the construction in progress equipment of Tianjin VR store for the year ended December 31, 2018 because Tianjin VR store did not go into operation. For the year ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, the management assessed that no impairment should be accrued for fixed assets, prepaid equipment cost and intangible assets.

Taxation

Cayman Islands

We are an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands currently levies no taxes on Islands or corporations based upon profits, income, gains or appreciation and there is no taxation in the nature of inheritance tax or estate duty.

British Virgin Islands

We are exempted from income tax in the British Virgin Islands on our foreign-derived income. There are no withholding taxes in the British Virgin Islands.

Hong Kong

Under the current Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance, from the year of assessment 2018/2019 onwards, the subsidiaries in Hong Kong are subject to profits tax at the rate of 8.25% on assessable profits up to HK$2.0 million; and 16.5% on any part of assessable profits over HK$2.0 million. Under the Hong Kong tax laws, we are exempted from the Hong Kong income tax on our foreign-derived income. In addition, payments of dividends from our Hong Kong subsidiary to us are not subject to any Hong Kong withholding tax. No provision for Hong Kong profits tax was made as we had no estimated assessable profit that was subject to Hong Kong profits tax during 2018, while a small profit was accrued during 2019 and 2020.

Singapore

In Singapore, startups (where any of the first 3 years falls in or after 2020) are allowed to claim a 75% tax exemption on the first S$100,000 of qualifying expenses for the first three years falls in 2020 onwards, 50% tax exemption on the next S$100,000 of normal chargeable income for which they are to be taxed. Any further income earned is taxed at the usual corporate tax rate of 17%. No provision for Singapore corporate tax was made as we had no estimated assessable profit that was subject to Singapore corporate tax during 2019 and 2020.

PRC

Effective as of January 1, 2008 and revised on December 29, 2018, the EIT Law applies a uniform EIT rate of 25% to all domestic enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises and defines new tax incentives for qualified entities. Under the EIT Law, entities that qualify as HNTE are entitled to the preferential income tax rate of 15%. A company’s status as a HNTE is valid for three years, after which the company must re-apply for such qualification in order to continue to enjoy the preferential income tax rate.

Chuangyi Technology is subject to EIT at a rate of 25% from 2018 afterwards.

Xi’an Shengshi is subject to EIT at a rate of 25% from 2017 afterwards.

Shenzhen Yuehang is subject to EIT at a rate of 25% from 2013 afterwards.

Linghang qualified for the HNTE at the end of 2017 and entitled to an EIT rate of 15% until December 26, 2020, and will be entitled to an EIT rate of 25% afterwards.

Air Esurfing qualified for the HNTE in 2018 and entitled to an EIT rate of 15% until September 10, 2021.

Furthermore, under the EIT Law, a “resident enterprise,” which includes an enterprise established outside of China with “de facto management bodies” located in China, is subject to PRC income tax. The SAT issued the Notice Regarding the Determination of Chinese-Controlled Overseas Incorporated Enterprises as PRC Tax Resident Enterprises on the Basis of De Facto Management Bodies, i.e. SAT Circular 82, on April 22, 2009. SAT Circular 82 provides certain specific criteria for determining whether the “de facto management body” of a Chinese-controlled overseas-incorporated enterprise is located in China.

In addition, the SAT issued a bulletin on July 27, 2011 to provide more guidance on the implementation of SAT Circular 82 with an effective date of September 1, 2011. The bulletin made clarification in the areas of resident status determination, post-determination administration, as well as competent tax authorities. It also specifies that when provided with a copy of the Chinese tax resident determination certificate from a resident Chinese controlled offshore incorporated enterprise, the payer should not withhold 10% income tax when paying the Chinese-sourced dividends, interest, royalties, etc. to the Chinese controlled offshore incorporated enterprise. Although both SAT Circular 82 and the bulletin only apply to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises, not to those that, like our company, are controlled by PRC individuals, the determination criteria set forth in SAT Circular 82 and administration clarification made in the bulletin may reflect the SAT’s general position on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining the tax residency status of offshore enterprises and the administration measures should be implemented, regardless of whether they are controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC individuals.

We do not believe we and our subsidiaries established outside of the PRC are PRC resident enterprises. However, if the PRC tax authorities subsequently determine that we and our subsidiaries established outside of China should be deemed as a resident enterprise, we and our subsidiaries established outside of China will be subject to PRC income tax at a rate of 25%. In addition, under the EIT law, dividends generated after January 1, 2008 and payable by a foreign-invested enterprise in China to its foreign investors who are non-resident enterprises are subject to 10% withholding tax, unless any such foreign investor’s jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a different withholding arrangement. The BVI, where Broad Cosmos and Air Net International, our wholly owned subsidiaries, are incorporated, do not have such a tax treaty with China. Air Net (China) Limited, the 100% shareholder of Chuangyi Technology, Shenzhen Yuehang and Xi’an Shengshi, is incorporated in Hong Kong. According to the Mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Arrangement on Avoiding Double Taxation or Evasion of Taxation on Income agreed between China and Hong Kong in August 2006, dividends paid by a foreign-invested enterprise in China to its direct holding company in Hong Kong will be subject to withholding tax at a rate of 5% (if the foreign investor owns directly at least 25% of the shares of the foreign-invested enterprise). However, if the Hong Kong company is not considered to be the beneficial owner of dividends paid to it by its PRC subsidiaries under a tax notice promulgated on October 27, 2009 and the bulletin No.30 of 2012, such dividends would be subject to withholding tax at a rate of 10%. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Business—Dividends payable to us by our wholly-owned operating subsidiaries may be subject to PRC withholding taxes, or we may be subject to PRC taxation on our worldwide income, and dividends distributed to our investors may be subject to more PRC withholding taxes under the PRC tax law.”

Critical Accounting Policies

The selection of critical accounting policies should be considered when reviewing our financial statements. For further information on our critical accounting policies, see Note 2 to our consolidated financial statement.

We prepare our financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, which requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect our reporting of, among other things, assets and liabilities, contingent assets and liabilities and revenues and expenses. We continually evaluate these estimates and assumptions based on the most recently available information, our own historical experiences and other factors that we believe to be relevant under the circumstances. Since our financial reporting process inherently relies on the use of estimates and assumptions, our actual results could differ from our expectations. This is especially true with some accounting policies that require higher degrees of judgment than others in their application. We consider the policies discussed below to be critical to an understanding of our audited consolidated financial statements because they involve the greatest reliance on our management’s judgment.

Revenue Recognition

On January 1, 2018, we adopted ASC Topic 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” applying the modified retrospective method. The adoption did not result in a material adjustment to the accumulated deficit as of January 1, 2018.

In accordance with ASC Topic 606, revenues are recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to our customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. In determining when and how much revenue is recognized from contracts with customers, we perform the following five-step analysis: (1) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (3) determine the transaction price; (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; (5) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation.

Our contracts with customers do not include multiple performance obligations, significant financing component and any variable consideration.

We are a principal as we control the specified good or service before that good or service is transferred to a customer. We are primarily responsible for fulfilling the promise to provide the specified good or service, have inventory risk before the specified good or service has been transferred to a customer and have discretion in establishing the price for the specified good or service.

Generally, we recognize revenue under ASC Topic 606 for each type of its performance obligation either over time (generally, the transfer of a service) or at a point in time (generally, the transfer of content) as follows: 

Our revenues are mainly derived from selling advertising time slots on our advertising networks. For the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020, the advertising revenues were generated from ourair travel media network including digital TV screens on airlines, gas station media network and other media network such as on-train and on long-haul bus Wi-Fi.

Revenue by service categories:

Air Travel Media Network: Revenues are generated from advertising and programming on airplanes. There are also other revenues from the display of media content in airports. For the advertising business, we typically enter into standard contracts with its advertising clients, who require us to run the client’s advertisements for a fixed fee on airlines with for a specified time period. We recognize advertising revenues ratably over the service period for which the advertisements are displayed, so long as collection remains probable.

We also generate revenue from programs that are run on airlines for a period of time. We enter into standard contracts with the customer who has the copyright of movies or TV programs and requires us to play the program for a fixed fee on airlines for a specified time We recognize program display revenues ratably over the performance period for which the program is played, so long as collection remains probable.

Gas Station Media Network: Prior to the disposal of the gas station media network 2018, we sold advertising time slots through digital TV screens in gas stations. We entered into fixed fee contracts with the end customers or agencies to run an advertisement for a specified period at specified gas stations. The revenue was recognized on a straight-line basis over the period the advertisement is displayed. No revenue was generated subsequent to 2018.

Other Media: Prior to terminating our media network on trains, long-haul buses and self-owned and third parties’ public accounts, we provided Wechat public account promotion and advertising and promotion articles publishing services. For the public account promotion business, the passengers in the trains could connect to Wi-Fi for free via our Wi-Fi equipment after registering as a member to that public account as a follower in WeChat. We charged a fix rate per new member and collected a service fee from the client who owns the public accounts.

For the advertising and promotion articles publishing business, we had developed a public accounts pool which had already accumulated hundreds and thousands of registered users (there are both self-owned and third parties’ public accounts). Wechat public account promotion through on long-haul bus Wi-Fi network and on-train Wi-Fi network was ceased in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and no revenue was generated from Wechat public account promotion through Wi-Fi network since 2019. We still generate immaterial revenue in other self-owned and third parties’ public accounts.

Deferred Revenue

Prepayments from customers for advertising service are deferred when corresponding performance obligation is not satisfied and recognized as revenue when the advertising services are rendered. The balance of deferred revenue as of December 31, 2020 is $2,589, the majority of which is $1,735 for the unsatisfied performance obligation with two customers with contracts amount of $1,839. 

Nonmonetary exchanges

We occasionally exchange advertising time slots and locations with other entities for assets or services, such as equipment and other assets. The amount of assets and revenue recognized is based on the fair value of the advertising provided or the fair value of the transferred assets, whichever is more readily determinable. In 2019, we provided advertising time slots and locations to SINOPEC Yijie Sales Co., Ltd. (“Yijie”) as a part of settlement of the concession fee due to Yijie and recognized revenue of $792. In addition, we provided gas station display network equipment to settle the concession fee of $3,678 due to Yijie.

In 2019 we also entered into a contract with Beijing Kingsoft Co., Ltd.(“Kingsoft”) to provide advertising services in exchange for office software and recognized revenue of $431. As of December 31, 2019, we have received the office software and accounted it as property and equipment, while a deferred revenue was accrued in the meantime as the agreed advertising services has not been provided. As of December 31, 2020, the advertising services have not been provided as Kingsoft did not require the advertising service considering the low efficiency of advertisement due to the impact from COVID-19. No direct costs are attributable to the revenues. There were no revenue recognized for nonmonetary transactions for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2020.

Concession Fees

We enter concession right agreements with vendors such as airlines and railway bureaus, under which we obtain the right to use the spaces or equipment of the vendors to display the advertisements.

Fees under concession right agreements are usually due every three, six or twelve months. Payments made are recorded as current assets and current liabilities according to the respective payment terms. Most of the concession fees with airlines and railway bureaus are fixed with escalation, which means a fixed increase over each year of the agreements. The total concession fee under the concession right agreements with airlines is charged to the consolidated statements of operations on a straight-line basis over the agreement periods, which is generally between three to five years.

Agency Fees and Advertisement Publishing Fees

We pay fees to advertising agencies for identifying and introducing advertisers to us and assisting in advertisement publishing based on a certain percentage of revenues made through the advertisement agencies upon receipt of payment from advertisers. The agency fees and advertisement publishing fees are charged to cost of revenues in the consolidated statements of operations ratably over the period in which the advertisement is displayed. Prepaid and accrued agency fees and advertisement publishing fees are recorded as current assets and current liabilities according to relative timing of payments made and advertising service provided.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

We conduct credit evaluations of clients and generally do not require collateral or other security from clients. We establish an allowance for doubtful accounts based upon estimates, historical experience and other factors surrounding the credit risk of specific clients and utilizes both specific identification and a general reserve to calculate allowance for doubtful accounts. The amounts of receivables ultimately not collected by us have generally been consistent with expectations and the allowance established for doubtful accounts. If the frequency and amount of customer defaults change due to the clients’ financial condition or general economic conditions, the allowance for uncollectible accounts may require adjustment. As a result, we continuously monitor outstanding receivables and adjusts allowances for accounts where collection may be in doubt.

Impairment of long-lived assets

Long-lived assets held and used by us are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of such assets may not be fully recoverable. It is possible that these assets could become impaired as a result of technology, economy or other industry changes. If circumstances require a long-lived asset or asset group to be tested for possible impairment, we first compare undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by that asset or asset group to its carrying value. If the carrying value of the long-lived asset or asset group is not recoverable on an undiscounted cash flow basis, an impairment is recognized to the extent that the carrying value exceeds its fair value. Fair value is determined through various valuation techniques, including discounted cash flow models, relief from royalty income approach, quoted market values and third-party independent appraisals, as considered necessary.

We make various assumptions and estimates regarding estimated future cash flows and other factors in determining the fair values of the respective assets. The assumptions and estimates used to determine future values and remaining useful lives of long-lived assets are complex and subjective. They can be affected by various factors, including external factors such as industry and economic trends, and internal factors such as our business strategy and forecasts for specific market expansion.

As of December 31, 2020, the net carrying amount of long-lived assets consisted of right of use asset of $683 and property and equipment of $12,883. The property and equipment mainly included office building located in the center of Beijing of $10,246, leasehold improvement of $624, digital display network equipment of $740, and office equipment and furniture of $1,273.

Income Taxes

Deferred income taxes are recognized for temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the financial statements, net operating loss carry forwards and credits, by applying enacted statutory tax rates applicable to future years. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Current income taxes are provided for in accordance with the laws and regulations applicable to us as enacted by the relevant tax authorities.

The impact of an uncertain income tax position on the income tax return must be recognized at the largest amount that is more-likely-than not to be sustained upon audit by the relevant tax authorities. An uncertain income tax position will not be recognized if it has less than a 50% likelihood of being sustained. Additionally, we classify the interest and penalties, if any, as a component of the income tax expense. According to the PRC Tax Administration and Collection Law, the statute of limitations is three years if the underpayment of taxes is due to computational errors made by the taxpayer or the withholding agent. The statute of limitations is extended to five years under special circumstances, where the underpayment of taxes is more than RMB100 thousand. In the case of transfer pricing issues, the statute of limitation is ten years. There is no statute of limitation in the case of tax evasion. According to Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department, the statute of limitation is six years if any company chargeable with tax has not been assessed or has been assessed at less than the proper amount, the statute of limitation is extended to 10 years if the underpayment of taxes is due to fraud or willful evasion.

We evaluate each uncertain tax position (including the potential application of interest and penalties) based on the technical merits, and measure the unrecognized benefits associated with the tax positions. As of December 31, 2020, we had no uncertain tax positions that if recognized would affect the annual effective tax rate.

We are not currently under examination by any income taxing authority, nor has it been notified of an impending examination. As of December 31, 2020, tax years 2016 to present are subject to examination by the tax authorities.

Our Results of Operations

The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated results of operations for the periods indicated. This information should be read together with our consolidated financial statements, including the related notes that appear elsewhere in this annual report. We do not believe our historical consolidated results of operations are indicative of our results of operations you may expect for any future period.

Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2019

Net Revenues. Our net revenues decreased by 9.9% to $23.4 million in 2020 from $26.0 million in 2019. The decrease was primarily due to the decrease in revenues from air travel media network affected by COVID-19 outbreak.

Revenues from air travel media network: Revenues from air travel media network decreased by 9.6% from $26.0 million in 2019 to $ 23.5 million in 2020. Among our revenues from air travel media network, revenues from digital TV screens on airplanes were $23.7 million and $21.6 million in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The slight decrease in revenues from digital TV screens on airplanes mainly resulted from a decrease in advertisers’ demand for digital TV screens during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Revenues from other media: Revenues from other media were primarily revenues from our trains Wi-Fi advertising promotion, which we no longer provide, and public account promotion. Revenue from other media is insignificant and is not expected to be significant in the future.

Cost of Revenues. Our cost of revenues decreased by 41.7% to $19.6 million in 2020 from $33.6 million in 2019. Our cost of revenues as a percentage of our net revenues decreased to 83.6% in 2020 from 129.1% in 2019. This decrease was mainly due to decreases in both cost of non-deductible input VAT that was generated in prior years and concession fees. Cost of non-deductible input VAT that was generated in prior years were $11.0 and $1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively. We ceased the operation in gas station media network and on long-haul bus Wi-Fi in 2018, and planned to dispose the assets related to these businesses. The input VAT was expected to be used to deduct the output VAT of assets disposal. However, in 2019, only a small part of the related assets has been discarded instead of disposal, and for the remaining, we estimate that these assets would not be disposed in the future, and no such output VAT would be generated. Apart from that, the entities with relevant business were not expected to generate enough revenue of which the output VAT could cover the balance of input VAT. As a result, we wrote off $11.0 million of the input VAT that was estimated to be used from the sale of assets or generation of revenue in 2019 in the year ended December 31, 2019. In 2020, the economy was adversely affected by COVID-19 and we determined that the possibility of receiving invoices to offset the remaining the estimated input VAT was remote. Therefore, we wrote off the remaining balance in the year ended December 31, 2020..

Concession fees decreased by 20.5% to $10.8 million in 2020 from $13.5 million in 2019, and concession fees as a percentage of net revenues decreased to 45.9% in 2020 from 52.0% in 2019, mainly due to concession fee discounts granted by airline companies during the outbreak of COVID-19. The concession fees are expected to return to pre-COVID-19 levels in 2021 as the impact from COVID-19 has gradually been mitigated.

Operating Expenses. Our operating expenses decreased by 49.4% to $13.1 million in 2020 from $25.8 million in 2019.

Loss from Operations. Loss from operation decreased to $9.2 million in 2020 from $33.4 million in 2019 as a cumulative result of the above factors.

Other income, net. Other income, net increased significantly to $9.1 million in 2020 from $3.3 million in 2019, mainly due to the disposal of three of our VIE’s subsidiaries, namely GreatView Media, AMHL Mobile and Flying Dragon, in 2020 that had generated significant accumulative deficits as of their respective disposal dates. We recorded income from disposing of these subsidiaries of $9.0 million in 2020.

Income tax expenses (benefits). We recognized income tax benefits of $10.2 million in 2020, primarily due to the reversal of an uncertain tax position (“UTP”) of $11.1 million as a result of the expiration of statute of limitations as of December 31, 2020, while we incurred income tax expenses of $0.7 million in 2019 related to taxable income for 2019.

Year Ended December 31, 2019 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2018

Net Revenues. Our net revenues increased by 6.0% to $26.0 million in 2019 from $24.5 million in 2018. The increase was primarily due to the increase in revenues from air travel media network.

Revenues from air travel media network: Revenues from air travel media network increased by 16.8% from $22.2 million in 2018 to $26.0 million in 2019. Among our revenues from air travel media network, revenues from digital TV screens on airplanes were $20.9 million and $23.7 million in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The increase in revenues from digital TV screens on airplanes mainly resulted from a strong advertising market and an increase in advertisers’ demand for digital TV screens.

Revenues from the gas station media network: We did not record revenue from the gas station media network in 2019, as compared with revenues from this segment of $0.4 million in 2018, because we gradually ceased our gas station media services starting in 2018.

Revenues from other media: Revenues from other media were primarily revenues from our trains Wi-Fi advertising promotion and public account promotion. Revenues from other media decreased by 87.4% to $0.3 million in 2019 from $2.2 million in 2018, primarily due to that we ceased our operations in Wi-Fi service on long-haul buses and trains in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Cost of Revenues. Our cost of revenues increased by 2.9% to $33.6 million in 2019 from $32.6 million in 2018. Our cost of revenues as a percentage of our net revenues decreased to 129.1% in 2019 from 133.0% in 2018. This increase was mainly due to a cost of non-deductible input VAT that generate in prior years, partially offset by significant decrease in our concession fee costs. Cost of non-deductible input VAT that generate in prior years were nil and $11.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 and 2019, respectively, mainly due to the fact that we ceased the operation in gas station media network and on long-haul bus Wi-Fi in 2018, and planned to dispose the assets related to these business, the input VAT was expected to be used to deduct the output VAT of assets disposal. However, in 2019, only a small part of the related assets has been discarded instead of disposal, and for the remaining, we estimate that these assets would not be disposed in the future, and no such output VAT would generate. Apart from that, the entities with relevant business were expected not to generate enough revenue of which the output VAT could cover the balance of input VAT. Concession fees decreased by 35.5% to $13.5 million in 2019 from $21.0 million in 2018, resulting from no confession fee of long-haul buses, gas station and trains recognized in 2019. Concession fees as a percentage of net revenues decreased to 52.0% in 2019 from 85.5% in 2018. The concession fees of long-haul buses, gas station and trains decreased significantly because we ceased operation of Wi-Fi service on long-haul buses and our gas station media services, and scaled down operations in providing Wi-Fi services on trains starting from 2018, and then totally ceased Wi-Fi services on trains in 2019. The concession fees of airline increased by $1.2 million mainly due to the decrease in the agreed-upon refund received from BEMC that deduct the concession fee.

Operating Expenses. Our operating expenses decreased by 36.5% to $25.8 million in 2019 from $40.7 million in 2018.

Loss from Operations. We recorded a loss from operations of $33.4 million in 2019, as compared to a loss from operations of $48.8 million in 2018 as a cumulative result of the above factors.

Share-based Compensation

2012 Share incentive plan

In 2012 , we adopted the 2012 Share Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) which provides for 6,000,000 ordinary shares options to be granted to employees and directors. Share options under this Plan may vest over a service period, performance condition or market condition, as specified in each award. Share options expire 5 years from the grant date.

The fair value of each option granted was estimated on the date of grant/modification using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.

We recorded share-based compensation of $0.1 million, $0.2 million and $0.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Inflation

Historically inflation has not had a significant effect on our business. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the year-over-year percent changes in the consumer price index for December 2018, 2019 and 2020 was increase of 1.9%, 4.5%, and 2.5%, respectively.

We can provide no assurance that we will not be affected in the future by potentially higher rates of inflation in China. For example, certain operating costs and expenses, such as employee compensation and office operating expenses, may increase as a result of higher inflation. Additionally, because a substantial portion of our assets consists of cash and cash equivalent, high inflation could significantly reduce the value and purchasing power of these assets. We are not able to hedge our exposure to higher inflation in China.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

See Item. 17 of Part III, “Financial Statements—Note 2—Summary of significant accounting policies—Recent issued accounting standard.”

B.            Liquidity and Capital Resources

To date, we have financed our operations primarily through internally generated cash, the sale of preferred shares in private placements and the proceeds we received from our initial public offering.

We incurred losses from operations of $33.4 million and $9.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $286.4 million and a working capital deficiency of $55.2 million. We had negative cash flows from operating activities for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020 of $14.9 million and $5.6 million, respectively. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. 

We intend to meet the cash requirements for the next 12 months from the date of this annual report through business restructuring plan. We plan to restructure our business by selling air travel media network business to our chairman and chief executive officer, Mr. Herman Man Guo, and then focus on cryptocurrency mining. We issued 23,876,308 ordinary shares to purchase computer servers specifically designed for mining cryptocurrencies, which were valued at $2,531 on December 30, 2020. These computer servers were placed in service in January 2021. On February 4, 2021, we issued 28,412,806 ordinary shares to purchase additional computer servers specifically designed for mining cryptocurrencies, which were valued at $5,540. These computer servers were placed in service in April 2021.

As a result, our management prepared the consolidated financial statements assuming our company will continue as a going concern. As described above, we have a significant working capital deficiency, have incurred significant losses and have generated negative cash flows from operations. We need to raise additional funds to meet our obligations and sustain our operations. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described above. However, there is no assurance that the measures above can be achieved as planned. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

We generally deposit our excess cash in interest-bearing bank accounts. Although we consolidate the results of our VIEs in our consolidated financial statements, we can only receive cash payments from them pursuant to our contractual arrangements with them and their shareholders. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—C. Organizational Structure.” Our principal uses of cash primarily include contractual concession fees and other investments and, to a lesser extent, salaries and benefits for our employees and other operating expenses. We expect that these will remain our principal uses of cash in the foreseeable future. We may also use additional cash to fund strategic acquisitions.

Cash Flow

The following table shows our cash flows with respect to operating activities, investing activities and financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020:

Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities was $5.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. Net cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to (1) a net income of $6.4 million adjusted by non-cash adjustments including income tax benefit due to reverse of UTP of $11.1 million, other income on the disposal subsidiaries of $9.0 million, loss on long-term investment of $2.9 million, depreciation and amortization of $1.3 million and write off of non-deductible input VAT of $1.3 million; (2) an increase in income tax payable of $1.4 million and an increase in accounts payable of $1.1 million, partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable of $1.7 million.

Net cash used in operating activities was $14.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Net cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to (1)  a net loss of $33.9 million adjusted by non-cash adjustments including the cost of non-deductible input of $11.0 million, bad debt expenses of $7.2 million, loss and impairment on long-term investment of $2.7 million, and other income on concession payable of $4.1 million; (2) an increase in other current assets of $2.5 million, partially offset by a decrease in accounts payable of $1.9 million.

Net cash used in operating activities was $19.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. Net cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to (1) a net loss of $93.4 million adjusted by non-cash loss and impairment on long-term investment of $52.3 million and bad debt expenses of $11.9 million, and (2) a decrease in accrued expenses and other current liabilities of $3.7 million, partially offset by (1) an increase in accounts payable of $7.8 million, and (2) a decrease in prepaid concession fees of $5.1 million.

Investing Activities

Net cash provided by investing activities was $0.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 due to proceeds from the disposal of subsidiaries of $0.4 million.

Net cash provided by investing activities was $4.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. Net cash provided by investing activities was primarily attributable to proceeds from the disposal of a long-term investment of $7.2 million, partially offset by purchases of property and equipment of $2.8 million.

Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $20.1 million principally attributable to the disposal of a long-term investment of $22.6 million, partially offset by purchases of property and equipment of $3.6 million.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities amounted to $19.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, mainly consisting of cash financed from the two third parties of $14.5 million, cash received from short-term loan of $5.2 million and proceeds from non-controlling shareholder of $1.4 million, partially offset by cash repaid for loan due to related parties of $1.8 million.

Net cash used in financing activities amounted to $4.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, mainly consisting of cash repaid for short-term loans of $11.9 million and cash paid for non-controlling interests withdraw of $1.1 million, partially offset by cash received from short-term loans of $5.9 million and cash received from loan due to related parties of 2.9 million.

Net cash used in financing activities amounted to $1.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, consisting of capital withdraw by non-controlling shareholder of $10.9 million, which was offset by cash received from short-term loans of $6.3 million and cash received from long-term loans of $2.9 million.

Capital Expenditures

Our capital expenditures were made primarily to purchase equipment for our network and our development in technology of airline Wi-Fi.

Our capital expenditures were $3.6 million in 2018, $2.8 million in 2019 and $0.1 million in 2020, respectively.

Intra-Company Transfers

Transfers of cash between our PRC operating subsidiaries and our non-PRC entities are regulated by certain PRC laws. For a description of these laws and the effect that they may have on our ability to meet cash obligations, please refer to “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Business—Dividends payable to us by our wholly-owned operating subsidiaries may be subject to PRC withholding taxes, or we may be subject to PRC taxation on our worldwide income, and dividends distributed to our investors may be subject to more PRC withholding taxes under PRC tax law,” “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Corporate Structure—We may rely principally on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our wholly-owned operating subsidiaries to fund any cash and financing requirements we may have, and any limitation on the ability of our operating subsidiaries to pay dividends to us could have a material adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business,” “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to receive and use our revenues or financing effectively,” “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents and registration requirements for employee stock ownership plans or share option plans may subject our PRC resident beneficial owners or the plan participants to personal liability, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us, or may otherwise adversely affect us,” “Item 4. Information on the Company—A. History and Development of the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—Regulations on Dividend Distribution,” and “Item 4. Information on the Company—A. History and Development of the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—SAFE Regulations on Offshore Investment by PRC Residents and Employee Stock Options.” None of these regulations have had a material effect on our ability to meet our cash obligations.

C.            Research and Development, Patents and Licenses, Etc.

We have been developing certain technologies for airline Wi-Fi purposes. However, our financial commitment to development of these technologies has been limited. We incurred research and development expense of $1.1 million, $1.2 million and $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. While we are interested in and may experiment with new technologies from time to time, we do not intend to materially increase our research and development spending in the foreseeable future even for the new cryptocurrency business.

D.            Trend Information

The COVID-19 has resulted in quarantines, travel restrictions, and temporary closure of facilities in China and many other countries since early 2020. Consequently, the COVID-19 outbreak may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition for the current fiscal year and beyond, including but not limited to business disturbances, slowdown in revenue growth and delayed collection of accounts receivables from our customers. Because of the significant uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, the extent of business disturbances and related financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. See “Item 3. Key Information— D. Risk Factors” of this annual report.

Other than as disclosed in this annual report, we are not aware of any trends, uncertainties, demands, commitments or events that are reasonably likely to have a material effect on our net revenues, income from continuing operations, profitability, liquidity or capital resources, or that would cause reported financial information not necessarily to be indicative of future operating results or financial condition.

E.            Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

On February 4, 2021, we entered into an investment agreement with Northern Shore, an unaffiliated party. Pursuant to the agreement, we agreed to issue 28,412,806 ordinary shares, or approximately 19% of our then outstanding ordinary shares, to Northern Shore in exchange for the delivery and transfer from Northern Shore to us of computer servers specifically designed for mining cryptocurrencies depending upon availability prior to the closing date.

Apart from above, we have not entered into any financial guarantees or other commitments to guarantee the payment obligations of any third parties. We have not entered into any derivative contracts that are indexed to our shares and classified as shareholder’s equity, or that are not reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Furthermore, we do not have any retained or contingent interest in assets transferred to an unconsolidated entity that serves as credit, liquidity or market risk support to such entity. We do not have any variable interest in any unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk or credit support to us or engages in leasing, hedging or research and development services with us.

F.            Tabular Disclosure of Contractual Obligations

We have entered into operating lease agreements primarily for our offices in China. These leases expire through 2021 and are renewable upon negotiation. In addition, the contract terms of our concession rights contracts are usually three to five years. Most of these concession rights expire through 2022 and are renewable upon negotiation. The following table sets forth our contractual obligations and commercial commitments as of December 31, 2020:

G.            Safe Harbor

See “Forward-Looking Information.”

A.            Directors and Senior Management

The following table sets forth certain information regarding our directors and executive officers as of the date of this annual report. Mr. Xin Li resigned as our chief financial officer, effective from March 5, 2021, and Mr. Herman Man Guo was appointed to serve as the interim chief financial officer until a suitable candidate for chief financial officer is identified.

Mr. Herman Man Guo is our founder and has served as the chairman of our board of directors and our chief executive officer since our inception. Mr. Guo has served as our interim chief financial officer since March 5, 2021. Mr. Guo also served as our interim chief financial officer previously from December 2018 to February 2019. He was the general manager of Beijing Sunshine Media Co., Ltd. from 1997 to 2004. From 1991 to 1996, Mr. Guo served as the deputy general manager of Beijing Trade & Technology Development Company. Prior to that, he worked in China Civil Aviation Development Service Company from 1988 to 1990. Mr. Guo received his bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from People’s Liberation Army Information Engineering University in China in 1983 and an Executive MBA degree from Peking University in China in 2011.

Mr. Qing Xu has served as our director since our inception and as our executive president since June 2010. From October 2005 to our inception, Mr. Xu served as a director of certain of our pre-existing affiliated entities. From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Xu served as a vice president of Zhongyuan Guoxin Investment Guarantee Co., Ltd. Prior to that, he served as a department director of China Haohua Group Co., Ltd. from 1997 to 2003 and as a department manager of Beijing Trade & Technology Development Company from 1991 to 1997. Mr. Xu was a secretary at the PRC State Council Secretary Bureau from 1984 to 1991. Mr. Xu received his associate’s degree in business and economics management from Beijing Normal University in 1996.

Mr. Dong Wen has served as our independent director since July 2015 and as the chairperson of our compensation committee since October 2019. Mr. Wen has been the general manager of the home furnishing business division of Leju Holdings Limited (NYSE: LEJU) since 2011. Prior to that, he worked for four years as the chief executive officer of Lianlian Technology Group, which is the largest channel management vendor for authorized third-party prepayment for China Mobile subscribers according to that company. From 2002 to 2007, Mr. Wen worked as a senior vice president of B&Q China.

Dr. Songzuo Xiang has served as our independent director since November 2008 and as the chairperson of our audit committee since October 2019. He currently serves on the board of China Digital TV Co. Ltd., an NYSE-listed company providing conditional access systems to China’s digital television market. From March 2009 to October 2009 and from July 2000 to July 2009, Dr.  Xiang served as chief executive officer and director, respectively, of Ku6 Media Co., Ltd., a Nasdaq-listed company. He previously served as the Deputy Director of the Fund Planning Department at the People’s Bank of China Shenzhen Branch and was an investment manager at Shenzhen Resources & Property Development Group. He was a visiting scholar at Columbia University from May 1999 to July 2000 and at Cambridge University from October 1998 to May 1999. Dr.  Xiang received his bachelor’s degree in engineering in Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 1986, his master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University in 1999, his master’s degree in management science in 1993 and his Ph.D. degree in economics in 1993 from Renmin University in China.

Mr. Hua Zhuo has served as our independent director since July 2015 and as a member to each of our audit committee and the compensation committee since October 2019. He has worked as the chairman and president of Zhongyuan Guoxin Credit Financing Guarantee Co., Ltd. since 2003. Prior to that, he worked as the general manager at several other companies. Mr. Zhuo received his MBA degree from Peking University.

Mr. Hong Zhou has served as our Chief Operating Officer since May 2018. Previously, Mr. Zhou served as the head of a large-scale production and scientific consortium of China Aerospace Science and Technology Group. Prior to that, Mr. Zhou served as deputy chief engineer and senior project director of enterprise development department under aviation airborne communication division of China Satcom Group. Mr. Zhou received a Doctor of Engineering degree from the school of aeronautical science and engineering, Beihang University.

No family relationship exists between any of our directors and executive officers. There are no arrangements or understandings with major shareholders, customers, suppliers or others pursuant to which any person referred to above was selected as a director or member of senior management.

Employment Agreements

We have entered into employment agreements with Herman Man Guo. Our employment agreements with Mr. Guo has an unfixed duration as required by the PRC Employment Law. Mr. Guo may terminate the respective agreement with a one-month prior notice while we will only be able to terminate such agreement in limited circumstances, such as for cause. We have also entered into employment agreements with our other executive officers. Each of the contract terms was a period of two or three years. We may terminate the employment for cause, at any time, without notice or remuneration, for certain acts of the employee, including but not limited to a conviction or plea of guilty to certain crimes, negligence or dishonesty to our detriment and failure to perform the agreed-to duties after a reasonable opportunity to cure the failure. Furthermore, either we or an executive officer may terminate the employment at any time without cause upon advance written notice to the other party. These agreements do not provide for any special termination benefits, nor do we have other arrangements with these executive officers for special termination benefits.

Each executive officer has agreed to hold, both during and after the employment agreement expires or is earlier terminated, in strict confidence and not to use, except as required in the performance of his duties in connection with the employment, any confidential information, trade secrets and know-how of our company or the confidential information of any third party, including our VIEs and our subsidiaries, received by us. In addition, each executive officer has agreed to be bound by non-competition restrictions set forth in his or her employment agreement. Specifically, each executive officer has agreed not to, for a period ranging from one to two years following the termination or expiration of the employment agreement, (i) carry on or be engaged or interested, directly or indirectly, as shareholder, director, employee, partner, agent or otherwise carry on any business in direct competition with our business; (ii) solicit or entice away from us, or attempt to solicit or entice away from us, any person or entity who has been our customer, client or our representative or agent or in the habit of dealing with us within two years prior to such executive officer’s termination of employment; (iii) solicit or entice away from us, or attempt to solicit or entice away from us, any person or entity who has been our officer, manager, consultant or employee within two years prior to such executive officer’s termination of employment; or (iv) use the words used by us in our name or in the name of any of our products or services, in such a way as to be capable of or likely to be confused with our name or the name of our products or services.

B.            Compensation

In 2020, the aggregate cash compensation to our executive officers was approximately $0.5 million and the aggregate cash compensation to our non-executive directors was approximately $0.1 million.

Our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated VIEs are required by law to make contributions equal to certain percentages of each employee’s salary for his or her pension insurance, medical insurance, housing fund, unemployment and other statutory benefits. Other than the above-mentioned pension insurance mandated by applicable PRC law, we have not set aside or accrued any amount to provide pension, retirement or other similar benefits to our executive officers and directors. No executive officer is entitled to any severance benefits upon termination of his or her employment with our company except as required under applicable PRC law.

Share Options

In July 2007, we adopted the 2007 Option Plan to attract and retain the best available personnel, provide additional incentives to employees, directors and consultants, and promote the success of our business. In December 2009, we amended the 2007 Option Plan by increasing the maximum aggregate number of shares issuable under the plan from 12,000,000 to 17,000,000. In March 2011, our board of directors authorized the issuance of 2,000,000 ordinary shares under the 2011 Option Plan with the same aim as the 2007 Option Plan. In 2012, our board of directors adopted the 2012 Option Plan, under which we are authorized to grant restricted shares or options and other awards for a total issuance of up to 6,000,000 ordinary shares. As of March 31, 2021, options to purchase 5,800,000 of our ordinary shares were outstanding. The majority of these options will vest on a straight-line basis over a three-year period, with one-twelfth of the options vesting each quarter from the date of grant.

The following table summarizes, as of March 31, 2021, the outstanding options and restricted share units granted to our executive officers and directors under our 2007 Option Plan, as amended, 2011 Option Plan and 2012 Option Plan.

The following paragraphs summarize the terms of our 2007 Option Plan, as amended, 2011 Option Plan and 2012 Option Plan:

Plan Administration. Our board of directors, or a committee designated by our board or directors, will administer the plans. The committee or the full board of directors, as appropriate, will determine the provisions and terms and conditions of each option grant.

Award Agreements. Options and stock purchase rights granted under our plans are evidenced by a stock option agreement or a stock purchase right agreement, as applicable, that sets forth the terms, conditions and limitations for each grant. In addition, the stock option agreement and the stock purchase right agreement also provide that securities granted are subject to a 180-day lock-up period following the effective date of a registration statement filed by us under the Securities Act, if so requested by us or any representative of the underwriters in connection with any registration of the offering of any of our securities.

Eligibility. We may grant awards to our employees, directors and consultants or any of our related entities, which include our subsidiaries or any entities in which we hold a substantial ownership interest.

Acceleration of Options upon Corporate Transactions. The outstanding options will terminate and accelerate upon occurrence of a change-of-control corporate transaction where the successor entity does not assume our outstanding options under the plans. In such event, each outstanding option will become fully vested and immediately exercisable, and the transfer restrictions on the awards will be released and the repurchase or forfeiture rights will terminate immediately before the date of the change-of-control transaction provided that the grantee’s continuous service with us shall not be terminated before that date.

Exercise Price and Terms of the Options. The exercise price per share subject to an option may be amended or adjusted in the absolute discretion of the compensation committee, the determination of which shall be final, binding and conclusive. To the extent not prohibited by applicable laws or exchange rules, a re-pricing of options mentioned in the preceding sentence shall be effective without the approval of our shareholders or the approval of the optionees. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the exercise price per share subject to an option may not be increased without the approval of the affected optionees. If we grant an option to an individual who, at the date of grant, possesses more than ten percent of the total combined voting power of all classes of our shares, the exercise price cannot be less than 110% of the fair market value of our ordinary shares on the date of that grant. The compensation committee shall determine the time or times at which an option may be exercised in whole or in part, including exercise prior to vesting, and shall determine any conditions, if any, that must be satisfied before all or part of an option may be exercised. The term of each option grant shall be stated in the stock option agreement, provided that the term shall not exceed 10 years from the date of the grant.

Vesting Schedule. In general, the plan administrator determines, or the stock option agreement specifies, the vesting schedule.

Transfer Restrictions. Options to purchase our ordinary shares may not be transferred in any manner by the optionee other than by will or the laws of succession and may be exercised during the lifetime of the optionee only by the optionee.

Termination of the Plan. Unless terminated earlier, the 2007 Option Plan will expire and no further awards may be granted under it after July 2017, our 2011 Option Plan will expire and no further awards may be granted under it after March 2021, and our 2012 Option Plan will expire and no further awards may be granted under it after November 2022. Our board of directors has the authority to amend or terminate the plan subject to shareholder approval to the extent necessary to comply with applicable law. However, no such action may impair the rights of any optionee unless agreed by the optionee.

C.            Board Practices

Our board of directors currently consists of five directors. A director is not required to hold any shares in our company by way of qualification. A director may vote with respect to any contract, proposed contract or arrangement notwithstanding that he may be interested therein and if he does so his vote shall be counted and he may be counted in the quorum at any meeting of our directors at which any such contract or proposed contract or arrangement is considered. Our directors may exercise all the powers of our company to borrow money and mortgage or change its undertaking, property and uncalled capital or any part thereof, and to issue debentures, debenture stock or other securities whenever money is borrowed or as security for any debt, liability or obligation of our company or of any third party. The remuneration to be paid to the directors is determined by the board of directors. There is no age limit requirement for directors.

Board Committees

We have established three committees under the board of directors: an audit committee, a compensation committee, and a compliance committee. We currently do not plan to establish a nominating committee. The independent directors of our company will select and recommend to the board for nomination by the board such candidates as the independent directors, in the exercise of their judgment, have found to be well qualified and willing and available to serve as our directors prior to each annual meeting of our shareholders at which our directors are to be elected or reelected. In addition, our board of directors has resolved that director nominations be approved by a majority of the board as well as a majority of the independent directors of the board. A majority of our board of directors are independent directors. We have adopted a charter for each of the board committees. Each committee’s members and responsibilities are described below.

Audit Committee. Our audit committee consists of Mr. Songzuo Xiang, Mr. Dong Wen and Mr. Hua Zhuo. Mr. Xiang is the chairperson. Our board of directors has determined that all members of our audit committee satisfy the “independence” requirements of Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. We have determined that Songzuo Xiang qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert.” The audit committee oversees our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the financial statements of our company. The audit committee is responsible for, among other things:

Compensation Committee. Our compensation committee consists of Mr. Songzuo Xiang, Mr. Dong Wen and Mr. Hua Zhuo. Mr. Wen is the chairperson. Our board of directors has determined that all members of our compensation committee satisfy the “independence” requirements of the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. Our compensation committee assists the board in reviewing and approving the compensation structure of our directors and executive officers, including all forms of compensation to be provided to our directors and executive officers. Our chief executive officer may not be present at any committee meeting during which his compensation is deliberated. The compensation committee is responsible for, among other things:

Compliance Committee. Our compliance committee consists of Mr. Songzuo Xiang, Mr. Dong Wen and Mr. Hua Zhuo. Mr. Wen is the chairperson. Our compliance committee assists our board in overseeing our compliance with the laws and regulations applicable to our business, and compliance with our code of business conduct and ethics and related policies by our employees, officers, directors and other agents and associates. The compliance committee is responsible for, among other things:

Duties of Directors

Under Cayman Islands law, our directors owe fiduciary duties to our company, including a duty to act honestly, and a duty to act in what they consider in good faith to be in our best interests. Our directors must also exercise their powers only for a proper purpose. Our directors also owe to our company a duty to act with skills and care. It was previously considered that a director need not exhibit in the performance of his duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his knowledge and experience. However, English and Commonwealth courts have moved towards an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands. In fulfilling their duty of care to our company, our directors must ensure compliance with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as amended and restated from time to time, and the rights vested thereunder in the holders of the shares. Our directors owe their fiduciary duties to our company and not to our company’s individual shareholders, and it is our company which has the right to seek damages if a duty owed by our directors is breached. In limited exceptional circumstances, a shareholder may have the right to seek damages in our name if a duty owed by our directors is breached.

Terms of Directors and Officers

All directors hold office until the expiration of their terms and until their successors have been elected and qualified. A director may be removed from office before the expiry of his term by a special resolution passed by the shareholders. The directors shall be subject to retirement by rotation. Any director shall serve a term of office which shall expire on the 31^st day of July which is not less than one year nor more than two years after the date of his appointment. Upon the expiry of each director’s term of office, he shall automatically retire and cease to be a director, but shall be eligible for re-election by the board of directors. Any director who is so re-elected shall serve an additional term which shall expire on the 31^st day of July of the year which is two years after such re-election. There shall be no limit on the number of times which a director may be re-elected or the number of additional terms which any such director may serve. Every director is subject to retirement in accordance with our articles of association at least once every two years. Our articles of association also provide that the office of a director shall be vacated in a limited number of circumstances, namely if the director: (a) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; (b) is found to be or becomes of unsound mind; (c) resigns his office by notice in writing to our Company; or (d) without special leave of absence from the board of directors, is absent from meetings of the board of directors for six consecutive months and the board of directors resolves that his office be vacated. Officers are elected by and serve at the discretion of our board of directors.

In addition, our service agreements with our directors do not provide benefits upon termination of their services.

D.            Employees

We had 315, 220 and 123 employees as of December 31, 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. The following table sets forth the number of our employees by area of business as of December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively:

The following table sets forth the breakdown of employees by geographic location as of December 31, 2020:

Generally, we enter into standard employment contracts with our officers, managers and other employees. According to these contracts, all of our employees are prohibited from engaging in any other employment during the period of their employment with us. The employment contracts with officers and managers are subject to renewal every three years and the employment contracts with other employees are subject to renewal every year.

In addition, we enter into standard confidentiality agreements with all of our employees including officers and managers that prohibit any employee from disclosing confidential information obtained during their employment with us. Furthermore, the confidentiality agreements include a covenant that prohibits all employees from engaging in any activities that compete with our business up to two years after their employment with us terminates.

Our employees are not covered by any collective bargaining agreement. We consider our relations with our employees to be generally good.

E.            Share Ownership

The following table sets forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of March 31, 2021, by:

The calculations in the shareholder table below are based on 177,953,891 ordinary shares outstanding as of March 31, 2021 (excluding 2,032,278 ordinary shares and ordinary shares represented by ADSs reserved for settlement upon exercise of our incentive share awards). Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, we have included shares that the person has the right to acquire within 60 days after March 31, 2021, the most recent practicable date, including through the exercise of any option, or other right or the conversion of any other security. These shares, however, are not included in the computation of the percentage ownership of any other person.

Other than as otherwise disclosed in this annual report, we are not directly or indirectly owned or controlled by another corporation, by any foreign government or by any other natural or legal person severally or jointly. None of our major shareholders have different voting rights from other shareholders. We are not aware of any arrangement that may, at a subsequent date, result in a change of control of our company.

As of March 31, 2021, 179,986,169 of our ordinary shares were issued and outstanding, of which 2,032,278 ordinary shares are issued to our depositary bank reserved for future exercise of vested options. To our knowledge, we had only one record shareholder in the United States, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., which is the depositary of our ADS program and held approximately 50.2% of our total outstanding ordinary shares as of March 31, 2021. The number of beneficial owners of our ADSs in the United States is likely to be much larger than the number of record holders of our ordinary shares in the United States.

For the options granted to our directors, officers and employees, please refer to “—B. Compensation—Share Options.”

A.            Major Shareholders

Please refer to “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—E. Share Ownership.”

B.            Related Party Transactions

Contractual Arrangements

Our consolidated VIEs, Beijing Yuehang, and Linghang Shengshi, together with their subsidiaries, directly operate our air travel media network, enter into related concession rights contracts and sell advertising time slots and advertising locations to our advertisers. Our consolidated VIE, AirNet Online, along with its subsidiaries, enters into concession rights contracts in relation to our Wi-Fi business and is directly operate this business and enter into related business contracts. We have been and expect to continue to be dependent on our VIEs to operate our advertising business and programming business. Chuangyi Technology has entered into contractual arrangements with our VIEs, pursuant to which Chuangyi Technology provides exclusive technology support and service and technology development services in exchange for payments from them. In addition, Chuangyi Technology has entered into agreements with our VIEs and each of their individual shareholders (except Yi Zhang), which provide Chuangyi Technology with the substantial ability to control our VIEs. These agreements are summarized in the following paragraphs.

Through the above contractual arrangements, Chuangyi Technology has obtained the voting interest in the VIEs of all their shareholders (except Yi Zhang), has the right to receive substantially all dividends declared and paid by the VIEs and may receive substantially all of the net income of the VIEs through the technical support and service fees as determined by Chuangyi Technology at its sole discretion. Accordingly, we have consolidated the VIEs because we believe, through the contractual arrangements, (1) Chuangyi Technology could direct the activities of the VIEs that most significantly affect its economic performance and (2) Chuangyi Technology could receive substantially all of the benefits that could be potentially significant to the VIEs. Other than the contractual arrangements described above, because the management and certain employees of Chuangyi Technology also serve in the VIEs as management or employees, certain operating costs paid by Chuangyi Technology, such as payroll costs and office rental, were re-charged to the VIEs.

Chuangyi Technology also entered into loan agreements with each shareholder of AirNet Online (except Yi Zhang), pursuant to which Chuangyi Technology agrees to make loans in an aggregate amount of RMB50 million to the shareholders of AirNet Online solely for the incorporation and capitalization of AirNet Online. The loan is interest free and the term of the loan is ten years and shall be automatically renewed on an annual basis unless Chuangyi Technology objects. Chuangyi Technology can require the shareholders to repay all or a portion of the loan before the maturity date with a 15 days prior written notice. Under such circumstances, Chuangyi Technology is entitled to, or designate a third party to, buy all or a portion of the shareholders’ equity interests in AirNet Online on a pro rata basis based on the amount of the repaid principal of the loan. As of the date of this annual report, no loan had been made and the capital of AirNet Online subscribed by shareholders was not injected.

Amounts due from related parties

As of December 31, 2018, we had $16 thousand due from Mambo Fiesta Limited, an entity controlled by Mr. Qing Xu, representing an interest free advance to it on a short term basis for operation purpose. We also have $1 thousand due from Shanghai Qingxuan Co., Ltd., an entity controlled by Mr. Herman Man Guo, representing an interest free advance to it on a short term basis for operation purpose. In addition, we have $1 thousand due from Global Earning Pacific Ltd., an entity controlled by Ms. Dan Shao, who is our principal shareholder, representing an interest free advance to it on a short-term basis for operation purpose.

As of December 31, 2019, we had $17 thousand due from Mambo Fiesta Limited, representing an interest free advance to it on a short-term basis for operation purpose. We also have $1 thousand, $1 thousand, $3 thousand and $3 thousand due from Shanghai Qingxuan Co., Ltd., Wealthy Environment Limited, AirMedia Holding Ltd. and AirMedia Merger Company Ltd., respectively, all controlled by Mr. Herman Man Guo, representing an interest free advance to it on a short-term basis for operation purpose. In addition, we have $2 thousand due from Global Earning Pacific Ltd., an entity controlled by Ms. Dan Shao, who is our principal shareholder, representing an interest free advance to it on a short-term basis for operation purpose.

As of December 31, 2020, we had $17 thousand due from Mambo Fiesta Limited, representing an interest free advance to it on a short-term basis for operation purpose. We also have $1 thousand, $1 thousand, $3 thousand and $3 thousand due from Shanghai Qingxuan Co., Ltd., Wealthy Environment Limited, AirMedia Holding Ltd. and AirMedia Merger Company Ltd., respectively, all controlled by Mr. Herman Man Guo, representing interest free advances on a short-term basis for operation purpose. In addition, we have $2 thousand due from Global Earning Pacific Ltd., an entity controlled by Ms. Dan Shao, who is our principal shareholder, representing an interest free advance to it on a short-term basis for operation purpose. 

Amounts due to related parties

As of December 31, 2018, we had $228 thousand due to Beijing Eastern Media Corporation Ltd., an entity of which 49% equity interest is controlled by us, representing the balance of purchase of concession right.

As of December 31, 2019, we had $254 thousand due to Beijing Eastern Media Corporation Ltd., representing the balance of purchase of concession right. In addition, we have $2.87 million due to Ms. Dan Shao, who is our principal shareholder, representing a loan with annualized interest rate of 16.8% on a short-term basis for our operation purpose.

As of December 31, 2020, we had $1.53 million due to Ms. Dan Shao, who is our principal shareholder, representing a loan with annualized interest rate of 21.6% on a short-term basis for our operation purpose.

Share Options

See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—B. Compensation—Share Options.”

C.            Interests of Experts and Counsel

Not applicable.

A.            Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information

Financial Statements

We have appended consolidated financial statements filed as part of this annual report. See “Item 18. Financial Statements.”

Legal Proceedings

We may become subject to legal proceedings, investigations and claims incidental to the conduct of our business from time to time.

A majority of the digital frames and digital TV screens in our network include programs that consist of both advertising content and non-advertising content. On December 6, 2007, the State Administration of Radio, Film or Television, or the SARFT, a governmental authority in the PRC, issued the Circular regarding Strengthening the Management of Public Audio-Video in Automobiles, Buildings and Other Public Areas, or the SARFT Circular. According to the SARFT Circular, displaying audio-video programs such as television news, films and television shows, sports, technology and entertainment through public audio-video systems located in automobiles, buildings, airports, bus or train stations, shops, banks and hospitals and other outdoor public systems must be approved by the SARFT. We intend to obtain the requisite approval of the SARFT for our non-advertising content, but we cannot assure that we will obtain such approval in compliance with this new SARFT Circular, or at all. In January 2014, we entered into a strategic alliance with China Radio International Oriental Network (Beijing) Co., Ltd (“CRION”), which manages the internet TV business of China International Broadcasting Network, to operate the CIBN-AirNet channel for broadcast network TV programs to air travelers in China. According to the terms of the cooperation arrangement with CRION, during the cooperation period from March 28, 2014 to March 27, 2024, CRION shall obtain and, from time to time, be responsible for obtaining any approval, license and consent regarding the regulation of broadcasting and television from relevant authorities.

There is no assurance that CRION will be able to obtain or maintain the requisite approval or we will be able to renew the contract with CRION when they expire. If the requisite approval is not obtained, we will be required to eliminate non-advertising content from the programs included in our digital frames and digital TV screens and advertisers may find our network less attractive and be unwilling to purchase advertising time slots on our network. As of December 31, 2020, we did not record a provision for this matter as management believes the possibility of adverse outcome of the matter is remote and any liability it may incur would not have a material adverse effect on its consolidated financial statements. However, it is not possible for us to predict the ultimate outcome and the possible range of the potential impact of failure to obtain such disclosed registrations and approvals primarily due to the lack of relevant data and information in the market in this industry in the past.

Linghang Shengshi had served a legal letter, dated June 29, 2016, or the Legal Letter, on Longde Wenchuang to challenge the proposed transfers by Longde Wenchuang of their equity interests in AM Advertising to Shanghai Golden Bridge InfoTech Co., Ltd. (stock code: 603918), a PRC company with its shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, or Golden Bridge. As of the date of the Legal Letter, Linghang Shengshi held 24.84% of the equity interests in AM Advertising. Longde Wenchuang and Culture Center held 28.57% and 46.43%, respectively, of the equity interests in AM Advertising. On June 14, 2016, Longde Wenchuang entered into an equity interest transfer agreement with Golden Bridge to transfer 75% equity interests in AM Advertising to Golden Bridge in consideration for shares in Golden Bridge, or the Transfer. Neither of Longde Wenchuang sought consent from Linghang Shengshi with respect to the Transfer in accordance with the provisions of the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China, or the Company Law. In the Legal Letter, Linghang Shengshi challenges the validity of the Transfer on the ground that it violated the statutory right of first refusal of Linghang Shengshi under the Company Law. Subsequent to our legal letter, Golden Bridge ceased acquisition of 75% equity interest of AM Advertising from Longde Wenchuang and Culture Center. Longde Wenchuang and Culture Center further dismissed our representative from Co-CEO position of AM Advertising.

On September 2, 2016, we received notice (the “September 2, 2016 Notice”) from the CIETAC that we, Chuangyi Technology, Linghang Shengshi and Mr. Herman Man Guo (collectively, the “Respondents”) were named as respondents by the Culture Center in an arbitration proceeding submitted by the Culture Center to the CIETAC in connection with the sale by us of 75% equity interests in AM Advertising to Culture Center and Longde Wenchuang in June 2015. Culture Center seeks specific performance by the Respondents of certain obligations under the transaction documents, which include, among other things, (i) the pledge by Linghang Shengshi and Mr. Guo of their respective equity interests in AM Advertising to Culture Center as security for their obligations under the transaction documents, (ii) the use of best efforts by the Respondents to cooperate with the Culture Center and Longde Wenchuang to procure the listing of AM Advertising in China and (iii) the performance by us and Mr. Guo of their respective non-compete obligations to refrain from holding, operating, or otherwise participating in any business that is the same or substantially the same as that of AM Advertising. We believe the arbitration request is without merit and intends to defend the actions vigorously. However, no assurances can be provided that we will prevail in this arbitration proceeding. In response to the September 2, 2016 Notice, we filed a notice against Culture Center to CIETAC for their breach of contract.

As a result of the above disputes, we are no longer able to exercise significant influence in operating and strategic decision of AM Advertising and cannot access to AM Advertising’s financial information. Accordingly, we accounted our investment in AM Advertising as equity investments without readily determinable fair values as of December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020. AM Advertising and its subsidiaries are no longer related parties to us. As of December 31, 2016, we treated the provision for earnout commitment of $23.5 million as contingent liability and did not record any additional provision for this matter as management believes the possibility of adverse outcome of the matter is remote and any liability it may incur would not have a material adverse effect on its consolidated financial statements.

On March 28, 2018, August 23, 2018 and November 2018, a MoU and its supplemental agreements respectively, with, among others, Longde Wenchuang and Beijing Cultural Center Construction and Development Fund (Limited Partnership), under which, among other things, Linghang Shengshi and Mr. Guo have agreed to pay or make available to AM Advertising on or prior to May 30, 2018 and further extended to September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2018 an aggregate of RMB304.5 million which was to be discounted by the following amounts (i) the RMB152.0 million profits attributable to Linghang Shengshi, Mr. Guo and Mr. Xu for the first nine months of 2015, based on a third-party pro forma audit report on AM Advertising; (ii) the loan of RMB88.0 million in principal balance and RMB7.8 million in interests; and (iii) the payment of RMB56.7 million in cash after the sale of the 20.32% equity interests in AM Advertising, which consisted of 20.18% equity interests hold by us and 0.14% equity interests hold by Mr. Man Guo and Mr. Qing Xu on behalf of our company, and following the completion of the foregoing arrangements, our obligations with respect to the profit target for 2015, the earnout provision for the first nine months of 2015 and the loans between AM Advertising and Linghang Shengshi shall be deem completed. According to the aforesaid MoU, after Linghang Shengshi, Mr. Guo and Mr. Xu transfer all the equity interest of AM Advertising, they will cease to be shareholders of AM Advertising and will not be able to continuously assume the obligations in connection with the profit commitment and earn out provision as a matter of fact.

The sale of the 20.32% equity interests in AM Advertising (therein 20.18% was held by us) has been completed as of December 31,2018, while the cash payment of RMB56.7 million to Longde Wenchuang and Beijing Cultural Center Construction and Development Fund (Limited Partnership) has not been paid yet by us as of December 31, 2019. Upon the effectiveness of MoU, we have written off the contingency of provision for earnout provision, and have recorded an actual payable of earnout provision in the amount of RMB152.6 million as of December 31, 2018. On June 27, 2019, Linghang Shengshi received a letter of notification from AM Advertising requiring for the immediate payment for the net settlement of RMB 56.7 million (the “Letter”) and Linghang Shengshi responded to the Letter on June 28, 2019 by urging AM Advertising to cooperate with income tax deduction. As of December 31, 2020, Longde Wenchuang and Culture Center have not issued a written notice requesting the cancellation of the MoU, and according to an independent third-party attorney’s legal opinion, the MoU was still effective and the aforementioned actual payable of earnout provision remained. In January 2021, we were informed that two of Linghang Shengshi’s bank accounts amounted to $1 in aggregate was frozen by the court as Culture Center applied to the court regardless of the arbitration process in the CIETAC in connection with the sale of 75% equity interests in AM Advertising. We believed the application is non-excused as it conflicted with the arbitration proceeding already submitted by the Culture Center to the CIETAC and defended the actions by applying to the court to unfreeze Linghang Shengshi’s bank accounts. In March 2021, we discovered that the equity interest of AirNet Online held by Mr. Herman Man Guo and Mr. Qing Xu was frozen by the court, which was applied to the court by AM Advertising to urge all parties to settle the Transfer (the “Case”). However, we believed that the court has no right of jurisdiction to judge this Case as it was essentially consisted with the arbitration process in the CIETAC and would be conflicting, and we submitted the objection to the court. The judge of the Case has orally approved the objection and the Case will be withdrawn.

For risks and uncertainties relating to the pending cases against us, please see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business— We have been named as a defendant or respondent in legal proceedings that could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operation, cash flows and reputation.”

We are not currently a party to, nor are we aware of, any other legal proceeding, investigation or claim which, in the opinion of our management, is likely to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Dividend Policy

We do not have any present plan to declare or pay any dividends on our ordinary shares or ADSs in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to operate and expand our business.

Our board of directors has discretion in deciding whether to distribute dividends. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our directors. In either case, the distribution of dividends is subject to certain restrictions under Cayman Islands law, namely that our company may only pay dividends out of profits or share premium account, and provided always that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in our company being unable to pay its debts due in the ordinary course of business. Even if our board of directors decides to pay dividends, the timing, amount and form of future dividends, if any, will depend on, among other things, our future results of operations and cash flow, our capital requirements and surplus, the amount of distributions, if any, received by us from our subsidiaries, our financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors.

If we pay any dividends, we will pay our ADS holders to the same extent as holders of our ordinary shares, subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, including the fees and expenses payable thereunder. Cash dividends on our ordinary shares, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars.

Except as disclosed elsewhere in this annual report, we have not experienced any significant change since the date of our audited consolidated financial statements filed as part of this annual report.

See “—C. Markets.”

Not applicable.

Our ADSs, each representing ten of our ordinary shares, were listed on the Nasdaq Global Market on November 7, 2007 and were subsequently transferred to the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Our ADSs has been transferred to the Nasdaq Capital Market in November 2018. On April 11, 2019, we changed our ADS share ratio from one ADS representing two ordinary shares to one ADS representing ten ordinary shares. Our trading symbol on the Nasdaq Capital Market has been changed from “AMCN” to “ANTE” effective on June 13, 2019.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

We incorporate by reference into this annual report the description of our second amended and restated memorandum of association which was filed as Exhibit 99.2 to our Form 6-K (File No. 001-33765) with the SEC on May 28, 2019.

We have not entered into any material contracts other than in the ordinary course of business and other than those described above, in “Item 4. Information on the Company” or elsewhere in this annual report on Form 20-F.

There are no material exchange controls restrictions on payment of dividends, interest or other payments to the holders of our ordinary shares or on the conduct of our operations in the Cayman Islands, where we were incorporated. Cayman Islands law and our memorandum and articles of association do not impose any material limitations on the right of nonresidents or foreign owners to hold or vote our ordinary shares.

See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulation—Regulations on Foreign Exchange” for a description of PRC regulations on foreign exchange.

Cayman Islands Taxation

The Cayman Islands currently levies no taxes on individuals or corporations based upon profits, income, gains or appreciation and there is no taxation in the nature of inheritance tax or estate duty. No Cayman Islands stamp duty will be payable unless an instrument is executed in, or after execution, brought to or produced before a court in the Cayman Islands.

The Cayman Islands is not party to any double tax treaties that are applicable to any payments made to or by our company. There are no exchange control regulations or currency restrictions in the Cayman Islands. Payments of dividends and capital in respect of the ordinary shares will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the ordinary shares, nor will gains derived from the disposal of the ordinary shares be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporation tax.

PRC Taxation

Under the EIT Law and its implementation rules, foreign corporate shareholders and corporate ADSs holders may be subject to a 10% income tax upon the dividends payable by us or on any gains they realize from the transfer of our shares or ADSs, if we are classified as a PRC resident enterprise and such income is regarded as income from “sources within the PRC.” Given the fact that whether we would be regarded as “resident enterprise” is not clear, it is uncertain whether foreign corporate shareholders and corporate ADSs holders may be subject to a 10% income tax upon the dividends payable by us or on any gains they realize from the transfer of our shares or ADSs. If we are required under the PRC tax law to withhold PRC income tax on our dividends payable to our non-PRC corporate shareholders and ADS holders or if any gains of the transfer of their shares or ADSs are subject to PRC tax, such holders’ investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares may be materially and adversely affected.

U.S. Federal Income Taxation

General

The following is a summary of material U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the ownership and disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares by a U.S. Holder (as defined below) that holds our ADSs or ordinary shares as “capital assets” (generally, property held for investment) under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, but it does not purport to be a complete analysis of all potential tax consequences and considerations. This summary is based upon existing U.S. federal income tax law as of the date hereof, which is subject to differing interpretations or change, possibly with retroactive effect. This summary does not discuss all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be important to particular holders in light of their individual circumstances, including holders subject to special tax rules (for example, banks or other financial institutions, insurance companies, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, cooperatives, pension plans, broker-dealers, partnerships and their partners, and tax-exempt organizations (including private foundations)), holders who are not U.S. Holders (as defined below), holders who own (directly, indirectly or constructively) 10% or more of our stock (by vote or value), holders who acquire their ADSs or ordinary shares pursuant to any employee share option or otherwise as compensation, holders that hold their ADSs or ordinary shares as part of a straddle, hedge, conversion, constructive sale or other integrated transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes, holders required to accelerate the recognition of any item of gross income with respect to our ADSs or ordinary shares as a result of such income being recognized on an applicable financial statement, traders in securities that have elected the mark-to-market method of accounting for their securities or holders that have a functional currency other than the United States dollar, all of whom may be subject to tax rules that differ significantly from those summarized below. In addition, this summary does not discuss any alternative minimum tax, state, local, non-U.S. tax or non-income tax (such as the U.S. federal gift and estate tax) considerations or the Medicare tax. Each U.S. Holder is urged to consult with its tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal, state, local, and non-U.S. income and other tax considerations relating to the ownership and disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares.

For purposes of this summary, a “U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of our ADSs or ordinary shares that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, (i) an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created in, or organized under the laws of, the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate the income of which is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source, or (iv) a trust (A) the administration of which is subject to the primary supervision of a United States court and which has one or more United States persons who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (B) that has otherwise elected to be treated as a United States person.

If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is a beneficial owner of our ADSs or ordinary shares, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships holding our ADSs or ordinary shares and partners in such partnerships are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding their ownership and disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares.

The discussion below assumes the deposit agreement and any related agreement will be complied with in accordance with their terms.

It is generally expected that a U.S. Holder of ADSs should be treated as the beneficial owner, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, of the underlying shares represented by the ADSs. The remainder of this discussion assumes that a holder of ADSs will be treated in this manner. Accordingly, deposits or withdrawals of ordinary shares for ADSs will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax.

Passive Foreign Investment Company Considerations

Based on the market price of our ADSs and the historical, current and expected composition of our income and assets (in particular, the retention of a large amount of cash) and value of our assets, we believe that we were a PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, for the taxable year ended December 31, 2020, and we may be classified as a PFIC for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2021 unless the market price of our ADSs increases and/or we invest a substantial amount of the cash and other passive assets we hold in assets that produce or are held for the production of non-passive income. In general, we will be classified as a PFIC for any taxable year if either (i) 75 percent or more of our gross income for such year is passive income or (ii) 50 percent or more of the average quarterly value of our assets (as generally determined on the basis of fair market value) produce or are held for the production of passive income. For this purpose, cash and assets readily convertible into cash are generally classified as passive and goodwill and other unbooked intangibles associated with active business activities may generally be classified as non-passive. We will be treated as owning a proportionate share of the assets and earning a proportionate share of the income of any other corporation in which we own, directly or indirectly, 25 percent or more (by value) of the stock. Although the law in this regard is unclear, we treat the VIEs (and their subsidiaries) as being owned by us for U.S. federal income tax purposes, not only because we exercise effective control over the operations of such entities but also because we are entitled to substantially all of the economic benefits associated with such entities, and, as a result, we consolidate such entity’s’ operating results in our consolidated financial statements. Because there are uncertainties in the application of the relevant rules and PFIC status is a fact-intensive determination made on an annual basis, no assurance can be given with respect to our PFIC status for any taxable year.

If we are classified as a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder holds ADSs or ordinary shares, a U.S. Holder will generally, as discussed below under “—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules,” be treated as holding an equity interest in a PFIC in the first taxable year of the U.S. Holder’s holding period in which we are or become a PFIC and subsequent taxable years even if, we in fact, cease to be a PFIC in subsequent taxable years.

Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules

As described above, we believe that we were a PFIC for the taxable year ended December 31, 2020, and we may be classified as a PFIC for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2021. If we are classified as a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds ADSs or ordinary shares, and unless a mark-to-market election (as described below) is made, a U.S. Holder will generally be subject to special tax rules that have a penalizing effect, regardless of whether we remain a PFIC, on (i) any excess distribution that we make (which generally means any distribution received in a taxable year that is greater than 125 percent of the average annual distributions received in the three preceding taxable years, if shorter, or such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ADSs or ordinary shares), and (ii) any gain realized on the sale or other disposition, including, under certain circumstances, a pledge, of our ADSs or ordinary shares. Under the PFIC rules:

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds ADSs or ordinary shares and any of our non-United States subsidiaries is also a PFIC, such U.S. Holder would be treated as owning a proportionate amount (by value) of the ADSs or ordinary shares of the lower-tier PFIC and would be subject to the rules described above on certain distributions by a lower-tier PFIC and a disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares of a lower-tier PFIC even though such U.S. Holder would not receive the proceeds of those distributions or dispositions.

If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds the ADSs or ordinary shares, we will continue to be treated as a PFIC with respect to such U.S. Holder for all succeeding years during which the U.S. Holder holds the ADSs or ordinary shares, unless we were to cease to be a PFIC and the U.S. Holder makes a “deemed sale” election with respect to the ADSs or ordinary shares. If such election is made, the U.S. Holder will be deemed to have sold the ADSs or ordinary shares it holds at their fair market value and any gain from such deemed sale would be subject to the rules described in the preceding two paragraphs. After the deemed sale election, so long as we do not become a PFIC in a subsequent fiscal year, the ADSs or ordinary shares with respect to which such election was made will not be treated as shares in a PFIC and, as a result, the U.S. Holder will not be subject to the rules described above with respect to any “excess distribution” the U.S. Holder receives from us or any gain from an actual sale or other disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares. Each U.S. Holder is urged to consult its tax advisors as to the possibility and consequences of making a deemed sale election if we are and then cease to be a PFIC and such an election becomes available to the U.S. Holder.

As an alternative to the foregoing rules, a holder of “marketable stock” in a PFIC may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such stock. Marketable stock is stock that is regularly traded on a qualified exchange or other market as defined in applicable United States Treasury Regulations. Our ADSs (but not our ordinary shares) are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, which is a qualified exchange or other market for these purposes. We anticipate that the ADSs will be considered regularly traded for so long as they continue to be listed, but no assurance may be given in this regard. If a U.S. Holder makes this election, such holder will generally (i) include in gross income for each taxable year the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the ADSs at the end of the taxable year over the adjusted tax basis of the ADSs and (ii) deduct as an ordinary loss the excess, if any, of the adjusted tax basis of the ADSs over the fair market value of the ADSs at the end of the taxable year, but only to the extent of the amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. The adjusted tax basis in the ADSs would be adjusted to reflect any income or loss resulting from the mark-to-market election. If a mark-to-market election is made in respect of a corporation classified as a PFIC and such corporation ceases to be classified as a PFIC, a U.S. Holder will generally not be required to take into account the gain or loss described above during any period that such corporation is not classified as a PFIC. If a mark-to-market election is made, any gain recognized upon the sale or other disposition of ADSs will be treated as ordinary income and any loss will be treated as ordinary loss, but such loss will only be treated as ordinary to the extent of the net amount previously included in income as a result of the mark-to-market election. In the case of a U.S. Holder who has held ADSs during any taxable year in which we are classified as PFIC and continues to hold such ADSs (or any portion thereof), and who is considering making a mark-to-market election, special tax rules may apply relating to purging the PFIC taint of such ADSs. If a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election, the tax rules that apply to distributions by corporations which are not PFICs would apply to distributions, except that the reduced tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income (as discussed below in “—Dividends”) would not apply.

Because a mark-to-market election cannot be made for any lower-tier PFICs that we may own, a U.S. Holder may continue to be subject to the PFIC rules with respect to such U.S. Holder’s indirect interest in any investment held by us that is treated as an equity interest in a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

We do not intend to provide the U.S. Holders with the information necessary to permit U.S. Holders to make qualified electing fund elections, which, if available, would result in tax treatment different from (and generally less adverse than) the general tax treatment for PFICs described above.

If a U.S. Holder owns our ADSs or ordinary shares during any taxable year that we are a PFIC, the holder must generally file an annual IRS Form 8621. In addition, the reduced tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income (as discussed below in “—Dividends) would not apply to dividends that we pay on the ADSs or ordinary shares if we are classified as a PFIC for the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year. Each U.S. Holder is urged to consult its tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax consequences of holding and disposing ADSs or ordinary shares if we are or become a PFIC, including the possibility of making a mark-to-market election and the “deemed sale” election.

Dividends

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed above, any cash distributions (including the amount of any taxes withheld) paid on our ADSs or ordinary shares out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles, will generally be includible in the gross income of a U.S. Holder as dividend income on the day actually or constructively received by the U.S. Holder, in the case of ordinary shares, or by the depositary, in the case of ADSs. Because we do not intend to determine our earnings and profits on the basis of U.S. federal income tax principles, any distribution paid will generally be reported as a “dividend” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A non-corporate recipient of dividend income generally will be subject to tax on dividend income from a “qualified foreign corporation” at a reduced U.S. federal tax rate rather than the marginal tax rates generally applicable to ordinary income provided that certain holding period requirements are met.

A non-U.S. corporation (other than a corporation that is classified as a PFIC for the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year) generally will be considered to be a qualified foreign corporation with respect to any dividend it pays on stock (or ADSs in respect of such stock) which is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States or, in the event that the company is deemed to be a PRC resident under the EIT Law, the company is eligible for the benefits of the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the People’s Republic of China for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Tax Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income, or the United States-PRC treaty.

The ADSs are currently tradable on the Nasdaq Capital Market, which is an established securities market in the United States, and thus we anticipate they will be considered readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States for purposes of the foregoing rule, however, no assurance may be given in this regard. In the event we are deemed to be a PRC resident enterprise under the EIT Law (see “—PRC Taxation”), we may be eligible for the benefits of the United States-PRC income tax treaty. Nevertheless, as mentioned above, we believe that we were a PFIC for the taxable year ended December 31, 2020, and we may be classified as a PFIC for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2021, in which case, we would not be considered a qualified foreign corporation for such taxable years even if we were considered readily tradable on an established securities market or eligible for the benefits of the United States-PRC income tax treaty. Each U.S. Holder is advised to consult its tax advisor regarding the rate of tax that will apply to such holder with respect to, dividend distributions, if any, received from us.

Dividends received on the ADSs or ordinary shares are not expected to be eligible for the dividends received deduction allowed to corporations.

Dividends paid on our ADSs or ordinary shares generally will be treated as income from foreign sources for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes and generally will constitute passive category income. A U.S. Holder may be eligible, subject to a number of complex limitations, to claim a foreign tax credit in respect of any foreign withholding taxes imposed on dividends received on our ADSs or ordinary shares. A U.S. Holder who does not elect to claim a foreign tax credit for foreign tax withheld, may instead claim a deduction, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in respect of such withholdings, but only for a year in which such holder elects to do so for all creditable foreign income taxes. The rules governing the foreign tax credit are complex. Each U.S. Holder is advised to consult its tax advisor regarding the availability of the foreign tax credit under their particular circumstances.

Sale or Other Disposition of ADSs or Ordinary Shares

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed above, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of ADSs or ordinary shares in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized upon the disposition and the holder’s adjusted tax basis in such ADSs or ordinary shares. Any capital gain or loss will be long-term if the ADSs or ordinary shares have been held for more than one year and will generally be U.S. source gain or loss for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes. However, in the event that we are treated as a PRC resident enterprise under the EIT Law, and gain from the disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares is subject to tax in the PRC (see “—PRC Taxation”), such gain may be treated as PRC-source gain for U.S. foreign tax credit purposes. The deductibility of a capital loss is subject to limitations. Each U.S. Holder is advised to consult with its tax advisor regarding the tax consequences if a foreign withholding tax is imposed on a disposition of our ADSs or ordinary shares, including the availability of the foreign tax credit under their particular circumstances.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

Certain U.S. Holders are required to report information to the IRS relating to an interest in “specified foreign financial assets” (as defined in the Code), including shares issued by a non-U.S. corporation, for any year in which the aggregate value of all specified foreign financial assets exceeds $50,000 (or a higher dollar amount prescribed by the IRS), subject to certain exceptions (including an exception for shares held in custodial accounts maintained with a United States financial institution). These rules also impose penalties if a U.S. Holder is required to submit such information to the IRS and fails to do so.

In addition, U.S. Holders may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and backup withholding with respect to dividends on, and proceeds from the sale or other disposition of, the ADSs or ordinary shares. Information reporting will apply to payments of dividends on, and proceeds from the sale or other disposition of, the ADSs or ordinary shares made by a paying agent within the United States to a U.S. Holder, unless the U.S. Holder is exempt from information reporting and properly certifies its exemption. A paying agent within the United States will be required to withhold at the applicable statutory rate, currently 24%, in respect of any payments of dividends on, and the proceeds from the disposition of, the ADSs or ordinary shares made within the United States to a U.S. Holder if the U.S. Holder fails to furnish its correct taxpayer identification number or otherwise fails to comply with applicable backup withholding requirements, unless the U.S. Holder is exempt from backup withholding and properly certifies its exemption. U.S. Holders who are required to establish their exempt status generally must provide a properly completed IRS Form W-9.

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability. A U.S. Holder generally may obtain a refund of any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS in a timely manner and furnishing any required information. Each U.S. Holder is advised to consult with its tax advisor regarding the application of the U.S. information reporting rules to their particular circumstances.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

We have previously filed with the SEC our registration statement on Form F-1 (File Number 333-146825), as amended, and a prospectus under the Securities Act with respect to our ordinary shares represented by our ADSs, and a related registration statement on Form F-6 (File Number 333-146908) with respect to our ADSs, as amended. We have also filed with the SEC registration statements on Form S-8 (File Numbers 333-148352, 333-164219, 333-183448 and 333-187442) with respect to our ADSs, as amended. In addition, we have filed with the SEC an automatic shelf registration statement on Form F-3 (File Number 333-161067), as amended, and a prospectus under the Securities Act with respect to our ordinary shares represented by our ADSs.

We are subject to the periodic reporting and other informational requirements of the Exchange Act. Under the Exchange Act, we are required to file reports and other information with the SEC. Specifically, we are required to file annually a Form 20-F within four months after the end of each fiscal year. Copies of reports and other information, when so filed, may be inspected without charge and may be obtained at prescribed rates at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C., 20549. The public may obtain information regarding the Washington, D.C. Public Reference Room by calling the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding registrants that make electronic filings with the SEC using its EDGAR system. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the rules under the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of quarterly reports and proxy statements, and officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

We will furnish JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., the depositary of our ADSs, with our annual reports, which will include a review of operations and annual audited consolidated financial statements prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP, and all notices of shareholders’ meetings and other reports and communications that are made generally available to our shareholders. The depositary will make such notices, reports and communications available to holders of ADSs and, upon our request, will mail to all record holders of ADSs the information contained in any notice of a shareholders’ meeting received by the depositary from us.

In accordance with Nasdaq Stock Market Rule 5250(d), we will post this annual report on Form 20-F on our website at http://www. ir.airnetgroup.cn. In addition, we will provide hardcopies of our annual report free of charge to shareholders and ADS holders upon request.

Not applicable.

Interest Rate Risk

Our exposure to interest rate risk primarily relates to the interest income generated by excess cash, which is mostly held in interest-bearing bank deposits. We have not used derivative financial instruments in our investment portfolio. Interest-earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. We have not been exposed nor do we anticipate being exposed to material risks due to changes in market interest rates. However, our future interest income may fall short of expectations due to changes in market interest rates. A hypothetical 1% decrease in interest rates would have resulted in a decrease of approximately $0.01 million in our interest income for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Foreign Exchange Risk

Our financial statements are expressed in U.S. dollars, which is our reporting and functional currency. However, substantially all of the revenues and expenses of our consolidated operating subsidiaries and affiliate entities are denominated in RMB. Substantially all of our sales contracts are denominated in RMB and substantially all of our costs and expenses are denominated in RMB. We have not had any material foreign exchange gains or losses. Although in general, our exposure to foreign exchange risks should be limited, the value of your investment in our ADSs will be affected by the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollars and RMB because the value of the business of our operating subsidiaries and VIEs is effectively denominated in RMB, while the ADSs are traded in U.S. dollars.

The conversion of RMB into foreign currencies, including U.S. dollars, is based on rates set by the People’s Bank of China. The PRC government allowed the RMB to appreciate by more than 20% against the U.S. dollar between July 2005 and July 2008. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted and the exchange rate between RMB and the U.S. dollar remained within a narrow band. As a consequence, the RMB fluctuated significantly during that period against other freely traded currencies, in tandem with the U.S. dollar. Since June 2010, the PRC government has allowed the RMB to appreciate slowly against the U.S. dollar again. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar in the future. We have not used any forward contracts or currency borrowings to hedge our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk.

To the extent that we need to convert our U.S. dollar-denominated assets into RMB for our operations, appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on RMB amount we receive from the conversion. A hypothetical 10% decrease in the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against RMB would have resulted in a decrease of $0.30 million in the value of our U.S. dollar-denominated financial assets at December 31, 2020. Conversely, if we decide to convert our RMB-denominated cash amounts into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or ADSs or for other business purposes, appreciation of the U.S. dollar against RMB would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us.

Inflation

Inflationary factors such as increases in the cost of our product and overhead costs may adversely affect our operating results. Although we do not believe that inflation has had a material impact on our financial position or results of operations to date, a high rate of inflation in the future may have an adverse effect on our ability to maintain current levels of gross margin and selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of net revenues if the selling prices of our products do not increase with these increased costs.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Fees and Charges Our ADS Holders May Have to Pay

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., the depositary of our ADS program, collects its fees for delivery and surrender of ADSs directly from investors depositing shares or surrendering ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal or from intermediaries acting for them. The depositary collects fees for making distributions to investors by deducting those fees from the amounts distributed or by selling a portion of distributable property to pay the fees. The depositary may collect its annual fee for depositary services by deductions from cash distributions or by directly billing investors or by charging the book-entry system accounts of participants acting for them. The depositary may generally refuse to provide fee-attracting services until its fees for those services are paid.