ANTE AirNet Technology Inc

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

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For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

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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

Chaoyang 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

Chaoyang 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)

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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, 2021, 178,993,449  ordinary shares  (excluding 992,720 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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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. ◻

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†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.

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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. ◻

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

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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.

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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).

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

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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.

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AIRNET TECHNOLOGY INC.

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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 VIEs or their respective 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 respective 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 RMB6.3726 to $1.00, the exchange rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board on December 30, 2021. 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.

AirNet Technology Inc., our ultimate Cayman Islands holding company, does not have any substantive operations other than (1) directly controlling Chuangyi Technology, our wholly-owned subsidiary in China that controls and holds the VIEs and their respective subsidiaries through certain contractual arrangements, which conduct our air travel media network business operations, and (2) directly controlling Blockchain Dynamics Limited, our Hong Kong subsidiary that conducts our cryptocurrency mining business operations.

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Investors in the ADSs are purchasing equity securities of our ultimate Cayman Islands holding company rather than purchasing equity securities of the consolidated affiliated entities. We conduct our business operations through both our subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities, which we effectively control through certain contractual arrangements. We, together with our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities, are subject to PRC laws relating to, among others, restrictions over foreign investments in advertising services companies set out in the Negative List (2021 Version) promulgated by the Ministry of Commerce, or the MOFCOM, and the National Development and Reform Commission of the PRC, or the NDRC. As a result, we have to control over the consolidated affiliated entities through contractual arrangements. Such structure is used to replicate foreign investment in China-based companies where the PRC law prohibits direct foreign investment in the operating companies. Neither we nor our subsidiaries own any share in the consolidated affiliated entities. Instead, we control and receive the economic benefits of the consolidated affiliated entities’ business operation through a series of contractual agreements with the VIEs. The contractual agreements with the VIEs are designed to provide Chuangyi Technology with the power, rights, and obligations equivalent in all material respects to those it would possess as the principal equity holder of the consolidated affiliated entities, including absolute control rights and the rights to the assets, property, and revenue of the consolidated affiliated entities. As a result of our direct ownership in Chuangyi Technology and the contractual agreements with the consolidated affiliated entities, we are regarded as the primary beneficiary of the consolidated affiliated entities. Because of our corporate structure, we are subject to risks due to uncertainty of the interpretation and the application of the PRC laws and regulations, including but not limited to limitation on foreign ownership of PRC companies, and regulatory review of oversea listing of PRC companies through a special purpose vehicle, and the validity and enforcement of the contractual agreements. We are also subject to the risks of uncertainty about any future actions of the PRC government in this regard. Our contractual agreements may not be effective in providing control over the consolidated affiliated entities. We may also subject to sanctions imposed by PRC regulatory agencies including China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, if we fail to comply with their rules and regulations.

We, our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties related to being based in and having significant operations in China. The PRC government has significant authority to exert influence on the ability of a China-based company, such as us and the consolidated affiliated entities, to conduct its business, accept foreign investments or list on U.S. or other foreign exchanges. For example, we and the consolidated affiliated entities face risks associated with regulatory approvals of offshore offerings, oversight on cybersecurity and data privacy, as well as the lack of inspection by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, on our auditors. Such risks could result in a material change in our operations and/or the value of the ADSs or could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer ADSs and/or other securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. The PRC government also has significant discretion over the conduct of the business of us, our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities, and may intervene with or influence our operations or the development of the advertising industry as it deems appropriate to further regulatory, political and societal goals. Furthermore, the PRC government has recently indicated an intent to exert more oversight and control over overseas securities offerings and foreign investment in China-based companies like us. Any such action, once taken by the PRC government, could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or in extreme cases, become worthless. For further details, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China.”

Our financial statements contained in the annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 have been audited by Audit Alliance LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm that is headquartered and located in Singapore. Audit Alliance LLP has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis and is currently not among the PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in China and Hong Kong that are subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021. For more details about the risk on the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA, and its impact on us, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure” and “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Recent joint statement by the SEC and the PCAOB, and the HFCAA all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the PCAOB. These developments could add uncertainties to our continued listing or future offerings of our securities in the U.S.”

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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.

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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:

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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. 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 in various business lines, 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, 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. In addition, we have recently established a new line of business in relation to cryptocurrency mining. We expect to restructure our principal business operations by (i) installing the cryptocurrency mining equipment in newly setup data center over time and (ii) divesting our original air travel media network business and dispose of the related assets. Our limited operating history in these new business lines 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 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:

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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, or Unistar, and Northern Shore Group Limited, or Northern Shore, respectively, pursuant to which we issued ordinary shares in exchange for the delivery and transfer of computer servers specifically designed for mining cryptocurrencies. On April 6, 2022, we entered into an investment agreements with Unistar, pursuant to which we issued (i) 177,953,891 ordinary shares, and (ii) warrants to purchase an aggregate of 117,805,476 newly issued ordinary shares, to Unistar and Northern Shore in exchange for the delivery and transfer of 5,000 ANTMINER S19 and 2,000 INNO A11 computer servers to further expand our cryptocurrency business. We 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. We have started to generate revenue from cryptocurrency mining in 2021 and recognized related revenue of $2.6 million for the same year. 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. See “—It may be or become illegal to acquire, own, hold, sell or use cryptocurrencies, participate in the blockchain, or transfer or utilize similar cryptocurrency assets in China or international markets where we operate due to adverse changes in the regulatory and policy environment in these jurisdictions.” 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.

It may be or become illegal to acquire, own, hold, sell or use cryptocurrencies, participate in the blockchain, or transfer or utilize similar cryptocurrency assets in China or international markets where we operate due to adverse changes in the regulatory and policy environment in these jurisdictions.

We have recently established a new line of business in relation to cryptocurrency mining. We have started to generate revenue from cryptocurrency mining in 2021 and recognized related revenue of $2.6 million for the same year. Our cryptocurrency mining business could be significantly affected by, among other things, the regulatory and policy developments in international markets where we operate, such as China and the United States. Governmental authorities are likely to continue to issue new laws, rules and regulations governing the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry we operate in and enhance enforcement of existing laws, rules and regulations. For example, the People’s Bank of China, the Cyberspace Administration of China, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the China Banking Regulatory Commission, CSRC and China Insurance Regulatory Commission issued Announcement on Preventing Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) Risks on September 4, 2017, prohibiting all organizations and individuals from engaging in initial coin offering transactions. On May 21, 2021, the Financial Stability and Development Committee of the State Council called for the need to resolutely control financial risks and crack down on cryptocurrency mining and trading activities. Furthermore, on June 21, 2021, the People’s Bank of China was reported to have held interviews with certain financial institutions in China, and stressed that banks and other financial institutions in China shall strictly implement the Circular on Prevention of Risks from Bitcoin and the Announcement on Preventing Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) Risks and other regulatory requirements, diligently fulfill their customer identification obligations, and shall not provide account opening, registration, trading, clearing, settlement and other services related to blockchain and cryptocurrency business. On September 3, 2021, the NDRC, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Office of Cyberspace Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Industry and

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Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Finance, the People’s Bank of China, the State Administration of Taxation, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the Circular on Regulating Virtual Currency “Mining” Activities, which classifies the virtual currency mining activities as the eliminated industry of the Catalogue for Guiding Industry Restructuring, which prohibits investments in projects falling within this category. On September 15, 2021, the People’s Bank of China, the Office of Cyberspace Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the PRC Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, CSRC and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly issued the Circular on Further Preventing and Disposing of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation Risks, which deems all cryptocurrency-related business activities, including: (i) exchanging legitimate currencies and cryptocurrencies or different types of crypto currencies for each other, (ii) trading cryptocurrencies as central counterparty, (iii) provision of intermediary services or pricing services for cryptocurrency transactions, (iv) issuance of tokens for financing, and (v) cryptocurrency related derivatives trading, as “illegal financial activities” that could involve illegal offerings of token notes, unauthorized public offerings of securities, illegal operation of futures business or illegal fundraising. It also provides that any cryptocurrency exchange offering services to Chinese residents from outside China through the internet will also be regarded as conducting “illegal financial activities.” On March 12, 2022, the NDRC published the Market Access Negative List (2022 Edition), which lists the virtual currency mining activities as the “backward production processes and equipment” under the eliminated item in the Catalogue for Guiding Industrial Restructuring. According to the List, market entities are prohibited from investing in eliminated items.

In light of these developments in China, we had terminated our cryptocurrency business in China and initiated a transition of our cryptocurrency business from China to the U.S. We may be subject to restrictions relating to the transfer of cryptocurrency mining machines out of China, as China has recently strengthened regulations on exports of goods, technology and services. Specifically, for computers and related components used in cryptocurrency mining machines, exporting enterprises should carefully evaluate whether the mining machines, their components, and any data or information contained therein are subject to export restrictions, and therefore are required to go through relevant export licensing procedures before such mining machines can be transported out of China. The relevant restrictions that apply to the transfer of cryptocurrency mining machines by us include, but are not limited to, the Catalogue of Goods Prohibited from Export, the Catalogue of Goods Subject to Export License Management, the Catalogue of Technologies Prohibited from Export and Restricted from Export in China, the Catalogue for the Administration of Import and Export Licenses of Dual-use Items and Technologies, and other applicable export control catalogues and lists. If we are deemed to have violated export restrictions or data security regulations in China or otherwise become subject to government interferences, we might still subject to administrative penalties or criminal investigation by relevant government authorities. Moreover, we cannot assure you that the government authorities in these international markets will not adopt new laws and regulations in the future to restrict blockchain and cryptocurrency business.

Some jurisdictions, including China, 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. We cannot assure you that these jurisdictions will not enact new laws or regulations that further restrict activities relate to 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 cryptocurrencies mined by us to engage in money laundering or other illegal or improper activities. We cannot assure you that we will successfully detect and prevent all money laundering or other illegal or improper activities which may adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

Due to the environmental-impact concerns related to the potential high demand for electricity to support cryptocurrency mining activity, political concerns, and for other reasons, we may be required to cease mining operations without much or any prior notice by a national or local government’s formal or informal requirement or because of the anticipation of an impending requirement.

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Any such government action or anticipated action could have a negative impact not only on the value of existing miners owned by us, but on our ability to purchase new miners and their prices. Such government action or anticipated action could also have a deleterious impact on the price of cryptocurrencies. At a minimum, such events could result in an increase in the volatility of the price of the cryptocurrencies and value of miners owned by us. Moreover, if we discontinue mining operations in one location in response to such government action or anticipated action, we likely would transfer miners to another location. However, this process would result in costs associated with the transfer to be incurred by us, as well as the transferred miners being off-line and not able to mine cryptocurrencies for some time. Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected by these adverse changes in the regulatory and policy environment in in the markets where we operate our blockchain and cryptocurrency mining operations.

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.

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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 outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus, the COVID-19, has and is continuing to spread rapidly throughout the world. The COVID-19 has resulted in quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of facilities in China and many other countries since its outbreak. 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. 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 2022 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 the COVID-19 variants, regional resurgence of COVID-19 cases, 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 77.9% of our revenues from continuing operations in 2021 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 other 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 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. Furthermore, even if we manage to renew a concession right contract, the terms of

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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 2021 from five airline companies in China. As of the date of this annual report, we have concession rights contracts to place our programs on 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 2021. 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.

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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, 2019, 2020 and 2021, four, two 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.

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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.

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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.

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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, 2021, 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, 2021. 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, 2021 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.

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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. 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

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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. The Circular on Regulating Virtual Currency “Mining” Activities was issued in September 2021, the PRC government classified the virtual currency mining activities as the eliminated industry of the Catalogue for Guiding Industry Restructuring, which prohibits investments in projects falling within this category. The Circular on Further Preventing and Disposing of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation Risks was issued in September 2021, the PRC government deemed all cryptocurrency-related business activities, including: (i) exchanging legitimate currencies and cryptocurrencies or different types of crypto currencies for each other, (ii) trading cryptocurrencies as central counterparty, (iii) provision of intermediary services or pricing services for cryptocurrency transactions, (iv) issuance of teokns for financing, and (v) cryptocurrency related derivatives trading, as “illegal financial activities” that could involve illegal offerings of token notes, unauthorized public offerings of securities, illegal operation of futures business or illegal fundraising. It also provided that any cryptocurrency exchange offering services to Chinese residents from outside mainland China through the internet would also be regarded as conducting “illegal financial activities.” The National Development and Reform Commission of the PRC published the Market Access Negative List (2022 Edition) in March 2022, which lists the virtual currency mining activities as the “backward production processes and equipment” under the eliminated item in the Catalogue for Guiding Industrial Restructuring. According to the List, market entities are prohibited from investing in eliminated items. 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.

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A particular digital asset’s status as a “security” in any relevant jurisdiction is subject to a high degree of uncertainty, and if we are unable to properly characterize a digital asset, we may be subject to regulatory scrutiny, investigations, fines, and other penalties, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and/or financial condition.

The SEC and its staff have taken the position that certain digital assets fall within the definition of a “security” under the U.S. federal securities laws. The legal test for determining whether any given digital asset is a security is a highly complex, fact-driven analysis that evolves over time, and the outcome is difficult to predict. The SEC generally does not provide advance guidance or confirmation on the status of any particular digital asset as a security. Additionally, the SEC’s views in this area have evolved over time, and it is difficult to predict the direction or timing of any continuing evolution. Furthermore, it is also possible that a change in the governing administration or the appointment of new SEC commissioners could substantially impact the views of the SEC and its staff. Public statements by senior officials at the SEC indicate that the SEC does not intend to take the position that Bitcoin or Ethereum, in their current form, are securities. However, Bitcoin and Ethereum are the only digital assets as to which senior officials at the SEC have publicly expressed such a view. Such statements are not official policy statements by the SEC and reflect only the speakers’ views, which are not binding on the SEC or any other agency or court, and cannot be generalized to any other digital asset, such as Dogecoin. With respect to all other digital assets, there is currently no certainty under the applicable legal test that such assets are not securities, notwithstanding the conclusions we may draw based on our assessment regarding the likelihood that a particular digital asset could be deemed a “security” under applicable laws. Similarly, though the SEC’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology published a framework for analyzing whether any given digital asset is a security in April 2019, this framework is also not a rule, regulation or statement of the SEC and is not binding on the SEC.

Several foreign jurisdictions have taken a broad-based approach to classifying digital assets as “securities,” while other foreign jurisdictions have adopted a narrower approach. As a result, certain digital assets may be deemed to be a “security” under the laws of some jurisdictions but not others. Various foreign jurisdictions may, in the future, adopt additional laws, regulations, or directives that affect the characterization of digital assets as “securities.”

The classification of a digital asset as a security under applicable law has wide-ranging implications for the regulatory obligations that flow from the offer, sale, trading, and clearing of such assets. For example, a digital asset that is a security in the United States may generally only be offered or sold in the United States pursuant to a registration statement filed with the SEC or in an offering that qualifies for an exemption from registration. Persons that effect transactions in digital assets that are securities in the United States may be subject to registration with the SEC as a “broker” or “dealer.” Platforms that bring together purchasers and sellers to trade digital assets that are securities in the United States are generally subject to registration as national securities exchanges, or must qualify for an exemption, such as by being operated by a registered broker-dealer as an alternative trading system, or the ATS, in compliance with rules for ATSs. Persons facilitating clearing and settlement of securities may be subject to registration with the SEC as a clearing agency. Foreign jurisdictions may have similar licensing, registration, and qualification requirements. We may mine cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin and Ethereum, and may receive other types of cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin, as commissions of our mining pool operation. The likely status of these cryptocurrencies as securities could limit distributions, transfers, or other actions involving such cryptocurrencies, including mining, in the United States.

We could be subject to legal or regulatory action in the event the SEC, a foreign regulatory authority, or a court were to determine that a digital asset currently held by us is a “security” under applicable laws. If the digital assets mined and held by us are deemed as securities, it could limit distributions, transfers, or other actions involving such digital assets, including mining, in the United States. For example, the distribution of cryptocurrencies to miners under our mining pool business could be deemed to involve an illegal offering or distribution of securities subject to U.S. federal or state law. In addition, miners on cryptocurrency networks could, under certain circumstances, be viewed as statutory underwriters or as “brokers” subject to regulation under the Exchange Act. This could require us or our customers to change, limit, or cease mining operations, register as broker-dealers and comply with applicable law, or be subject to penalties, including fines. In addition, we could be subject to judicial or administrative sanctions for failing to sell the digital asset or distribute block rewards in compliance with the registration requirements, or for acting as a broker, dealer, or national securities exchange without appropriate registration. Such an action could result in injunctions, cease and desist orders, as well as civil monetary penalties, fines, and disgorgement, criminal liability, and reputational harm.

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We do not maintain insurance for our digital assets, which may expose us and our shareholders to the risk of loss of our digital assets, and there will be limited rights of legal recourse available to us to recover our losses.

We do not maintain insurance for the digital assets held by us. Banking institutions will not accept our digital assets, and they are therefore not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Therefore, we may suffer loss with respect to our digital assets which is not covered by insurance, and we may not be able to recover any of our carried value in these digital assets if they are lost or stolen or suffer significant and sustained reduction in conversion spot price. If we are not otherwise able to recover damages from a malicious actor in connection with these losses, our business, results of operations and share price may be adversely affected.

The consummation of the proposed change-in-control transaction is uncertain, and the announcement and pendency of such transaction could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have consummated the share issuance in connection with the proposed change-in-control transaction by entering into an investment agreement on April 6, 2022 with Unistar, pursuant to which we issued (i) 177,953,891 ordinary shares, and (ii) warrants to purchase an aggregate of 117,805,476 newly issued ordinary shares, to Unistar and Northern Shore in exchange for computer servers designed for cryptocurrency mining. We propose to take various additional steps in order to complete the proposed change-in-control transaction, pending approval from Nasdaq. In particular, we propose to restructure our principal business operations by (i) installing the cryptocurrency mining equipment in newly setup data center over time and (ii) divesting our original air travel media network business and dispose of the related assets. We also propose to appoint as new directors candidates proposed by Unistar and Northern Shore, and make other changes to the board and senior management team.

There can be no assurance that any agreement will be executed or that any transaction will be approved or consummated. The process of consummating the proposed transaction or any other significant strategic transaction involving our company could cause disruptions in our business and divert our management’s attention and other resources from day-to-day operations, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, current and prospective employees and members of management could become uncertain about their future roles with us in the event the proposed transaction is completed. This uncertainty could adversely affect our ability to retain and hire employees and members of management. Moreover, even if we consummate the proposed transaction as planned, there can be no guarantee that we will be able to generate the economic benefits as anticipated. As such, the value of your investment in our ADSs could be materially and adversely affected.

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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, our business could be materially and adversely affected.

Substantially all of our operations are conducted through contractual arrangements with the VIEs in China: AirNet Online, Linghang Shengshi and 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. In addition, according to the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2021 Edition), which became effective on January 1, 2022, 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 the 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 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, intend 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 the 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. If we re-run our Wi-Fi business, it might be regarded as value-added telecommunication business. As a result, we would 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 Chuangyi Technology, provide technical support and consulting services and other services to these entities. We also have VIE agreements with the VIEs and each of their existing individual shareholders (except Lin Wang) 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 and March 2016, we, through the nominee shareholders of the respective VIEs, transferred 3.7868% and 3.49% equity interest in Linghang Shengshi and AirNet Online to Yi Zhang, respectively. 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 April 2019 and October 2020, Yi Zhang withdrew all his equity interests in AirNet Online and Linghang Shengshi, respectively. Accordingly, we can exert control over the equity interests in the VIEs previously owned by Yi Zhang. In December 2021, we, through the nominee shareholder of the respective VIE, transferred 10% equity interest in Iwangfan to Lin Wang. Lin Wang is a minority shareholder of the VIE and did not enter into the same VIE arrangements with us as did the other nominee shareholders. AirNet Online signed an entrusted equity holding agreement with Lin Wang, pursuant to which AirNet Online entrusted Lin Wang to act as the nominee shareholder of the foregoing equity interests.

Some of our VIE arrangements may expire in 2025, 2027 and 2028, 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 contractual arrangements between Chuangyi Technology and the VIEs do not violate existing PRC laws and regulations, and in each case governed by PRC law, are (i) valid and legally binding on each party thereto, and (ii) enforceable in accordance with the terms thereof, subject as to enforceability to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, the discretion of relevant government agencies in exercising their authority in connection with the interpretation and implementation thereof and the application of relevant

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PRC laws and policies thereto, and to general equity principles. 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, 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 the 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 the 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 6.77% 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 and Iwangfan, the general manager of Linghang Shengshi, and the legal representative of AirNet Online; 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.

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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 the VIEs do impose limits on the rights of the shareholders of the VIEs. For example, each of the  existing individual shareholders of the VIEs (except Lin Wang) 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 the 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 the VIEs 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 the VIEs 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 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 the VIEs. Under these contractual arrangements, if the 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 the VIEs, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected.

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We have not registered the pledge of equity interest by certain shareholder of the 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 existing individual shareholders  (except Lin Wang) of the 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 Chuangyi Technology and the VIEs 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 the 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 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 the 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.

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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 Media Advertising Co., Ltd., or Beijing Yuehang, 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.

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Any actions by the Chinese government, including any decision to intervene or influence the operations of our subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities, or to exert control over any offering of securities conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, may cause us to make material changes to the operations of these entities, may limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, and may cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

The Chinese government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. The ability of our subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities to operate in China may be impaired by changes in its laws and regulations, including those relating to the internet, advertising, taxation, land use rights, foreign investment limitations, and other matters.

The central or local governments of China may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure that our subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities comply with such regulations or interpretations. As such, our subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities may be subject to various government actions and regulatory interference in the provinces in which they operate. They could be subject to regulation by various political and regulatory entities, including various local and municipal agencies and government sub-divisions. They may incur increased costs necessary to comply with existing and newly adopted laws and regulations or penalties for any failure to comply.

The PRC government may also impose industry-wide policies on certain industries, which could materially increase our compliance cost, abruptly change the relevant industry landscape, or cause significant changes to, or otherwise intervene or influence, our operations in China at any time. In addition, the PRC regulatory system is based in part on government policies and internal guidance, some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all, and some of which may even have a retroactive effect. We may not be aware of all non-compliance incidents at all time, and may face regulatory investigation, fines and other penalties as a result. As a result of the changes in the industrial policies of the PRC government, including the amendment to and/or enforcement of the related laws and regulations, companies with China-based operations, including us, and the industries in which we operate, face significant compliance and operational risks and uncertainties. For example, on July 24, 2021, Chinese state media, including Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television, announced a broad set of reforms targeting private education companies providing after-school tutoring services and prohibiting foreign investments in institutions providing such after-school tutoring services. As a result, the market value of certain U.S. listed companies with China-based operations in the affected sectors declined substantially. On August 30, 2021, the PRC government imposed restrictions over the provision of online gaming services to minors, aiming at curbing excessive indulgence in online gaming and protecting minors’ mental and physical health, which could adversely affect the development of the online gaming industry in China. The PRC government has also imposed severe restrictions over the operations of cryptocurrency business, which changed the entire industry landscape in China. See “—Risks Related to Our Business—It may be or become illegal to acquire, own, hold, sell or use cryptocurrencies, participate in the blockchain, or transfer or utilize similar cryptocurrency assets in China or international markets where we operate due to adverse changes in the regulatory and policy environment in these jurisdictions.” In addition, in September 2021, the PRC government classified the virtual currency mining activities as the eliminated industry of the Catalogue for Guiding Industry Restructuring, which prohibits investments in projects falling within this category. In response, we had terminated our cryptocurrency business in China and initiated a transition of our cryptocurrency business from China to the U.S.

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Furthermore, it is uncertain when and whether we will be required to obtain permission from the PRC government to maintain our listing status on U.S. exchanges in the future, and even when such permission is obtained, whether it will be later denied or rescinded. On December 24, 2021, the CSRC issued the Provisions of the State Council on the Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) and the Administrative Measures for the Filing of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments), which propose to require PRC companies and their overseas special purpose vehicles to file with the CSRC and meet compliance rules for their listing in overseas markets. Although we believe that our company, our subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities are currently not required to obtain permission from any Chinese authorities, and none of them has received any notice of denial of permission to list on the U.S. exchange, we cannot assure you that the relevant PRC government agencies, including the CSRC, would reach the same conclusion as we do. If the CSRC or any other PRC regulatory body subsequently determines that we need to file with the CSRC or obtain the CSRC’s approval for any future offering of securities by us or if the CSRC or any other PRC government authorities promulgates any interpretation or implements rules that would require us to file with or obtain approvals of the CSRC or other governmental bodies for any such offering, we may face adverse actions or sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies, which may include fines and penalties on our operations in China, limitations on our operating privileges in China, delays in or restrictions on the repatriation of the proceeds from any such offering into the PRC, restrictions on or prohibition of the payments or remittance of dividends by our subsidiaries in China, or other actions that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations, prospects, as well as the trading price of the ADSs. The CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies may also take actions requiring us, or making it advisable for us, to halt any such offering before the settlement and delivery of the ADSs that we may offer. Consequently, if you engage in market trading or other activities in anticipation of and prior to the settlement and delivery of the ADSs we offer, you would be doing so at the risk that the settlement and delivery may not occur. In addition, if the CSRC or other regulatory agencies later promulgate new rules or explanations requiring that we file with them, or obtain their approvals or clearances for any such offering, we may be unable to obtain a waiver of such regulatory requirements.

Accordingly, government actions in the future, including any decision to intervene or influence the operations of our subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities at any time, or to exert control over an offering of securities conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, may cause us to make material changes to the operations of our subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities, may limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, and/or may cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.

Failure to comply with governmental regulations and other legal obligations concerning data protection and cybersecurity may materially and adversely affect our business, as we routinely collect, store and use data during the conduct of our business.

We routinely collect, store and use data during our operations. We are subject to PRC laws and regulations governing the collecting, storing, sharing, using, processing, disclosure and protection of data on the internet and mobile platforms as well as cybersecurity. While we take precautions for secure storage and usage of these data, our security control may not prevent the improper leakage of such data. Anyone may circumvent our security measures and misappropriate proprietary information or cause interruptions in our operations. A security breach, such as hacking or any other attempt to harm our systems, that leads to leakage of these data, could harm our reputation and undermine the competitiveness of our database and services. Any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information could cause our users and clients to lose trust in us and could expose us to legal claims, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

We are subject to a variety of laws and regulations that apply to the collection, use, retention, protection, disclosure, transfer and other processing of data or confidential information. See “Item 4.Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Regulations—Regulations on Data Privacy and Cybersecurity.” As of the date of this annual report, we have not been informed that we are identified as a critical information infrastructure operator by any governmental authorities.

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We expect that these areas will receive greater attention and focus from regulators, as well as attract continued or greater public scrutiny and attention going forward, which could increase our compliance costs and subject us to heightened risks and challenges associated with data security and protection. If we are unable to manage these risks, our reputation and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, regulatory authorities around the world have recently adopted or are considering a number of legislative and regulatory proposals concerning data protection. Complying with all these laws and regulations may result in additional expenses to us or require us to change our business practices in a manner materially adverse to our business, and any non-compliance may subject us to negative publicity which could harm our reputation and negatively affect the trading price of the ADSs.

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 continuous adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economies and financial markets. 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.

The opinions recently issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council may subject us to additional compliance requirement in the future.

Recently, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued the Opinions on Severely Cracking Down on Illegal Securities Activities According to Law, or the Opinions, which were made available to the public on July 6, 2021. The Opinions emphasized the need to strengthen the administration over illegal securities activities and the supervision on overseas listings by China-based companies. These opinions proposed to take effective measures, such as promoting the construction of relevant regulatory systems, to deal with the risks and incidents facing China-based overseas-listed companies and the demand for cybersecurity and data privacy protection. The aforementioned policies and any related implementation rules to be enacted may subject us to additional compliance requirement in the future. As the Opinions were recently issued, official guidance and interpretation of the Opinions remain unclear in several respects at this time. Therefore, we cannot assure you that we will remain fully compliant with all new regulatory requirements of the Opinions or any future implementation rules on a timely basis, or at all.

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Recent joint statement by the SEC and the PCAOB, and the HFCAA all call for additional and more stringent criteria to be applied to emerging market companies upon assessing the qualification of their auditors, especially the non-U.S. auditors who are not inspected by the PCAOB. These developments could add uncertainties to our continued listing or future offerings of our securities in the U.S.

On April 21, 2020, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and PCAOB Chairman William D. Duhnke III, along with other senior SEC staff, released a joint statement highlighting the risks associated with investing in companies based in or have substantial operations in emerging markets including China. The joint statement emphasized the risks associated with lack of access for the PCAOB to inspect auditors and audit work papers in China and higher risks of fraud in emerging markets.

On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the HFCAA requiring a foreign company to certify it is not owned or controlled by a foreign government if the PCAOB is unable to audit specified reports because the company uses a foreign auditor not subject to PCAOB inspection. If the PCAOB is unable to inspect the company’s auditors for three consecutive years, the issuer’s securities are prohibited to trade on a national exchange. On December 2, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. On December 18, 2020, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act was signed into law.

On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act.

On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a bill which would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act from three years to two.

On September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a final rule implementing the HFCAA, which provides a framework for the PCAOB to determine, as contemplated under the HFCAA, whether the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction. On December 2, 2021, the SEC adopted amendments to finalize the implementation of disclosure and documentation requirements.

On February 4, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill which contained, among other things, an identical provision. If this provision is enacted into law and the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA is reduced from three years to two.

The lack of access to the PCAOB inspection in China prevents the PCAOB from fully evaluating audits and quality control procedures of the auditors based in China. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of these accounting firm’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to the PCAOB inspections, which could cause investors and potential investors in our securities to lose confidence in our audit procedures and reported financial information and the quality of our financial statements.

Our financial statements contained in the annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 have been audited by Audit Alliance LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm that is headquartered and located in Singapore. Audit Alliance LLP has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis and is currently not among the PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in China and Hong Kong that are subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021 of having been unable to inspect or investigate completely. However, as the PRC Securities Law requires approval from the relevant PRC authorities for inspection of any audit working papers in China by foreign authorities, the audit working papers of our financial statements may not be inspected by the PCAOB, since the audit work was carried out by Audit Alliance LLP with the collaboration of their China-based offices and the PCAOB has not obtained such requisite approval.

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While we have not been identified by the SEC as a commission-identified issuer under the HFCAA as of the date of this annual report, the above recent developments may have added uncertainties to our listing and we cannot assure you whether Nasdaq or regulatory authorities would apply additional and more stringent criteria to us since substantial all of our operations are conducting in China. Furthermore, the HFCAA, which requires that the PCAOB be permitted to inspect the issuer’s public accounting firm within three years, may result in the delisting of our Company in the future if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our accounting firm at such future time. If, in the future, we have been identified by the SEC for three consecutive years as a commission-identified issuer whose registered public accounting firm is determined by the PCAOB that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by one or more authorities in China, the SEC may prohibit our shares or ADSs from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over the counter trading market in the United States.

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

The conversion of Renminbi into foreign currencies, including U.S. dollar, is based on rates set by the People’s Bank of China. 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. .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 the consolidated affiliated 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.

Our revenues and expenses are mainly 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.

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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, or the 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 the 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 the VIEs.

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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.

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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.

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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, 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 is entitled to an EIT rate of 25% afterwards.

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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, and is entitled to an EIT rate of 25% afterwards.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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 the settlement reached between the SEC and the “big four” PRC-based accounting firms concerning the manner in which the SEC may seek access to audit working papers from audits in China of US-listed companies is not or cannot be performed in a manner acceptable to authorities in China and the United States, we may be unable to timely file future financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act in the future.

In late 2012, the SEC commenced administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against the China affiliates of the “big four” accounting firms. 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 four PRC-based accounting firms including a temporary suspension of their right to practice before the SEC, although that proposed penalty 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 Chinese accounting firms reached a settlement with the SEC whereby the proceedings were stayed. Under the settlement, the SEC accepted that future requests by the SEC for the production of documents would normally be made to the CSRC. The Chinese accounting firms would receive requests matching those under Section 106 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and would be required to abide by a detailed set of procedures with respect to such requests, which in substance would require them to facilitate production via the CSRC. The CSRC for its part initiated a procedure whereby, under its supervision and subject to its approval, requested classes of documents held by the accounting firms could be sanitized of problematic and sensitive content so as to render them capable of being made available by the CSRC to US regulators.

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 on February 6, 2019. Despite the final ending of the proceedings, the presumption is that all parties will continue to apply the same procedures: i.e., the SEC will continue to make its requests for the production of documents to the CSRC, and the CSRC will normally process those requests applying the sanitization procedure. We cannot predict whether, in cases where the CSRC does not authorize production of requested documents to the SEC, the SEC will further challenge the four PRC-based accounting firms’ compliance with U.S. law.

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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, including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about any such future proceedings against these accounting firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding China-based, United States-listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.

In the past, we had engaged certain China affiliates of the “big four” accounting firms as our independent registered public accounting firm. While we did not do so since March 2017, we cannot assure you that we will not engage or otherwise rely on their audits in the future. If the accounting firm we engage were denied, even temporarily, the ability to practice before the SEC, and we were unable to timely find another registered public accounting firm to audit and issue an opinion on our financial statements, our financial statements could be determined not to be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to the delisting of our ADSs from the Nasdaq or deregistration from the SEC, or both, which would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of our ADSs in the United States.

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 the consolidated affiliated entities. 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.

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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 copies of 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.

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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. 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. During the year of 2021, the trading prices of our ADSs on the Nasdaq Capital Market ranged from $1.42 to $6.94 per ADS, and the last reported trading price on May 12, 2022 was $1.20 per ADS. 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.

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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.

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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 April 30, 2022, our principal shareholder, Mr. Herman Man Guo, along with his wife, Ms. Dan Shao, beneficially owned approximately 12.5% 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.

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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 have been a passive foreign investment company for certain prior years, 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 have been a “passive foreign investment company,” or “PFIC,” for U.S. federal income tax purposes for certain prior years, although we do not believe we were a PFIC for our taxable year ended December 31, 2021. Furthermore, we may be a PFIC for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2022 and future taxable years 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. In addition, the application of the PFIC rules to our cryptocurrency mining operations and related assets is uncertain. If our cryptocurrency mining operations give rise to assets that are treated as passive or generate passive income for PFIC purposes, and our cryptocurrency mining operations increase relative to our other operations, we may be more likely to be a PFIC in future years. 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.”

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If a United States person is treated as owning at least 10% of our ordinary shares, such holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.

If a U.S. Holder (as defined below) is treated as owning, directly, indirectly or constructively, at least 10% of the value or voting power of our ordinary shares (directly or in the form of ADSs representing our ordinary shares), such U.S. Holder may be treated as a “United States shareholder” with respect to each “controlled foreign corporation” in our corporate group, if any. If such group includes one or more U.S. subsidiaries, certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries could be treated as controlled foreign corporations, regardless of whether we are treated as a controlled foreign corporation. A United States shareholder of a controlled foreign corporation may be required to annually report and include in its U.S. taxable income its pro rata share of “Subpart F income,” “global intangible low-taxed income” and investments in U.S. property by controlled foreign corporations, regardless of whether we make any distributions. An individual that is a United States shareholder with respect to a controlled foreign corporation generally would not be allowed certain tax deductions or foreign tax credits that would be allowed to a United States shareholder that is a U.S. corporation. Failure to comply with these reporting obligations may subject a United States shareholder to significant monetary penalties and may prevent the statute of limitations with respect to such shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax return for the year for which reporting was due from starting. We cannot provide any assurances that we will assist our investors in determining whether any of our non-U.S. subsidiaries are treated as a controlled foreign corporation or whether such investor is treated as a United States shareholder with respect to any of such controlled foreign corporations. Further, we cannot provide any assurances that we will furnish to any United States shareholder information that may be necessary to comply with the reporting and tax paying obligations described in this risk factor. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the potential application of these rules to their investment in our ordinary shares or ADSs.

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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), or 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, or 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. 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, or 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, or the Case. In January 2022, the court ruled that Linghang Shengshi, Mr. Herman Man Guo and Mr. Qing Xu should pay RMB 56.7 million and interest, or the Debts, to AM Advertising within 10 days of the effective date of the judgment. The court further ruled that Chuangyi Technology and AirNet is jointly and severally liable for the Debts to the AM Advertising. Linghang Shengshi, Mr. Herman Man Guo, Mr. Qing Xu and Chuangyi Technology has entered an appeal to the court. The Case is currently awaiting retrial by the court.

In April 2015, we established AirNet Online, a VIE, to operate the Wi-Fi business.

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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. Herman Man Guo and Mr. Qing 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 RMB580 million in cash. We have completed the equity interest transfer and have received the installment payment of RMB200 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. 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. 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. On April 6, 2022, we entered into an investment agreements with Unistar, pursuant to which we issued (i) 177,953,891 ordinary shares, and (ii) warrants to purchase an aggregate of 117,805,476 newly issued ordinary shares, to Unistar and Northern Shore in exchange for the delivery and transfer of 5,000 ANTMINER S19 and 2,000 INNO A11 computer servers to further expand our cryptocurrency business.

Our principal executive offices are located at Suite 301 No. 26 Dongzhimenwai Street, Chaoyang 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

We conduct our air travel media network business operations by our VIEs and their respective subsidiaries, and conduct our cryptocurrency mining business operations by our Hong Kong subsidiary.

Our Air Travel Media Network Business

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.

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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 April 30, 2022, we have access to in-flight entertainment and advertising contents including exclusive in-flight copyrights to over 65% 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 April 30, 2022, we were engaged to provide copyrighted entertainment contents to more than 12 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 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.

Our Cryptocurrency Mining Business

Started off as a pilot project since January 2021, our cryptocurrency business had operated 901 miners mining Ethereum with a hash rate capacity of 508.72Gh/s. Given the establishment and rigid enforcement of a ban to mining cryptocurrency in China in the mid of May 2021, we had terminated our cryptocurrency business in China and initiated a transition of our cryptocurrency business from China to the U.S. On January 27, 2022, we leased approximately four acres of land including approximately 22,603 square feet of office space in Houston, Texas and further expanded our miners with a purchase of 4,800 Bitmain Antminer S-19 XP miner, an aggregated hash rate of 672Ph/s, scheduled to be delivered in in the second half of 2022. Our transition to the U.S. would further grow our cryptocurrency business by adding Bitcoin to our cryptocurrency business portfolios.

Our cryptocurrency mining business is focused on expanding our computing powers measured by hash rate, which is devoted to supporting blockchains. In the instance of Bitcoin and Ethereum, the greater share of the blockchains’ total network hash rate represented by a miner’s hash rate, the greater the miner’s chances of securing Bitcoin and Ethereum rewards. Given the increasing demand for both Bitcoin and Ethereum, we expect a significant growth of blockchains’ network hash rate as a result of additional miner operators entering the market. Hence, we expect to further grow our hash rate to compete in our dynamic and competitive industry.

We plan to accomplish our expansion of hash rate by acquiring specialized computer servers (known as the “miners”) built to operate application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips designed specifically to mine Bitcoin and Ethereum. We would like to finance our expansion with a new issuance of our equity. On April 6, 2022, we entered into an investment agreements with Unistar, pursuant to which we issued (i) 177,953,891 ordinary shares, and (ii) warrants to purchase an aggregate of 117,805,476 newly issued ordinary shares, to Unistar and Northern Shore in exchange for the delivery and transfer of 5,000 ANTMINER S19 and 2,000 INNO A11 computer servers to further expand our cryptocurrency business.

In addition to our plan to expand our hash rate, we are seeking to scale up the deployment of our miners, in part through targeted investment in and acquisitions of businesses and assets within the blockchain ecosystem. In 2022, we plan to build a data center to host no less than 20,000 miners with a total capacity of 70 MW, with the initial phase of a capacity of 40 MW becoming operational in third quarter of 2022 to provide hosting service to at least 10,000 of our miners.

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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 2019, 2020 and 2021, advisors from one industry, which is automobiles, accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues from continuing operations. There were four, two and two of our customers accounted for more than 10% of our total revenues for 2019, 2020 and 2021, 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.

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 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 the 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.

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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.

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 are also actively involved in the monitoring process.

Competition

Air Travel Media Network

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.”

Cryptocurrency Mining

Cryptocurrencies are decentralized digital currencies that enable near instantaneous transfers. Transactions occur via an open source, cryptographic protocol platform which uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority. The network is an online, peer-to-peer network that hosts the public transaction ledger, known as the blockchain, and each cryptocurrency is associated with a source code that comprises the basis for the cryptographic and algorithmic protocols governing the blockchain. In a cryptocurrency network, every peer has its own copy of the blockchain, which contains records of every historical transaction – effectively containing records of all account balances. Each account is identified solely by its unique public key (making it effectively anonymous) and is secured with its associated private key (kept

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secret, like a password). The combination of private and public cryptographic keys constitutes a secure digital identity in the form of a digital signature, providing strong control of ownership.

Given their decentralized nature, the value of cryptocurrencies is determined by market factors, supply of and demand for the units, the prices being set in transfers by mutual agreement or barter among transacting parties, as well as the number of merchants that may accept the cryptocurrency. Units of cryptocurrency can be converted to fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, at rates determined on Coinbase and various other exchanges. Cryptocurrency prices are quoted on various exchanges and fluctuate with extreme volatility.

To mine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, specialized computer servers (known as “miners”) need to be acquired and deployed at-scale to support blockchain in exchange of rewards in the form of cryptocurrencies. Given the sophistications as well as quantity on demand, the miners can only be built by a few manufacturers with required technological specialties and manufacturing capabilities. Hence, miners are continuously in short supplies and a premium over the listed retail price is required to secure a purchase of miners in significant quantities.

To addressing a continuous increasing of competition for rewards of cryptocurrency, miners are pooled together into organized mining pools associated with different groups of miners. Mining pools help to limit the variance involved with competing to support the blockchains and to dispense rewards more evenly on a pro rata basis based on the total hashing capacity contributed to the mining pool.

Accompanying the proliferation of the demands for cryptocurrencies, the cryptocurrency mining sector has seen a significant growth of competition ranging from individual enthusiasts to professional mining operators with dedicated data centers. At present, the information concerning the activities of competing individuals and enterprises is not readily available as the vast majority of the participants in this sector do not publish information publicly or the information may be unreliable. Published sources of information include "bitcoin.org" and "blockchain.info"; however, the reliability of that information cannot be assured.

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 April 30, 2022, 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.

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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) (2021 Edition). The Catalogue of Industries for Encouraged Foreign Investment (2020 Edition) and the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2021 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) (2021 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) (2021 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.

According to the Catalogue of Industries for Encouraged Foreign Investment (2020 Edition) and the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2021 Edition), the television program production and operation falls into the category of prohibited foreign investment industry, but 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) (2021 Edition). As such, the advertising industry does not fall into the category of restricted or prohibited foreign investment industry.

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

In addition, according to the Special Administrative Measures for Access of Foreign Investment (Negative List) (2021 Edition), a foreign entity is prohibited from owning more than 50% of any PRC entity that provides value-added telecommunication services. If we re-run our Wi-Fi business, it might be regarded as value-added telecommunication business. As a result, we would enter into concession rights contracts related to our Wi-Fi business via AirNet Online, which is expected to directly operate this business.

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 contractual arrangements between Chuangyi Technology and the VIEs do not violate existing PRC laws and regulations, and in each case governed by PRC law, are (i) valid and legally binding on each party thereto, and (ii) enforceable in accordance with the terms thereof, subject as to enforceability to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, moratorium, reorganization and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, the discretion of relevant government agencies in exercising their authority in connection with the interpretation and implementation thereof and the application of relevant PRC laws and policies thereto, and to general equity principles.

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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 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 contractual arrangements do not comply with PRC government restrictions on foreign investment, 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, 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.

On December 27, 2021, the NDRC and the MOFCOM, jointly issued the Negative List, effective from January 1, 2022. Pursuant to such Special Administrative Measures, if a domestic company engaging in the prohibited business stipulated in the Negative List seeks an overseas offering and listing, it shall obtain the approval from the competent governmental authorities. Besides, the foreign investors of the company shall not be involved in the company’s operation and management, and their shareholding percentage shall be subject, mutatis mutandis, to the relevant regulations on the domestic securities investments by foreign investors. According to the public responses of relevant officials from the NDRC and the MOFCOM to the reporters’ questions regarding the Negative List, no reduction shareholding percentage of foreign investor is required with respect to those existing enterprises listed overseas, the percentage of foreign shareholding of which have exceeded the stipulated threshold before the promulgation of the Negative List.

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Regulation of Advertising Services

Business License for Advertising Companies

The SAMR is the primary governmental authority regulating advertising activities in China. Regulations that apply to advertising business primarily include: (i) Advertisement Law of the People’s Republic of China, promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on October 27, 1994 and amended on April 24, 2015, October 26, 2018 and April 29, 2021; and (ii) Administrative Regulations for Advertising, promulgated by the State Council on October 26, 1987 and effective on December 1, 1987. 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 the 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:

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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 Cryptocurrency Industry

According to the Circular of the People’s Bank of China, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China Banking Regulatory Commission, CSRC, 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, 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.

According to the Circular on Regulating Virtual Currency “Mining” Activities jointly promulgated by the NDRC, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Office of Cyberspace Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Finance, the People’s Bank of China, the State Administration of Taxation, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the National Energy Administration on September 3, 2021, the PRC government classifies the virtual currency mining activities as the eliminated industry of the Catalogue for Guiding Industry Restructuring, which prohibits investments in projects falling within this category.

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According to the Circular on Further Preventing and Disposing of Virtual Currency Trading Speculation Risks jointly promulgated by the People’s Bank of China, the Office of Cyberspace Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the PRC Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, CSRC and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on September 15, 2021, virtual currency- related business activities, such as exchange between legal tender currencies and virtual currencies, exchange between virtual currencies, trading virtual currencies as central counterparty, providing information intermediary and pricing services for virtual currency trading, token issuance and financing, and virtual currency derivatives trading are illegal financial activities and are strictly prohibited and resolutely banned. Virtual currency- related business activities of an overseas virtual currency exchange which provides services to PRC residents via the Internet are illegal financial activities.

On March 12, 2022, the NDRC published the Market Access Negative List (2022 Edition), which lists the virtual currency mining activities as the “backward production processes and equipment” under the eliminated item in the Catalogue for Guiding Industrial Restructuring. According to the List, market entities are prohibited from investing in eliminated items.

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 take 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 the VIEs.

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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.

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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.

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In December 2006, the People’s Bank of China 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.

Regulations on Data Privacy and Cybersecurity

On June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the PRC National People’s Congress issued the Data Security Law to regulate data processing activities and security supervision in the PRC, which came into effect on September 1, 2021. The Data Security Law provides for data security and privacy obligations on entities and individuals carrying out data activities and introduces a data classification and hierarchical protection system based on the importance of data in economic and social development, as well as the degree of harm it will cause to national security, public interests, or legitimate rights and interests of individuals or organizations when such data is tampered with, destroyed, leaked, or illegally acquired or used. The appropriate level of protection measures is required to be taken for each respective category of data. For example, a processor of important data shall designate the personnel and the management body responsible for data security, carry out risk assessments for its data processing activities and file the risk assessment reports with the competent authorities. In addition, The Data Security Law provides a national security review procedure for those data activities which affect or may affect national security and imposes export restrictions on certain data and information.

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On August 20, 2021, the Standing Committee of the PRC National People’s Congress promulgated the Personal Information Protection Law, effective on November 1, 2021, which further detailed the general rules and principles on personal data processing and further increase the potential liability of personal data processor.The Personal Information Protection Law integrates the scattered rules with respect to personal information rights and privacy protection. The Personal Information Protection Law provides the circumstances under which a personal information processor could process personal information, including but not limited to, where the consent of the individual concerned is obtained and where it is necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract to which the individual is a contractual party. It also stipulates certain specific rules with respect to the obligations of a personal information processor, such as to inform the purpose and method of processing to the individuals, and the obligation of the third party who has access to the personal information by way of co-processing or delegation etc. Processors processing personal information exceeding the threshold to be set by the relevant authorities and critical information infrastructure operators are required to store, within the territory of the PRC, the personal information collected and produced within the PRC. Specifically, personal information processors using personal information for automated decision-making shall ensure the transparency of decision-making and the fairness and impartiality of the results and shall not impose unreasonable differential treatment on individuals in terms of pricing and other transaction conditions. The relevant governmental authorities shall organize assessment on mobile apps’ personal information protection and publicize the outcome. The mobile apps that are identified as not in compliance with personal information protection requirements under such law may be required to suspend or terminate the services and the operators may also be subject to penalties including confiscation of illegal revenues and fines. Furthermore, the Personal Information Protection Law also provides for the rights of natural persons whose personal information is processed and takes special care of the personal information of minors under 14 and sensitive personal information. We may be required to make adjustments to our business practices to comply with the personal information protection laws and regulations. In addition, critical information infrastructure operators, or personal information processors whose processing of personal information reaches the threshold amount prescribed by the national cyberspace authority, shall store within the territory of the People's Republic of China the personal information collected or generated by them within the territory of the People's Republic of China. Where it is necessary to provide such information to an overseas recipient, a security assessment organized by the national cyberspace authority shall be passed; if a security assessment is not required as provided by law, administrative regulations or the national cyberspace authority, such provision shall prevail. A personal information processor entrusting the processing of personal information to another party shall agree with the entrusted party on the purpose, period, and method of the contracted processing, the type of personal information to be processed, any protection measure to be taken, and the rights and obligations of both parties, etc., and supervise the activities of processing of personal information carried out by the contracted party. As of the date of this annual report, we have not been informed that we are a “critical information infrastructure operator” by any government authority. However, the exact scope of “critical information infrastructure operators” under the current regulatory regime remains unclear, and the PRC government authorities may have wide discretion in the interpretation and enforcement of the applicable laws. Therefore, it is uncertain whether we would be deemed to be a critical information infrastructure operator under PRC laws and regulations. If we are deemed a “critical information infrastructure operator” under PRC laws and regulations , we may be subject to obligations in addition to those with which we are currently obligated to comply.

On July 30, 2021, the State Council promulgated the Regulations on Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure, which became effective on September 1, 2021. Pursuant to the Regulations on Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure, critical information infrastructure shall mean any important network facilities or information systems of the important industry or field such as public communication and information service, energy, transportation, water conservation, finance, public services, e-government affairs and national defense science, which may endanger national security, people’s livelihood and public interest in case of damage, function loss or data leakage. In addition, relevant administration departments of each critical industry and sector, or Protection Departments, shall be responsible to formulate eligibility criteria and determine the critical information infrastructure operator in the respective industry or sector. The operators shall be informed about the final determination as to whether they are categorized as critical information infrastructure operators.

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On November 14, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China, or the CAC issued the Administrative Regulations of Cyber Data Security (Draft for Comments), or the Draft Cyber Data Security Regulations, which provide that data processors conducting the following activities shall apply for cybersecurity review: (i) merger, reorganization or separation of Internet platform operators that have acquired a large number of data resources related to national security, economic development or public interests affects or may affect national security; (ii) listing abroad of data processors processing over one million users’ personal information; (iii) listing in Hong Kong which affects or may affect national security; (iv) other data processing activities that affect or may affect national security. However, there have been no clarifications from the relevant authorities as of the date of this annual report as to the standards for determining whether an activity is one that “affects or may affect national security” under the Draft Cyber Data Security Regulations.

December 28, 2021, the CAC, the NDRC, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Finance, the MOFCOM, the People’s Bank of China, the SAMR, the National Radio and Television Administration, the CSRC, the National Administration of State Secrets Protection and the State Cryptography Administration jointly released the Cybersecurity Review Measures, which took effect on February 15, 2022. Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Review Measures, network platform operators with personal information of over one million users shall apply with the Cybersecurity Review Office for a cybersecurity review before going to list abroad. The cybersecurity review will evaluate, among others, the risk of critical information infrastructure, core data, important data, or the risk of a large amount of personal information being influenced and controlled or maliciously used by foreign governments after going public, and cyber information security risk.

Regulations on Overseas Listings

On December 24, 2021, the CSRC released the Provisions of the State Council on the Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments), or the Draft Administrative Provisions, and the Administrative Measures for the Filing of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments), or the Draft Filing Measures, both of which were open for public comments until January 23, 2022. The Draft Administrative Provisions and the Draft Filing Measures propose to establish a new filing-based regime to regulate overseas offerings and listings by domestic companies. According to the Draft Administrative Provisionsand the Draft Filing Measures, an overseas offering and listing by a domestic company, whether directly or indirectly, shall be filed with the CSRC. Specifically, the examination and determination of an indirect offering and listing will be conducted on a substance-over-form basis, and an offering and listing shall be considered as an indirect overseas offering and listing by a domestic company if the issuer meets the following conditions: (i) the operating income, gross profit, total assets, or net assets of the domestic enterprise in the most recent fiscal year was more than 50% of the relevant line item in the issuer’s audited consolidated financial statement for that year; and (ii) senior management personnel responsible for business operations and management are mostly PRC citizens or are ordinarily resident in the PRC, and the main place of business is in the PRC or carried out in the PRC. According to The Draft Administrative Provisions and the Draft Filing Measures, the issuer or its affiliated domestic company, as the case may be, shall file with the CSRC for its initial public offering, follow-on offering and other equivalent offering activities. Particularly, the issuer shall submit the filing with respect to its follow-on offering within three business days after completion of the follow-on offering. Failure to comply with the filing requirements may result in fines to the relevant domestic companies, suspension of their businesses, revocation of their business licenses or related operation permits and fines on the controlling shareholder and other responsible persons. The Draft Administrative Provisionsalso sets forth certain regulatory red lines for overseas offerings and listings by domestic enterprises.

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As of the date of this annual report, the Draft Administrative Provisions and the Draft Filing Measures were released for public comment only. There are uncertainties as to whether the Draft Administrative Provisions and the Draft Filing Measures would be further amended, revised or updated. Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable and final content of the Draft Administrative Provisions and the Draft Filing Measures. As the CSRC may formulate and publish guidelines for filings in the future, the Draft Filing Measures does not provide for detailed requirements of the substance and form of the filing documents. In a Q&A released on its official website, the respondent CSRC official indicated that the proposed new filing requirement will start with new companies and the existing companies seeking to carry out activities like follow-on financing. As for the filings for the existing companies, the regulator will grant adequate transition period and apply separate arrangements. The Q&A also addressed the contractual arrangements and pointed out that if relevant domestic laws and regulations have been observed, companies with compliant VIE structure may seek overseas listing after completion of the CSRC filings. Nevertheless, it does not specify what qualify as compliant VIE structures and what relevant domestic laws and regulations are required to be complied with. Given the substantial uncertainties surrounding the latest CSRC filing requirements at this stage, we cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the filings and fully comply with the relevant new rules on a timely basis, if at all, if we were to conduct any overseas offering.

Assuming the Draft Administration Regulations and the Draft Filing Measures become effective in their current forms, any of our offering and listing in an overseas market in future may be subject to the filing with the CSRC.

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 April 30, 2022:

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Notes:

In December 2017, the individual and a third-party company signed an equity transfer agreement, pursuant to which the individual transferred 15% equity interests in Beijing Yuehang to the third-party company, and AirNet Online signed another entrusted equity holding agreement with the third-party company, pursuant to which AirNet Online entrusted the third-party company to act as the nominee shareholder of the foregoing equity interests. The entrusted equity holding agreement with this third-party company terminates upon the earlier of (i) three years from the date of the entrusted equity holding agreement or (ii) the transfer of all entrusted equity by AirNet Online to AirNet Online itself or a third party designated by AirNet Online.

In September 2019, the individual and another individual signed an equity transfer agreement, pursuant to which the individual transferred 85% equity interests in Beijing Yuehang to the other individual, and AirNet Online signed another entrusted equity holding agreement with the other individual, pursuant to which AirNet Online entrusted the other individual to act as the nominee shareholder of the foregoing equity interest. The entrusted equity holding agreement with this individual terminates upon the earlier of (i) one years from the date of the entrusted equity holding agreement or (ii) the transfer of all entrusted equity by AirNet Online to AirNet Online itself or a third party designated by AirNet Online.

In September 2020, Beijing Yuehang and another third-party company signed a capital increase agreement, pursuant to which the other third-party company subscribe 1.6103% equity interests in Beijing Yuehang.

In August 2021, the individual and another individual signed an equity transfer agreement, pursuant to which the individual transferred 5.0002% equity interests in Beijing Yuehang to the other individual, and AirNet Online signed another entrusted equity holding agreement with the other individual, pursuant to which AirNet Online entrusted the other individual to act as the nominee shareholder of the foregoing equity interest. The entrusted equity holding agreement with this individual terminates upon the earlier of (i) two years from the date of the entrusted equity holding agreement or (ii) the transfer of all entrusted equity by AirNet Online to AirNet Online itself or a third party designated by AirNet Online.

AirNet Online as the actual major investor in Beijing Yuehang continues to hold actual controlling shareholder rights and receive benefits from the investment in Beijing Yuehang.

Substantially all of our operations are conducted through contractual arrangements with the VIEs in China, namely Linghang Shengshi, Iwangfan and AirNet Online. We do not have any equity interests in the 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.

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D. Property, Plants and Equipment

As of April 30, 2022, our headquarters locates in Beijing, China. Our branch offices lease approximately 358 square meters of office space in two other locations in China.

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).

To accommodate our increasing scale of operations in the United States, we entered into a lease agreement for a term of three years, pursuant to which we agreed to lease approximately four acres of land including approximately 22,603 square feet of office space in Houston, Texas.

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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.

Important Factors Affecting the Results of Operations of Our Cryptocurrency Mining Business

The value of cryptocurrencies is determined by market factors, supply of and demand for the units, the prices being set in transfers by mutual agreement or barter among transacting parties, as well as the number of merchants that may accept the cryptocurrency. Units of cryptocurrency can be converted to fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, at rates determined on Coinbase and various other exchanges. Cryptocurrency prices are quoted on various exchanges and fluctuate with extreme volatility.

To mine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, specialized computer servers (known as “miners”) need to be acquired and deployed at-scale to support blockchain in exchange of rewards in the form of cryptocurrencies. Given the sophistications as well as quantity on demand, the miners can only be built by a few manufacturers with required technological specialties and manufacturing capabilities. Hence, miners are continuously in short supplies and a premium over the listed retail price is required to secure a purchase of miners in significant quantities.

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Recent Developments

On January 27, 2022, we announced the entry into an equipment purchase agreement for the purchase of 4,800 Bitmain Antminer S-19 XP miners with an intended delivery in equal monthly installments of 800 units in the second half of 2022 in the United States. The aggregate purchase price for these miners is approximately US$60 million (subject to potential adjustments based on the hash rate of the delivered units), for which our business partner, Foundry Digital LLC will provide financing through its Foundry X.

On April 6, 2022, we entered into an investment agreements with Unistar, pursuant to which we issued (i) 177,953,891 ordinary shares, and (ii) warrants to purchase an aggregate of 117,805,476 newly issued ordinary shares, to Unistar and Northern Shore in exchange for the delivery and transfer of 5,000 ANTMINER S19 and 2,000 INNO A11 computer servers to further expand our cryptocurrency business.

We expect to restructure our business in 2022 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 from Air Travel Media Network and Other Media

Our air travel media network revenues from operations in 2019, 2020 and 2021 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 99.0%, 99.7% and 77.9% of our total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. Our network consisted of six airlines as of December 31, 2019 and 2020 and five airlines as of December 31, 2021.

Revenue from cryptocurrency mining accounted for 22.1% of our total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2021.

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 include the following:

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Business Tax, Value-added Tax 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 value-added tax, or 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.

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%.

Concession Fees

We incur concession fees to airlines for placing our programs on their digital TV screens. 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 recognized concession fees of $13.5 million, $10.8 million and $7.3 million in 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.

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The decrease from 2019 to 2020 was mainly because airline companies discounted concession fees during the outbreak of COVID-19. Under the further impact of the outbreak of COVID-19, the sales orders also decreased in 2021, resulting in a decrease in concession fees.

Cryptocurrency Mining Cost

The cryptocurrency mining cost mainly represents the depreciation cost of the computer servers specifically designed for mining cryptocurrencies. All the servers owned by us as of December 31, 2021 were delivered in January and April 2021.

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 generated 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 $11.0 million, $1.3 million and $0.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, 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 and $0.5 million as cost in the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Others

Other cost of revenues includes the following:

Our other cost of revenues remained at a consistent level in 2021 compared to 2020.

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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.

Taxation

Cayman Islands

We are an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. 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. There are no other taxes likely to be material to us levied by the government of the Cayman Islands except for stamp duties which may be applicable on instruments executed in, or, after execution, brought within the jurisdiction of 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 our ordinary shares and ADSs 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 our ordinary shares or ADSs, nor will gains derived from the disposal of our ordinary shares or ADSs be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporation tax.

No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of the shares or on an instrument of transfer in respect of a share.

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British Virgin Islands

We and all dividends, interest, rents, royalties, compensation and other amounts paid by us to persons who are not resident in the BVI and any capital gains realized with respect to any shares, debt obligations, or other securities of us by persons who are not resident in the BVI are exempt from all provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance in the BVI.

No estate, inheritance, succession or gift tax, rate, duty, levy or other charge is payable by persons who are not resident in the BVI with respect to any shares, debt obligation or other securities of us.

All instruments relating to transfers of property to or by us and all instruments relating to transactions in respect of the shares, debt obligations or other securities of us and all instruments relating to other transactions relating to our business are exempt from payment of stamp duty in the BVI. This assumes that we do not hold an interest in real estate in the BVI.

There are currently no withholding taxes or exchange control regulations in the BVI applicable to us or our members.

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 2020 and 2021.

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, 2020 and 2021.

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 is 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, and is entitled to an EIT rate of 25% afterwards.

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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.”

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Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2020

Net Revenues. Our net revenues decreased by 50.0% to $11.7 million in 2021 from $23.4 million in 2020. The decrease was primarily due to the reduced flights and decreased demand in our advertising and media services as a result of the persisted impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Revenues from air travel media network: Revenues from air travel media network decreased by 60.8% from $23.5 million in 2020 to $9.2 million in 2021. Among our revenues from air travel media network, revenues from digital TV screens on airplanes were $21.6 million and $7.5 million in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The decrease in revenues from digital TV screens on airplanes was mainly resulted from reduced flights and decreased demand and sales of our services of airline advertising and TV programing amid the persisted impact of the outbreak of COVID-19. The airlines that we cooperated with also decreased.

Revenues from cryptocurrency mining: We have started to generate revenue from cryptocurrency mining in 2021 and recognized related revenue of $2.6 million for the same year.

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Cost of Revenues. Our cost of revenues decreased by 24.6% to $14.8 million in 2021 from $19.6 million in 2020. Our cost of revenues as a percentage of our net revenues increased to 126.5% in 2021 from 83.6% in 2020. This increase was mainly due to the less services provided from air travel media network which is consistent with the decrease trend of the revenues. Cost of non-deductible input VAT that generated in prior years were $1.3 million and $0.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Concession fees decreased by 32.1% to $7.3 million in 2021 from $10.8 million in 2020, and concession fees as a percentage of net revenues decreased to 62.5% in 2021 from 45.9% in 2020, mainly due to that according to the less demand for our digital and media services we prudently reduce our input and the amount of concession contracts signed. Agency fees and advertisement publishing fees decreased by 65.3% to $1.8 million in 2021 from $5.2 million in 2020 mainly due to decreasing demand for advertising publishing under the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Cryptocurrency mining costs accounted for 24.7% of total cost of revenue and it mainly represents the depreciation cost of the computer servers specifically designed for mining cryptocurrencies.

Operating Expenses. Our operating expenses decreased by 16.8% to $10.9 million in 2021 from $13.1 million in 2020.

Loss from Operations. We recorded a loss from operations of $14.0 million in 2021, as compared to a loss from operations of $9.2 million in 2020, as a cumulative result of the above factors.

Other income, net. Other income, net decreased to $0.6 million in 2021 from $9.1 million in 2020, mainly because we recorded income from disposing of these subsidiaries of $9.0 million in 2020.

Income tax expenses (benefits). We incurred income tax expense of $0.3 million for 2021. We recognized income tax benefits of $10.2 million in 2020, primarily due to the reversal of an uncertain tax position of $11.1 million as a result of the expiration of statute of limitations as of December 31, 2020.

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 $23.4 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.

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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 the consolidated affiliated entities, 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 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.

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Share-based Compensation

2012 Share incentive plan

In 2012, we adopted the 2012 Share Incentive Plan, or 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 plan is matured in 2022 and has been extended to 2024.

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 $0.2 million, $0.2 million and $0.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021, 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 2019, 2020 and 2021 was increase of 4.5%, 2.5%, and 0.9%, 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.”

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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 the 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.

Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities was $5.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Net cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to (1) a net loss of $17.8 million adjusted by non-cash adjustments mainly including depreciation and amortization of $4.0 million, loss on long-term investment of $3.0 million and write off of non-deductible input VAT that generate in prior years of $0.5 million; (2)  a decrease in accounts payable of $3.8 million and was partially offset by a decrease of accounts receivable of $7.9 million.

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 an uncertain tax position 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.

Investing Activities

Net cash provided by investing activities was nil for the year ended December 31, 2021.

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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.

Financing Activities

Net cash used in financing activities amounted to $9.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, mainly consisting of cash repaid for third-party of $18.2 million, cash repaid for loans of $9.4 million, which was offset by cash received from short-term loans of $18.9 million and cash received from third shareholders of $0.7 million.

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.

Capital Expenditures

Our capital expenditures were made primarily to purchase equipment for our network, our development in technology of computer servers for cryptocurrency mining.

Our capital expenditures were $2.8 million in 2019, $0.1 million in 2020 and nil in 2021, respectively. In 2021, instead of cash payment, we issued shares for purchase of computer servers for our cryptocurrency business.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

On January 27, 2022, we announced the entry into an equipment purchase agreement for the purchase of 4,800 Bitmain Antminer S-19 XP miners with an intended delivery in equal monthly installments of 800 units in the second half of 2022 in the United States. The aggregate purchase price for these miners is approximately US$60 million (subject to potential adjustments based on the hash rate of the delivered units), for which our business partner, Foundry Digital LLC will provide financing through its Foundry X.

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On April 6, 2022, we entered into an investment agreements with Unistar, pursuant to which we issued (i) 177,953,891 ordinary shares, and (ii) warrants to purchase an aggregate of 117,805,476 newly issued ordinary shares, to Unistar and Northern Shore in exchange for the delivery and transfer of 5,000 ANTMINER S19 and 2,000 INNO A11 computer servers to further expand our cryptocurrency business.

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.

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.

Holding Company Structure

We are a holding company with no material operations of our own. We conduct our operations through our subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities in China. As a result, our ability to pay dividends depends upon dividends paid by our subsidiaries and cash payments from the consolidated affiliated entities in China. If our existing PRC subsidiaries or the consolidated affiliated entities or any newly formed ones incur any debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing their debts may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make cash payments to us.

In addition, our subsidiaries in China are permitted to pay dividends to us only out of their retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprise as promulgated by the Ministry of Finance, or PRC GAAP. Under PRC law, each of our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities is required to set aside at least 10% of its after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund a statutory surplus reserve until such reserve reaches 50% of its registered capital. In addition, our subsidiaries in China may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC GAAP to enterprise expansion funds as well as staff bonus and welfare funds at its discretion, and the consolidated affiliated entities may allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC GAAP to a discretionary surplus fund at its discretion. Although the statutory reserves can be used, among other ways, to increase the registered capital and eliminate future losses in excess of retained earnings of the respective companies, the statutory reserve funds are not distributable as cash dividends.

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As an offshore holding company, we are permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding from the proceeds of our offshore fundraising activities to our PRC subsidiary only through loans or capital contributions, and to the consolidated affiliated entities only through loans, in each case subject to the satisfaction of the applicable government registration and approval requirements. As a result, there is uncertainty with respect to our ability to provide prompt financial support to our PRC subsidiaries and the consolidated affiliated entities in China when needed.

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Selected consolidated balance sheets data

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