UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE
14A
(Rule
14a-101)
INFORMATION
REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE
14A INFORMATION
Proxy
Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934
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BY THE
REGISTRANT
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FILED
BY A PARTY OTHER THAN THE
REGISTRANT
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Preliminary
Proxy Statement
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Confidential,
for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule
14a-6(e)(2))
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Definitive
Proxy Statement
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Definitive
Additional Materials
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Soliciting
Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12
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TIENS
BIOTECH GROUP (USA), INC.
(Name of
Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Payment
of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
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Fee
computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and
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Title
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(2)
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Aggregate
number of securities to which transaction applies:
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Per
unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to
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calculated and state how it was determined):
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(4)
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Proposed
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previously. Identify the previous filing by registration
statement number, or the form or schedule and the date of its
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(1)
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Amount
Previously Paid:
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(2)
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Form,
Schedule or Registration Statement No.:
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TIENS
BIOTECH GROUP (USA), INC.
No.
6, Yuanquan Road, Wuqing New-Tech Industrial Park,
Tianjin,
China 301700
NOTICE
OF ANNUAL MEETING OF
STOCKHOLDERS
to
be held on May 28, 2010
TO OUR
STOCKHOLDERS:
PLEASE
TAKE NOTICE that the annual meeting of stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of
Tiens Biotech Group (USA), Inc., a Delaware company (the “Company”), will be
held at the Company’s Tianjin, China offices at No. 6, Yuanquan Road, Wuqing
New-Tech Industrial Park, Tianjin, China 301700,
on May 28, 2010, at 9:00
a.m., local time, for the following purposes:
1.
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To
elect six directors to hold office for the term specified in the proxy
statement or until their successors are elected and
qualified;
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2.
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To
ratify the appointment of Crowe Horwath LLP, independent public
accountants, as the auditor of the Company for the fiscal year ending
December 31, 2010; and
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3.
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To
transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual
Meeting or any adjournment.
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The Board
of Directors has fixed the close of business on April 27, 2010 as the record
date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at
the Annual Meeting and at any adjournment. A proxy statement, providing
information, and a form of proxy to vote, with respect to the foregoing matters
accompany this notice.
By
Order of the Board of Directors
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/s/ Jinyuan Li
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Jinyuan
Li
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Chairman,
Chief Executive Officer and
President
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Dated:
April 28, 2010
IMPORTANT
Whether
or not you expect to attend the Annual Meeting, please complete and execute the
accompanying proxy and return it promptly in the enclosed reply envelope, which
requires no postage. If you grant a proxy, you may revoke it at any time prior
to the Annual Meeting. Also, whether or not you grant a proxy, you may vote in
person if you attend the Annual Meeting.
PLEASE
NOTE: If your shares are held in street name, your broker, bank,
custodian, or other nominee holder cannot vote your shares in the election of
directors, unless you direct the nominee holder how to vote, by marking your
proxy card.
TIENS
BIOTECH GROUP (USA), INC.
No.
6, Yuanquan Road, Wuqing New-Tech Industrial Park,
Tianjin,
China 301700
PROXY
STATEMENT
Annual
Meeting of Stockholders
to
be held on May 28, 2010
SOLICITATION
OF PROXY
The
accompanying proxy is solicited on behalf of the Board of Directors (the
“Board”) of Tiens Biotech Group (USA), Inc. (the “Company”), for use at the
annual meeting of stockholders of the Company (the “Annual Meeting”) to be held
at the Company’s Tianjin, China offices, located at No. 6, Yuanquan Road, Wuqing
New-Tech Industrial Park, Tianjin, China 301700, on May 28, 2010, at 9:00 a.m.,
local time, and at any adjournment. In addition to mail, proxies may
be solicited personally or by electronic communication by the Company’s
officers, directors and other employees, without additional
compensation. The Company may also request brokerage houses,
nominees, custodians and fiduciaries to forward the soliciting material to the
beneficial owners of stock held of record and will reimburse them at the rates
suggested by NYSE Amex. The Company will bear the cost of solicitation of
proxies, which are expected to be nominal. The Board has set April 27, 2010 as
the record date (the “Record Date”) to determine those holders of record of
common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), who are entitled
to notice of, and to vote at the Annual Meeting. On or about April
29, 2010, this Proxy Statement and the proxy card (the “Proxy Card” or “Proxy”)
are first being mailed to stockholders of record as of the close of business on
the Record Date.
If a
stockholder specifies how the proxy is to be voted with respect to any of the
proposals for which a choice is provided, the proxy will be voted in accordance
with such instructions. If a stockholder fails to so specify with
respect to such proposals, the proxy will be voted “FOR” Proposals No. 1 and No.
2.
GENERAL
INFORMATION ABOUT VOTING
Outstanding
Shares and Voting Rights
Only
stockholders of record at the close of business on the Record Date are entitled
to vote at the Annual Meeting. As of the close of business on the
Record Date, there were 71,333,586 shares of Common Stock
outstanding. Stockholders are entitled to one vote for each share of
Common Stock held as of the record date.
Procedures
for Voting or Revoking Proxies
You may
vote your proxy by completing, dating, signing, and mailing the accompanying
form of proxy in the postage–paid return envelope provided. The
persons authorized by any of those means to vote your shares will vote them as
you specify or, in absence of your specification, as stated on the form of
proxy. You may revoke any proxy by notifying the Company in writing
to Charles Lv, Secretary, c/o Tiens Biotech Group (USA), Inc., No. 6, Yuanquan
Road, Wuqing New-Tech Industrial Park, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
301700, or by voting a subsequent proxy or in person at the Annual
Meeting.
Attending
the Annual Meeting
You may
obtain directions to the Annual Meeting by writing to Company at the above
address, Charles Lv, Secretary, c/o Tiens Biotech Group (USA), Inc., No. 6,
Yuanquan Road, Wuqing New-Tech Industrial Park, Tianjin, People’s Republic of
China 301700. If you attend the Annual Meeting, you may vote there in
person, regardless whether you have voted by the means mentioned in the
preceding paragraph.
Required
Votes
If a
quorum is present, in person or by proxy, all elections for Directors shall be
decided by a plurality of the votes cast in respect
thereof. Stockholders entitled to vote for the election of Directors
can withhold authority to vote for all nominees for Directors or can withhold
authority to vote for certain nominees for Directors.
Abstentions
may be specified on all proposals submitted to a stockholder vote other than the
election of Directors. Brokers holding shares of the Company’s Common
Stock in street name who do not receive instructions are entitled to vote on the
ratification of the appointment of the independent
auditors. Abstentions will be counted as present for purposes of
determining the existence of a quorum. Abstentions and broker
non-votes on the Company’s proposal to ratify the appointment of the independent
auditors will not have any effect for or against such proposal.
Execution
of the accompanying proxy card will not affect a stockholder’s right to attend
the Annual Meeting and vote in person. Any stockholder giving a proxy
has the right to revoke it by giving written notice of revocation to the
Secretary of the Company at any time before the proxy is voted or by attending
the Annual Meeting and voting in person.
SECURITY
OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT
The
following table sets forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership
of shares of Common Stock as of April 21, 2010 by each of the Company’s
directors and executive officers; all executive officers and directors as a
group, and each person known to the Company to own beneficially more than 5% of
Company’s Common Stock. Except as otherwise noted, the persons identified have
sole voting and investment powers with respect to their shares.
Name
of Beneficial Owner (1)
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Jinyuan
Li (2)
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67,830,000
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95.1
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%
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Manbo
He
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—
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—
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Yupeng
Yan
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—
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—
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Howard
Balloch
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—
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—
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Socorro
Quintero
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—
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—
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Gilbert
Raker
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—
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—
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All
Directors and Executive Officers as a Group (6 persons)
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67,830,000
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95.1
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%
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TIENS
(USA) Investment Holdings Group Overseas Limited (2)
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67,830,000
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95.1
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%
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(1) Unless
otherwise indicated, the address for each director and executive officer is c/o
Tiens Biotech Group (USA), Inc., No. 6, Yuanquan Road, Wuqing New-Tech
Industrial Park, Tianjin, China 301700.
(2) The
shares are owned by TIENS (USA) Investment Holding Group Overseas Limited
(“TIH”). As sole director of TIH, Jinyuan Li has voting and dispositive power
over the shares. The business address of TIH is c/o Tiens Biotech
Group (USA), Inc., No. 6, Yuanquan Road, Wuqing New-Tech Industrial Park,
Tianjin, China 301700.
Proposal
No. 1.
Election
of Six Directors
Six
directors will be elected at the Annual Meeting to serve for a term of one year,
until the next Annual Meeting and until their successors have been duly elected
and have qualified. If any nominee is unable to serve, which the
Board has no reason to expect, the persons named in the accompanying proxy
intend to vote for the balance of those named and, if they deem it advisable,
for a substitute nominee. The six nominees for election as directors
to serve until the next Annual Meeting are Jinyuan Li, Manbo He, Yupeng Yan,
Howard Balloch, Socorro Quintero and Gilbert Raker.
Directors
and Executive Officers of the Company
Set forth
below are the names of the directors and executive officers of the Company as of
April 21, 2010. Jinyuan Li has served on the Board since September
2003. Manbo He was appointed to the Board in June
2009. All other directors have served on the Board since January
2004.
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Jinyuan
Li
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52
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Chairman,
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
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Manbo
He
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40
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Chief
Financial Officer and Director
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Yupeng
Yan
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47
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Executive
Vice President and Director
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Howard
Balloch
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59
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Director
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Socorro
Quintero
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58
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Director
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Gilbert
Raker
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66
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Director
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None of
the Company’s directors and officers was selected pursuant to any agreement or
understanding with any other person. There is no family relationship between any
director or executive officer and any other director or executive
officer.
Jinyuan
Li
Jinyuan
Li has served as the Chairman of the Board and a Director since September 2003.
Jinyuan Li is also the President and founder of Tianshi Group and has held the
position of President since 1995. Mr. Li has 14 years of experience in the
petroleum and plastics industries. As a founder of the Company, Mr. Li has
developed Tiens into a global company that is a pioneer and innovator in its
field. Mr. Li holds a number of leadership positions in government and social
associations, including as Standing Committee Member of Tianjin Political
Consultative Conference; Vice-chairman of China Enterprise Confederation &
China Enterprise; Executive of All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce;
Vice Chairman of China Association for the Promotion of Industrial Development;
and Vice President of Chinese Healthcare Association. Mr. Li was elected as one
of the Top Ten Most Outstanding Talents in the Greater China Area; one of the
Ten Most Popular Personages Among the High-Ranking, by China Economic Forum;
Excellent Entrepreneur, by the Organization Committee of the Second Chinese
Entrepreneur Forum in 2003, and as the Most Creative Chinese Businessman of Asia
in 2004. Mr. Li holds an MBA from Nankai University.
Manbo
He
Manbo He
has served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and a Director since June
2009. Prior to that, Mr. He served as Advisor to Holley Group Co. Ltd. from
October 2008 to April 2009 and as Chief Operating Officer of Holley Group Co.
Ltd. from April 2006 to October 2008. During that time he was also
appointed as an Executive Director of the Board of Directors at Holley
Technology Co., Ltd. Mr. He served as Vice President of Calston
Investment Co., Ltd. from February 2003 to April 2006. Mr. He is a
Canadian certified general accountant and has received his Bachelor of Business
Administration from Beijing Institute of Business in China and a Master of
Business Administration from Thunderbird School of Global Management in United
States.
Yupeng
Yan
Yupeng
Yan has served as the Executive Vice-President of the Company since September
2003. Mr. Yan has also served as Vice-President of Tianshi Group since March
1997, acting as general manager of its Global Information Technology Center from
July 2007 to January 2009 and as head of its Global Marketing Center from June
2004 to June 2007. Since November 2008 Mr. Yan has served as the Vice General
Manager of Global Marketing Center and Vice President of Tianshi Group’s China
Region. Mr. Yan currently holds a number of leadership positions
including Vice-Dean of Tianshi College (formerly Tianshi Occupational Technique
Institute), and Vice-Chairman of Tianshi Science and Technique Association. Mr.
Yan was elected as one of the Chinese Ten Outstanding Professional Managers in
2004. Mr. Yan has experiences in international and cross-cultural negotiations,
public relations and global marketing management, HR management, logistics and
IT utilization. Mr. Yan received an Executive MBA from Nankai University in July
2004.
Howard
Balloch
Howard
Balloch serves as a director of the Company and is the founder and President of
The Balloch Group, an investment advisory and merchant banking firm located in
Beijing, China. Mr. Balloch served as the Canadian ambassador to the
People’s Republic of China from February of 1996 until July of 2001. Mr. Balloch
currently serves on the board of directors of the following companies: Ivanhoe
Energy, Inc. (TSX: IE, NASDAQ: IVAN), Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (TSX, NYSE, NASDAQ:
IVN), East Energy Corp. (TSX: EEC), Methanex Corporation (TSX:MX, NASDAQ: MEOH),
and Maple Leaf Education Holding. Mr. Balloch is also the Vice-Chairman of the
Canada China Business Council. Mr. Balloch received his B.A. and M.A.
degrees from McGill University.
Socorro
Quintero
Socorro
Quintero serves as a director of the Company. Dr. Quintero is an Associate
Professor of Finance and Managing Director of the Corporate Directors Institute
at Oklahoma City University’s Meinders School of Business (“OCU”). She is the
founder and Managing Director of the Corporate Directors Institute at OCU. The
Corporate Directors Institute provides a forum for board directors and
governance professionals to share their expertise on current pressing board
governance issues. Prior to joining OCU in 1993, she was an Assistant Professor
of Finance at the University of South Florida. Among others, her expertise
includes corporate financial management, investments management and financial
derivatives. Due to her frequent teaching assignments in China, she
has familiarity with the China business environment. Dr. Quintero has
also work experience in operations management, mostly in various industrial
engineering capacities and functions while working for Atlantic Steel Company,
Abbott Laboratories and Levi Strauss & Co. She received a B.S. in Physics
from the University of the Philippines, an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from
the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Finance from the University
of Texas at Austin.
Gilbert
Raker
Gilbert
Raker serves as a director of the Company and is currently the Vice Chairman and
a Director of Electro-Comp Services Inc., a private company primarily engaged in
the testing and verification of the functionality of electronic components as
well as the brokering of said components located in Clearwater,
FL. From January 2009 to February 2010 he worked with a niche
investment bank in New York that focused on financing middle market companies.
From November 1988 to January 2009 he was the President, Chief Executive Officer
and Chairman of the Board of SEMX Corporation, a multi-national company that
manufactured materials and components used in microelectronic circuitry on a
worldwide basis for the automotive, consumer electronics, defense, medical and
aerospace industries. Prior to November 1988, Mr. Raker worked at two
private equity investment firms, was employed as the Chief Financial Officer and
in one case as the Chief Operating Officer of two New York Stock Exchange listed
companies and served in a variety of capacities in numerous private and public
companies. He began his career as a Management Consultant for Touche
Ross. Mr. Raker received his B.S. in Chemistry from Eastern
University, his MBA in Production Management from Syracuse University and
completed all of the course work for a PhD in Finance and Economics at Syracuse
University. Early in his career he taught Accounting and Production Management
at Eastern University and Syracuse University, respectively.
BOARD
AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS
The Board
held two meetings during 2009. Jinyuan Li and Yupeng Yan attended fewer than 75%
of the total number of meetings of the Board in 2009. No other director attended
fewer than 75% of the total number of meetings of the Board and the total number
of meetings held by all committees of the Board on which he or she served during
2009.
The Board
has determined that directors Howard Balloch, Socorro Quintero and Gilbert Raker
are “independent” under Section 121(a) of the NYSE Amex Company Guide. The
ownership by Jinyuan Li, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, of
more than 50% of the Company’s voting stock makes it a “controlled company” to
which NYSE Amex rules requiring a majority of the directors to be independent
and relating to executive compensation and Board nominations need not
apply.
The Board
has an Audit Committee and a Compensation Committee. The Board does
not have a Nominating Committee. The entire Board assumes the duties that would
be delegated to a Nominating Committee. The Company believes that this practice
focuses the attention of each director on the important task of selecting
nominees, and a separate committee is unnecessary. The Company encourages but
does not have a policy with regard to Board members’ attendance at annual
meetings of stockholders. The Company held an annual meeting of stockholders on
May 28, 2009. Ge Wen, the Company’s former Secretary, attended that meeting in
person and Manbo He, Socorro Quintero, Gilbert Raker attended the meeting by
telephone.
Board
Operations and Risk Oversight
Jinyuan
Li holds the positions of principal executive officer and chairman of the Board
of Company. Given the limited number of directors comprising the Board, the
independent directors call and plan their executive sessions collaboratively
and, between Board meetings, communicate with management and one another
directly. Although the Board has not yet designated a lead director, the Board
is considering appointing one in the near future.
The Board
of Directors is responsible for the overall risk oversight of the Company. The
Board discusses, and receives updates from senior management on the
identification, assessment, management and mitigation of the critical risks
facing the Company. The Audit Committee requires the Company’s management to
update the Audit Committee about the Company’s major financial risk exposure and
the steps that management has taken to monitor and control such exposure and
oversee the risks related to financial issues. The Audit Committee monitors
risks associated with financial reporting and internal controls, receives annual
reports on risk assessment from the Company’s auditors and regularly discusses
financial and economic risks as well as financial implications of certain
regulatory or legal risks with the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Chief
Financial Officer, other members of senior management and outside counsel or
consultants.
Code
of Ethics
The Board
has adopted a Code of Ethics to promote its commitment to the legal and ethical
conduct of the Company’s business. The Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial
Officer, and other senior officers are required to abide by the Code of Ethics,
which provides the foundation for compliance with all corporate policies and
procedures, and best business practices.
The Code
of Ethics was filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-KSB
for the year ended December 31, 2004. A written copy of the Code of Ethics will
be provided upon request at no charge by writing to the Company’s corporate
secretary, Charles Lv, at Tiens Biotech Group (USA), Inc., No. 6, Yuanquan Road,
Wuqing New-Tech Industrial Park, Tianjin, China 301700.
Nominations
by Stockholders
The Board
accepts stockholders’ director nominations. Pursuant to the terms of
the Company’s bylaws, such nominations must be in writing and set forth (a) the
name and address of the person nominated, (b) the name and address of the
nominator, (c) the number of shares of each class of capital stock of the
Company that the nominator owns, (d) the name and address of each other
stockholder, if any, with whom the nominator is acting in concert, and (e) the
number of shares beneficially owned by each such stockholder. The
nominator must also submit in writing (i) the information with respect to each
such proposed nominee that would be required to be provided in a proxy
statement, and (ii) a notarized affidavit executed by each such proposed nominee
to the effect that, if elected, he/she will serve and he/she is eligible for
election. To be timely delivered in connection with an annual
meeting, the notice must be delivered to or mailed and received by the Secretary
of the Company at the Company’s principal executive offices not less than 90
days nor more than 180 days before the date of the current year’s annual
meeting. To be timely delivered in connection with any election of a director at
a special meeting of the stockholders, the notice must be delivered to or mailed
and received by the Secretary of the Company at the Company’s principal
executive offices not later than ten (10) days after the date that notice of the
special meeting was mailed, or public disclosure of the special meeting was
made, whichever occurred first. Within 30 days after the nominator
has submitted the materials, the Secretary must determine whether the evidence
submitted is reasonably satisfactory and must notify the nominator in writing of
the determination. If the Secretary finds that such evidence is not
reasonably satisfactory, or if the nominator fails to submit the requisite
information in the form or within the time indicated, the Board will not
consider the nomination.
The Board
does not have a formal policy on Board candidate qualifications. The
Board may consider those factors it deems appropriate in evaluating director
nominees made either by the Board or stockholders, including judgment, skill,
diversity, strength of character, experience with businesses and organizations
comparable in size or scope to the Company, experience and skill relative to
other Board members, and specialized knowledge or
experience. Depending upon the current needs of the Board, certain
factors may be weighed more or less heavily. In considering
candidates for the Board, the directors evaluate the entirety of each
candidate’s credentials and do not have any specific minimum qualifications that
must be met. The directors will consider candidates from any reasonable source,
including current Board members, stockholders, professional search firms or
other persons. The directors will not evaluate candidates differently
based on who has made the recommendation.
Compensation
Committee
As of
April 21, 2010, the Board’s Compensation Committee members are Messrs. Gilbert
Raker, Chair and Yupeng Yan. The Compensation Committee is responsible for
reviewing compensation policies applicable to officers and key employers and
making recommendations to the Board. The Compensation Committee does
not have a charter. The Compensation Committee held no meetings in
2009.
Audit
Committee
The Audit
Committee operates under a formal charter in accordance with the NYSE Amex rules
and Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
“Exchange Act”). The charter has been approved and adopted by the Board and is
reviewed and reassessed annually by the Audit Committee. The charter sets forth
the responsibilities, authority, and specific duties of the Audit Committee. The
charter specifies, among other things, the structure and membership requirements
of the Audit Committee, as well as the relationship of the Audit Committee to
the Company’s independent auditors and management. The Audit
Committee unanimously approved revisions to the Audit Committee charter on March
12, 2008. The revised Audit Committee charter can be found on the
Company’s website at
www.tiens-bio.com
and
can be made available in print free of charge to any shareholder who requests
it.
The Audit
Committee members are Ms. Socorro Quintero, Chairperson, and Messrs. Howard
Balloch and Gilbert Raker, each of whom is independent as defined under Section
121(a) of NYSE Amex listing standards currently in effect. The Board has
determined that each of Ms. Socorro Quintero and Mr. Gilbert Raker is an “audit
committee financial expert” as defined by the Securities and Exchanges
Commission (the “SEC”). The Audit Committee met five times during
2009.
The Audit
Committee engages the auditors, approves services performed by the auditors, and
assists the full Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities with respect
to the integrity of financial statements and other financial information.
Management prepares the financial statements and establishes the system of
internal control.
The
disclosure in the Audit Committee Report below does not constitute soliciting
material and shall not be deemed filed or incorporated by reference into any of
the Company’s other filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the
Exchange Act, except to the extent that the Company specifically incorporates
the report by reference therein.
Audit
Committee Report
As part
of its oversight responsibility, the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed the
financial statements with management and the Company’s independent auditor,
Crowe Horwath LLP (“Crowe”), including a discussion about the quality and
appropriateness, not just acceptability, of accounting principles applied in the
Company’s financial statements, for the year ended December 31,
2009. The independent auditor has the responsibility for expressing
an opinion on the conformity of the annual financial statements with US
GAAP. The Audit Committee reviewed with the independent auditor its
judgments as to the compliance of the Company’s financial statements with US
GAAP and SEC disclosure requirements and other matters as are required to be
discussed under US GAAP. The Audit Committee met with the independent auditor,
including in an executive session without management present, to discuss the
results of the audit, quality of financial reporting, and audit experience with
the Company.
The Audit
Committee discussed with the independent auditor the matters required to be
discussed by Statement of Auditing Standards No. 61, Communication with Audit
Committee, as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”)
in Rule 3200T. The Audit Committee received from Crowe a letter and written
disclosure, as required by PCAOB Rule 3526, and discussed with Crowe its
independence.
An
engagement letter was submitted to and approved by the Audit Committee outlining
the scope and plan of the annual audit for the year ended December 31,
2009.
Based on
the reviews and discussions noted above, the Audit Committee recommended to the
full Board that the financial statements be included in the Company’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 for filing with the
SEC.
The Audit
Committee also recommends Crowe as the Company’s Independent Auditor for the
year ending December 31, 2010.
The Audit
Committee
Socorro
Quintero, Chairperson
Howard
Balloch
Gilbert
Raker
Process
for Sending Communications to the Board
The
Company has not adopted a formal process for stockholder communication with the
Board of Directors. Nevertheless, every effort has been made to ensure that the
views of stockholders are heard by the Board or individual directors, as
applicable, and that appropriate responses are provided to stockholders in a
timely manner. Stockholders who wish to send communications on any
topic to the Board should address such communications to the Company’s Secretary
at the address below who will forward the correspondence to each
addressee:
TIENS
BIOTECH GROUP (USA), INC.
No. 6,
Yuanquan Road,
Wuqing
New-Tech Industrial Park,
Tianjin,
China 301700
Attention:
Charles Lv, Secretary
Compensation
Discussion and Analysis
All
compensation decisions for the Company’s executive officers, including the
salary of the Company’s CEO and President, Jinyuan Li, are made by Jinyuan
Li. Because Jinyuan Li owns more than 50% of the Company’s voting
stock, the Company is a “controlled company” pursuant to Section 801(a) of NYSE
Amex Company Guide. Therefore, the Company is exempt from NYSE Amex
Section 805(a), which requires that the compensation of a CEO and all other
executive officers be determined, or recommended to the Board for determination,
by a compensation committee composed of independent directors, or the majority
of independent directors on the Board.
The
objectives of the Company’s compensation programs.
The
Company seeks to attract and retain executive officers of the highest caliber
and motivate them to maximize the success of its business.
What
the Company’s compensation program is designed to reward.
The
Company’s CEO believes that he is incentivized by his large equity ownership in
the Company. Therefore, he believes that a long-term employment contract
providing a base salary is appropriate compensation for him. With respect to the
other executive officers’ base salaries, the Company’s CEO bases his
recommendations on past salary levels with the Company and his perception of the
quality of their respective performances and attempts to match their salaries
with his perception of compensation levels at a small number of companies he
considers comparable. The CEO also takes into consideration the relatively low
salaries provided to executive officers by companies in China compared to public
companies in the United States. The Company’s CEO assesses the normal
responsibilities of each position, as well as the extra responsibilities and
additional work related to special projects which such executive officers may be
expected to perform. No relative weight was assigned to any of the foregoing
factors.
Elements
of compensation.
Each
executive officer receives cash compensation as a base salary. Base salary for
the Company’s executive officers is fixed by their respective employment
agreements, as described under “Employment Agreements.” Jinyuan Li’s salary for
2009 was fixed pursuant to an employment agreement with Tianjin Tianshi
Biological Development Co. Ltd. (“Biological”) entered into in 2005. Zheng Wan
was the Company’s principal financial officer from November 12, 2008 to June 1,
2009 and his salary was fixed pursuant to an employment agreement dated November
3, 2008. Manbo He has been the Company’s principal financial officer since June
1, 2009 and his salary for 2009 was fixed pursuant to an employment agreement
with Biological, dated June 1, 2009, which provides for a term through April 9,
2014. Their base salaries were based on the CEO’s subjective
perceptions of salaries paid by comparable companies for comparable positions.
The Company’s executive officers did not receive any bonuses for
2009. Due to the fact that the Company does not currently and did not
in 2009 give bonuses to any of its named executive officers, Jinyuan Li did not
identify any individual or corporate goals when setting the remuneration of
Messrs. Wan and He for 2009.
The
Company’s strategy is to maintain compensation for employees at levels that are
equal to or in excess of those offered by companies in China of comparable size,
consistent with the individual employees’ capabilities and responsibilities. The
Company does not currently have a stock option plan, but may consider adopting
one in the future to further incentivize its employees.
Why
the Company chooses to pay each element.
The
Company has entered into long-term employment agreements with Messrs. Li, Wan
and He providing for base salaries.
The
employment agreements with Messrs. Li and He provide for payments upon
termination for specified reasons. These payments are required by local Chinese
employment regulations. Additional information regarding applicable payments
under such agreements is provided under the heading “Potential Payments Upon
Termination or Change of Control.”
How
the Company determines the amount for each element of pay.
With
respect to the executive officers’ base salaries, the Company’s CEO bases his
recommendations on past salary levels and his perception of the quality of the
executive officers’ respective performances and attempts to match their salaries
with his perception of compensation levels at a small number of companies he
considers comparable, although not necessarily included in the NYSE Amex
Composite Index or the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index. The Company’s CEO assesses
the normal responsibilities of each position, as well as the extra
responsibilities and additional work related to special projects which such
executive officers may be expected to perform. The Company’s CEO also takes in
to consideration the relatively low salaries provided to executive officers by
companies in China compared to public companies in the United
States.
Compensation
Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
During
2009, the members of the Compensation Committee were Gilbert Raker and Yupeng
Yan. The Compensation Committee did not deliberate on executive compensation for
fiscal 2009. Yupeng Yan was an employee and officer of the Company
during 2009. No member of the Compensation Committee has a relationship that
would constitute an interlocking relationship with Executive Officers or
Directors of the Company or another entity.
Compensation
Committee Report
The
Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion
and Analysis required by Item 402(b) of Regulation S-K of the Exchange Act with
management and the full Board. Based on that review and discussion,
the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board that the Compensation
Discussion and Analysis be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K
for 2009.
The
Compensation Committee
Gilbert
Raker, Chairman
Yupeng
Yan
Summary
Compensation Table
The table
below summarizes the total compensation paid or earned by each of the named
executive officers for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009 and
2008.
Name
and Principal Position (1)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jinyuan
Li
|
|
2009
|
|
$
|
166,660
|
|
|
$
|
166,660
|
|
Chairman, Chief
Executive
|
|
2008
|
|
$
|
166,660
|
|
|
$
|
166,660
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manbo
He
|
|
2009
|
|
$
|
23,333
|
|
|
$
|
23,333
|
|
Chief Financial Officer
(2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Zheng
Wan
|
|
2009
|
|
$
|
25,464
|
|
|
$
|
25,464
|
|
Former Chief Financial Officer
(3)
|
|
2008
|
|
$
|
8,618
|
|
|
$
|
8,618
|
|
|
(1)
|
Yupeng
Yan was an employee Director of the Company during 2009 but did not
qualify as a “named executive officer” because his total compensation was
less than $100,000.
|
|
(2)
|
Manbo
He became Chief Financial Officer and Director on June 1, 2009 and was not
an executive officer of the Company prior to
that.
|
|
(3)
|
Zheng
Wan resigned as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and Director on June
1, 2009. Mr. Wan became Chief Financial Officer and Director on November
12, 2008 and was not an executive officer of the Company prior to
that.
|
Grants
of Plan Based Awards; Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End; Option
Exercises and Stock Vested
The
Company does not have any stock option plans.
Pension
Benefits
None.
Nonqualified
Deferred Compensation
The
Company does not provide any nonqualified deferred compensation to any of its
employees.
Employment
Agreements
The
Company’s subsidiary, Biological, has entered into a statutory employment
agreement with each of the named executive officers of the Company. Jinyuan Li’s
contract is dated June 1, 2005 and has an indefinite period. Zhen Wan’s contract
was dated November 3, 2008 and provided for a term through December 31, 2013.
The employment contract for Yupeng Yan is dated April 1, 2004 and provided for a
term through March 31, 2009. On April 1, 2009, Yupeng Yan’s employment contract
was renewed and had an indefinite period. Manbo He also has an employment
contract with Biological, dated June 1, 2009 which provides for a term through
April 9, 2014.
Under
each of these employment contracts, the employee receives vacation time and
social insurance according to Chinese government regulations. The
employment agreements with a fixed terms can be renewed within 15 days of the
expiration of each agreement with the mutual consent of the
parties. Biological may rescind each agreement without notice if,
among other events, the employee materially violates Biological’s rules and
regulations or the employee grossly neglects his or her duties and discloses the
Company’s confidential business information that harms it. Biological
may rescind each agreement on 30 days’ notice and provide economic compensation
if, among other events, the employee suffers from a disease or non-work related
injury and after a recovery period is unable to work, or due to material
changes, the performance of the agreement has become
unpractical. Pursuant to the terms of each of the employment
agreements, the employee may rescind his contract on 30 days’ written
notice.
For 2009,
the Company paid a salary of $166,660 to Jinyuan Li and $77,000 to Yupeng Yan.
Mr. Wan’s contract provided for an annual salary of $80,000. Mr. He’s contract
provides for an annual salary of $40,000.
Potential
Payments Upon Termination
The
employment contracts of Messrs. Li and He each provided for a one-time lump sum
payment equal to six months of the employee’s then current salary if the Company
terminates his employment contract for one of the following
reasons:
|
·
|
The
employee has a non-work-related injury and is unable to perform his
responsibilities;
|
|
·
|
The
employee is unable to perform his responsibilities for other
reasons;
|
|
·
|
The
circumstances based on which the employment contract was entered into have
materially changed, and the performance of the contract becomes
impractical; or
|
|
·
|
The
Company is contemplating bankruptcy and determines to reduce
staff.
|
Assuming
that Messrs. Li or He were terminated for one of the above-stated reasons, Mr.
Li would receive $83,330, and Mr. He would receive $20,000. There are
no other circumstances, including a change of control of the Company, where the
Company is required to make any additional payment to Messrs. Li and
He.
Director
Compensation
For the
year ended December 31, 2009, members of the Board who are not employees of the
Company are each entitled to receive an annual cash retainer of
$30,000.
Director
Summary Compensation Table
The table
below summarizes the compensation the Company paid to non-employee Directors for
the year ended December 31, 2009.
|
|
Fees
Earned or Paid in Cash
($)
|
|
|
|
|
Howard
Balloch
|
|
$
|
30,000
|
|
|
$
|
30,000
|
|
Gilbert
Raker
|
|
$
|
30,000
|
|
|
$
|
30,000
|
|
Socorro
Quintero
|
|
$
|
30,000
|
|
|
$
|
30,000
|
|
|
(1)
|
Jinyuan
Li, Zheng Wan and Manbo He are not included in this table as they were
employees of the Company during 2009 and received no compensation for
their services as Directors. Their compensation is disclosed in
the table in the “Summary Compensation
Table”.
|
Section
16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section
16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires the Company’s directors
and executive officers and any beneficial owner of more than 10% of any class of
the Company equity security to file reports of ownership and changes in
ownership with the Securities and Exchange Commission and furnish copies of the
reports to the Company. Based solely on the Company’s review of
copies of such forms and written representations by Company’s executive officers
and directors received by it, the Company believes that during 2009, all such
reports were filed timely.
CERTAIN
RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
1
The
Company markets all of its products through various domestic and international
business entities that are related to the Company through common ownership. As a
result, almost all of the Company’s revenue was generated from related party
customers in 2009 and 2008.
The
Company owns 100% of Tianshi International Holdings Group Ltd., a British Virgin
Islands company (“Tianshi Holdings”). Tianshi Holdings owns all of
the registered share capital of Tianjin Tiens Life Resources Co., Ltd., a
Chinese Foreign Investment Enterprise (“Life Resources”) and 80% of the
outstanding shares of Tianjin Tianshi Biological Development Co., Ltd.
(“Biological”). Biological is a Chinese-foreign equity joint venture
company established under Chinese laws on March 27, 1998, subject to the Law on
Sino Foreign Equity Joint Ventures.
Tianjin
Tianshi Biological Engineering Co., Ltd. (“Tianshi Engineering”), a Chinese
company, owns the remaining 20% of Biological. Tianshi Engineering is 100% owned
by Tianjin Tianshi Group Co., Ltd. (“Tianshi Group”), a Chinese company. Tianshi
Group is 90% owned by Jinyuan Li, the Company’s Chairman, Chief Executive
Officer and President and majority stockholder, and 10% owned by Baolan Li,
Jinyuan Li’s daughter. Prior to his appointment as the Company’s Chief Financial
Officer, Zheng Wan was concurrently employed by Tianshi Group and
Biological. Tianshi Engineering acquired its 20% interest in
Biological from Tianjin Tianshi Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (“Tianshi
Pharmaceuticals”) on February 28, 2008. Tianshi Pharmaceuticals is
wholly owned by Tianshi Group.
On March
13, 2008, Tianshi Holdings purchased all of the registered share capital of Life
Resources from Tianshi International Investment Group Co., Ltd., a British
Virgin Islands company (“Tianshi Investment”), for $64.2
million. Jinyuan Li owns 100% of Tianshi Investment. Life
Resources is currently constructing research and development, manufacturing and
logistic facilities, as well as administrative offices in Tianjin, China
totaling approximately 420,000 square meters. The Company intends to
move its headquarters to these new facilities once they are
completed.
In China,
the Company sells its products to Tianshi Engineering, an affiliated Chinese
company, through the Company’s subsidiaries Biological and Life Resources.
Tianshi Engineering, in turn, sells the products to customers through its
branches and affiliated companies and at chain stores, which are owned by
individual distributors. During 2009 Tianshi Engineering closed six of its less
profitable branches in China. As of December 31, 2009, Tianshi Engineering had
92 branches in China. Prior to 2006, Biological sold all of its products to
Tianshi Engineering as finished products at a price equal to 25% of the Chinese
market price for the products. This 25% figure was negotiated between the
parties in 2003, before the Company acquired Tianshi Holdings, and the Company
believes that it is a reasonable sales price for it to receive. The Company used
this pricing formula in 2009, and currently continues to use the same pricing
formula.
At the
beginning of 2006, Biological also began selling semi-finished products to
Tianshi Engineering. To qualify for a direct selling license in China, Tianshi
Engineering is required to produce a part of the products that it sells in
China. As a result, Biological began to sell semi-finished products to Tianshi
Engineering, which jointly shares with the Company licenses to produce,
manufacture and sell the products. The price of semi-finished goods sold to
Tianshi Engineering was originally set at the beginning of 2006 to provide the
Company with a 75% gross profit margin. However, based on
fluctuations in the cost of raw materials and quantities produced, this
percentage varied during the year. This 75% figure was negotiated
between the parties, and the Company believes that it is
reasonable. The goal of this new pricing policy was to try to
maintain the Company’s gross margins on semi-finished goods at a similar level
to historical gross margins for finished goods.
As of
June 2008, Life Resources replaced Biological in the production of semi-finished
products and began to produce and sell semi-finished products to Tianshi
Engineering on the same pricing terms as Biological’s previous sales. Biological
currently only sells finished goods to Tianshi Engineering.
1
All
numbers presented in the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related
Transactions” are based on an exchange rate of $1 = RMB 6.8371 as of December
31, 2009, unless otherwise indicated.
Internationally,
the Company sells its products to overseas related companies located in 54
countries who in turn re-package and sell them to independent direct sales
distributors. The Company’s CEO, Jinyuan Li, owns or controls these overseas
related companies. Due to the common ownership, there are no formal sales or
administrative agreements among us and those overseas related parties. The
business operations among these related entities are regulated through internal
policies.
As
operation costs vary from country to country, international market prices vary
accordingly. The Company sells its products to overseas affiliates at the FOB
(destination port) price, which consists of 25% of the Chinese retail price for
similar products in Chinese market, including customs duty, value-added tax and
other miscellaneous transportation cost. The overseas affiliates mark up the
products to cover their expenses and realize profits of approximately
10%.
The
Company’s related party transactions are required to be reviewed and approved or
ratified by a majority of its non-interested Board of Directors. The following
tables are provided to facilitate your understanding of the transactions and
outstanding balances between those related parties and the Company during 2009
and 2008.
|
|
|
|
|
December
31,
2008
As
Adjusted
|
|
Accounts
receivable, trade – related parties, net of allowance for doubtful
accounts of $1,419,178 and $1,108,789 as of December 31, 2009 and 2008,
respectively
|
|
$
|
15,379,312
|
|
|
$
|
23,941,431
|
|
Other
receivables – related parties
|
|
$
|
44,561,626
|
|
|
$
|
15,729,076
|
|
Advances
from customers – related parties
|
|
$
|
4,426,751
|
|
|
$
|
3,239,650
|
|
Other
payables – related parties
|
|
$
|
3,326,110
|
|
|
$
|
6,373,900
|
|
Current
portion of long-term debt - related party
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
|
$
|
2,130,000
|
|
Long
term debt – related party
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
|
$
|
2,137,742
|
|
Revenue-related
Parties
The
details of revenue-related parties are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tianshi
Engineering
|
|
$
|
25,298,232
|
|
|
$
|
33,711,474
|
|
Overseas
Related Companies
|
|
|
34,734,736
|
|
|
|
43,536,424
|
|
Total
|
|
$
|
60,032,968
|
|
|
$
|
77,247,898
|
|
In China,
the Company sells its products to Tianshi Engineering, an affiliated company.
Tianshi Engineering, in turn, sells the products to customers through its
branches and affiliated companies and at chain stores which are owned by
individual distributors. Internationally, the Company sells its products to
overseas affiliates who in turn re-package the products to meet the needs of the
local markets and sell to independent distributors who use the products
themselves and/or resell them to other distributors or consumers.
Accounts
Receivable-related Parties
The
details of accounts receivables, trade-related parties are as
follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tianshi
Engineering
|
|
$
|
5,035,320
|
|
|
$
|
4,362,355
|
|
Overseas
Related Companies
|
|
|
11,763,170
|
|
|
|
20,687,865
|
|
Allowance
for Doubtful Accounts
|
|
|
(1,419,178
|
)
|
|
|
(1,108,789
|
)
|
Total
|
|
$
|
15,379,312
|
|
|
$
|
23,941,431
|
|
Other
Receivables-related Parties
Other
receivables - related parties are generated by the Company making various cash
advances and short term loans, the allocation of various expenses to related
parties, and amounts transferred from accounts receivable. The following table
summarizes the other receivables- related parties balances:
The
details of other receivables-related parties are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tianshi
Investment
|
|
$
|
37,000,000
|
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
Tianshi
Engineering
|
|
|
5,688,926
|
|
|
|
11,636,208
|
|
Tianshi
Group
|
|
|
1,613,168
|
|
|
|
4,018,078
|
|
Sego
Property service (Tianjin) Co., Ltd.
|
|
|
77,612
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
Tiens
SmartFlow Logistics (International) Group Ltd.
|
|
|
74,651
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
Tianjin
Tianshi Life Science Co., Ltd.
|
|
|
55,878
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
Tianshi
Yinshi Hotel
|
|
|
36,566
|
|
|
|
36,475
|
|
Tianshi
Indonesia Logistic & Trade Co., Ltd.
|
|
|
9,873
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
Sego
Hotel management Co., Ltd.
|
|
|
2,730
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
Tianshi
Pharmaceuticals
|
|
|
1,588
|
|
|
|
5,922
|
|
Shengshi
Real Estate Development
|
|
|
634
|
|
|
|
1,657
|
|
Tianjin
Xingda Travel Co., Ltd
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
12,932
|
|
Shanghai
Tianshi Jinquan Investment Co.
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
1,846
|
|
Beijing
Xingda Travel Co., Ltd
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
1,195
|
|
Others
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
14,763
|
|
Total
|
|
$
|
44,561,626
|
|
|
$
|
15,729,076
|
|
Historically,
Tianshi Engineering remitted payment to the Company upon sales to third party
customers. However, in order to support Tianshi Engineering’s
marketing efforts in anticipation of receiving a direct selling license in
China, the Company has agreed to allow Tianshi Engineering to defer payment to
it. The credit terms provide an interest-free credit term of three months. Any
amounts exceeding this term are transferred from accounts receivable - related
parties to other receivable - related parties. Beginning January 1,
2007, the other receivables - related parties became interest bearing once a
loan contract is adopted. The interest rate is the interest rate, on
the date the loan commences, that is stipulated by the People’s Bank of China
for a loan of the same level.
On April
21, 2009, the Company entered into a loan agreement with Tianshi Engineering.
Pursuant to that agreement, effective as of April 1, 2009, $2,562,017 of other
receivables-related parties, which originated from Tianshi Engineering as
accounts receivable, became interest bearing. The loan was due on June 30, 2009
and the stated interest rate was 4.86%. Both the principal of $2,562,017 and
interest on the loan of $12,624 were paid off on May 7, 2009. For the year ended
December 31, 2009 and 2008, the interest income from the other receivables -
related parties amounted to $12,624 and $0, respectively.
During
the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, Tianshi Group and the Company used
common meters at the Company’s headquarters for electricity and water, and also
used the same employee insurance account. When making payments to these outside
parties, the Company usually pays the fees first and then is reimbursed by
Tianshi Group. These pro-rated amounts relating to Tianshi Group are categorized
as other receivables - related parties.
On
December 31, 2008, Biological entered into a Property Transfer Agreement with
Tianshi Group, pursuant to which Biological transferred four buildings at the
price of RMB 32,800,000 ($4,797,328). As of December 31, 2009, the
remaining balance due from Tianshi Group for the purchase of the four buildings
amounted to RMB 17,800,000 (or US $2,603,428).
As the
renminbi has been increasing in value against the dollar over the past several
years, beginning in 2007, the Company has exchanged cash held in dollars into
renminbi through Tianjin Xiongshi Construction and Decoration Co., Ltd
(“Xiongshi Construction”), a related party construction company, which is 100%
owned by the Company’s current Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President,
Jinyuan Li. For the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, the amounts
transferred to Xiongshi and changed to renminbi were $0 and $12,500,000,
respectively.
On
November 15, 2009, Tianshi Holdings and Tianshi Investment entered the Transfer
Contract, pursuant to which Tianshi Holdings agreed to sell all of the
registered share capital of Tiens Yihai it owned to Tianshi Investment for $37.0
million. Tiens Yihai holds land use rights for 50 acres of land
located in Shanghai, China. Tiens Yihai was originally established to build a
new research and development facility, but the Company suspended the proposed
development in March 2007. Tianshi Holdings held 96% of the equity interest in
Tiens Yihai. Tianjin Tianshi Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. owned the
remaining 4% of Tiens Yihai’s share capital. The sale closed on November 15,
2009. Pursuant to the Transfer Contract, $3,700,000 of the purchase price was
paid during the first quarter of 2010, and the remaining $33,300,000 is payable
by November 14, 2010.
Advances
from Customers-related Parties
Advances
from related party customers were $4.4 million and $3.2 million as of December
31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. These advances represented
prepayments made to the Company to insure that overseas customers could obtain
enough of its products to meet their market demands.
Other
Payables-related Parties
These
amounts arose primarily from previous cash advances from related parties such as
management fees due to related parties and various non-operational transactions
incurred with related parties. The details of other payable-related
parties are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fuhong
Development Co. Ltd.
|
|
$
|
3,000,000
|
|
|
$
|
0
|
|
Tianshi
Germany Co., Ltd.
|
|
|
107,326
|
|
|
|
105,553
|
|
Tianjin
Tianshi Global International Trade Co., Ltd.
|
|
|
93,606
|
|
|
|
23,344
|
|
Tianyuan
Capital Development Co. Ltd.
|
|
|
84,359
|
|
|
|
84,359
|
|
Tianshi
Engineering
|
|
|
40,805
|
|
|
|
0
|
|
Tianshi
Administrative Committee of Industrial Park
|
|
|
14
|
|
|
|
14
|
|
Tianshi
Investment
|
|
|
0
|
|
|
|
6,080,385
|
|
Beijing
Xingda Travel Co., Ltd.
|
|
|
0
|
|
|
|
80,245
|
|
Total
|
|
$
|
3,326,110
|
|
|
$
|
6,373,900
|
|
On
January 21, 2008, Life Resources and Tianshi Investment entered into a loan
agreement, pursuant to which Tianshi Investment agreed to provide a loan to Life
Resources of $6.5 million without interest. The loan was originally due on June
30, 2008, but subsequently extended, most recently to June 30, 2009, on December
31, 2008. On June 30, 2009, the Company paid the loan in full.
On June
5, 2009, Biological, Tianshi Holdings, Tianshi Investment and Tianshi Group
entered into an agreement pursuant to which Biological agreed to pay $3.9
million to Tianshi Group on behalf of Tianshi Investment, Tianshi Investment
agreed to cancel a $3.9 million loan owed by Tianshi Holdings, and Tianshi
Holdings agreed to cancel a $3.9 million dividend owed by
Biological.
On
November 10, 2009, Tianshi Holdings borrowed $3,000,000 from Fuhong Development
Co., Ltd, a British Virgin Islands company, which is 100% owned by Jinyuan Li,
to fund its capital contribution to Life Resources. On the February 10, 2010,
the loan was paid in full by canceling the same amount Tianshi Investment owed
to the Company.
Long
Term Debt-related Party
On
September 10, 2004, Tianshi Holdings entered a term loan agreement with Tianyuan
Capital Development Co. Ltd. (“Tianyuan Capital”), pursuant to which Tianyuan
Capital agreed to lend $10.65 million in the aggregate to Tianshi Holdings, at
an interest rate of 5% per year, with interest payable on June 30 and December
31, commencing December 31, 2004. Pursuant to this agreement, Tianshi Holdings
must repay the loan in ten consecutive semi-annual installments of $1,065,000
commencing June 30, 2006 and ending June 30, 2011. Tianshi Holdings used the
loan proceeds to fund its capital contribution to Tiens Yihai. Mr. Jinyuan Li
owns 100% of Tianyuan Capital. Interest of $186,543 and $266,273 was paid for
the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, and the loan was paid
in full by the Company on December 31, 2009.
Transactions
with Tianshi Group
Since
2003, Biological has leased office space and manufacturing facilities from
Tianshi Group. The lease provides for an annual rent at 1% of the Company’s
total gross revenues. The rent was negotiated by the parties before the Company
acquired Tianshi Holdings, and the Company believes that it is a reasonable rent
for the facilities. The term of the lease was for five years and expired on
December 31, 2007. In addition, the Company is obligated to pay insurance,
maintenance and other expenses related to the premises. This lease has been
renewed annually since 2008 on the same economic terms. The total
amount paid on this lease amounted to $545,192 for the 12 months ended December
31, 2008.
On
December 25, 2008, Biological and Tianshi Group entered into a Property Transfer
Agreement (the “Property Transfer Agreement”). Under the Property Transfer
Agreement, Biological transferred to Tianshi Group four buildings consisting of
9,974.31 square meters, including three workshops and a canteen, located at the
Company’s headquarters in Tianjin China. Pursuant to the Property Transfer
Agreement, Tianshi Group will pay Biological RMB 32,800,000 ($4,797,328). This
transaction resulted in a loss of RMB 1,912,983 ($274,762) for Biological. The
Company bore 80% of the loss, or $ 219,810.
On
January 1, 2009, each of Biological and Life Resources entered a Lease Agreement
with Tianshi Group pursuant to which Biological and Life Resources will have the
right to use and occupy the workshop spaces being transferred under the Property
Transfer Agreement. The leases are rent-free, except that Biological and Life
Resources are required to pay Tianshi Group for utility charges and maintenance
costs on the buildings. The leases continues until the earlier of the date that
Biological and Life Resources acquire use of alternate facilities or the land
use rights on the underlying property expire. For the year ended December 31,
2009, Biological and Life Resources recorded $303,056 of the rent
expense, which is not paid to Tianshi Group, but recorded as paid in capital
based upon market price.
Transactions
with Tianshi Engineering
On
October 31, 2007, Biological entered into four lease agreements with Tianshi
Engineering that enable Tianshi Engineering to share the use of certain of
Biological’s product production workshops and equipment to manufacture products
which Tianshi Engineering owns, or jointly owns, with
Biological. Each of the four agreements was effective as of January
1, 2008 and expired on December 31, 2009. On December 31, 2007, Biological
entered into two supplemental agreements, which added fourteen pieces of
personal care products production equipment to, and removed two health products
production workshops from, two of the lease agreements Biological entered into
on October 31, 2007. Following is a summary of the monthly rent payable to
Biological under the four leases Biological entered into on October 31, 2007 (as
amended by the two supplemental agreements entered into on December 31,
2007):
Lease Agreement
|
|
Monthly rent
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lease
Agreement for Health Products Production Equipment
|
|
$
|
12,252
|
|
Lease
Agreement for Health Products Production Workshops
|
|
$
|
6,326
|
|
Lease
Agreement for Personal Care Product Production Equipment
|
|
$
|
6,014
|
|
Lease
Agreement for Personal Care Products Production Workshops
|
|
$
|
3,086
|
|
On
December 25, 2008, Biological entered into a Transfer Agreement with Tianshi
Group, the parent company of Tianshi Engineering, pursuant to which Biological
transferred to Tianshi Group all of the workshops covered by the above-listed
lease agreements. Consequently, the Lease Agreement for Health Products
Production Workshops and the Lease Agreement for Personal Care Products
Production Workshops cited above expired at the end of 2008.
Rent
revenue accrued from these leases amounted to $219,605 and $326,956 for the year
ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
On
November 20, 2009, Lease Agreement for Health Products Production Equipment and
Personal Care Product Production Equipment were renewed by Biological and
Tianshi Engineering. Each of the two agreements is effective as of January 1,
2010 and expires on December 31, 2010.
Transactions
with Tianshi Pharmaceuticals
In April
2004, Tianshi Holdings entered a joint venture contract with Tianshi
Pharmaceuticals to establish Tiens Yihai. Tiens Yihai was initially 99.4% owned
by Tianshi Holdings and 0.6% owned by Tianshi Pharmaceuticals. Tiens Yihai is
located in Shanghai, China, and was established to build a new research and
development facility in Shanghai, China. In March 2007, the Company decided to
suspend the proposed development by Tiens Yihai.
On
October 14, 2008, Tiens Yihai received an approval from the local government to
decrease its registered capital from $200 million to $29,989,361, an amount
corresponding to its paid-in capital. Pursuant to the change in registered
capital, the percentage of capital ownership of both investors changed. The
share held by Tianshi Holdings decreased from 99.4% to 96% and the share owned
by Tianshi Pharmaceuticals increased from 0.06% to 4% of Tiens Yihai’s share
capital.
Tianshi
Pharmaceuticals, Tianshi Holdings, Tianshi Pharmaceuticals and Tianshi Group
entered into a letter of intent on December 31, 2008, pursuant to which, Tianshi
Holdings intended to sell its 96% share of Tiens Yiahi to Tianshi
Pharmaceuticals with Tianshi Group guaranteeing payment. However, this
transaction was abandoned.
On
December 15, 2009, the Company entered into a one-year lease agreement with
Tianshi Pharmaceutical. Under the terms of the lease agreement, the Company
leased equipment for the fee of $3,711 per month. In addition, the Company is
obligated to pay insurance, maintenance and other expenses related on the
equipments. This agreement is effective from January 1, 2010 and expired on
December 31, 2010.
Transactions
with Tianshi Investments
On
December 20, 2007, Tianshi Holding entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement
with Tianshi Investment, Biological and Tianshi Engineering. Pursuant to the
Sale and Purchase Agreement, Tianshi Holdings agreed to buy all of the
registered share capital of Life Resources from Tianshi Investment for RMB
474,674,415, or $64,247,182. The closing of the transaction was subject to
government approval of the transfer of Life Resources to Tianshi
Holdings. On March 13, 2008, the government approved the
transfer.
Pursuant
to the Sale and Purchase Agreement, the Company advanced a deposit of
$64,247,182 to Tianshi Investment on December 20, 2007. This acquisition deposit
was settled as follows:
|
·
|
$28,592,743
was paid by canceling a loan in the principal amount of RMB 200,000,000 to
Tianshi Engineering owed by Biological together with interest
accrued;
|
|
·
|
$16,557,914
was paid by canceling other receivables due to Biological from Tianshi
Engineering; and
|
|
·
|
$19,096,525
was paid in cash.
|
On
January 14, 2008, Tianshi Holdings and Tianshi Investment entered into a Loan
Agreement pursuant to which Tianshi Holdings loaned Tianshi Investment $4.1
million without interest. The loan was required to be used by Tianshi
Investment to increase the registered share capital of Life
Resources. The loan was due on March 31, 2008, provided however, that
if the government approved the transfer of the shares of Life Resources to
Tianshi Holdings prior to that date, the loan would be cancelled, as Life
Resources would then be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tianshi
Holdings. The approval was received on March 13, 2008, and therefore,
the loan was cancelled on the same date.
Transactions
with Life Science
On August
25, 2008, Life Resources entered a definitive agreement with the Wuqing Branch
Bureau of Tianjin Municipal Land and Resources and Administrative Bureau (the
“Tianjin Government”) and Tianjin Tiens Life Science Co., Ltd. (“Life Science”)
pursuant to which Life Resources and Life Science will pay the Tianjin
Government in connection with changes to the zoning on several parcels of land
on which they respectively have land use rights from “industrial” to
“educational.” Life Resources will pay a total of RMB 41,022,061 (or
approximately US$6.0 million) in connection with the zoning changes to its
parcels.
Transactions
with Baofeng
On
September 4, 2008, the Company entered into a one-year storage services
agreement (the “Baofeng Agreement”) with Tianjin Baofeng Construction &
Engineering Co., Ltd., a third party company. Under the Baofeng Agreement,
Biological leased a warehouse of 6,745.28 square meters located in Wuqing
New-tech Industrial Park, Tianjin, China at the lease fees of RMB 87,688.64 per
month. The agreement terminated on September 9, 2009. The total
amounts paid in 2009 and 2008 under this lease were $115,365 and $37,784,
respectively.
THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE “
FOR
” THE ELECTION OF
THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS’
NOMINEES.
PLEASE
NOTE: If your shares are held in street name, your broker, bank,
custodian, or other nominee holder cannot vote your shares in the election of
directors, unless you direct the holder how to vote, by marking your proxy
card.
Proposal
No. 2.
Ratification
of Appointment of Independent Auditors
The Audit
Committee has appointed Crowe Horwath LLP (“Crowe”) as independent auditors to
audit the financial statements of the Company for the current fiscal year,
subject to the ratification of such appointment by the Company’s stockholders.
Crowe has served as the Company’s independent auditors since January 13, 2009.
The decision to engage Crowe as the Company’s principal independent accountants
at that time was approved by the audit committee. Representatives of the firm
of Crowe will be present at the Annual Meeting by telephone conference call to
respond to appropriate questions and will have an opportunity to make a
statement, if they so desire.
From
September 26, 2007 to January 13, 2009 Grobstein, Horwath & Company LLP
(“GH&C”) served as the Company’s independent auditors. The decision to
engage GH&C as the Company’s principal independent accountants was approved
by the Company’s Audit Committee on September 26, 2007.
During
the Company’s 2008 fiscal year through the date of GH&C’s resignation, there
was no disagreement between the Company and GH&C on any matter of accounting
principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or
procedure, which disagreement, if not resolved to the satisfaction of GH&C,
would have caused GH&C to make reference to the subject matter of the
disagreement in connection with its report.
The audit
report of GH&C on the financial statements of the Company for the 2008
fiscal year through the date of GH&C resignation did not contain any adverse
opinion or disclaimer of opinion, and such audit report was not qualified or
modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.
If
stockholders fail to ratify the appointment, decline or the Audit Committee
terminates the engagement, or Crowe otherwise become unable to serve, the Audit
Committee will reconsider its appointment of Crowe.
Public
Accounting Fees
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Audit
Fees
|
|
$
|
248,000
|
|
|
$
|
200,000
|
|
Audit
Related Fees
|
|
$
|
2,800
|
|
|
$
|
0
|
|
Tax
Fees
|
|
$
|
0
|
|
|
$
|
0
|
|
All
Other Fees
|
|
$
|
0
|
|
|
$
|
0
|
|
Audit
fees were for professional services rendered by Crowe during 2008 for the audit
of the financial statements included in the Company’s annual report on Form
10-K, and services that are normally provided by Crowe in connection with
statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for that year. Crowe did not
bill any other fees for services rendered to the Company during
2008. Audit fees were for professional services rendered by Crowe
during 2009 for the audit of the Company’s annual financial statements and the
review of the financial statements included in the Company’s quarterly reports
on Form 10-Q, and services that are normally provided by Crowe in connection
with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for that fiscal year. Audit
related fees include discussions with management and SEC legal counsel regarding
sale of Yihai.
Grobstein,
Horwath & Company LLP
|
|
|
|
|
|
Audit
Fees
|
|
$
|
294,000
|
|
Audit
Related Fees
|
|
$
|
0
|
|
Tax
Fees
|
|
$
|
5,000
|
|
All
Other Fees
|
|
$
|
0
|
|
Audit
fees for 2008 were for professional services rendered by GH&C during the
2008 fiscal year for the audit of the Company’s annual financial statements and
the review of the financial statements included in the Company’s quarterly
reports on Forms 10-Q, and services that are normally provided by GH&C in
connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for that fiscal
year. Tax fees involved preparation of the consolidated tax returns. GH&C
did not bill any other fees for services rendered to the Company during the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 for assurance and related services in
connection with the review of the Company’s financial statements.
Pre-Approval
of Services
The Audit
Committee has adopted pre-approval policies for all services, including both
audit and non-audit services, provided by the Company’s independent
auditors. For audit services, each year the independent auditor
provides the Audit Committee with an engagement letter outlining the scope of
the audit services proposed to be performed during the year, which must be
formally accepted by the Audit Committee before the audit
commences. The independent auditor also submits an audit services fee
proposal, which also must be approved by the Committee before the audit
commences. All of the audit and tax fees and services described above
were pre-approved for 2008 and 2009.
THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “
FOR
” RATIFICATION OF
THE
APPOINTMENT
OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS.
OTHER
INFORMATION
Annual
Report
UPON
WRITTEN REQUEST, THE COMPANY WILL PROVIDE, WITHOUT CHARGE, A COPY OF THE
COMPANY’S ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009, TO
EACH STOCKHOLDER OF RECORD OR TO EACH STOCKHOLDER WHO OWNED THE COMPANY’S COMMON
STOCK LISTED IN THE NAME OF A BANK OR BROKER, AS NOMINEE, AT THE CLOSE OF
BUSINESS ON APRIL 27, 2010. ANY REQUEST BY A STOCKHOLDER FOR THE COMPANY’S
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K SHOULD BE SENT TO:
TIENS
BIOTECH GROUP (USA), INC.
No. 6,
Yuanquan Road,
Wuqing
New-Tech Industrial Park,
Tianjin,
People’s Republic of China 301700
Attention:
Charles Lv, Secretary
Important
Notice Regarding Availability of Proxy Materials
This
proxy statement and the Company’s 2009 annual report are available at Company’s
website,
www.tiens-bio.com
.
Other
Business
The
Company’s management is not aware of any other matters, which are to be
presented at the meeting, nor the Company been advised that other persons will
present any such matters. However, if other matters properly come before the
meeting, the individual named in the accompanying proxy shall vote on such
matters in accordance with his best judgment.
STOCKHOLDER
PROPOSALS FOR NEXT ANNUAL MEETING
The
Company intends to hold its 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders in May 2011.
Stockholders’ proposals intended to be presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders must be submitted in writing to the Secretary of the Company at No.
6 Yuanquan Road, Wuqing New-Tech Industrial Park, Tianjin, China 301700, no
later than
December
30, 2010 for inclusion in the Company’s proxy statement and form of proxy for
that meeting. Pursuant to the Company’s by-laws the stockholder must
(i) timely deliver the proposal to the Secretary, (ii) provide evidence
reasonably satisfactory to the Secretary of such stockholder’s status as a
stockholder and the number of shares of each class of the Company that the
stockholder owns, (iii) provide a list of the names and address of other
stockholders, if any, within whom such stockholder is acting in concert, and the
number of shares beneficially owned by each such stockholder, and (iv) if the
proposal relates to a proposed change in the Company’s Certificate of
Incorporation or By-laws, an opinion of counsel to the effect that such change
would not be in conflict with the laws of the State of
Delaware. Although proposals that are not timely submitted will not
be included in the proxy statement for the 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders,
the SEC rules allow proxies to grant discretionary authority to vote on matters
that were not timely submitted to the Company, provided that the Company had
notice of such matters no later than March 15, 2011.
The above
notice and proxy statement are sent by order of the Board.
/s/
Jinyuan Li
Jinyuan
Li
Chairman
of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President
April 28,
2010
THIS
PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PROXY
FOR
THE ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS OF
Tiens
Biotech Group (USA), Inc.
To
be held on May 28, 2010
Jinyuan
Li and Manbo He, and each of them, each with full power of substitution, hereby
are authorized to vote as specified below or, with respect to any matter not set
forth below, as a majority of those or their substitutes present and acting at
the Annual Meeting shall determine, all of the shares of common stock of Tiens
Biotech Group (USA), Inc. that the undersigned would be entitled to vote, if
personally present, at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 28,
2010 and any adjournment thereof.
Unless
otherwise specified, this proxy will be voted
FOR
Proposals 1 and
2. The Board of Directors
recommends
a vote
FOR
Proposals 1 and 2.
¨
FOR
all nominees listed below (except as marked to the contrary
below)
|
|
¨
WITHHOLD
AUTHORITY to vote for all nominees listed
below
|
Mr.
Jinyuan Li, Mr. Manbo He, Mr. Yupeng Yan, Ms. Socorro Quintero, Mr. Howard
Balloch, Mr. Gilbert Raker
INSTRUCTION:
To withhold authority to vote for any nominees, write the nominees’ names on the
space provided below.
2.
|
RATIFICATION
OF INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
|
¨
FOR
|
¨
AGAINST
|
¨
ABSTAIN
|
3.
|
In
his discretion, the Proxy is authorized to vote upon any matters, which
may properly come before the Annual Meeting, or any adjournment or
postponement thereof.
|
It is
understood that when properly executed, this proxy will be voted in the manner
directed herein by the undersigned stockholder. WHERE NO CHOICE IS SPECIFIED BY
THE STOCKHOLDER, THE PROXY WILL BE VOTED FOR ALL DIRECTOR NOMINEES IN PROPOSAL 1
AND FOR THE RATIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS IN PROPOSAL
2.
Please
sign exactly as your name appears below. When shares are held by joint tenants,
both should sign. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or
guardian, please give full title as such. If a corporation, please sign in full
corporate name by president or other authorized officer. If a partnership,
please sign in partnership name by authorized person.
Date:
__________, 2010
|
|
|
Signature
|
|
|
|
|
|
Signature
if held jointly
|
PLEASE
MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THE PROXY CARD PROMPTLY USING THE ENCLOSED
ENVELOPE.
Tiens Biotech GR Usa (AMEX:TBV)
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